By: Henry J. Fromage –
This week is another one where streaming documentary series rule the day, but I did get one arthouse flick in there.
490. How to Fix a Drug Scandal
This Netflix documentary series delves into the Massachusetts drug lab scandals of Sonja Farak and Annie Dookhan, two chemists who arrived at corruption of drug tests via two different methods (addiction to those same drugs and laziness/pursuit of praise respectively), but which put the entire enabling system under a lens. Three Beers.
491. Farha
This Palestinian film is set in 1948 and centers on the true story of a Palestinian girl who is locked in a pantry by her father as Israeli forces start to sweep through her town. This is a tough to watch film, ably acted by Karam Taher as both a brave and spunky young girl and one who has to deal with horrors that kids like her never should. Three Beers.
492. The Thief Collector
This inventive documentary investigates the life and crimes of Jerry and Rita Alter, the kind of no children-having, well-traveled, perhaps a little quirky aunt and uncle who it’s found out got up to far more than that archetype when the 30 year-missing masterpiece “Woman-Ochre” by Willem de Kooning is found hanging on their bedroom wall (behind a door, natch) as their estate is being appraised. Yes, that’s Glenn Howerton (and Sarah Minnich) playing them in (quite fun) reenactments above, but it’s the primary source material that’s even more fascinating, perhaps. Two Beers.
493. Dicktown
I happened upon this short-format Hulu cartoon series by accident, but liked the conceit of ‘What if Encyclopedia Brown grows up to be a loserish private detective who’s voiced by and basically is John Hodgman, with assistance from his former school bully voiced by (and basically is?) David Rees. There’s also a surprising amount of heart packed into this pretty tight package. Two Beers.
494. Unprecedented
This was more interesting when its footage was being subpoenaed by the Jan 6 Committee – you’ll notice they used none of it in the end, and that’s because the bar has been raised so high for Trump crazy like a fox treachery that it’s hard to interview them and get anything that’s particularly shocking. Here you’ll a peek at their particular familial realpolitik in action and an attempt to clarify that family dynamic (man, it’s clear that all the kids but Ivanka are desperate for Daddy’s attention, and we don’t even get any Tiffany), but that’s about the extent of it. Four Beers.
495. Aftershock: Everest and the Nepal Earthquake
This Netflix-hosted documentary covers the 2015 Nepal earthquake, both in Kathmandu, but also on the way to and even up on Mt. Everest. The filmmakers do a good job finding human interest stories from native Nepalese to tourists and climbers from around the world, and don’t shy away from the conflicts between them that arose at the time, either. It’s an interesting, inspiring story of survival in some of the most inhospitable territory on Earth. Two Beers.
496. Conversations with a Killer: The Jeffrey Dahmer Tapes
What’s perhaps not even surprising anymore about these serial killer interview series are how mundane these monstrous humans are as they converse with police about some of the most despicable things one person has ever done to another. Dahmer may actually be the most matter-of-fact and oddly normal sounding of the bunch, and unlike Gacy or Bundy, even apologetic (maybe even serial killers can’t lose the Midwest Nice). That may go a little bit towards explaining how long the reigns of terror these men perpetrated lasted- it’s often that quiet guy next door indeed. Three Beers.
