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Inmate #1: The Rise of Danny Trejo (2020)
Inmate #1: The Rise of Danny Trejo (2020)
2020 | Documentary
9
8.5 (2 Ratings)
Movie Rating
I don't think there's anyone who would be able to say "Danny who?" unless they were living in a cave somewhere. Whether it's Machete, Navajas in Desperado or the voice of Jaguar in Rick and Morty, there's something for everyone to click with out there. (3-Headed Shark Attack for the classiest of you out there.)

There's always something amazing around Danny Trejo, I love seeing him pop up in films. It wasn't until watching this that I realised just how many roles he's done and has coming up, it's even gone up a significant amount since they put this together. It also made me realise that I have a lot of things I need to watch. I'm at a measly 5% watched according to Letterboxd.

With several documentaries I've watched recently there are fundamental pieces that they've tweaked to try and change things up, Inmate #1 has kept to quite a traditional setup and it works tremendously well. We have interviews, old video footage of locations and sets and photos from Danny's life, the archival footage gives you a very clear image of what is being narrated and it helps to take you through the timeline.

The only slight drawback to the interview portion is the sheer variety of people that they include. Trejo's children, friends and colleagues have recurring parts and a significant portion is them recounting stories. It's all interesting content, but it's not always personally relevant to them and that seemed a little odd. It was really only a small point on the whole thing but I wouldn't have said no to more Trejo moments.

Seeing Danny Trejo's personality come across is wonderful to behold, he has an addictive humour to him and seeing him laugh at memories will make you smile back. But you also get to see remorse and emotion in such an honest way. The Kermit story broke me.


Overall, the documentary handles change in tone and situations well. All the transitions you see are smooth and there was no jarring change at any point which meant I was engaged for the whole 1hr and 47 minutes. It's compiled wonderfully and the mix between old and new content is balanced, the fact that it brings you full circle and shows you how hard he works on his career and his community is a joy.

Originally posted on: https://emmaatthemovies.blogspot.com/2020/06/inmate-1-rise-of-danny-trejo-movie.html
  
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Gaspar Noe recommended An Andalusian Dog (1929) in Movies (curated)

 
An Andalusian Dog (1929)
An Andalusian Dog (1929)
1929 | Fantasy, Horror
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Movie Favorite

"I’m obsessed with 2001: A Space Odyssey, but I’m not jealous of the director who directed it because it was so much work. I’m sure he was working 20 hours a day for five years, with the very best people he could find on this planet to create a cathedral of cinema. The movie is a cathedral itself. And also when you read about how the reception to the movie was, how much he suffered, everybody was picking on the movie besides the young audience, that you don’t envy Kubrick. You envy his talent. But if there’s one director that I really envy, it’s Buñuel. I wish I was in his head when he had shown the movie he co-directed with Salvador Dali, because it’s just a short movie, a 17-minute movie, but that still is his most famous movie after a huge career of fabulous movies. And it’s the first movie that I know that really used the language of dreams and nightmares. The opening scene of the movie, of the short film, with Bunuel cutting the eye of a woman — even if the close-up, they replaced the eye of the woman by the eye of a cow — is so shocking that I wish I could have been in the audience, if I could not be behind Bunuel. If I could see the reaction, I’m sure there’s never people turning more crazy in the history of cinema, than the first audience that that movie had. Really it was not as banned as his first feature, L’Age d’Or, that was more anti-religious than this one. But yeah, there’s so many documentaries about the Second World War, about the First World War, about the things that happened in the trench, but why didn’t anybody film the opening day, or that first premiere of Un Chien Andelou? I’m sure that it was a general state of shock. And the movie is so beautiful, so political, that it’s a real piece of art. There’s not many directors you can consider as artists. Of course, Kubrick’s like an architect, the most famous architect in the history of cinema, but as a poet or painter, Bunuel is an artist. Also, he was co-directing a movie with Salvador Dali, which makes sense. You can say Kennith Anger is an artist. But there are not many filmmakers that you can consider artists."

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    Marie Diamond

    Marie Diamond

    Education

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    Marie Diamond is a globally renowned European Transformational leader, speaker, teacher and author,...

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Sarah (126 KP) rated The Staircase in TV

Aug 10, 2018  
The Staircase
The Staircase
2018 | Crime, Documentary
8
8.0 (25 Ratings)
TV Show Rating
Good start-to-finish coverage of the matter (0 more)
The last few episodes are dragged out a little (0 more)
A Compelling Watch
All are punish'd.

The final words of The Staircase, taken from the last scene of Romeo & Juliet, seem particularly fitting for the series.

This series is centred on the untimely death of Kathleen Peterson, wife of author Michael Peterson.

For fans of true crime documentaries such as Making a Murderer, Evil Genius and Wild, Wild Country, this may seem something of a "slow burn"; however, from the initial report of Kathleen apparently tumbling down the stairs, we are quickly taken on a journey which spans several decades, two continents and which reveals lies and betrayal the likes of which seem more fitting of a crime thriller novel than a real life crime drama.

As with pretty much of these true crime series', we are left with a lot of unanswered questions; what makes The Staircase different is that it actually takes from the initial 911 call right up to the closure of the case.

What this start to finish coverage of the matter does give is a stark indication of the sheer length of time (and amount of money) that justice can take - if, indeed, one considers that justice was in fact served in this matter - and the toll that can take.

The level of coverage - of coaching of the witness pre-Trial, interviews with the Judge following the conclusion, and pretty much everything in between - allows us great insight into the US judicial process, as well as a close look at the Defendant himself and his family.

While each and every viewer will undoubtedly form their own opinion as to the guilt or otherwise of Michael Peterson - even though we aren't privy to all of the evidence, investigations, etc of the prosecution team - this series is certainly serves as an insight into the criminal justice process in the United States and how it can affect entire families.

My only criticism would be that the last few episodes seem to have been really dragged out - including lots of long, lingering shots of Michael Peterson, perhaps to reinforce how he had aged and suffered over the course of the series. In my opinion, it really could have been reduced by several episodes which would have actually made the whole thing flow better.

As regards guilt, one line towards the end of the series really stood out to as being the most honest thing said by anyone: "is there ever anyone in this family who isn't performing?"
  
    2017-18 NBA App

    2017-18 NBA App

    Sports and Entertainment

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    Your team. Your game. Your NBA. Never miss a moment with the official NBA app. Stay on top of the...