For fans that are expecting another documentary about Robert Englund as Freddy Krueger, “Hollywood Dreams & Nightmares” ends up being much more about Englund the actor. While the documentary, clocking in at two hours, does explore a lot about Robert Englund’s time as Freddy Krueger, Gary Smart and Christopher Griffiths’ film is so much more about the actor and thespian Robert Englund. I’m quite happy that that’s the angle that they aim for, as “Hollywood Dreams & Nightmares” is able to set itself apart from so many other horror documentaries. Robert Englund is a seasoned actor and thespian who was classically trained and spent his life trying to perfect his craft.
Tag Archives: Documentary
Savi the Cat (2022) [Tribeca Film Festival]
Directors Bryan Tucker and Netsanet Tjirongo’s “Savi the Cat” is one of the more unsuspecting short documentaries of the year. It’s a human story, but one that revolves around owning a pet. It’s amazing what adopting a pet can with and to your life. It can change it in ways that we never thought were possible, which is why so many pets are up for adoption. Not many people realize just how much of a task it can be to maintain and keep any kind of domestic animal. With “Savi the Cat,” the pair of owners not only learns about the humongous task that is of owning a cat, but the toll it inevitably takes on their relationship in the long run.
30 for 30: “The American Gladiators” Documentary is a Surprising Look Inside One of the Biggest Series of the 1990’s
If you grew up in the 1990’s as I did, the mere mention of two words: “American Gladiators,” is bound to evoke a lot of smiles and rabid discussion. For those of us that spent our younger years in the decade of the 90’s, “American Gladiators” was a pop culture phenomenon. After the immense success of professional wrestling, many people sought out to build on that by introducing their own form of sports entertainment. The closest we ever got was “American Gladiators.”
For those unaware, the series was a sports entertainment series revolving around a group of normal contestants. They’d have to go up against a group of muscular, athletic and vicious male and female athletes, all of whom had one mission to keep the competitors from winning.
Attack of the Doc! (2023)
After the short lived resurgence of G4 TV in 2021, old school fans of the channel were brought back to the more magical days where the channel influenced pop culture. I was once upon a time a big fan of not only G4 TV, but of “Attack of the Show!” From 2007 to 2011, I would watch every single episode of “Attack of the Show!” and would even make a big occasion of their epic Comic Con coverage. While many fans of the channel and series know full well what happened to G4 and why it fell, “Attack of the Doc!” is a niche documentary with a tale that deserves to be told.
Bettie Page Reveals All! (2013)
In tribute to what would have been Bettie Page’s 100th birthday on April 22nd, Music Box Films has re-released “Bettie Page Reveals All!” To this day there’s something about Bettie Page that no one can quite pin down. She’s a Conservative woman with immense charm and sexual allure, and there’s never been anyone who could top it. Even today with so many admirers and imitators, Page remains in a league of her own. She was the idea of sexual liberation in a Conservative society, and to this day she remains a symbol for repressed sexuality and liberation.
Living with Chucky (2022)
Director Kyra Elise Gardner’s “Living with Chucky” is a great summarizing of the entire movie series that started from its humble origins, and then explores the reboot which saw the emergence of a new dawn for the series. It’s interesting and garners some unique anecdotes from its cast and crew. There’s a lot of good information and nuggets of wisdom to be mined with “Living with Chucky” and for a one hundred minute movie, it’s sad that it only kicks in in the last twenty five minutes or so.
Money Shot: The Pornhub Story (2023)
With the advent of modern technology and the internet becoming accessible through any handheld device allowing the ease of pornography distribution, the emergence of a titan of porn distribution was inevitable. It arrived in the form of Pornhub, a multi-faceted database of every type of fantasy, fetish, and kink you can imagine–for better and for worse. The pornography industry has been one that’s become a topic of conversation since the early 1900’s. Does it influence sexual deviancy or deter it? Does it victimize its performers despite their vocal consent?