15 Must-Watch Documentaries

The first documentary I ever saw that I remember having an immense impact on me was Michael Moore’s Bowling for Columbine. I know people have mixed opinions on Moore and his filmmaking style but I actually really enjoy his films and I credit Bowling for Columbine as the documentary that sparked my obsession with this genre.  

Documentary films have taught me so much and opened my eyes to initiatives, issues and perspectives I never would have considered or discovered so here are a few of my favourites:

1. The Paradise Lost Trilogy ("Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills", "Paradise Lost: Revelations" and "Paradise Lost: Purgatory")

An outrageous look at the justice system in the United States, it will make your blood boil and you will definitely want to allow a whole day to watch all three films because each film will captivate you more than the last.

2. The Crash Reel

A perfect film to watch while the Winter Olympics are taking place because it gives you a whole new perspective on extreme sports like halfpipe snowboarding and takes you beyond the crashes and injuries that you see on TV and paints a more personal portrait of the sport. 

3. Shut up and Sing

This film made me love the Dixie Chicks so much. The treatment they received after lead singer Natalie Maines' comment about President George W Bush has to been seen to be believed, but this documentary delves right into the middle of the controversy and shows you that even though the "freedom of speech" ideology may be preached doesn't mean it is practiced.

4. Bowling for Columbine

The United States of America. Guns. Need I say more?

5. Deliver us from Evil

A disturbing look at one of the many Catholic priests who sexually abused children, except this particular priest is actually in the documentary telling part of the story... and not from a jail cell. It is chilling and disgusting.

6. Bully

A heartbreaking exploration of bullying that will make you cry and infuriate you that something this atrocious occurs every day.

7. Teenage Paparazzo

If you like celebrities (and who doesn't, right?) then you will enjoy this documentary. It examines society's obsession with celebrity culture through the eyes of the notorious paparazzi, particularly one paparazzo who also just happens to be 14 years old. 

8. The King of Kong

Okay it may be about Donkey Kong but trust me it is a really enjoyable, fascinating documentary that is well worth watching.

9. I am a Girl

A film that men and women, boys and girls alike should all watch to gain an insight into how girls are treated around the world, why we should be grateful for the society we live in in comparison and most importantly why there is still so much that needs to be done for gender equality throughout the entire world.

10. Jesus Camp

I felt physically ill after watching Jesus Camp. I think I started feeling nauseous somewhere between the crying children speaking in tongues and the worshipping of the George W Bush cardboard cutout... it's hard to be sure...

11. Food Inc.

If you don't want to seriously question everything you eat as soon as the film finishes, I would say don't watch this (I literally went to the fridge and started reading ingredients lists as the credits rolled).

12. Senna

Senna follows the racing career of the legendary Ayrton Senna and you don't have to be a fan of cars, racing or sport in general to enjoy and be engrossed in this wild ride. 

13. Grizzly Man

Grizzly bears are majestic, beautiful creatures who also have the ability to kill just about anything, and it is this deadly combination that has you on the edge of your seat during Grizzly Man. It is tragic to watch Timothy Treadwell live amongst the bears, fearlessly loving them, when you know that ultimately this man lost his life to the very creatures he strived to protect.

14. Searching for Sugarman

How I had not heard Rodriguez's music before this film escapes me because it is just so darn good (think Bob Dylan but more raw) but this film shows you exactly why you may never have heard of the singer as it takes you on a journey searching for this enigmatic artist, and the results are sure to surprise you.

15. Sicko 

The main thing I got out of this documentary was gratitude for the Australian healthcare system....

Songs for the Lovers

As another Valentine's Day approaches and my plans consist of movies and food as per usual (#foreveralone) I have decided to make music my valentine and pick 24 songs, newish and oldish, that I will be listening to this Valentine's Day that are about or sound like L.O.V.E (or the loss of love... what can I say, I'm a pessimist)

xoxo 

1. Baby- Donnie & Joe Emerson

"Feels so good walking side by side, I wanna be with you all my life..."

2. In Your Atmosphere- John Mayer

"Wherever I go, whatever I do, I wonder where I am in my relationship to you..."

3. She Lit a Fire- Lord Huron

"She lit a fire but now she's in my every thought..."

4. You're Gonna Make me Lonesome When you Go- Bob Dylan

DISCLAIMER: The only version available on Youtube is the Miley Cyrus cover and as much as it pains me to say it, I actually don't mind it (but the original still triumphs)

"I could stay with you forever and never realise the time..."

5. Supersymmetry- Arcade Fire

"If telling the truth is not polite, then I guess we'll have to fight..."

6. Will you Still Love Me Tomorrow- Amy Winehouse

"I'd like to know that your love is love I can be sure of..."

7. Come Back When You Can- Barcelona

"You've done nothing at all to make me love you less..."(OMG LOVE ME!!!!!!!)

8. Hard to Concentrate- The Red Hot Chili Peppers

"All I want is for you to be happy and take this moment to make you my family..."

9. Get on the Road- Tired Pony

"Your perfect chaos is a perfect fit..."

10. Everlasting Arms- Vampire Weekend

"Oh I was born to live without you but I'm never gonna understand..."

11. Wake Me Up- Ed Sheeran 

"See I could do without a tan on my left hand where my fourth finger meets my knuckle"

12. Secret Garden- Bruce Springsteen

"She'll let you into the parts of herself that'll bring you down..."

13. Slip Slidin Away- Paul Simon

"My love for you's so overpowering I'm afraid that I will disappear..."

14. Come Pick Me Up- Ryan Adams

"Screw all my friends, they're all full of shit..."

15. Dust to Dust- The Civil Wars

"It takes one to know one, so take it from me..."

16. Hold You (Hold Yuh)- Gyptian

*Yeah so I get the gist of what he's saying but I couldn't quote the lyrics...

17. It'll All Work Out- Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers

"Still I think of her when the sun goes down, it never goes away but it all works out..."

18. Maps- The Yeah Yeah Yeahs

"Wait, they don't love you like I love you..."

19. Gone- The Head and the Heart

"Cause I'm trying here..."

20. The Way I Am- Ingrid Michaelson

"If you are chilly, here take my sweater. If your head is aching, I'll make it better..."

21. Losing You- John Butler & Mama Kin

"All I mind's losing you..."

22.I Have Loved You Wrong- The Swell Season

"You've been every now and then on my mind..."

23. City of Black and White- Mat Kearney

"Cause I don't wanna wait until tomorrow to tell you how I'd feel the rest of my life..."

24. Babel- Mumford & Sons

"I ain't ever lived a year better spent in love..."

Refreshing Portrayals of Human Beings in Film and Television

The idea for this blog post came to me in the middle of Nicole Holofcener’s latest film Enough Said as I watched Julia Louis-Dreyfus and James Gandolfini, both over 50, playing divorced characters with teenage children leaving for college; fall in love with each other.

We’ve all seen love stories on the big screen, The Notebook, Titanic and Romeo and Juliet are a few examples that come to mind, so the basic premise of Enough Said is nothing new. But what I found so refreshing was witnessing two mature adults at similar points in their lives have a meaningful and beautiful relationship with each other. And on top of this, it was nice to see a male lead like the late great Gandolfini, a man who did not have the appearance of the typical Hollywood ‘leading man’. Nevertheless, his character in Enough Said highlights the basic fact that it is not a persons looks, weight or age that impacts their ability to engage in a meaningful romantic relationship with another person, rather it is (get ready for a cliché) who they are on the inside.

Of course Enough Said didn’t teach me this important message, but it was great to see it on the big screen presented in a non-preachy, realistic way. Essentially the film, like any other love story, tells the story of two people who fall in love with each other, but the writing, casting and performances made it original, exciting and refreshing to watch.

 

 Louis-Dreyfus and Gandolfini in Enough Said

Source 

I also recently finished season 1 of the Netflix series Orange is the New Black, which I would say is a must watch for anyone who is a fan of good television and anyone who is human. Orange is the New Black (OITNB) is full of refreshing portrayals of characters, primarily women, and I believe it’s overwhelming success can be partly attributed to this fact. Here are a few examples:

• It has one of the most racially diverse casts on television today, and even though there has been discussion about how certain racial elements are portrayed, the show has to be given credit for it’s inclusion of a vast array of African American, Hispanic, Latina, Asian and Caucasian characters.

• Women absolutely dominate the show, not just in quantity but in character structure and storylines as well. The female inmates especially are different ages, from different circumstances, and have different physical appearances that are very unique in a media world that places great emphasis on “conventional” beauty (whatever that is) and having a certain body type.

• It displays a range of different sexualities without binary labels and I believe The Huffington Post’s Amanda Duberman highlights this perfectly,

The series' most heavy-handed moments relate to sexuality. "You don't just turn gay," Piper insists to her friend and fiance, "you fall somewhere on a spectrum, like a Kinsey scale." Still, that the show doesn't insist on a sexuality binary is perhaps its most evolved achievement. Some inmates identify as lesbians, some as bisexuals, and some as women who are in prison and still want to have sex … All of it is a stunningly nuanced promotion of sex and gender fluidity -- especially impressive for a show whose chief project isn't necessarily to provide it.

So what is my point exactly? The point I am trying to make is that we are living in a society that is at a point where unoriginal ideas and characters in film and television are just not sufficient enough.

We need more movies like Enough Said and television shows like Orange is the New Black with writers who are not afraid to push boundaries, write complex, non-clichéd characters and write stories that are, well, for lack of a better word, refreshing. 

 The Cast of Orange is the New Black

Source

PSH

This morning I awoke to the incredibly tragic news that Phillip Seymour Hoffman had passed away. For someone who aspires to work with actors like Hoffman, actors who are as enigmatic as they are talented, who consistently give perfectly flawed performances, this was tough news to handle.

Discussions on social media quickly turned to the subject of addiction and what it means to be an addict with responses ranging from the dismissive and insensitive to the empathetic and considerate.

People were calling Hoffman stupid and selfish, comparing his death to other tragedies and saying that by comparison his death is not tragic, calling addiction a ‘decision’ and ‘choice’. 

I was mortified.   

Even though some people were saying these things with relatively good intentions (e.g. using his death as an incentive for beating addiction) there was this judgemental undertone that addiction is an example of a person’s moral failing. 

To me it seemed like condemnation rather than compassion.  

I feel that some people in society have such a lack of empathy for drug addicts because there is this mindset that “it was their own selfish choice that got them into their situation and if they could just stop taking whatever substance or go to rehab everything would be fine.” But I’m afraid that is just not reality.   

I haven't had any personal experience with addiction, but a person doesn’t have to have experienced something in order to acknowledge the seriousness of another person’s struggles and to understand their pain and suffering. It was not Phillip Seymour Hoffman’s fault that he died. It is no drug addicts fault that they are caught in the suffocating, irrevocable grasp of addiction. Addiction is a disease for which there is no cure, whilst getting clean is the best possible option, it is not a cure as the remnants of addiction are always there, waiting to be awoken.

I pray for the day when people stop treating addicts like stupid, selfish fools and start treating them like fellow human beings who need our help and our empathy.

 “The way we talk about a celebrity who ODs says a lot about the way we think about people who are struggling around us. It’s time we tried to understand struggles we don’t endure ourselves. It’s called empathy, and we could all use a lot more of it.” 

(Source: Vaughan, C, 2013, A Note About Philip Seymour Hoffman: Addiction IsNot Selfish.)