Seth Gordon’s doco is steeped in nostalgia for those arcade machines of the early 80s, whose only purpose was to guzzle your coinage (so say I, anyway). As you watch these experts at work though, you realise it isn’t about fun.
Rating: Hoopla Factor: Continue reading The King of Kong→

The subtle shifts in tone that accompany twists in this love story build a gradual momentum that soon has the viewer hooked and amazedly wondering what could possibly come next.
Rating: Hoopla Factor: Continue reading Crazy Love→

It’s hard to keep a straight face as one of John’s neighbours admits that he spread rumours of Satan worshipping at the Peterson farm purely cos he was concerned that his own cattle were getting restless with all the ‘coming and going’.
Rating: Hoopla Factor: Continue reading The Real Dirt on Farmer John→

In planning to make a documentary about a group of primary school-aged children, surely one would choose kids who are even remotely likeable. It is really only the hapless Ben-Zion who evokes any emotion in the audience other than annoyance.
Rating: Hoopla Factor: Continue reading Sidewalk→

Moore’s thesis is skillfully constructed, gradually building the impression of a system so manipulated by the corporations and lobbyists that the audience can make only one conclusion – that the US needs universal health care.
Rating: Hoopla Factor: Continue reading Sicko→

Kopple and Peck demonstrate the gradual firming up of their beliefs, such that when initially offered the chance to apologise, they do, but when subsequently asked, they stand up for themselves and write the Grammy Award winning Record of the Year “Not Ready to Make Nice”.
Rating: Hoopla Factor: Continue reading Shut Up & Sing→

Whilst it’s clearly not a balanced doco, The U.S. vs. John Lennon is an insightful exploration of the lengths to which the Nixon administration went to silence one of the most outspoken pop icons of the late 60s and early 70s.
Rating: Hoopla Factor: Continue reading The U.S. vs. John Lennon→

Truth be told I was a little sceptical just how entertaining a slide show would be on the big screen. Back in university I groaned silently whenever a student would use a PowerPoint document to aid their presentation, what with Continue reading An Inconvenient Truth→

Filmed in the month before, and for sometime after the US-lead invasion of Iraq, In the Shadow of the Palms promises to be a previously unseen glimpse into Iraq. Wayne Coles-Janess’ film strives to show the everyday lives of ordinary Continue reading In the Shadow of the Palms: Iraq→

The French filmmakers responsible for March of the Penguins must surely have a guardian angel looking down upon them. In producing their wildlife documentary of a year in the life of the Emperor Penguins of Antarctica, they have made the Continue reading March of the Penguins→