Documentary

One of the things I like best about the documentary Comedian is getting to hear the perspectives of comedians from several different generations, and the new documentary It Might Get Loud looks like it does something similar with a few musicians. It Might Get Loud is "a documentary on the electric guitar from the point of view of three significant rock musicians: the Edge, Jimmy Page and Jack White." White clearly has great admiration for those who have rocked before him, and it's cool to watch these guys talk shop.

The documentary will get a limited release starting Aug. 14. To check out the trailer, read more

Wag the Dog director Barry Levinson has tongues wagging at the Tribeca Film Festival with a new documentary called Poliwood, which premiered this weekend. As the name suggests, the film explores what happens when Hollywood celebrity gets all smooshed together with DC politics. Featuring celeb cameos from Spike Lee, Josh Lucas, Anne Hathaway, and more, the doc goes behind the scenes of the 2008 campaign, including the Republican and Democratic National Conventions.

The film is backed by the Creative Coalition, a nonprofit group of politically active actors and other artsy types, so don't expect a straight-up skewering. But Levinson isn't afraid to insert his own perspective on the potential confusion that PoliWood promotes. He says,

"Well, I think what happened is, you have this television screen, and everything has to go through that screen — and at a certain point, I don't think that we can tell the difference between the celebrity and the politician. They both have to entertain us in some fashion."

Do you think that celebrity and politics have become inextricably linked? Do you like it when celebs get political, or would you rather actors just stick to acting?

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Since it can often be hard to see some of the Oscar-nominated documentaries in theaters, it's nice to get a taste of them before Oscar night — not to mention that it might help you when you fill out your Oscar ballot. So this week I'll feature as many of the Best Documentary previews as I can.

The documentary Man on Wire already holds the title of best reviewed movie ever and could soon add Oscar winner to its credits. The movie follows young Frenchman Philippe Petit who illegally rigged wires between New York's Twin Towers in 1974 and embarked on a tight-rope act 1,350 feet above the ground. The documentary tells the the story of the six-and-a-half years during which Petit planned for what he would describe as a "coup."

Critics across the board have nothing but praise for director James Marsh's creation with one rave review calling it a "thorough, understated and altogether enthralling documentary."

To watch the trailer, read more

Since it can often be hard to see some of the Oscar-nominated documentaries in theaters, it's nice to get a taste of them before Oscar night — not to mention that it might help you when you fill out your Oscar ballot. So this week I'll feature as many of the Best Documentary previews as I can.

The intense trailer for The Garden does what good trailers ought to do: It makes me insanely curious about how this story ends. A look through the LA Times could probably tell me, but I'd rather watch this tale unfold onscreen. The movie's title refers to the 14-acre community garden in South Central Los Angeles (the largest of its kind in the United States) which was created as a way to heal the community in the wake of the L.A. riots in '92.

When the garden's land is sold to a wealthy developer for less than fair-market value, the farmers — mostly Latin American immigrants — take on City Hall with their plight. The trailer alone might make you feel frustrated, and it's interesting to see the celebrities who join the cause.

To watch the trailer for yourself, read more

Since it can often be hard to see some of the Oscar-nominated documentaries in theaters, it's nice to get a taste of them before Oscar night — not to mention that it might help you when you fill out your Oscar ballot. So this week I'll feature as many of the Best Documentary previews as I can.

Leave it to Werner Herzog to find the poetry and beauty in hanging out with a bunch of quirky Antarctica scientists. By all accounts Herzog, considered a most talented modern-day documentary filmmaker, has achieved something truly special with this latest project.

The movie's website describes what's going on this time around:

There is a hidden society at the end of the world. One thousand men and women live together under unbelievably close quarters in Antarctica, risking their lives and sanity in search of cutting-edge science. Now, for the first time, an outsider has been admitted. In his first documentary since Grizzly Man, Werner Herzog, accompanied only by his camerman, traveled to Antarctica, with rare access to the raw beauty and raw humanity of the ultimate Down Under.

From a visual standpoint, the images he captures of Antarctica are breathtaking and seem otherworldly. And I believe the Academy and the critics when they say his story is just as compelling.

To watch the trailer for yourself, read more