By: Henry J. Fromage –
This week it’s my usual mix of streaming documentaries, festival favorites, and whatever Korean flick I can get my hands on.
226: What Jennifer Did
This Netflix true crime documentary examines a shocking case of home invasion and murder in a quiet Toronto suburb that usually sees nothing of the sort. Jennifer Pan’s mother was slain and her father is in a coma, but she was left unharmed, and as police dig deeper into the events of the night her story begins to unravel. This is somewhat short and straightforward, but does show how police interrogation techniques can wear down a suspect. Three Beers.
P.S. – After reviewing, I later learned about the A.I.-generated images the filmmakers used in places- that’s got to compromise about every possible documentary ethic, no? A solid Six Pack to that bullshit.
227: The Antisocial Network: Memes to Mayhem
Another Netflix documentary, this one tries to connect up 4Chan and the rise of internet culture all the way through to the presiding Alt Right conspiracy theories of the moment. While portions of it have been done more in depth and better elsewhere, in tying together Anonymous and Occupy Wall Street with this same culture it does help explain all those Obama to Trump voters. Three Beers.
228: 9/11: One Day in America
This comprehensive Hulu documentary series seeks to holistically document the events of 9/11 in chronologically order, using primary footage and the testimonies of those lucky enough to have survived. It’s a stunning recounting of a day none of us will ever forget, even if I now somehow have coworkers who were born after it. A Toast.
229: The Wild
This Korean crime drama is about a boxer who has just finished his prison sentence for killing a man in the ring, and finds his only prospects are to return to the crime family that bankrolled him before. It’s well-shot with some very good action sequences, but the plot is about as standard for these films as it comes, and almost amusing in its miserabilism. Three Beers.
230: Dad & Step-Dad
This lo-fi ultra low-budget alt comedy isn’t going to be for everyone, but it’s sure to tickle a particular kind of funnybone. Two sadsack beta males contend for the attention of their son/step-son, who is 13 years old but played by a someone at least their age. They face off in absurd arguments delivered with entirely straight faces, and I at least got my chuckles out of it. Three Beers.
231: The Fox
The sight of the fox on the poster is what sold me on this, admittedly, but the film proved a good impulse rental. It’s another European-produced WWII flick that somehow escaped the clutches of Netflix, about a young Austrian boy taken from his poor family to work for a wealthy farmer and then, having grown up without family or prospects, joins what will become the Nazi army. Without any temperament for war, one day he comes across a fox cub in the woods. This feels like nearly, but not quite, a mix of Malick’s A Hidden Life and Berger’s All Quiet on the Western Front, but with an absolutely adorable fox to boot. Two Beers.
232: Yannick
Enfant terrible Quentin Dupieux returns once again with something rather different for him, a one-setting near-thriller with no fantastical elements. Don’t worry, though, it’s still full of his trademark absurdity, as an audience member stands up mid-play to announce he’s pissed off at how it’s going. This leads to him holding the production and audience hostage while he writes a better one and has them put it on. In some ways it’s the most straightforward film he’s done, but that’s far from a bad thing. Two Beers.
