NEWS: Oscar Doc Short List Down To 15...

Last week, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences released their short list of Animated films that would be up for the five spots. Well, now the Documentary side of the Academy have gotten there list up, and it’s quite the list, that has sparked quite the discussion.

It appears as though, while locks like Food, Inc and The Cove have gotten their spots, other highly talked about documentaries have been left off. Casualties like Michael Moore’s Capitalism: A Love Story, Tyson, and Anvil! The Story of Anvil, have been left off, as well as my personal favorite so far this year, It Might Get Loud.

Now, what did get nominated you may be asking? Well, here’s your list:

• The Beaches of Agnes

• Burma VJ

• The Cove

• Every Little Step

• Facing Ali

• Food, Inc.

• Garbage Dreams

• Living in Emergency: Stories of Doctors Without Borders

• The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and The Pentagon Papers

• Mugabe and the White African

• Sergio

• Soundtrack for a Revolution

• Under Our Skin

• Valentino The Last Emperor

• Which Way Home

However, the story here isn’t who DID get nominated, it’s who didn’t. I have seen more than a few documentaries this year, and all of which have been snubbed, along side hyped fair like We Live In Public. I thought for sure Tyson, Anvil, and Capitalism would not only make the 15, but make the final five when it was all said and done, along with The Cove and Food, Inc.

All I know now is that I guess I need to get on the ball.

Go see something good!

VIDEO: Clip From Maurice Sendak Documentary, Tell Them Anything You Want, Directed By Spike Jonze...

Early last week, The Playlist reported that Spike Jonze and Lance Bangs have directed a new documentary on the author of Where the Wild Things Are, Maurice Sendak.

Well, a little 3 minute clip from the documentary, titled Tell Them Anything You Want, which will air on HBO this October 14, has popped up over at the New York Times website. It's nothing to insanely interesting, as there is about half of it already shown in the behind-the-scenes featurette that I talked about a couple of weeks ago. However, the music (done by Erik Satie), is amazing, and it's nice to see just how good this documentary looks and feels. I'm beyond excited for this documentary, and I am also excited to tell you that you can see the clip HERE. Thanks to The New York Times, via The Playlist.

Go see something good!

VIDEO: The Times of Harvey Milk on Hulu...

If any of you have seen Milk, please, do yourself a favor and watch this documentary. It's one of the best I've ever seen, and the people over at Hulu have been gracious enough to post it on their site for us all to enjoy. Check it out below, or at the site here...



Go see something good!

TOP 10: Documentary Films...

So, over the weekend, I got the chance to check out Religulous, and boy was it brilliant. I haven't seen a ton of DVD's, probably not enough to really justify doing this top 10, but it has inspired me to get out and check some more out. Documentary films are often times overlooked by many people, especially in my attention deficit age bracket, but here are ten Docs, that you really need to check out...

10. Bowling For Columbine
9. Religulous
8. No End In Sight
7. Don't Look Back
6. Times of Harvey Milk
5. Harlan County USA
4. Hearts of Darkness
3. Gates of Heaven
2. Hoop Dreams
1. When We Were Kings

What is YOUR favorite documentary film?

Come back later for a special top 10, the Top 10 Biggest Turkeys of the Year...It IS Thanksgiving time after all...

Go see something good!

NEWS: Free Documentary, The Avengers, and Jonah Hex...

Hey guys! I've had a busy day today, so I apologize for the late post. However, there is a bit of news, so here are your headlines..

- It looks like Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, the hilarious guys behind Crank, have found a lead for the film that will follow up Crank 2 and the upcoming Gerard Butler film, Game, and it would be Josh Brolin. Reports have it that Brolin has been tapped to play Jonah Hex in the adaptation of the grimey western comic book of the same name...
- It looks as though the powers that be behind the Oscars will now be allowing Oscar exclusive film trailers during the broadcast....thoughts????
- I have the great pleasure of bringing you a really solid documentary, available for free download, from the senior editor of The Movie Blog, John Campea, and it's called, Prince of Peace;God of War...here's a synopsis...

How did the command to “Love Your Enemies” get so complicated? This was the question I had for years both when I was a minister in the church and ever since I left it. It seemed to me the religious right, more a political force than anything else, who embraced policies of violence, killing and destruction, all in the name of a God they claimed to follow seemed to be at odds with the teachings of the founder of their faith.

For the first three centuries that the church existed, those belonging to the faith of Christianity understood the words and example of Jesus to be a clear directive to never be involved with violence. To be a Christian was to be a Pacifist, and during those formative years the church endured several persecutions at the hands of the Roman Empire itself without ever considering taking up the sword against their aggressors.

How did this faith, known and identified for its non-violent beliefs, go on to conduct the crusades, the inquisitions, witch hunts, and today have 87% of white evangelical Christians support President George W. Bush’s decision to go to war with Iraq? How did this religion, founded by a Pacifist and known (even criticized) for non-violence, become a religion known for its aggression, war, political power and embracing of violence?

So, in 2006 I decided to travel across North America and talk to scholars, historians, authors and religious leaders on both sides of the issue (not the cheap Bill Maher tactics of only talking to crazy people on whichever side he stands opposed to) to understand why some believe the Christian faith allows for killing and others in the exact same faith believe that to truly follow the faith, one must never take life. The result was this project “Prince of Peace - God of War”

The project took me just over a year to complete and was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done in my life, but at the same time one of the most rewarding. As a documentary I am very proud of how the issues are addressed and explored… but at the same time I am very humbled by how much it lacks artistic quality. A gifted documentary filmmaker I am not. But audiences across North America at various film festivals seems to quickly look past my artistic shortcomings and submerged themselves in the issues and discussion in the film. Some agreeing, some disagreeing, but all apparently talking.


This is a really solid documentary, and one you should check out. Download it here, or check it out below...


- It looks as though Forrest Whitaker will be both starring in and directing A Wonderful World, a biopic on legendary musician, Louis Armstrong...
- Rumor has it that great actor, Ryan Gosling, has scored the role of Hal Jordan a.k.a. The Green Lantern...
- A new Avengers cartoon television show will be hiting the airwaves in early 2011, just in time for the films release...
- Finally, Frank Darabont, helmer behind last years underrated film, The Mist, just got a cast boost as Jamie Foxx has signed on to star alongside Gerard Butler in Law Abiding Citizen...

That's all I have for now, so come back later for more movie news and reviews!

Go see something good!

Survivors...a short by Errol Morris

So as many of you may have seen, a few weeks ago, there was an event where a large group of celebrities were on television trying to raise money for a cancer awareness benefit, called Stand Up To Cancer. Well, not only did celebrities come out, but one of the best documentarians alive, Errol Morris, made this 8 minute short film, about cancer survivors, and their friends and loved ones.

If you like the film, you can download it on iTunes, and you can go to their website and donate to this very important cause.