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Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear
Paula Bronstein, Kim Barker and Christina Lamb
Book
Winner, International Photography Award, 1st Place, Professional: Book, Documentary, 2016 The Afghan...
Virginia Woolf: Art, Life and Vision
Book
Virginia Woolfs many novels, notably Night and Day (1919), Jacobs Room (1922), Mrs Dalloway (1925),...
The Edinburgh Fringe in a Nutshell: A Performer's Guide to Staying Solvent and Sane at the World's Biggest Arts Festival
Book
Whether you are a solo artist or the producer of a full cast ensemble taking a show to the Edinburgh...
Bruce Dern recommended Amadeus (1984) in Movies (curated)
LeftSideCut (3778 KP) rated Borat (2006) in Movies
Oct 22, 2020
It can not be understated how important Sacha Baron Cohen is in the modern comedy landscape. His particular brand of satire has always stirred up controversy, but has always been appealing to me. He arguably hit his peak during Ali G in the USAiii, where he posed as multiple characters, namely Ali G, Brüno, and Borat. It was only a matter of time before the latter got his own feature film.
Borat is offensive in so many ways, but I'll be damned if it isn't clever. The character is anti-semitic, sexist, and homophobic. Of course, Cohen himself isn't any of these things, but this role he plays truly brings out the worst in real life people that he interviews for his "documentary". As soon as he says something unorthodox, his subject will let their guard down, feel comfortable, and join in. It's quite something, and results in Cohen exposing the ugliness of somenof these people.
The over-arching narrative is thread bare (and honestly not intended to be the main focus) but climaxes in such a hilariously surreal fashion.
I'm not conviced that some of the stuff in this movie would fly now (at the time of writing, the second Borat movie is due to release tomorrow so we will see!), but Cohen's recent series, Who Is America?, showed clear as day that he is still as sharp, brutal, and out for blood as he ever has been.
Borat is another fine semi-exposé, that is frequently hilarious, and constantly disturbing, that is still as relevant and needed now as it was back in 2006.
Borat is offensive in so many ways, but I'll be damned if it isn't clever. The character is anti-semitic, sexist, and homophobic. Of course, Cohen himself isn't any of these things, but this role he plays truly brings out the worst in real life people that he interviews for his "documentary". As soon as he says something unorthodox, his subject will let their guard down, feel comfortable, and join in. It's quite something, and results in Cohen exposing the ugliness of somenof these people.
The over-arching narrative is thread bare (and honestly not intended to be the main focus) but climaxes in such a hilariously surreal fashion.
I'm not conviced that some of the stuff in this movie would fly now (at the time of writing, the second Borat movie is due to release tomorrow so we will see!), but Cohen's recent series, Who Is America?, showed clear as day that he is still as sharp, brutal, and out for blood as he ever has been.
Borat is another fine semi-exposé, that is frequently hilarious, and constantly disturbing, that is still as relevant and needed now as it was back in 2006.
Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated I, Tonya (2017) in Movies
Sep 25, 2019
Competitive ice skater Tonya Harding rises amongst the ranks at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, but her future in the activity is thrown into doubt when her ex-husband intervenes.
I was very excited to see this one as an Unlimited Screening... you know how I love rubbing it in people's faces when I see things before them! I was looking forward to it even more as I'm a fan of sporty films. [Which always strikes me as odd considering I don't do sports.]
As a story [regardless of it's accuracy] I enjoyed it. I don't think I've seen a film done in this way before. Part film, part documentary, but more than that. The odd occasion where the two we're entwined really made it something different.
Both Margot Robbie and Allison Janney made this film for me. The pair together made the perfect duo bouncing off each other. There was a wonderful presence from them in all their scenes, and I was taken aback by how well they both seamlessly acted their way through the years with what felt like amazing accuracy. I had also been looking forward to seeing Sebastian Stan playing Tonya's husband, but with such strong performances from the actresses around him his character was lost. Obviously you're not going to end up loving him as a character, but usually you can still enjoy the horrible characters if they're acted well.
It's probably not going to be everyone's cup of tea but honestly I really enjoyed the whole thing. Margot Robbie's performance at the very end actually had me gasp for breath through tears, it was so convincing, and so devastating.
I was very excited to see this one as an Unlimited Screening... you know how I love rubbing it in people's faces when I see things before them! I was looking forward to it even more as I'm a fan of sporty films. [Which always strikes me as odd considering I don't do sports.]
As a story [regardless of it's accuracy] I enjoyed it. I don't think I've seen a film done in this way before. Part film, part documentary, but more than that. The odd occasion where the two we're entwined really made it something different.
Both Margot Robbie and Allison Janney made this film for me. The pair together made the perfect duo bouncing off each other. There was a wonderful presence from them in all their scenes, and I was taken aback by how well they both seamlessly acted their way through the years with what felt like amazing accuracy. I had also been looking forward to seeing Sebastian Stan playing Tonya's husband, but with such strong performances from the actresses around him his character was lost. Obviously you're not going to end up loving him as a character, but usually you can still enjoy the horrible characters if they're acted well.
It's probably not going to be everyone's cup of tea but honestly I really enjoyed the whole thing. Margot Robbie's performance at the very end actually had me gasp for breath through tears, it was so convincing, and so devastating.
Sarah (7798 KP) rated Louis Theroux: America’s Most Dangerous Pets in TV
May 9, 2020
Interesting, if not a tad frustrating
I'll start off by saying I love Louis Theroux and his documentaries. I've yet to see a bad one and this is no exception, even if the subject matter is very frustrating.
I tried to watch the Tiger King series on Netflix and had to turn it off as the animal welfare side made me so angry! However I had to watch this to see how Louis tackled the issue. On the whole, as with all Louis docs, this is a rather stark and honest (yet brief) portrayal of these people with dangerous wild animals as pets. He does his usual mild mannered Englishman act to gain their trust and then throws out the pressing awkward questions we all want answers to. This in no way glamorise or play up these people like the Netflix doc seemed to do. I will admit that after having seen parts of the Netflix doc, I don't believe that Louis goes far enough. He could've pushed the questions and animal welfare issues a lot more and I think he really should've done.
Over here there are many people who criticise our zoos due to animal welfare, but i can really appreciate the conservation efforts of local zoos now especially when you compare them with the absolute craziness that goes on in the States. I mean no offence to any American friends, but only in the USA can people get away with owning wild animals like this as pets. It's disgraceful, and I wish this documentary had gone further to push these issues.
I tried to watch the Tiger King series on Netflix and had to turn it off as the animal welfare side made me so angry! However I had to watch this to see how Louis tackled the issue. On the whole, as with all Louis docs, this is a rather stark and honest (yet brief) portrayal of these people with dangerous wild animals as pets. He does his usual mild mannered Englishman act to gain their trust and then throws out the pressing awkward questions we all want answers to. This in no way glamorise or play up these people like the Netflix doc seemed to do. I will admit that after having seen parts of the Netflix doc, I don't believe that Louis goes far enough. He could've pushed the questions and animal welfare issues a lot more and I think he really should've done.
Over here there are many people who criticise our zoos due to animal welfare, but i can really appreciate the conservation efforts of local zoos now especially when you compare them with the absolute craziness that goes on in the States. I mean no offence to any American friends, but only in the USA can people get away with owning wild animals like this as pets. It's disgraceful, and I wish this documentary had gone further to push these issues.
Long Hot Summers - The Story Of by The Style Council
Album
The Style Council was emblematic of its creator. Paul Weller, smart, fearless, audacious, with a...
More Myself: A Journey
Book
In her intimate memoir, More Myself, Alicia Keys shares her quest for truth: about herself, her...
Kirk Bage (1775 KP) rated Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile (2019) in Movies
Jan 22, 2021
If you check back in the archives of The Wasteland you will see that from time to time I do find myself down the dark, fascinating yet morbid rabbit hole of true crime documentary. I do find the majority of them a little ghoulish, but when done particularly well they can become incredible insights into the human condition at its worst, and the state of the legal and punitive systems that deal with the most extreme cases. How these systems fail, and why, is more of a draw for me than any attempt to understand the person behind the evil crimes. Although I must admit to some curiosity in that regard on a certain level.
One such documentary series that really impressed me was Conversations With a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes, directed by Joe Berlinger. It was very detailed without being sensationalist or forcing drama and tension into the presentation in a manipulative way. I have a particular fascination with Ted Bundy and his crimes, simply because it is such a compellingly bizarre story, of an educated, seemingly ordinary and charming man, that did absolutely horrific things. So, seeing that the same producer had turned his hand as a film-maker, and his deep knowledge of the case and the man, towards a feature film, I had to give it a watch at some point, despite some mixed reviews.
The first thing anyone will want to talk about here, naturally, is the casting of Bundy against type, with the former teen sensation Zac Efron taking on such a huge and daunting role you would have thought beyond him. Physically the resemblance between Efron and Bundy is remarkable; even more so when the period hair styles and costumes are added in. His instinctive understanding of the charm aspect of Bundy is also very spooky – you do get the sense of almost liking him on one hand and fearing him on the other. As an acting exercise, his work here is far more impressive than anything else he has ever done, bar none, hinting that as he moves into his 30s Efron will make a fine supporting actor if well cast.
What is missing from this portrayal of Bundy, however is his own amusement and psychopathic detachment from the crimes that is apparent in documentary footage. Efron’s Bundy is much more serious and sinister, without pushing the boundaries of playing “evil” too far. Whether this was the actor or the director’s choice is unclear. It means ultimately that the tone is earnest and threatening, almost inviting us to like and respect him more. Whereas, with a touch more of the misplaced levity that made watching and listening to the real Bundy so sickening we would have a closer impression of how, despite appearing “normal” on the surface, he never truly was.
Lily Collins is perfectly fine as Bundy’s girlfriend, Liz Kendall, but, again, she makes no attempt to portray the true naivety and denial apparent from footage of the real person, instead choosing to portray her as an innocent woman truly duped by a criminal mastermind. It is a fine performance in the context of this film, I just doubt it is that close to who Liz really was.
John Malkovich also, as the judge who spoke the title of this film in his closing remarks of the real court case, seems to be presenting a movie version of the real person that doesn’t capture the essence of the real dynamic so much as giving us a neat, glossy version of the real man. Put all this together and you still get the facts of what happened without anything changed or misleading, but you also get the impression that it is a heightened drama of events rather than anything even close to presenting the most interesting or disturbing aspects of the story.
In some ways then, it makes this production a touch cowardly. It is very much the certificate 15 version for an easy watching audience. The crimes themselves are not shown, or even discussed in much detail, merely hinted at and brushed over. It assumes you have some knowledge of the more gruesome facts up front, but also, oddly, presents itself as if he may actually be innocent in some way, because this was the view Liz Kendall maintained until even after his death in reality.
Worryingly, this makes the film almost a romance, where the good things about Bundy are given equal weight. Are we being invited to decide for ourselves if he was evil, or even guilty at all? I don’t think that is the point they are going for, but it isn’t that far off! For me then, this film is a curious failure that invites debate and interest, therefore always holding your interest and attention, but is dangerously close to being offensively dismissive of the victims.
Ultimately, I can’t decide whether it is something that should in any way be recommended. If it were a fiction it would play as a decent if unspectacular character study. It looks great, the period detail of the production is very well done and it is eminently watchable. However, the fact that these events were real, and in reality so much more disturbing, leads me to the conclusion that this is problematic viewing to be treated with caution.
One such documentary series that really impressed me was Conversations With a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes, directed by Joe Berlinger. It was very detailed without being sensationalist or forcing drama and tension into the presentation in a manipulative way. I have a particular fascination with Ted Bundy and his crimes, simply because it is such a compellingly bizarre story, of an educated, seemingly ordinary and charming man, that did absolutely horrific things. So, seeing that the same producer had turned his hand as a film-maker, and his deep knowledge of the case and the man, towards a feature film, I had to give it a watch at some point, despite some mixed reviews.
The first thing anyone will want to talk about here, naturally, is the casting of Bundy against type, with the former teen sensation Zac Efron taking on such a huge and daunting role you would have thought beyond him. Physically the resemblance between Efron and Bundy is remarkable; even more so when the period hair styles and costumes are added in. His instinctive understanding of the charm aspect of Bundy is also very spooky – you do get the sense of almost liking him on one hand and fearing him on the other. As an acting exercise, his work here is far more impressive than anything else he has ever done, bar none, hinting that as he moves into his 30s Efron will make a fine supporting actor if well cast.
What is missing from this portrayal of Bundy, however is his own amusement and psychopathic detachment from the crimes that is apparent in documentary footage. Efron’s Bundy is much more serious and sinister, without pushing the boundaries of playing “evil” too far. Whether this was the actor or the director’s choice is unclear. It means ultimately that the tone is earnest and threatening, almost inviting us to like and respect him more. Whereas, with a touch more of the misplaced levity that made watching and listening to the real Bundy so sickening we would have a closer impression of how, despite appearing “normal” on the surface, he never truly was.
Lily Collins is perfectly fine as Bundy’s girlfriend, Liz Kendall, but, again, she makes no attempt to portray the true naivety and denial apparent from footage of the real person, instead choosing to portray her as an innocent woman truly duped by a criminal mastermind. It is a fine performance in the context of this film, I just doubt it is that close to who Liz really was.
John Malkovich also, as the judge who spoke the title of this film in his closing remarks of the real court case, seems to be presenting a movie version of the real person that doesn’t capture the essence of the real dynamic so much as giving us a neat, glossy version of the real man. Put all this together and you still get the facts of what happened without anything changed or misleading, but you also get the impression that it is a heightened drama of events rather than anything even close to presenting the most interesting or disturbing aspects of the story.
In some ways then, it makes this production a touch cowardly. It is very much the certificate 15 version for an easy watching audience. The crimes themselves are not shown, or even discussed in much detail, merely hinted at and brushed over. It assumes you have some knowledge of the more gruesome facts up front, but also, oddly, presents itself as if he may actually be innocent in some way, because this was the view Liz Kendall maintained until even after his death in reality.
Worryingly, this makes the film almost a romance, where the good things about Bundy are given equal weight. Are we being invited to decide for ourselves if he was evil, or even guilty at all? I don’t think that is the point they are going for, but it isn’t that far off! For me then, this film is a curious failure that invites debate and interest, therefore always holding your interest and attention, but is dangerously close to being offensively dismissive of the victims.
Ultimately, I can’t decide whether it is something that should in any way be recommended. If it were a fiction it would play as a decent if unspectacular character study. It looks great, the period detail of the production is very well done and it is eminently watchable. However, the fact that these events were real, and in reality so much more disturbing, leads me to the conclusion that this is problematic viewing to be treated with caution.