// Category Archive for: Documentaries

Blu-Ray Review: 20,000 Days On Earth

By Brad Henderson

Nick Cave: That name is all you have to say in order to get someone’s attention rather quickly. Nick Cave is The Man among men and a God among musicians.

One person that knows this is Nick Cave.

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DVD Review: Wrestling With Satan

By Jeffery X Martin

One of the fascinating things about Christianity is you can do anything and call it a ministry. Hand puppets. Being a clown. Fixing cars. Shaving. Do it in the name of Jesus Christ, and it is a fully sanctioned activity done for the benefit of the Church Universal.

It makes sense, therefore, that there could be a professional wrestling ministry. The documentary Wrestling with Satan spotlights a six-year period in the history of the Christian Wrestling Federation (CWF). Led by the charismatic Rob Vaughn, who performs under the name “Jesus Freak,” the CWF is an actual independent wrestling company. His stable of wrestlers is highly trained and works well in the ring. Wrestling fans will appreciate the fact that the only special feature on the disc is comprised of seven bonus matches.

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DVD Review: Very Extremely Dangerous

By Melissa Bratcher

Some people are born to be rock stars. Jerry McGill was one of them. He was talented, devilishly handsome, and had the kind of charisma that can’t be faked. He recorded a single for Sun Records, and it was a minor hit in 1959.

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Blu-Ray Review: The Dog

By Brad Henderson

Just about everything Drafthouse Films has put out has been worth my time. . . so far. Their releases have been top-notch, from contemporary films to older titles. After seeing The Act Of Killing (review) I was anxious to see their next documentary acquisition. Now Drafthouse Films has released The Dog, about the “mastermind” behind the bank robbery on which the movie Dog Day Afternoon is based. We are introduced to the creepy, perverted, and overly annoying John Wojtowicz who also goes by The Dog, but I prefer to call him “asshole.”

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TAD Film Fest Review: Why Horror?

By Less Lee Moore

Why Horror? is for every person who’s been mocked for loving everything encompassed within horror film fandom. Horror writer and hardcore fan Tal Zimerman is the subject of this documentary from Nicholas Kleiman and Rob Lindsay that explores why people are drawn to one of the more maligned, misunderstood genres in popular culture.

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Movie Review: Super Duper Alice Cooper

By Tyler Hodg

Not only is school out, but so is the latest offering from director and massive metal head Sam Dunn (Metal: A Headbanger’s Journey, Global Metal). His new film, Super Duper Alice Cooper documents the rise to fame of Vincent Furnier—better known as Alice Cooper—and the fall from grace that saw him hitting absolute rock bottom. Unapologetic and honest, Super Duper Alice Cooper painfully recollects the trials and tribulations of one of the most notorious bad boys in rock’n’roll, as well as the band that helped transform him into the character that everyone came to know.

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Blu-Ray Review: Made In America

By Brad Henderson

Made In America is a small documentary made by Ron Howard about a very diverse concert put together by Jay-Z. Pearl Jam, RUN DMC, Skrillex, and many more deliver a wonderful concert but a subpar documentary.

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Movie Review: Every Everything: The Music, Life, And Times Of Grant Hart

By Chelsea Spear

At first glance, the afterlife of Hüsker Dü illustrates the cliché “History is written by the winners.” In the quarter-century since the legendary power trio disbanded, drummer and co-songwriter Grant Hart frequently gets depicted as a hapless figure whose drug problems and personal woes overshadow his considerable creative efforts. Every Everything, director Gorman Bechard’s latest documentary, shines a light both on Hart’s heyday and his surprisingly eclectic post-Dü career.

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DVD Review: Don’t Ask Me Questions: The Unsung Life of Graham Parker and The Rumour

By Jeffery X Martin

Read Cait Brennan’s interview with Graham Parker.

At the end of the Seventies, a British gas station attendant, who was also a musician, got his record played on the radio. The next day, he had a contract offer from a major record label. Overnight success? A Cinderella story? Not quite.

The Kickstarter-backed documentary Don’t Ask Me Questions chronicles the rise, fall, and rise of Graham Parker and the Rumour, a band whose contemporaries included Elvis Costello and Squeeze. Their big US hit was “Local Girls,” one of the earliest videos to be played on MTV.

When their first album, Howling Wind, came out in 1976, the critical acclaim was instant and practically universal. They were widely regarded as the best live act in Britain. That doesn’t necessarily lead to stellar album sales, though, and as Parker says, “Everything was just a bit off.”

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DVD Review: The Punk Singer

By Brad Henderson

Kathleen Hanna was my dream girl growing up. It all started when I went to a record store and found a copy of Reject All American by Bikini Kill. I had no clue what it was but the cover intrigued me. I gave it a shot because it only had a 99-cent price tag.

I left the store with a few CDs that day (mostly punk) and listened to them throughout the rest of the week, but that night I popped that one in and it did a number on me. First, it sounded completely badass. It was raw and ferocious. The lyrics were well thought out and this girl singer was not fucking around. Between “Rebel Girl” and “Statement of Vindication,” this was the best album that I’d heard in years. I immediately found out who Kathleen Hanna was and tracked down everything she put her hands into.

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