Nightclubbing: The Birth of Punk Rock in NYC (2022)

“Max’s was where punk was a movement; CBGB’s is where you went to get a record deal.”

I’ll admit that while I’m very well versed in the history of rock and roll, I almost never heard of Max’s Kansas City. I always heard about CBGB’s throughout my life, but almost never heard about Max’s Kansas City. The club was known as the premiere scene for not just rock and roll stars, but movie stars, celebrities, tabloid makers, and anyone that the alternative scene could produce. There’s a very fascinating story behind Max’s Kansas City and how it set the template for the punk rock scene, but never really got the credit it deserved. All the while CBGB’s was almost universally heralded.

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The History of Metal and Horror (2022)

It should serve as no surprise that heavy metal and horror go hand in hand. If there’s horror there’s bound to be a heavy metal fan. If there’s heavy metal, you’re sure to come across at least a dozen hardcore horror geeks. But why do the music and the genre work so well together? Mike Schiff’s documentary “The History of Metal and Horror” is a great look at the history of the genre and the roots of heavy metal that are deeply embedded in the roots of horror. Schiff leaves no stone unturned going back to medieval times and dropping us right down in to modern times.

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Making Of Michael Jackson’s Thriller (1983)

1983’s “Making of Michael Jackson’s Thriller” is a documentary I watched so much as a kid. I fondly recall my uncle owning a copy of it on VHS and while he lived with me and my family, we’d sit down with him and watch this almost everyday. Despite it being a pretty basic documentary by today’s standards, for 1983, “Making of Michael Jackson’s Thriller” was humongous. Not only was it a look behind the scenes of the biggest video of 1983 and perhaps of all time, but it was an important video release that changed pretty much everything.

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Thriller 40 (2023)

It’s such a breath of fresh air to watch something about Michael Jackson that is about the artist. “Thriller 40” is a ninety minute look in to the making of Michael Jackson’s historic album “Thriller” and how much it influenced a generation. As well director Nelson George digs in to how it continues to influence generations both far and wide, and the way every movement within the album was a calculated bit by Jackson to completely boost his status from superstar to near deity proportions. “Thriller 40” is a marvelous documentary that gets down to the nitty gritty of the making of “Thriller.”

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Now and Then: the Last Beatles Song (2023)

Oliver Murray’s “Now and Then” is not only a testament to the continued unending popularity of the Beatles, but to the genius that technology is capable of. In a year where AI has officially stirred up a humongous debate among artists, “Now and Then” is a great exploration of how Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr implemented groundbreaking technology to produce one last outing with their dearly departed friend John Lennon.

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Here Comes a New Challenger (2023)

Oliver Harper’s origin of the iconic “Street Fighter” video game is just the right rush of nostalgia that gamers and nineties kids just might end up loving. As someone who was notoriously bad at the game but still loved it, “Here Comes a New Challenger” is a wonderful deep dive in to the making of a franchise that impacted pop culture greatly. While some may be put off at the notion of this documentary Harper spends a lot of time on exploring what inspired the initial video game, and shockingly a lot of it is derived from the movies.

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The Mission (2023)

Director Jesse Moss and Amanda McBaine’s Nat Geo film “The Mission” is one of the most frustrating movies of the year. It’s a documentary that tip toes through its subject matter to its detriment, and avoids the outright reality of a situation that should have never happened and a life that should have never been taken. In 2018 American missionary John Chau was murdered in an illegal expedition to preach his religion to the isolated village of the Sentinelese tribe off the coast of India.

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