BuzzSugar

Oscar Movie Preview: No End in Sight for Best Documentary

BuzzSugar — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 11:30:32 -0800

As part of my coverage of this year's Oscars, I'll be posting the trailers for as many of the Best Documentary and Best Foreign Film nominees as I can find. Since it's often harder to see these films in theaters, it's nice to at least get a taste of them before Oscar night - not to mention that it might help you when you fill out your Oscar ballot.

As I've mentioned, four of this year's five Best Documentary nominees - all but Michael Moore's Sicko - deal with war in one way or another. No End in Sight takes a very direct approach, investigating the reasons behind the US government's invasion of Iraq and the war's subsequent effects on the country. Filmmaker Charles Ferguson interviewed several high-ranking officials and ambassadors in his effort to piece together what caused Iraq's descent into chaos, creating both this film and a related book from the information he uncovered. Interestingly, Alex Gibney, whose own Taxi to the Dark Side is also nominated, served as this film's executive producer. Good year for him!

The film looks to be a very methodical dissection of what happened in the leadup to war, letting the decisions and outcomes speak for themselves. It's available on DVD now, and you can watch the trailer and a clip from the film if you read more.

Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures

Oscar Movie Preview: Taxi to the Dark Side for Best Documentary

BuzzSugar — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 07:30:00 -0800

Documentary filmmaker Alex Gibney made his mark on the film world in 2005 with Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, an Oscar-nominated film about the sordid rise and fall of the energy giant. A couple of years later, Gibney has returned with another film about a different kind of corruption. Taxi to the Dark Side focuses on interrogation, torture, and abuse seemingly condoned by the US government as a part of the war on terror.

As with Enron, where Gibney started with a book about the scandal, this movie has its roots in a New York Times article about an Afghan taxi driver beaten to death while in military custody. That story - and its subsequent coverup - open a window into larger questions of power, abuse, and winning by any means necessary.

The movie is currently playing in a number of theaters around the country. Have any of you checked it out? To watch the trailer, just read more.

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Oscar Movie Preview: Operation Homecoming for Best Documentary

BuzzSugar — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 08:30:00 -0800

Most of this year's nominees in the Best Documentary category deal with war in one way or another. Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience is one of those films, based on the writings of soldiers who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

A shorter version of this film aired on PBS last spring, but the full version - which is available on DVD - features the writings of 11 soldiers set against a variety of visual backdrops. Some stories are animated, others play over reenactments of the events, and still others are read directly to the camera. Actors including Robert Duvall, Blair Underwood, and John Krasinski lend their voices, and writers such as Tim O'Brien, Tobias Wolff, and Esquire contributor Colby Buzzell also appear.

At a time when political movies haven't played well in theaters, this seems like one project worth checking out. To watch a preview, just read more.

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Oscar Movie Preview: War/Dance for Best Documentary

BuzzSugar — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 10:34:07 -0800

As part of my coverage of this year's Oscars, I'll be posting the trailers for as many of the Best Documentary and Best Foreign Film nominees as I can find. Since it's often harder to find these films in theaters, it's nice to at least get a taste of them before Oscar night - not to mention that it might help you when you fill out your Oscar ballot.

War/Dance is one of this year's five nominees for Best Documentary, and it's one of just a couple of films in that category that doesn't deal with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It does, however, tackle the subject of war through the eyes of children in northern Uganda, where a rebel movement has thrown the country into turmoil.

The movie follows a group of students from a refugee camp as they train to take on 20,000 other schools in the country's National Music Championships, all while children throughout their region are made to join the country's army or are forced into slavery. The refugee children don't just worry about learning their songs and dances or staving off stage fright - they also have to worry that their bus won't make it safely through rebel territory or that tragedy will strike their family before the competition begins.

It looks like a moving and beautifully shot movie, and I hope the DVD becomes available soon. For now, to check out the trailer, just read more.

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Movie Preview: Sicko

BuzzSugar — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 12:33:01 -0700

Along with the animated rat chefs and dying ladies with stories to tell this Friday, there is Michael Moore and his latest documentary, Sicko, in wide release. The film explores health insurance in the U.S. and how it compares to that of other countries.

Back at Cannes the film got a ton of attention - and a surprising amount of praise. Assuming that critics and audiences alike had tapped out on Michael Moore, it piqued my curiosity when I saw the reviews roll in calling Sicko an indication of a steadier, wiser and more mature Moore. If you haven't seen the intriguing trailer yet, you can check it out if you read more