Doc Watch: They Shall Not Grow Old (2018)

Watched:  01/21/2019
Format:  Fathom Events at Arbor Cinema
Viewing:  First
Decade:  2010s

It's fascinating to see Peter Jackson turn his eye for detail and technical achievement to the discipline of documentary film-making.  In many ways, They Shall Not Grow Old (2018) could herald a new era of popular documentary as important as the narrative innovations of Ken Burns, which have become the de facto mode for serious historical documentary for those of us who watch PBS.  Frankly, from an historical/ accuracy perspective, I have a *lot* of quibbles with Jackson's approach - but we'll get to that after praising his achievements.

Doc Watch: Fyre - the Greatest Party That Never Happened (2019)

Watched:  01/21/2019
Format:  Netflix
Viewing:  First
Decade:  2010's

(late edit: shortly after posting my initial, pretty visceral reaction to the doc, I got some new info that will show up later in the post.  It's always nice to feel less crazy.  And certainly learning what I did colors and informs literally everything about the doc.  Basically - it may be somewhat true, but it's also deeply skewed and can't be seen as having any journalistic integrity.

While I recommend reading this post first - and watching the Netflix doc first - the post on the Hulu Doc is here.)

I'm no commie, but few things leave me wanting to declare "let's just eat the rich" like the film I just finished.  And not just the subject matter they covered, but the way in which the filmmakers themselves covered it.

The lack of ability to reflect and look at the *source* of the issues around the notorious Fyre Festival is probably the weirdest part of watching Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened (2019), the Netflix documentary that's been grabbing headlines.

At the end of the day, I'm just left thinking:

PODCAST: "Thor: The Dark World" (2013) - Avengers Chronological Countdown 8, w/ Jamie and Ryan

Watched:  01/04/2019
Format:  Amazon Streaming
Viewing:  3rd
Decade:  2010's

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Jamie and Ryan finally get to - and keep it short - as they slog through the second installment of the Thor trilogy of films "The Dark World", which we thought was "Into Darkness", which was not the only "Star Trekkian" business we saw in this mess of a film that no one remembers and fewer people care about.
 

Avengers Chronological Countdown Playlist

MST3K Watch: Lords of the Deep (1989)

Watched:  01/18/2019
Format:  MST3K on Netflix
Viewing:  First
Decade:  1980's

A mash-up of The Abyss and every space station movie you've ever seen, with terrible acting, hilariously bad lighting and direction, set-design right out of a high school play and your two leads played by "that guy" from 1970's television and Felix's wife who gets killed early on in License to Kill.  And some adorably bad puppets.

The courage it took to make this on the heels of The Abyss is just... man...

Noir Watch: Lured (1947)

Watched:  01/17/2019
Format:  Noir Alley on TCM on DVR
Viewing:  First
Decade:  1940s

Anything with Lucille Ball pre-I Love Lucy is a weird watch.

I do not know what to do with Sexy Lucy.

Talking Heads Watch: True Stories (1986)

Watched:  01/15/2019
Format:  Criterion BluRay
Viewing:  6th or 7th
Decade:  1980's

PODCAST! "Valerie and Her Week of Wonders" (1970) - It's a "New to me" extravaganza with AmyC and Ryan

Watched:  01/06/2019
Format:  Amazon Streaming
Viewing:  First
Decade:  1970
Country of Origin:  Czechoslovakia

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We welcome you to join Ryan as he bears witness to a "new to him" movie as Amy brings a 1970 film from former Eastern bloc nation, Czechoslovakia! A meditation and tone poem on the transition from girlhood to womanhood - forces internal and external, allegorical and real, secular and religious. Vampires, live human bonfires, magical earrings and a polecat.

This movie has everything.





Music:
The Magic Yard - Luboš Fišer, Valerie and Her Week of Wonders OST


AmyC Cinema Select Series

Catching Up Watch: Ocean's 8 (2018)

Watched:  01/11/2019
Format:  Airplane
Viewing:  first
Decade: 2010

I dunno, guys.

Catching-Up Watch: BlackkKlansman (2018)

Watched:  01/08/2018
Format:  Airplane screen
Viewing  First
Decade:  2010's

PODCAST! Marvel Watch! "Iron Man 3" w/ Jamie and Ryan

watched:  01/02/2019
Format:  Amazon streaming
Viewing:  5th?
Decade: 2010's


We hit the post "Avengers" doldrums with Iron Man 3, a box office smash that just sorta, kinda works. Jamie and Ryan take a look the final Iron Man stand-alone movie and talk about how it fits in, how it didn't do what they wanted it to do, and seasonal superheroics.





Avengers Chronological Countdown