ASSORTED

BOX OF DOCS:

THE 3rd MONDAY

This post is part of an ongoing series and follows these:

http://almostentertainment.blogspot.com/2021/05/assorted-box-of-docs-1st-monday.html

http://almostentertainment.blogspot.com/2021/05/assorted-box-of-docs-2nd-monday.html

Here is this week’s batch of documentary recommendations.

What starts off as a pretty standard profile of a four year old prodigy ends up being a fascinating examination of perception, deception and the moral quandaries behind documentary filmmaking itself.

The life and times of the late great Marvin Hamlisch, whose charming late-in-life love story causes the third act to unfold like a rom-com.

A time capsule of the drag scene in 1980s New York City, covering everything from balls to voguing to the dreamers who made this movement as spectacular and significant as it was.

An unflinching indictment of the fur industry, animal testing and the like.

Behind the scenes of the San Diego Comic-Con. Thankfully, it pays equal attention to all aspects of the convention, from job opportunities to competitive cosplay to sharing moments with your idols. This is a love letter to the ones usually writing the love letters.

An honest-to-a-fault, melancholy rundown of the Rossellini family tree by an inside man: Roberto’s grandson, Alessandro Rossellini, whose earnest yet flawed approach is refreshing and charming.

Shows what rats are up to across the globe, from infesting New York City to being revered in an Indian Temple… and than some.

Delightful look at the world’s greatest crossword puzzlers, who might not realize how endearing (and humorous) their passion and intensity can be.

Both a biography of Alcoholics Anonymous co-founder Bill Wilson and an exploration of the current AA experience.

Basically an assembly of B-roll footage that didn’t make the final “Grey Gardens” cut. Therefore it should be a little dull, except these Beales are anything but.

A complete look at Ruth Bader Ginsberg’s extraordinary life and career, mostly told in her own wonderful words.

Fly-on-the-wall look at making a “South Park” episode. The crew’s unconventional tactics are as entertaining as the show they’re scrambling to make, but this is worth it for the peek inside Parker’s process alone - he truly is a marvellous anomaly.

FAVOURITE MOVIES

NUMBER FOUR.

a countdown

This post is a follow-up to these:

http://almostentertainment.blogspot.com/2021/04/my-top-100.html

http://almostentertainment.blogspot.com/2021/04/tupperware.html

http://almostentertainment.blogspot.com/2021/05/favourite-movies-number-three.html

My ‘500 Favourite Movies’ list grows…

295. The Americanization of Emily (1964)

294. Eyes Wide Shut (1999)

293. The Shop Around the Corner (1940)

292. The Rider (2017)

291. Caged (1950)

290. Live From New York: The First 5 Years of Saturday Night Live (2005)

289. Three Smart Girls (1936)

288. Ticket to Heaven (1981)

287. Titanic (1997)

286. Shortbus (2006)

285. Crazy Heart (2009)

284. Jazz on a Summer’s Day (1959)

283. The Virgin Spring (1960)

282. Citizenfour (2014)

281. Planet of the Apes (1968)

ASSORTED

BOX OF DOCS:

THE 2nd MONDAY.

This post is part of an ongoing series and follows this one:

http://almostentertainment.blogspot.com/2021/05/assorted-box-of-docs-1st-monday.html

Here’s another bunch of documentaries that I can personally recommend.

Uplifting biography of the man behind Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch. The welcome surprise here is how much time is devoted to the love story that defined his life off-screen… and inspired the one on.

Tracks extreme skiing from its inception to those who do it today; blurring the line between athlete and daredevil in a thrilling way.

A raw, riveting portrait of an icon which skillfully juggles her past, present and legacy. It’s about as intimate a look at a celebrity as you can get.

Comprehensive look at the science behind the AIDS epidemic. Yet it manages to be much more humane than a visualized textbook, packing the emotional punch that the subject matter can’t help but carry.

What begins as a love letter to typewriters and their dedicated users gradually turns into a much wider appreciation of patience, nuance and hard work against all odds.

In the 70s a chimpanzee named Nim was raised as if he were human in an experiment that went far from according to plan. It’s as much a look at owning up to your mistakes as it is nurture versus nature.

Simple but effective study of the word “fuck”.

This classic cult doc tells the incomparable tale of oddball artist Robert Crumb, who’s most famous for illustrating various underground comics, including “American Splendor”.

The truly inspiring and heartwarming story of Owen, a young autistic man who uses his love and encyclopedic knowledge of the animated Disney canon to express himself and navigate the world.

Players themselves unfurl the unnerving and sinister story of how they came to form the Soviet Union’s notorious Red Army hockey team.

An adaptation of sorts of Malala Yousafzai’s autobiography “I Am Malala”. Tied together with some beautiful animated sequences that help establish a poetic, calming tone which mirrors Malala’s approach to activism quite nicely.

Honestly, the less you know about this one the better. If the thought of an imposter of any kind peaks your interest - buckle up and watch.

WE MIGHT HAVE

 A SEQUEL HERE.

What might it be a sequel to?

The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)

Is it?

Yes.

Technically it prefers to call itself an “equal”,

but the plain fact is that a few characters do

indeed return, despite all but one being played

by different actors. Other original actors also

appear, mind you, just in new roles.

What might it be a sequel to?

A Christmas Story (1983)

Is it?

Yes.

Sadly, you can’t call it anything else. Brand-new

cast aside, it’s directed by Bob Clark who co-wrote

with Leigh Brown and Jean Shepard himself, who

once again provides the narration. Heck, even Tedde

Moore is back as Ralphie’s teacher. It’s a sequel,

just a mighty sorry one.

What might it be a sequel to?

If.... (1968)

Is it?

No.

Not really. Star Malcolm McDowell and

director Lindsay Anderson made three films

featuring a lead character named Mick Travis,

but that’s where the connections end. There’s

nothing to suggest that he’s literally the same

character. The closest they come is having

him stumble into auditioning for “If....”

towards the end of this movie. So, if anything,

one could construe it as a prequel. But it’s

neither.

What might it be a sequel to?

If.... (1968)

O Lucky Man! (1973)

Is it?

No.

Again, the character’s name and the

themes/tone/message are the only things

that bridge these movies narratively.

But I’m sure somewhere someone is

arguing otherwise, claiming they’re clearly

a trilogy and I’m just too dense to see so.

My apologies.

What might it be a sequel to?

Dazed and Confused (1993)

Is it?

No.

Billed as a “spiritual sequel”, it has no definitive

ties to “Dazed and Confused”. Any claims that the

two kinda maybe might take place in the same

shared universe are entirely unfounded.

What might it be a sequel to?

Uh, presumably a movie called Surf…?

Is it?

No.

There was/is no “Surf I”. Get it? Very funny.

They even went one step further and (sometimes)

subtitled it “The End of the Trilogy”. Hilarious.

What might it be a sequel to?

Django (1966)

Is it?

No.

At least not in my book. There are dozens of

movies that claim to be "Django" ones, but if

you ask me there is only one real sequel and it

stars Franco Nero. Perhaps people just want

this one to be an official follow-up because it’s

actually quite good and if anyone can come close

to filling Nero’s shoes, it’s Terence Hill. However,

this movie has a bunch of titles, one of them being

“Django, Prepare a Coffin”, and the reality is that

it was most likely conceived and developed as

“Prepare the Coffin!” (see poster below) and

naming the main character Django was merely

for publicity purposes.

What might it be a sequel to?

Knocked Up (2007)

Is it?

Yes.

Call it a spin-off or sort-of sequel or

whatever, Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann

flat-out reprise their roles as Pete and

Debbie, respectively. The leads from the

first movie never pop up, but each are

briefly referenced in dialogue.

What might it be a sequel to?

Horror High…?

Is it?

No.

For years I honestly assumed this was

a sequel. It’s not. But I think I was right 

to be wrong. The movie, about returning

to a high school where a bunch of unsolved

murders took place years before, is all sorts

of meta: it features a movie within the movie

called “Horror High” and ends with a character

writing a sequel entitled - you guessed it!

What might it be a sequel to?

The Fugitive (1993)

Is it?

Yes.

They didn’t make too big a deal of it in the

marketing or the movie itself, but this is a

good old fashioned spin-off which puts

Tommy Lee Jones’ character centre stage.

What might it be a sequel to?

Zombi…?

Is it?

No.

Here’s what happened: George Romeo’s “Dawn

of the Dead”, recut & rescored, was released in

Italy under the title “Zombi” to great success. This

movie was made to capitalize off that hit, but doesn’t

actually follow “Dawn of the Dead” in any way. So,

when it came time for its North American release,

they dropped the ‘2’ and called it simply “Zombie”

(see below).

However, fans are all for maintaining its

original foreign title. Which is why most

recent home video releases feature cover

art similar to this…

What might it be a sequel to?

Manhunter (1986)

Is it?

No.

It’s just not and we all know it. These are

merely unrelated adaptations of books from

the same series. If these movies are linked than

there’s a whole Elmore Leonard cinematic

universe out there that someone should really

do something about.

What might it be a sequel to?

Meatballs (1979)

Is it?

Yes.

But in title only! This movie is about kids at a

summer camp who befriend and attempt to

hide an alien. All sorts of lame hijinks ensue.

It had absolutely nothing to do with “Meatballs”

during production and was only labelled a

sequel upon release.

What might it be a sequel to?

Meatballs (1979)

Meatballs Part II (1984)

Is it?

Yes.

Again - this was made as a stand alone

summer camp comedy and morphed into

the third in the series by way of marketing

only.

What might it be a sequel to?

Meatballs (1979)

Meatballs Part II (1984)

Meatballs III: Summer Job (1986)

Is it?

Yes. 

And the same goes for this so-called

“instalment” in the so-called “franchise”.

In other words, “Meatballs” has no true

sequel.

What might it be a sequel to?

The Last Detail (1973)

Is it?

No.

This movie is based on the novel that follows

“The Last Detail”, but director Richard Linklater

himself stated that the two adaptations are not

connected in any way.