Tag: Documentary
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Virunga.
Documentaries don’t get rawer than Virunga. This is a real story of corruption, greed, death and determination. Amidst tensions over the country’s oil resources as well as a bloody civil war, we meet a select few, determined to protect Congo’s national park known as Virunga. We also encounter some of the last surviving mountain gorillas and those…
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A Dangerous Game.
Following the success of You’ve Been Trumped, Anthony Baxter returns to documentary with his follow up. When billionaire, and self described “business extraordinaire”, Donald Trump began to make his dream of building the world’s greatest golf course come true it was the residents of a small area in Aberdeenshire who were made to suffer. Destroying natural preservations…
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Doc of the Dead.
Alexandre O. Philippe is known for his documentary work that tends to focus of geek-culture. By taking items that are prominent in popular culture and analysing their success and their fandom, he has created several films that excellently discuss the role of the fan and ultimately the rise of the nerds and their interests. In George…
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The Act of Killing.
I have finally gotten around to watching Joshua Oppenheimer’s The Act of Killing, only a few days ago. A lot of the film reviews I write are written hours after seeing the films; I like to capture my gut reaction as much as possible. Yet, The Act of Killing has taken a while to sink in. I felt…
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Jesus Camp.
Regardless of the highly obvious position taken by the makers of Jesus Camp, I found myself getting increasingly angry about the subject at the heart of this film. This documentary looks at a particular American Christian summer camp on which young and, most importantly, highly impressionable children learn about the importance of dying for Christ and preparing…
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Blackfish.
Documentary is one of cinema’s most useful tools when it comes to uncovering injustice and fighting for what is right. Revealing hidden truths and bringing lies to the surface is the main intention of Gabriela Cowperthwaite’s Blackfish. Investigating the causes behind the tragic death of SeaWorld trainer Dawn Brancheau, the film strives to prove that the…
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Les Invisibles.
Sébastien Lifshitz’s documentary is frank and truthful. There is an honesty and a spirit that every individual shares, which carries through every story told and every soul who tells them. For a documentary it is rather long. At almost two hours in length, I was expecting parts of the film to drag. Yet, there is…
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This Is Spinal Tap.
Rob Reiner is responsible for some of the greatest American comedies of the nineteen eighties. When Harry Met Sally put a new and exciting spin on the romantic comedy and The Princess Bride approached family adventure in a fresh and intelligent way. Misery and Stand By Me demonstrate his skill as a director of serious…
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Religulous.
A documentary that explores religion, faith and human kind’s ability to believe or deceive ourselves when it comes to God, Religulous is a tricky film to even begin to review. The subject provokes strong reactions from almost all of us; whether atheist, agnostic or theist. Despite personal opinion and belief, the only way to analyse this film…
Hannah McHaffie 