It's revealing time

If you thought the 2005 Fantastic Four was the first and worst representation of the comic heroes on the silver screen you would be wrong on both accounts. Back in 1992 famed B-movie director Roger Corman took a stab at making a film about this superhero quartet. Though never officially released, version of the film have been leaked over the years to make it the stuff of legends. Now this cheesy, odd adaptation is getting new life in the form of a documentary about the making of the film and the curiosity behind it all these years later. Watch a trailer for the documentary below.

Tom thanks

Even though Seinfeld has been off the air for 15 years, the coffee shop that Jerry and the gang always went to remains a cultural icon and tourist hotspot. Now the eatery, known as Tom's Restaurant, is getting the spotlight turned on it with a new documentary. Here's an extended trailer to show you a glimpse of the history of the restaurant and its diners.

Fore play

As most network TV shows shift to reruns over the holiday season, you may be in need of some decent to watch. Might I recommend Netflix's first foray into documentary films. The Short Game chronicles the lives of several young children as they compete for a national golf tournament. In the vein of films like Spellbound, this seems like it could be a compelling story worth a look. Here's the trailer to see if it's for you.

Seeing things

Last year, a documentary called Room 237 generated some buzz by offering a Critical Theory approach to examining Stanley Kubrick's film, The Shining. The film posits several theories about hidden meanings supposedly embedded into the film. For fans of the horror film, this offered a tantalizing look into some potential conspiracy theories. If you're not familiar with this documentary, here's the trailer for it.




The reason why I mention Room 237 is because today a video was released for a film called Spook Central, which supposedly gives the same critical treatment to Ghostbusters. If this film is legit, I will be very excited to see it. However, there are some elements to it that suggest this is a hoax rather than the real deal. While the voiceovers in the trailer sound legit, the editing of the video clips is rather rough and unpolished. Then there's the fact that some websites are reporting that "Ivo Shandor" directed this film (Shandor was a character in the film) and yet the video shows Michael Beck as the director. Other names listed in the credits of the video are of people who are dead. So who knows what to think at this point. If it turns out to be bogus, it's still fun to watch and ponder if such a film could be made. Decide for yourself by watching the video below.

NMR: Everything or Nothing

Prior to the release of Skyfall last November, a documentary was released celebrating the world of James Bond in honor of the film franchise's 50th anniversary. The documentary is now available on Netflix Instant View which enables me a chance to finally see it. Given that this documentary did not receive a lot of fanfare or even a theatrical release made me worried that it would either be hatchet job or look cheap. Thankfully neither are true. I actually loved this depiction. While I certainly knew a lot of the information, I was pleasantly surprised that it did give insight into the franchise that I was not previously familiar with. It goes into a lot of detail about Albert Broccoli, the producer of the Bond films and his often contentious relationships with others associated with the films. We also get some insight from the various men who have played Bond. One of the things that struck me about their comments is that each of them, regardless of how long or successful their tenure was as 007 absolutely loved playing the role. You could tell that for each of them, this was more than just an acting job. The success of these films is nothing short of spectacular and you truly get a sense while watching this film as to how they've managed to keep the franchise alive all these years. Some of it was luck, but it also took a lot of talented people with a devotion to this character to constantly being driven to wanting to always make the best film possible. While Bond fans should absolutely check this out, I do think that those who don't care much for the series would still find the film interesting as well. Not too many franchises can say they've been around for a half century, so why not check out what make this one so unique. Rating: *****

NMR: Mansome

Directed by noted documentarian Morgan Spurlock (Super Size Me), this is a small film that explores the recent increase in grooming habits by men. Separated into several segments about what makes a man, the information is interesting even if the people always aren't. For instance, one segment explores beard and mustache competitions. The segment would have been much more engaging had the person they chose to follow didn't come off as such a pretentious douchebag. That unfortunately was a trend throughout the film. The narcissistic nature of the people that care so much about their looks was a turn off, even if I was interested the habits themselves. To counterbalance that, however, there were several talking head segments featuring a lot of comedians like Adam Carolla, Judd Apatow, and Zach Galifianakis to offer some levity to the topic. Best of all there are several interludes featuring Jason Bateman and Will Arnett, who also co-produced the film, attending a day spa while comedically discussing their own personal grooming habits. The subject matter is too slights for mass appeal, but if you enjoy Spurlock's work, you'll likely enjoy this film as well. Rating: *** 1/2

RBR: Bernie

From time to time, a movie comes along that gets undeservedly ignored by the masses and Bernie is one of them. The movie, directed by Richard Linklater, does a interesting documentary/mockumentary hybrid of a true story about a well-liked funeral director from a small town in Texas accused of murdering a mean old woman he befriended. Jack Black plays the funeral director and gives a terrific performance - probably his best since School of Rock, which coincidentally was also directed by Linklater. Shirley Maclaine is great as well playing the mean widow. You also have a fun performance from Matthew McConaughy, who plays the slick district attorney out to prove that Bernie is a fraud and a murderer. One of the best parts of this film is that they got real citizens from Carthage, Texas to do the talking head segments of the film. In doing so, you get a much greater sense of the true affinity these people had for Bernie and the cognitive dissonance they went through after he's accused of the murder. Between the unique nature of this crime story and the engaging performance, the film sucks you in immediately and you become equally invested in the outcome of this story. Please do yourself a favor and seek this one out at Redbox, Netflix, or on demand. I guarantee you won't be disappointed. Rating: ****1/2

Making an impact

This may not be popular amongst sports fans, especially with football ready to begin again, but Head Games, a documentary on concussions in sports, seems like it will be an important film everyone should see. Wrestling fans will also note the presence of former WWE superstar Christopher Nowinski in this film. Watch the trailer below.

Doc-topussy

From comingsoon.net:

MGM, Columbia Pictures, Passion Pictures and Red Box Films announced today their new feature documentary Everything or Nothing: The Untold Story of 007 directed by Stevan Riley (Fire in Babylon), produced by John Battsek (One Day in September, The Tillman Story) and Simon Chinn (Man on Wire, Project Nim) to coincide with the 50th anniversary of James Bond films on October 5. Country specific release plans to be announced shortly.

"Everything or Nothing" focuses on three men with a shared dream: Bond producers Albert R. Broccoli, Harry Saltzman and author Ian Fleming. It's the thrilling and inspiring narrative behind the longest running film franchise in cinema history which began in 1962. With unprecedented access both to the key players involved and to Eon Productions' extensive archive, this is the first time the inside story of the franchise has ever been told on screen in this way.

Director Stevan Riley follows a story that begins with a ground-breaking spy thriller and continues six Bonds and five decades later. While Bond was saving the world from chaos and catastrophe on screen, this compelling documentary draws back the curtain to reveal the battles, threats and real stakes unfolding behind the camera.

Hairy situation

Speaking of Arrested Development, two of its leads, Jason Bateman and Will Arnett, are producing and star in Morgan Spurlock's latest documentary, Mansome, which looks at what makes a man. Here's your first look at the trailer for the film.

Nerd alert!

Here's your first look at a documentary on the phenomenon known as Comic-Con, directed by Morgan Spurlock (Super Size Me).

RBR: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold

If there's one thing you can say about documentarian Morgan Spurlock it's that he's inventive in his approach to shed light on the world's problems. Whether he's gorging on McDonald's food for a month in Super Size Me or trying to get sponsors to pay for film about sponsorship as he does in this latest documentary. That inventiveness serves as a great hook to lure viewers in and keep them entertained for 90 minutes. However, it's also a narrative weakness as you find yourself leaving the theater feeling like you didn't really learn anything new. This is particularly true in Spurlock's latest as he gets too wrapped up in the cutsy idea of having his movie be paid for exclusively by corporate sponsors that he never really digs into the problems associated with the growing practice. The first part of the film is spent exploring his quest to finding sponsors, but since we've already been told, and most likely knew, how eager corporations are to have their brands inserted into films, it's an exercise in futility since we know he'll eventually find a willing partner. Occassionally the film begins to unravel something interesting - like how much control the corporation has over the content of a film once they've agreed to a deal with them - but it never digs deeper. Where the films lacks in substance in makes up for in Spurlock's amiable presence which allows the film to have a breezy feel, despite such a dirty subject. It's fun to see him not only discover a product exists that serves as shampoo for humans and horses alike, but to then also get them to cooperate in the making of this film. If you enjoy Spurlock's work, this is another fun adventure that you'll likely enjoy. Just don't expect to learn a whole lot once it's finished. Rating: *** 1/2

NMR: Conan O'Brien Can't Stop

So lo and behold after I just got done saying I probably wouldn't be doing anymore Netflix reviews since I switched to their streaming only package, they go ahead and add a new movie that I wanted to see to their Instant View catalog. The fact that I'm doing this review is probably the most positive thing that's happened to Netflix this week. Anyways, this is the documentary that chronicles Conan's concert tour that he put on during the time between when he was kicked off of The Tonight Show and before he got his current show on TBS. Near the end of the film, Conan remarks that what we're seeing is him in his rawest form and that's pretty accurate. By filming him at the lowest point of his career, we see all the reasons there was such a groundswell of support for him and we also see some of the reasons why his run on NBC ultimately turned into a failure. As a human being, Conan's incessant need to be 'on' often comes out in forms that are hurtful and humiliating to those around him. We see him frequently physically and verbally attacking his friends and staff. It can be a bit shocking, but you also sense that anyone that knows him, like his friends and staff would, know that this just comes with the territory. But we also see how that approach manifests itself into an unyielding effort to please all of his fans. The film goes to great lengths to show how Conan never refuses to meet and interact with the people that consist of 'Team Coco'. His devotion to his fans is impressive, but it's also frustrating as it relates to his comedic efforts of late. Both the content of the shows he did on this tour, as well as what he's doing on his new show seem to be self-indulgent and over-produced. None of it really seems to be for the fans or a natural offshoot of what they would enjoy. At times all of it feels as if we're now just the audience for one big therapy session to help him get through the fact that NBC dumped him. As a documentary, it's an interesting look into this particular time in his life, but also could have been better served by adding some additional commentary from outsider perspectives. Flaws aside, this is definitely worth a look for any Conan fans out there. Rating: ****