Tag Archives: Documentary

Rivers and Tides: Andy Goldsworthy Working With Time (2002)

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What Andy Goldsworthy does is pure magic that can be deemed as truly amazing, or just a truly amazing use of proficiency. Goldsworthy masters his craft within an instance going out in to a natural terrain and instantly begins looking for objects to make up his next masterpiece. Goldsworthy takes what he’s given from nature, and in an obviously edited nature begins making a design. Scottish born artist Goldsworthy speaks with a gentle voice very often as all artists do knowing any little tremor will break down the masterpiece, and though he be slightly eccentric, mad, and demanding, he does manage to surprise with visions of nature that really made me gasp and smile with wonder at the beauty presented to us in stark luminous colors and shades.

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Ape to Man

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The ape or the poof, evolutionism, or creationism, this is an argument that has basically set man apart with their own theories and views for decades, and after the constant discovery of the proof of evolutionism and inevitably Darwin’s book the Theory of Evolution published in 1859, there was obviously much discussion to be had, especially pertaining to the theory’s conflicting with the bible which it managed to disprove immensely. Darwin knew immediately that these very logical theories would lead him to hot water, and as the documentary emphasizes, he was afraid to admit his findings in fear of what would happen to him. In the end of “Ape to Man”, whether you be evolutionist or creationist, there’s no doubting the logic of the theories presented during this stunning document of the chronicling of not only the evolution of man, but the evolution of science, and the study of primitive man and its conflicting theories.

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Anthony Spadaccini of Fleet Street Films

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Anthony Spadaccini, a good friend, and founder of Fleet Street films recently agreed to do an interview with us to help promote his film “Emo Pill”. If you’re a consummate reader here at “Cinema Crazed”, you’ll know we’ve reviewed many of Fleet Street Films’ titles from “Unstable”, to “Monday Morning”, and one thing you’ll notice about Fleet Street is that they not only seek to entertain, but they seek out to do so while making a statement. Spadaccini and I have remained in touch for a few months, and I even have a copy of “Unstable” from him, and with his new film “Emo Pill” in production, we thought an interview seemed proper.

Many of Fleet Street’s films are dramas, but true human dramas that concern real life issues such as AIDS, murder, revenge, and our justification of crimes. Incidentally enough, most of Spadaccini’s work has either been praised or completely hated, and that’s due to the utter realism he strives for. If you’re not familiar with Fleetstreet, then it is the pleasure of “Cinema Crazed” to introduce you to the company, and to Anthony Spadaccini, a humble director whose created many very good films that have received quite an amount of feedback from viewers, and we implore you to buy his films and tell us what you think. Spadaccini fills us in on what’s going on in his life and his work, and boy is it ever a work load.

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Baadasssss! (2003)

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BaadasssssWhat “Baadasssss!” does is show that creative process and the journey in getting it shown to the audience you want. This is not a film about a black man getting a movie about a black man made, this is the story about an artist getting his artistic vision realized, while the powers that be (the studios) did everything possible to halt the production, and it’s a topic any artist can relate to. Whether you’re writer, painter, or film director this is a film with a story and message that will speak to everyone in the creative field and convey some sense of hope in the story of Melvin Van Peeble’s torturous attempt to get a movie made.

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America's Heart and Soul (2004)

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To say this is not a politically charged film is to ignore the elephant in the room. Disney, a strongly conservative company refused to release “Fahrenheit 911” and once that film went to another company and raked in the big bucks there was immense controversy over Moore’s views (big surprise) and then came this. To anyone who denies this is a rebuttal to Moore’s documentary, they obviously can’t read between the lines. Disney stated publicly this was a positive portrait (so to speak) in response to Moore’s documentary plain and simple and wanted to portray America as a positive place aside from Moore’s more truthful portrait. After watching this in the two longest hours of my life, I wasn’t sure whether to put this under documentary or comedy, because if the makers of this film think this is what America is like, well then they’re grossly mis-informed and completely ignorant, and if they expect American audiences to believe this fairytale, then they’re grossly under-estimating the intelligence of American audiences.

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Super Size Me (2004)

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morgan-spurlock-mcdonaldsWhy did Spurlock pinpoint his attack on McDonald’s? Because it’s the most famous franchise in America, it’s everywhere and has paved its way into pop culture and our very daily activities, kids whom are interviewed here could not identify pictures of George Washington or Jesus Christ, but quickly identified Ronald McDonald, the McDonald’s mascot. But surely it’s also due to the lawsuits given to them from obese people who claimed their food affected their life. I bet you’re saying what I thought: “They ate the food, it’s all their fault”, and in some cases it’s true, but the fast food companies are to blame as well. Documentary director Morgan Spurlock attempts to prove the judges who claim there’s no proof fast food had any effects on the victim’s health, and brings to the table the message of the severity of fast food consumption by going on an all McDonald’s diet for thirty days.

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American Splendor (2003)

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“American Splendor” is the biographical film of cult underground critically acclaimed writer Harvey Pekar, a man whose become synonymous with underground comics. What “American Splendor” does is rare, rather than adhering the normal formulas of the biopic with dramatic tones, the obligatory villains and hardships, it’s approached rather with a realistic combination of comedy, drama, animation, and documentary style with interviews along with Pekar’s usual loving sense of self-loathing. “American Splendor” is a film rich with human overtones, and human characters that aren’t appealing to the eye, but are completely realistic.

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