Instant Netflix

The Academy Awards nominations were announced this week. None of the nominees are available yet on Netflix streaming except for two of the movies nominated for Best Documentary. The other three nominated documentary  films are Undefeated, Pina and Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory. I hope Netflix adds the others soon, particularly Paradise Lost 3 as it was instrumental in freeing three accused murderers. The two nominees currently available are:

Hell and Back Again (2011) – NR

“In this unvarnished documentary set on the Afghan front line, U.S. Marine Sgt. Nathan Harris is wounded by Taliban machine-gun fire, then returns to his North Carolina home to grapple with the stress of civilian life.”

If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front (2011) – NR

“Filmmakers Marshall Curry and Sam Cullman examine the case of Daniel McGowan, a member of the radical environmental group Earth Liberation Front who was arrested for committing arson against two Oregon timber companies. Dissecting ELF’s self-described use of “economic sabotage” to stop deforestation and other damage to the planet, the film also explores the ramifications of the FBI’s decision to classify them as terrorists.”

This is Geometry week. The Thin Blue Line is currently available on instant Netflix.

WATCH: The Thin Blue Line (1988) – NR – Not rated

“Filmmaker Errol Morris gripping investigation into the murder of a Dallas police officer was responsible for freeing the man who was originally — and erroneously — charged with and convicted of the crime. Through archival footage, interviews and reenactments, Morris skillfully makes a case for the innocence of a man who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Widely acclaimed, this breakthrough documentary won numerous awards.”

“Prosecutors in Dallas have said for years – any prosecutor can convict a guilty man. It takes a great prosecutor to convict an innocent man.”

“The man you see before you is here by the grace of God. The fact that it took 12 and a half years and a movie to prove my innocence should scare the hell out of everyone in this room and if it does not, then that scares the hell out of me.” – Randall Dale Adams

“Texas is putting in a Death Penalty Express Lane.” – Ron White (not from this movie but quite relevant).

Wow. Just Wow.

There is so much to say about this movie. I would rate this film “Watch” just for the simple fact that this movie got someone unjustly convicted of murder freed.

While there were certainly plenty of documentaries before this, Errol Morris is the founder of the modern documentary. This movie paved the way for pretty much every true crime show on television.

Errol Morris originally intended to do a documentary on Dr. Grigson aka The Killer Shrink aka Dr. Death. Dr. Grigson was a professional testifier for the prosecution. He was the go-to guy in Texas if you wanted to get the death penalty.

During interviews, Morris had doubts about the guilt of Randall Dale Adams and made a documentary about his case instead.

I have to admit that while I wholeheartedly recommend this documentary, it is filmed in a slightly confusing manner. The most important thing that it lacks are the on-screen subtitles that identify the person speaking.

Errol Morris spent two and a half years making this film. He has interviews from almost everyone involved with the case – not just those whose point of view he agreed with.

The amount of evidence that David Harris and not Randall Dale Adams committed the crime is simply amazing. David Harris was 16 at the time and ineligible for the death penalty so they prosecuted Randall Dale Adams and did indeed give him the death penalty.

Randall came as close as three days away from being executed.

To show you how justice in Texas works is unbelievably scary. The Texas court of appeals upheld the verdict on a 9-0 vote. It went to the U.S. Supreme Court where they declared the case a mistrial by a vote of 8 to 1. The prosecutor viewed this as a 10-8 vote supporting him.

Not only that but rather than hold a new trial, Governor Bill Clements commuted the sentence to life imprisonment thus negating the U.S. Supreme Court verdict. So basically when it is clearly pointed out that the Texas Judicial System has committed an egregious error, they chose to sweep the whole thing under the rug.

It kind of gives “Dont mess with Texas” a whole new meaning.

The documentary ends with a chilling interview with David Harris. For those who want to know what happened after the documentary ends:

After the film was released and became somewhat of an embarrassment to Texas, the Court of Appeals again reviewed the Adams case and this time *surprise* they found that prosecutor Douglas D. Mulder was guilty of malfeasance and that a witness had given perjured testimony. They overturned the verdict. In March of 1989, Randall Dale Adams was released from prison and is now *also surprise* an anti-death penalty activist.

David Harris, the most likely suspect in the killing, was on Death row for a separate killing at the end of the film (1988). He was executed on June 30, 2004 by lethal injection.

There is no better definition of ungrateful than this. After Morris essentially caused Adams to be released from prison, Adams decided that he really should not have signed away the rights to his story and took Morris to court. They settled out of court and Adams was granted “sole use of anything written or made on the subject of his life”.

This film was not even considered for a documentary Academy Award because portions of it were scripted. Poor Errol Morris just could not win. He has made several documentaries and I have enjoyed all of them. He finally won the Oscar for The Fog of War and while The Fog of War was good, it felt like it was the Oscar that was “owed” to him.

I highly recommend this important and extremely scary film.

This is Nazis Gone Wild! week. The Goebbels Experiment is currently available on instant Netflix.

PASS: The Goebbels Experiment (2005) – NR – Not rated.

“Reading from the diaries kept by Third Reich propagandist Joseph Goebbels between 1924 and 1945, Kenneth Branagh brings the infamous Nazi spin doctor to life, all the way up to his suicide at the end of World War II. Using this primary source material as their canvas, filmmakers Lutz Hachmeister and Michael Kloft paint a portrait of a 20th century figure who was sometimes a success, sometimes a failure and always fascinating.”

First let me state that this film is far scarier than Dead Snow. As one would expect from the diaries of Joseph Goebbels, there is an abundance of xenophobia, anti-Semitism and anti-Communism. Just listening to the excerpts of his diaries pre-war makes me very uncomfortable.

Goebbels is also thrilled that Max Schmeling beat Joe Louis in 1936. He does not even refer to Louis by name. He calls him the Negro and the black man.

Lutz Hachmeister not only directed but co-wrote and co-produced The Goebbels Experiment. He does an excellent job of pairing appropriate footage with each diary entry. With the very brief exception of a few modern color outdoor shots, the entire film is composed of vintage clips and stills.

Goebbels naturally comes across as supremely self-important. Every good decision was his and every bad one was one that he had argued against.

Hachmeister does omit a lot that is puzzling. The 1936 fight between Schmeling and Louis is covered but not the 1938 rematch. The annexation of the Sudetenland is not even mentioned nor is Neville Chamberlain (except in a late comparison to Churchill).

It seems like one moment they are covering the 1936 Olympics (though no mention of Jesse Owens) and Leni Riefenstahl and then *poof* World War II.

The invasion of Russia is covered. Even though the pre-war American economy is mentioned, their entry into the war is not. Neither is Japan mentioned.

We also jump from 1941 to 1943. Were there no interesting events in the intervening year and a half?

The “Jewish question” is only mentioned tangentially yet for Goebbels this occupied a large part of his time and effort. In point of fact this actually seems to be what is missing in the 1942 segment.

The documentary ends with the suicide of Goebbels on May 1st but this is not stated in any way. They simply show the bodies of Goebbels, his wife and children.

This documentary is fascinating and I recommend it highly for those deeply interested in the subject. Unfortunately, the focus is too narrow and erratic to recommend it in general.

People Watch: While Kenneth Branagh narrated the English version, the original was narrated by noted German actor Udo Samel.

This is Weapons of Mass Destruction week. The Atomic Cafe is currently available on instant Netflix.

WATCH: The Atomic Cafe (1982) – NR – Not rated.

“A chilling and often hilarious reminder of Cold War-era paranoia in the United States, this film artfully compiles newsreel footage, government archives, military training films and 1950s music into a singular cinematic experience. Also covered are Washingtons Communist witch hunt, the historic trial of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, and the sagely prophetic comments of President Dwight D. Eisenhower.”

“Be sure to include tranquilizers to ease the strain and monotony of life in a fallout shelter. A bottle of 100 should be sufficient for a family of four. Tranquilizers are not a narcotic, and are not habit-forming.”

“To find out who is American and who is a low-down Red.”

“Watched from a distance, this is one of the most beautiful sights known to man.”

WOW! The footage in this documentary is simply amazing. The awe-inspiring atomic blast footage is interspersed with vintage interviews, horrific aftermath video and absolutely hilarious cold war propaganda.

The Atomic Cafe begins with onscreen text describing the setting of the pre-atomic era. They then show, without narration or interview, footage of the Alamagordo testing. For the most part, the rest of the film follows chronologically.

Devastating video of the Nagasaki destruction is played while vintage comedians joke over how big the blast was. There is vintage footage and audio of the Rosenbergs and descriptions of their execution.

On the humorous side, we have the requisite duck and cover footage. There is a homemade radiation suit (now with shredded lead to absorb those atomic rays!). Do not miss the radioactive tuna fish!

The audio is as much of a delight as the video. There are innumerable small interviews from the eras depicted (no modern interviews) and they are often played with video directly contradicting the audio statements. The soundtrack of vintage songs, many of the political and jingoistic, are hysterical.

Video quality, as should be expected, is all over the map but is generally very good. A lot of the source material appears to have been cleaned up to the extent it can.

I highly recommend this absolutely fascinating look at the dawn of the nuclear age. The directors craft this film without any additional commentary – all audio, video, stills, and music are vintage.

People Watch: Look for a cornucopia of our previous Presidents in archival footage.

In honor of the wonderful present my wife gave me, I am featuring giant things this week. The Giant Buddhas is currently available on instant Netflix.

WATCH: The Giant Buddhas (2005) – NR – Not rated (I did not notice any objectionable content).

“Christian Frei”s documentary traces the tragic tale of the giant Buddhas of Afghanistan”s Bamiyan Valley, which stood as monumental landmarks for 1,500 years until 2001, when the Taliban declared that all non-Islamic statues in the country be destroyed. Despite international protest, the statues were blown up. Through interwoven narratives from past and present, Frei”s film sheds light on the disturbing consequences of religious fanaticism.”

“Everything changes. Nothing remains.” – Buddha

No this is not a movie about giant Buddha statues attacking people. Sadly it is a documentary about the reverse. The Giant Buddhas covers the destruction of two 1500 year old Buddhas by the Taliban in 2001.

While the documentary is well worth watching there are a number of problems with it. The narrator”s voice drones on in a passionless monotone which saps some of the life from the film. When the English narrator isn”t speaking then we are listening to people speak in Arabic, Cantonese, French and other languages with a ton of subtitles so be prepared to do a LOT of reading.

The Giant Buddhas attempts to cover way too much ground. There is enough material for a week”s worth of documentaries. We cover not only the destruction of the Buddhas but also a reconstruction in China, the history of the Buddhas, the history of the Buddhas as viewed by Westerners, an extremely courageous Arabic journalist, the archaeological dig trying to find the third (reclining) Buddha, people who live in the caves between the Buddhas, and more.

Part of the problem I think is that the director is also the producer and editor. This could definitely have used a guiding hand and a jettisoning of some of the other stories. Daily Afghan life is very fascinating as are a number of the other stories but it appears that the director couldn”t quite decide what story he wanted to tell.

The final portion of the film is Nelofer Pazira”s (a female journalist) journey to the niches that housed the Buddhas. Those images are very depressing.

At one point we””re watching Nelofer riding down a road next to a hardscrabble stream. She asks the driver, “Are there mines along the banks?” Can you imagine living in a world where you would have to ask that? Keep in mind that that is also the people””s main source of water.

I recommend watching this movie simply for the subject matter. It is a great shame that these statues were destroyed. It is also a great shame that this documentary is so unfocused.

People Watch: Director Christian Frei was nominated for an Oscar for his documentary War Photographer.

Our finale for video games are bad for you week is the documentary Second Skin. Second Skin is currently available on instant Netflix.

WATCH: Second Skin (2008) – NR – this movie is not rated. It contains a fair amount of language and some description of bodily functions.

“This documentary showcases how computer games’ virtual worlds are transforming the lives of ordinary people, profiling a couple who fall in love online, a man addicted to playing games for hours on end and a tight-knit Indiana gaming community. Juan Carlos Pineiro-Escoriaza directs this riveting film that looks at video game culture and features interviews with players, designers, psychologists and critics.”

What this documentary lacks in depth (a lot), it makes up for in breadth. Many of the badly photoshopped images they use are hilarious. They use many shots from Everquest II and World of Warcraft but they turn the characters into paper cutouts.

The central thread is a budding romance between two players. In addition to that one of the topics covered is online romance. While fascinating, romance is an absolutely miniscule portion of game and social dynamics.

A much more interesting topic would have been how every girl in gaming gets hit on massively (pardon the pun). One of the sayings in a former guild was, ‘omg it’s a girl! get on vent! get on vent!’. Vent is a program for talking online.

One topic covered is the subject of guilds. Guilds are social organizations of players in game. The focus, albeit briefly, is on the giant guild, The Syndicate. They also cover the excitement of release day for The Burning Crusade, World of Warcraft’s first expansion.

Director Juan Carlos Pineiro-Escoriaza does try to show some of the effects of obsession. Unfortunately his example of obsession, Dan, is not very erudite. In the interviews he doesn’t come across so much as someone whose life was ruined by online gaming as he does someone who had problems and blamed World of Warcraft for them.

I say unfortunately because an entire documentary on online gaming obsession could be quite good. It is something that very obviously happens and most gamers are cognizant of that fact. In fact the term ‘spouse aggro’ is almost universally known among gamers.

The ‘therapist’ Liz that Dan goes to is almost cringeworthy.  She is labeled the founder of online gamers anonymous. She tries to portray herself as being a tough love counselor but comes across more as a whiny opportunist than anything else. Then 2/3 of the way through the documentary, the director drops a bomb that explains a lot about Liz.

Yet still another topic covered are the economics of games like World of Warcraft. As with the topic of obsession, an entire documentary could be made on this subject. They put together a poor man’s Power Point presentation to accompany interviews illustrating Chinese gold farmers.

I am glad that they touch on the help that online communities provide to the physically disabled. A number of the players I know online have various physical issues that make normal socialization problematic.

While Everquest and other online games are mentioned, the overall focus of the documentary is World of Warcraft.

I’m giving this a Watch recommendation because I know of no other online gaming documentaries. This is a very interesting look at one of my family’s hobbies. My wife, daughter, father-in-law and some real life friends play World of Warcraft. Just don’t expect any of the topics to be covered in depth.

People Watch: Someone claiming to be Dan states that his story was taken out of context in a review on imdb. Here is an excerpt.

“They know damn well that part about suicide was because I was being manipulated by Liz which i went out of my way on several occasions to make corrections of the statements said in the first interview. As for the urinating in bottles they edit out the interviews why I urinated in a bottle because of a broken back and edit in that it was because I was glued to the computer playing WoW. The part about Liz speaking about me seeking legal action they did not include that she made sexual advances to me which was the main reason to I seek legal action. Instead they portray her as a nice old lady when in fact she’s a domineering juggernaut.”

Okay a late posting due to some issues. This is video games are bad for you week. The King of Kong is currently available on instant Netflix.

WATCH: The King of Kong – A Fistful of Quarters – Rated PG-13 for a brief sexual reference.

“When Steve Wiebe got laid off, he turned to the classic arcade game Donkey Kong for solace; soon, he decided to challenge Billy Mitchell’s long-standing record score. So began the bitter rivalry that lies at the heart of this curiously compelling documentary. Providing a history of competitive video gaming and a look at some of the key players, The King of Kong is at its best when revealing just how far Mitchell will go to retain his crown.”

“Work is for people who can’t play video games.”

Referencing Guinness – “Some people sort of ruin their lives to be in there”

This is an absolutely marvelous David vs. Goliath story. Actually it may be a bit more analogous to the original Rocky (in spite of being a documentary).

Steve Wiebe, our Rocky Balboa of video gaming, is a really likable schlub. He is really just an average joe who found his niche at Donkey Kong. His wife is clearly long-suffering for her husband’s obsession. I think the really impressive bit is that Steve Wiebe continues to try even after it is proven that he has to play at a handicap

Billy Mitchell is the Apollo Creed character. He is the top videogame player and is amazingly egotistical especially for someone who hasn’t broken a public record in decades. He simply submits tapes of his scores. He is also an official referee. Can you imagine in the Super Bowl if the Colts’ Peyton Manning could also decide if there were flags on the play?

In spite of Billy Mitchell being portrayed (accurately) as the villain, the real villain sadly appears to be Walter Day. He is the self-titled World’s Video Game referee. He has worked tirelessly to promote video gaming – especially arcade gaming and high score tracking.

Unfortunately Walter Day saw and appreciated Billy Mitchell’s endless and completely shameless self-promotion. As a result of this and the egregious error of having record holders also be referees, Billy Mitchell’s claims of various scores are simply accepted while any claimant to Billy’s records is subject to an unbelievable amount of scrutiny and rejection for any reason.

I do find Billy Mitchell’s antics quite funny as, even though it’s a common name, Billy Mitchell was the name of one of the bullies in my junior high school. WARNING NERD ALERT In college our two dungeonmasters were Billy and Mr. Mitchell. My wife and I met playing Dungeons & Dragons.

There is implied rampant cheating on high scores which really renders them moot (with the exception of public scores). It is clear, in spite of some backtracking late in the film, that there are two sets of rules for the world records. It is a shame that the Guinness Book of World Records uses Day’s Twin Galaxies as their resource for video gaming.

As an avid 80s arcade player, I highly recommend this slice of nerdvana. While a classic underdog story, the documentary also covers an interesting microcosm of society. Director Seth Gordon also does a wonderful job with the end credits so if you enjoyed the film be sure to stay through until the very end.

People Watch: Director Seth Gordon fudges a few things in this documentary. He tells a few things out of order for dramatic impact. A third party also (briefly) held the official Donkey Kong high score during the span of time covered in the film.