Tag: documentary

  • Movie Pass Adventures: Secret Mall Apartment and A Minecraft Movie.

    Secret Mall Apartment

    Two people in the secret mall apartment
    Two people sit on a couch in the Secret Mall Apartment

    Secret Mall Apartment starts out looking like it’s documenting an art prank, but it builds into discussions of gentrification, creativity, relationships, and why people make art. They definitely gloss over some rough patches; all the participants are still alive and get interviewed, but they never get any of them in the same space at the same time (or even on the phone), which makes it feel like there was some tension that split them apart. No surprise there- Some of them have the big energy you’d expect from a group of artistic folks, and big energies cause disruptions of relationships.

    I tried a few different ideas for fake posters, but finally gave in to the inevitable Blartiness.

    A poster for Secret Mall Apartment based on the poster for Paul Blart Mall Cop.

    A Minecraft Movie

    Partial images of four members of the cast of A Minecraft Movie.
    Jack Black as Steve in A Minecraft Movie.

    This was a “I don’t really care about this but my students want me to see it” movie. How bored was I? Well, I went in the late morning after a full night’s sleep, and still ended up dozing for a bit in the middle. I didn’t feel like I missed anything, even though they were talking about a character dying during my nap. I just thought “That guy’s not really dead; he’ll pop up at a crucial moment and save someone.” Maybe I would have been more amused if I played the game, but a movie that only works if you know the references is a movie that doesn’t work. My favorite scenes:Jennifer Coolidge’s romance b-plot.

    This poster is really just me slapping images on top of the original, but it works for me!

    A poster for A Minecraft Movie that's a lazy reworking of the poster for The Craft
    I should have given them feet. Oh, well.

    Fediverse reactions

  • Classic Movie Adventures: Man With A Movie Camera (1929)

    A man with a movie camera from Man With A Movie Camera.
    Man With A Movie Camera in a glass of beer.

    This is the most literal interpretation of documentary I’ve ever watched. It’s roughly grouped together by themes, but there’s no story. It’s mostly an excuse for wandering around Russia and finding cool things to film in innovative ways.

    There are many versions of this movie floating around. Fandango has a particularly janky print. Look for the restored version (I watched it on Kanopy).

    My first thoughts for the parody poster were a couple of Bond movies, The Man With the Golden Gun and From Russia With Love, but I didn’t want to jump back into Bond after the Goldfinger/The Italian Job mashup, so I went another way. It came out better than I expected.

    A poster for Man with a Movie Camera parodying the poster for Requiem for a Dream.
    Fediverse reactions

  • Movie (without a) Pass Adventures: The World According to Allee Willis

    Holy crap, Allee Willis did everything! If you don’t know who she is- I sure didn’t- this whole documentary is full of “wait- she also did THAT?” moments. You’ve heard the pop music she wrote (starting with Earth, Wind & Fire’s “September”). You’ve seen the art she created. You know the musical she did the music for. She was an early champion of Internet art and digital creativity for all. I can’t even estimate how much of the pop culture of my childhood originated in her brain.

    This documentary also has a huge advantage: Willis constantly documented what she was doing. Photos, audio, video, extensive notes; if there was a way to keep a record, she did it. It’s an unabashed celebration of her bonkers life, and it’s crazy fun.

  • Movie Pass Adventures: Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story

    Super/Man movie bar

    This is DC Studios’ first official release, but it’s also from the CNN documentary division, and CNN’s documentaries can be pretty fawning. This one is, but it also actually lets Christopher Reeve have some flaws, which is refreshing. Reeve and his family had some impressive hardships and triumphs, and I’m a sucker for inspirational music in general (and the John Williams Superman theme in particular) so it was often effective at making me feel what humans call “emotions.”

    Not bad, but I wish it wasn’t cut with obvious spaces to insert commercial breaks.