Tag Archives: documentary

The Missing Picture (2013): Quick-shot review!

This is an Oscar-nominated documentary film with a twist – where the atrocities committed by the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia are illustrated through the medium of clay models. The Missing Picture (2013) is a special film, where director Rithy Panh creates his narrative through both clay models and archival footage to tell a very personal […]

I Know That Voice (2013): Quick-shot review!

A documentary about the people behind the voices that we know and love, I Know That Voice (2013, dir. Lawrence Shapiro) teaches its viewers about the art and careers of famous voice artists, such as John DiMaggio, Tara Strong, Seth Green, Hank Azaria, Nancy Cartwright, Jim Ward, and more. The documentary is broken up into […]

Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief (2015): Quick-shot review!

Also known as the documentary that launched a thousand lawsuits, HBO’s Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief (2015, dir. Alex Gibney) is based on a book of the same name by Lawrence Wright. This documentary, which has received a tidal wave of criticism from Church of Scientology members, details the questionable beginnings and […]

Cave of Forgotten Dreams (2010): Quick-shot review!

Acclaimed documentary filmmaker Werner Herzog immortalises the paleolithic Chauvet Cave paintings in Cave of Forgotten Dreams (2010), a documentary that showcases and explores the oldest cave paintings ever discovered, located in Southern France. The paintings in the cave have been dated back to as early as 32,000 BCE, making them very extraordinary indeed. They contain […]

Finding Vivian Maier (2013): “In death she is getting the fame she never had in life.”

Imagine finding a huge stash of undeveloped photo negatives with very mysterious origins. What would you do? In Finding Vivian Maier (2013), director John Maloof tells of how he discovered thousands of negatives shot by the secretive hoarder Vivian Maier – a nanny, a self-proclaimed spy, and all-around intriguing personality – and documents the process […]

Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father (2008): “I set off on a quest to bring a man back to life.”

If you are considering watching Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father (2008, dir. Kurt Kuenne), then prepare for one of the most emotionally destroying films of recent times. Dear Zachary chronicles the true story of director Kurt Kuenne’s best friend Andrew Bagby, who was murdered. Kuenne makes the decision to memorialise […]

Stanley Kubrick’s Boxes (2008): “The closer you get to an enigma, the more explicable it becomes.”

A quirky and interesting short documentary, Stanley Kubrick’s Boxes (2008) is directed and hosted by famed journalist Jon Ronson. A synopsis: A few years after his death, the widow of Stanley Kubrick (1928-1999) asks Jon Ronson to look through the contents of about 1,000 boxes of meticulously sorted materials Kubrick left. Ronson finds that most […]

Project Nim (2011): Quick-shot review!

A documentary about a chimp with a puntastic name, Project Nim (2011, dir. James Marsh) chronicles the life and academic study of one Nim Chimpsky. Nim the chimpanzee was taken from his mother at birth and transplanted into the family of well-to-do academics in order to be raised in the manner of a human child. […]

Katy Perry: Part of Me (2012): Quick-shot review!

Before I get into the guts of this review, I firstly have to confess – I’m not actually a Katy Perry fan. But I do generally really like band/concert documentaries, so when this film appeared on my television screen out of nowhere I was intrigued enough to watch the whole thing. Katy Perry: Part of […]

Jodorowsky’s Dune (2013): “This movie has to be just like I dream it.”

Frank Herbert’s Dune is one of the most famous and groundbreaking science fiction novels of all time, and has a tumultuous film history. The story is quite complex, with thousands of years of history and lore to communicate, and an expansive story to fit its sweeping, bleak landscape. David Lynch attempted to translate it into […]