Have I got news for you In 2011, British tabloid journalist Richard Peppiatt resigned from the Daily Star newspaper in very public fashion (read it here). In an open letter to his boss Richard Desmond, the disillusioned hack accused the Star of "hate-mongering", said the paper had an anti-Muslim agenda and told Mr Desmond there was a "cascade of shit pirouetting from your … [Read more...]
Review: 20,000 Days on Earth (2014)
A Portrait of the Artist [pullquote cite="" type="left, right"][amazon text=Amazon&template=carousel&chan=that film guy&asin=B00K8GL8G6][/pullquote] Nick Cave has been making brilliant, compelling music for more than 30 years, from explosive post punk blues with the Birthday Party to his extensive body of work with the Bad Seeds. … [Read more...]
Review: 20 Feet from Stardom (2013)
[pullquote cite="" type="left, right"][amazon text=Amazon&template=carousel&chan=that film guy&asin=B00KH6JMI8][/pullquote] 20 Feet From Stardom tells the story of the oft-forgotten backing singers who have played an integral part in many of the greatest hits of all time and who still tirelessly support the headliner in both the studio and on tour from a stone's … [Read more...]
Review: Dirty Wars (2013)
In the modern era, one thing that is common in just about every major war is that America is somehow involved. How deep their involvement goes and exactly what happens is never very clear which is why the seemingly never ending conflicts spawn so many documentary features. … [Read more...]
Review: Beware of Mr. Baker (2012)
Beware of Mr. Baker tells the incredible story of legendary drummer Ginger Baker and his life through music and after. One of the three men to make up the influential band Cream among others, we are introduced to the man through a scene where he hits the film's director Jay Bulger in the face with his walking stick along with the threat I'll put you in the hospital. What is … [Read more...]
Review: We Steal Secrets: The Story of Wikileaks (2013)
It is testament to Alex Gibney's skill as a storyteller that the central character in We Steal Secrets: The Wikileaks Story didn't participate in the film, and yet it doesn't detract at all from the narrative, but, in fact, adds to it. … [Read more...]
Review: Dogtown and Z Boys (2001)
By now most people will know all about Dogtown and Z Boys but when this documentary first arrived in 2001 the curious title meant little to the majority of the world. Using a mixture of archive footage from the 1970s and up to date interviews with those involved it charts the creation of the Zephyr skateboard team and chronicles the way they changed the skateboarding … [Read more...]
Review: Muscle Shoals (2013)
Modern pop music is, for better or worse, an unstoppable monster. It thunders on and on: an accelerating, extrapolating force, always expanding and erupting in every direction at once. Each genre splinters into a thousand sub-genres, with each sub-genre birthing a thousand niches of its own. But every new sound is built on the foundation of what went before, each taking … [Read more...]
The White Diamond (2004) review by The Documentalist
In the documentary film making world Werner Herzog is something of a legend and since his first feature in 1968 he has made a variety of fascinating documentaries spanning a wide range of topics. During that time he has developed a style which is fairly unique and in The White Diamond he uses plenty of this to tell the weird and wonderful story of Dr Graham Dorrington - (at … [Read more...]
The Act of Killing (2012) review by That Film Journo
Where do you start with a film as extraordinary as this? … [Read more...]