Searching for Sugar Man

At one stage an interviewee is reading from liner notes on a CD and we can see the filmmakers have cut out a crucial sentence, presumably in the interests of revealing the information bit by bit. I was bothered by moments where the film’s ‘construction’ was so apparent that it overshadowed the story.
Rating: 3.5 starsHoopla Factor: 3.5 stars Continue reading Searching for Sugar Man

Bikini Revolution

The film only touches on feminism briefly. This is a pity because it’s easy to see that the bikini is regularly seen as being both freeing and a burden – women were free to express their sexuality in a way never before, but this only unleashed a culture of body sculpting (for lack of a better term) and impossibly high standards.
Rating: 3.5 starsHoopla Factor: 3.5 stars Continue reading Bikini Revolution

Exit Through the Gift Shop

From the ninja tactics of street artists dodging the law, to the likes of Banksy making a fortune when he crosses over into the mainstream, the line between culture and counter-culture is practically non-existent. To think that one could theoretically leap from vandal to sell-out in such a short time is astounding.
Rating: 4.0 starsHoopla Factor: 4.0 stars Continue reading Exit Through the Gift Shop

Capitalism: A Love Story

The idea of exploring the evils of capitalism in the USA is a much bigger job than exploring gun control, the healthcare system or even the political fallout from September 11. Capitalism rears its ugly head in almost every corner of the globe, so it’s a pretty hard sell – Moore doesn’t give us much with which to compare it.
Rating: 3.0 starsHoopla Factor: 3.5 stars Continue reading Capitalism: A Love Story

Double Take

Whilst I can’t imagine a quasi-documentary/fiction film like this has much to offer in a second viewing, it’s a unique experience – a must for Hitchcock fans and anyone interested in the blurring of fact and fiction. At 80 minutes it’s just about the right length (any more would have gotten tedious) and it’s likely to provoke laughs, outrage and head scratching in equal doses.
Rating: 4.0 starsHoopla Factor: 3.5 stars Continue reading Double Take