Let's watch Awesome Documentaries, 201X edition

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > Cinema Discusso > Let's watch Awesome Documentaries, 201X edition

Alan_Shore: Dec 2, 2004

The computer evidence was crazy. Yeah, technically anyone in the house could have used his computer to look up that stuff, but the fact that the cops take it, then have a little chat with Bobby, who then changes his story, is beyond suspicious. Helping put his brother and uncle in prison. This loving case!

I read on Reddit that Ma Avery has never visited Brendan in prison. Sad. I guess she sort of blames him for her son going to jail. This crime tearing all these families apart and ruining their business, really sad side effects

# ? Oct 22, 2018 15:47

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# ? Apr 16, 2024 22:40

EL BROMANCE: Jun 10, 2006; COWABUNGA DUDES!
🥷🐢😬

I've only watched the first two episodes, but I like that the new lawyer has done more to sell me on his innocence than the whole of the first season did.

# ? Oct 22, 2018 16:09

Stare-Out: Mar 11, 2010

Alan_Shore posted:

The computer evidence was crazy. Yeah, technically anyone in the house could have used his computer to look up that stuff, but the fact that the cops take it, then have a little chat with Bobby, who then changes his story, is beyond suspicious. Helping put his brother and uncle in prison. This loving case!

I read on Reddit that Ma Avery has never visited Brendan in prison. Sad. I guess she sort of blames him for her son going to jail. This crime tearing all these families apart and ruining their business, really sad side effects

That's the thing about cases like these where the accused party or parties are possibly innocent; not only does it destroy the families of the accused and tarnish their names in the community and beyond, it also allows for the possible real perpetrator or perpetrators to remain free to enjoy their lives, or more horribly, continue committing murders. It's so bizarre that the notion of innocent until proven guilty is even remotely entertained anymore, officially, when otherwise (certainly in the court of public opinion) it completely isn't and anyone the authorities point their finger at become the targets of some gruesome and blood-frenzied mob who will never let it go even after the accused are exonerated because they've pretty much decided who was guilty from the get-go and stick to their guns no matter what happens.

I really do feel for the elder Averys, as I doubt that when or if Steven Avery gets out, either of them will be alive. No matter what happens, I'm fairly certain both of them will die while he's still inside and to some degree I think both of them know that. Potential miscarriages of justice and the horrific murder itself aside, that aspect of it is the one that troubles me the most. If Steven is innocent, he will never have the chance to be there to see his parents off. And even if he gets to successfully argue his case once again through Kathleen Zellner's work, there's no doubt the state will work its hardest to postpone Steven being released on bond or otherwise, even if one or both of his parents are on their death beds at that point. It's super hosed up.

EL BROMANCE posted:

I've only watched the first two episodes, but I like that the new lawyer has done more to sell me on his innocence than the whole of the first season did.

That was one of my favorite parts of this season, despite some slightly questionable accusations and arguments they threw around. Watching her doing what the original defense team, let alone the police, should've done with such determination and relative ease, is pretty drat fascinating. A lot of the time she did things I'd never even considered or if I had, she covered those as well. Say what you will, but she's a hell of a drat lawyer.

Stare-Out fucked around with this message at 16:53 on Oct 22, 2018

# ? Oct 22, 2018 16:49

precision: May 7, 2006; by VideoGames

"Frame a freshly freed uncle for my kinky murder" is a compelling theory

# ? Oct 22, 2018 17:53

Groovelord Neato: Dec 6, 2014

the poo poo that makes me tear my hair out is dassey telling his mom after the interrogation that he just gave random answers like he does on his homework. how was that not a bigger focus.

# ? Oct 23, 2018 00:44

HUNDU THE BEAST GOD: Sep 14, 2007; everything is yours

I'm still pissed that Brandon didn't get out and get to go to Wrestlemania

# ? Oct 23, 2018 01:38

Comrade Fakename: Feb 13, 2012

Kathleen seems like she�s a very good lawyer, but she�s definitely in it for the publicity. And you can�t really take anything she says on face value - she�s basically doing the same thing that Kratz did when he called that press conference after Brendan�s confession. She�s getting a narrative out into the public consciousness so that any potential jurors might hav a more beneficial preconceived notion about the case. That�s why she repeatedly slags off the old lawyers, why she goes on and on about how much unseen or misinterpreted evidence there is, and why she publicly names potential suspects when she only has very scant evidence implicating them (the only proof about Brendan�s stepdad is that the car might have been seen sort of near his house).

She�s doing her job by appearing on the show. You�re not seeing a document of her candid thoughts in this situation, your seeing the messages she wants publicised.

# ? Oct 27, 2018 06:10

nonathlon: Jul 9, 2004; And yet, somehow, now it's my fault ...

Something I stumbled across on Prime, which went in a direction I didn't expect:

Pornocracy (2016) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6503230/

* Perhaps unsurprisingly, the adult video business has been overturned in the last decade, with the online aggregators overthrowing established studios. A director at an adult expo in Berlin: "We used to come here to do business, now we come here to see old friends."
* One company, Mindgeek, has an effective monopoly over pornography globally with the subsequent workforce abuse and strongarming you'd expect.
* No one knows who really runs this company and it consists of a tangled series of holdings scattered across the globe, including empty offices that are never used.
* Choice quote: "They don't make money from porn. Their business isn't porn. Their business is moving large amounts of cash around the globe ..."

# ? Oct 31, 2018 14:50

Ropes4u: May 2, 2009

nonathlon posted:

Something I stumbled across on Prime, which went in a direction I didn't expect:

Pornocracy (2016) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6503230/

* Perhaps unsurprisingly, the adult video business has been overturned in the last decade, with the online aggregators overthrowing established studios. A director at an adult expo in Berlin: "We used to come here to do business, now we come here to see old friends."
* One company, Mindgeek, has an effective monopoly over pornography globally with the subsequent workforce abuse and strongarming you'd expect.
* No one knows who really runs this company and it consists of a tangled series of holdings scattered across the globe, including empty offices that are never used.
* Choice quote: "They don't make money from porn. Their business isn't porn. Their business is moving large amounts of cash around the globe ..."

Listen to the pod cast called �butterfly effect�

https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/audible/the-butterfly-effect-with-jon-ronson

# ? Oct 31, 2018 17:43

SimonCat: Aug 12, 2016; by Nyc_Tattoo; College Slice

Watching an episode of PBS' POV titled " the Ballad of Esequiel Hernandez." Short summary, in 1997 the US Marines were put on the Texas border to interdict drug traffickers. They shot an 18 year old US citizen while he was herding goats on his property. First US citizen killed by the US military within the US borders since Kent State. Predictably the DoD and government made sure to cover the whole thing up.

Also turns out that the local sheriff had been smuggling cocaine across the border using government vehicles.

Available on Vimeo.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kivll11bwn4

# ? Oct 31, 2018 21:43

bort: Mar 13, 2003

nonathlon posted:

Something I stumbled across on Prime, which went in a direction I didn't expect:

Pornocracy (2016) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6503230/

It's interesting and I'm glad you pointed it out. I found it doesn�t really have a thesis and doesn�t get anyplace with uncovering its vast conspiracy theory. It has some good gets (Stoya, Pierre Woodman, Rocco Siffredi), but sorta gets lost in the �Hot Girls Wanted� angle in Hungary that has almost nothing to do with the Marwin/Mindgeek angle. The documentarian is horribly uncharismatic and glosses over her story so quickly that I had no sympathy for her angling for this story. If she cornered some big porn business guy, or found some partner he'd screwed royally along the way, or found incontrovertible evidence that made the businesspeople duck her over and over, it would have all hung together.

That said, it's fun to watch and I really enjoyed disliking it. So many docs are not enjoyable while they�re screwing up their film.

Porn is bad, it�s worse than you think and shaaadowy figures run those streaming sites! :iiam:

# ? Nov 1, 2018 05:45

nonathlon: Jul 9, 2004; And yet, somehow, now it's my fault ...

bort posted:

It's interesting and I'm glad you pointed it out. I found it doesn�t really have a thesis and doesn�t get anyplace with uncovering its vast conspiracy theory. It has some good gets (Stoya, Pierre Woodman, Rocco Siffredi), but sorta gets lost in the �Hot Girls Wanted� angle in Hungary that has almost nothing to do with the Marwin/Mindgeek angle. The documentarian is horribly uncharismatic and glosses over her story so quickly that I had no sympathy for her angling for this story. If she cornered some big porn business guy, or found some partner he'd screwed royally along the way, or found incontrovertible evidence that made the businesspeople duck her over and over, it would have all hung together.

That said, it's fun to watch and I really enjoyed disliking it. So many docs are not enjoyable while they�re screwing up their film.

Porn is bad, it�s worse than you think and shaaadowy figures run those streaming sites!

I'm a lot more positive about it, but it does have its foibles: moody shots of the narrator walking through airports, sinister desaturated pictures of large buildings, a subject and direction that's fairly vague (porn in the 2010s?) and wanders from topic to topic. Editing might have constructed a stronger story or 2 or 3 separate documentaries from the same material. But it's undoubtedly interesting and bizarre how such a dodgy business can operate in plain sight.

# ? Nov 1, 2018 13:06

SimonCat: Aug 12, 2016; by Nyc_Tattoo; College Slice

Here is the full documentary about the Marines killing a US citizen on the Texas border in 1997.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Irz911kIaOw

# ? Nov 5, 2018 00:33

Alhazred: Feb 16, 2011

Just started watching Making a Murderer and the interrogations are painful to watch:
"Say you did it"
"No"
"Coooome ooooooon"
"No"
"Why won't you say you did it?"
"I didn't do it"
"Yes, you did. Just say it"

Ugh

# ? Nov 5, 2018 21:34

ThermoPhysical: Dec 26, 2007

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/b0bp23l2#changeloc

Does the BBC (or BBC2? I don't know the difference, honestly) ever put their documentaries up on Google Play or anywhere? I'd really love to watch these and there's absolutely no way outside of the first episode up on DailyMotion uploaded by the studio who made the documentary.

# ? Nov 12, 2018 06:03

bort: Mar 13, 2003

The Sentence on HBO is amazing and heartbreaking. The film follows a family while a member is incarcerated for a mandatory minimum. Great film, done by one of the family members.

# ? Nov 12, 2018 22:21

Brown Moses: Feb 22, 2002

So my little investigative team, Bellingcat, has been followed around by director Hans Pool as part of "Bellingcat � Truth in a Post-Truth World", an 88 minute documentary about Bellingcat that premiered at the International Documentary FilmFestival Amsterdam (IDFA). It was screened last night at the Pathe Tuschinski in Amsterdam on their main screen to a full house, and Variety just published a review:

quote:

IDFA Film Review: �Bellingcat � Truth in a Post-Truth World�
Director Hans Pool's cutting-edge documentary profile of citizen journalist collective Bellingcat feels like a spy thriller at times.

Remember when the words �breaking news� used to refer to the thrill of hearing about world events as they happened? These days, it has become the daily sport of autocrats and elected officials alike, who have realized that discrediting once-reputable journalistic sources � quite literally, attempting to break the news � is an effective strategy in not being held accountable to facts. While it can be scary to realize that such misinformation games occur � and often even originate � at the highest levels of government, there is hope in the form of citizen journalists such as those profiled in Hans Pool�s �Bellingcat � Truth in a Post-Truth World,� an exciting look at one such group of self-appointed fact-finders that presents their innovative research techniques as a kind of cutting-edge spy thriller.

When Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 was shot down over the Ukraine, sparking vehement denials that Russia had any involvement, Bellingcat went to work to pinpoint the Buk missile launcher responsible as belonging to the country�s 53rd Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade. After a group of white supremacists were photographed beating a young black man at a �Unite the Right� rally in Charlottesville, N.C., Bellingcat went searching through social media profiles and public videos to identify the assailants. And when the suspects in the Skripal poisoning gave a scripted interview to the Kremlin-backed RT channel, it was Bellingcat that uncovered who these two Russian operatives really were, exposing their cover story as a farce.

Each of these cases � and many more, including investigations that have both confirmed and debunked a wide variety of conflict-zone videos � has proven controversial, largely because Bellingcat�s team circumvents the usual channels of investigative journalism. Instead, founder Eliot Higgins and his contributors rely on �open source� research, combing through user-uploaded content, satellite photos, public databases, and all kinds of semi-shady archives (such as a comprehensive list of Russian passport information found on bittorrent).

As Bellingcat begins to establish itself as a credible alternative to conventional news outlets, RT and others have begun a campaign to discredit Higgins, whose non-expert background � the college dropout launched the site while unemployed and still operates it from his home in Leicester � makes it easy for critics to suggest that he�s a hack, or worse, a mouthpiece for some secret organization�s agenda. Skepticism is healthy when it comes to reading anything online, lest we fall for �fake news,� although even experts are fallible (one reason Trump has had such success in extending the �fake news� label to legitimate outlets), and reporting strategies must evolve in order for media to disprove increasingly sophisticated propaganda techniques.

The beauty of Bellingcat, both the organization and the documentary, is the way the organization aims to share its methods with others, inspiring old-school outlets such as the New York Times to innovate accordingly. By introducing audiences to the key members of the Bellingcat team � including Aric Toler, an American dedicated to untangling Russian spin; award-winning Dutch investigator Christiaan Triebert; Finnish military expert (and MH17 obsessive) Veli-Pekka Kivim�ki; the Syrian Archive founder Hadi Al-Khatib; and German visual artist Timmi Allen, who analyzed video of freelancer James Foley�s beheading to pinpoint the location where the execution happened � Pool presents them not as heroes so much as pioneers, revolutionizing the fields of both news and international criminal investigations.

Now that internet users have access to an astonishing array of information, research that was once thought impossible can now be done by anyone with the critical thinking skills to analyze what�s already out there. Hence the name Bellingcat, which derives from a children�s story in which a mouse hatches the plan to tie a bell around a cat�s neck, but can find no one brave enough to undertake the operation. By contrast, Eliot�s organization is staffed by volunteers from around the world, and Pool travels far and wide to film them, shooting these computer nerds in shadowy rooms, or else framed by overcast blue-gray skies, like characters in a John Le Carr� spy movie. As they trade intel, he features snatches of conversation in colored onscreen text balloons, while Dutch electro-musician layers a beating pulse beneath it.

It would be easy to lump the Bellingcat gang in with an organization like WikiLeaks, but in many ways, Eliot and his team are the opposite from Julian Assange. Instead of uploading secret data provided to them by sources who presumably stand to gain from its exposure, Eliot et al ask themselves the questions news media should be posing and then proactively hunt down the answers through every channel available to them. It�s exciting, cloak-and-dagger stuff, no less exciting (or valid) for having been done from someone�s armchair at home. Pool pulls some cheap shots by cutting to Putin, Trump, and Kim Jong-un whenever he needs to personify who they�re up against. But in a world where those three are leading the charge to break the news, Bellingcat are doing their best to put it together again.

Looks like it'll be coming to a streaming service near you, soon.

# ? Nov 17, 2018 15:00

A human heart: Oct 10, 2012

Brown Moses posted:

So my little investigative team, Bellingcat, has been followed around by director Hans Pool as part of "Bellingcat � Truth in a Post-Truth World", an 88 minute documentary about Bellingcat that premiered at the International Documentary FilmFestival Amsterdam (IDFA). It was screened last night at the Pathe Tuschinski in Amsterdam on their main screen to a full house, and Variety just published a review:

Looks like it'll be coming to a streaming service near you, soon.

drat, I'm hella keen to watch a bunch of dumbass nato propaganda about computer programmers

# ? Nov 18, 2018 05:42

LittleFuryThings: Jan 11, 2012

What are the best documentaries that feature musicians writing their songs/working in the studio?

LittleFuryThings fucked around with this message at 21:17 on Jan 27, 2019

# ? Jan 27, 2019 21:14

Mahoning: Feb 3, 2007

LittleFuryThings posted:

Whate are the best documentaries that feature musicians writing their songs/working in the studio?

The Promise: the Making of Darkness on the Edge of Town is a good one with Bruce Springsteen. Not so much the writing process but jam sessions and early studio versions of songs that ended up much differently.

# ? Jan 27, 2019 21:18

EL BROMANCE: Jun 10, 2006; COWABUNGA DUDES!
🥷🐢😬

Metallica : Some Kind of Monster.

Should still work even if you�re not a metal fan, it�s basically a chance to watch a band completely fall apart and go completely up their own rear end at the same time. Also you get to see them told their new album is poo poo to their face, almost like the �poo poo sandwich� part of Spinal Tap.

(I still like Metallica and their tour they�ve been doing the last few years kicked rear end, they obviously learnt something between then and now. If you do like them, then their 90s documentaries �A year and a half in the life of� part one is them recording black album, part two is them touring. Both good fun.)

# ? Jan 27, 2019 21:19

porfiria: Dec 10, 2008; by Modern Video Games

A human heart posted:

drat, I'm hella keen to watch a bunch of dumbass nato propaganda about computer programmers

Godamn you're smart.

# ? Jan 27, 2019 21:33

Kull the Conqueror: Apr 8, 2006; Take me to the green valley,
lay the sod o'er me,
I'm a young cowboy,
I know I've done wrong

Brown Moses posted:

So my little investigative team, Bellingcat, has been followed around by director Hans Pool as part of "Bellingcat � Truth in a Post-Truth World", an 88 minute documentary about Bellingcat that premiered at the International Documentary FilmFestival Amsterdam (IDFA). It was screened last night at the Pathe Tuschinski in Amsterdam on their main screen to a full house, and Variety just published a review:

Looks like it'll be coming to a streaming service near you, soon.

I saw this was going to be playing at SXSW so I'm def. hitting it up.

LittleFuryThings posted:

What are the best documentaries that feature musicians writing their songs/working in the studio?

A Poem Is a Naked Person.

# ? Jan 27, 2019 22:09

BonoMan: Feb 20, 2002; Jade Ear Joe

Mahoning posted:

The Promise: the Making of Darkness on the Edge of Town is a good one with Bruce Springsteen. Not so much the writing process but jam sessions and early studio versions of songs that ended up much differently.

DiG sort of. Great music doc regardless.

There's a DVD series called "Classic Albums" that started in the late 90s early 2000s. I've only ever seen the Joshua Tree one from 2000 but it was great. They're in the studio reminiscing and going through all of the original tapes (primarily The Edge) and, while you don't get the process happening real time since it's a retrospective, you get a ton of nuanced insight into the production. I'm sure they've done it for other albums too.

# ? Jan 27, 2019 22:22

ICHIBAHN: Feb 21, 2007; by Cyrano4747

Dig is the best

# ? Jan 27, 2019 23:06

precision: May 7, 2006; by VideoGames

ICHIBAHN posted:

Dig is the best

It really is.

# ? Jan 27, 2019 23:15

KoRMaK: Jul 31, 2012

You get to see a very specific former Metallica guitarist cry in it too

# ? Jan 28, 2019 00:02

GutBomb: Jun 15, 2005; Dude?

LittleFuryThings posted:

What are the best documentaries that feature musicians writing their songs/working in the studio?

Let It Be.

# ? Jan 28, 2019 04:16

Groovelord Neato: Dec 6, 2014

i'm confused why the netflix frye documentary was getting better reviews. the hulu one was a lot better by default due to not being produced by fuckjerry and allowing them to dodge all fault for the scam.

# ? Feb 5, 2019 16:01

Baronash: Feb 29, 2012; So what do you want to be called?

Groovelord Neato posted:

i'm confused why the netflix frye documentary was getting better reviews. the hulu one was a lot better by default due to not being produced by fuckjerry and allowing them to dodge all fault for the scam.

In my opinion, the Netflix doc does a way better job at building up a sense of dread as the festival approaches. It's practically a horror film as each fuckup piles up until the date of the festival.

The Hulu one gets Mcfarland (for six figures, apparently), but all he does is look around shiftily while dodging any actual questions. It's still a good documentary, but that part felt like a waste.

# ? Feb 5, 2019 16:25

KoRMaK: Jul 31, 2012

The netflix one seems better since it just points out every gently caress up in operations that happened. gently caress jerry didn't get a pass in my opinion, but they didn't go full on hard at the.

# ? Feb 5, 2019 16:32

Groovelord Neato: Dec 6, 2014

Baronash posted:

In my opinion, the Netflix doc does a way better job at building up a sense of dread as the festival approaches. It's practically a horror film as each fuckup piles up until the date of the festival.

that's true but it lacks the background that the hulu doc gives. it's probably better constructed but is far less illuminating.

KoRMaK posted:

The netflix one seems better since it just points out every gently caress up in operations that happened. gently caress jerry didn't get a pass in my opinion, but they didn't go full on hard at the.

i felt they played it as if fuckjerry didn't know what was coming and was just as blindsided as everyone else when that couldn't be further from the truth.

# ? Feb 5, 2019 17:16

teen witch: Oct 9, 2012

Given that fuckjerry is now getting eviscerated for their own poo poo behavior...

# ? Feb 5, 2019 17:27

InfiniteZero: Sep 11, 2004; PINK GUITAR FIRE ROBOT; College Slice

teen witch posted:

Given that fuckjerry is now getting eviscerated for their own poo poo behavior...

They used to have 14.6 million Instagram followers and after the public outcry and big name comedians calling them out for blatant plagiarism, they only have 14.1 million Instagram followers.

Eviscerated.

# ? Feb 5, 2019 17:33

Groovelord Neato: Dec 6, 2014

it is incredible you can make an entire company out of ripping off memes.

even their logo is a ripoff.

# ? Feb 5, 2019 17:36

InfiniteZero: Sep 11, 2004; PINK GUITAR FIRE ROBOT; College Slice

Groovelord Neato posted:

it is incredible you can make an entire company out of ripping off memes.

even their logo is a ripoff.

Pop culture eats itself.

# ? Feb 5, 2019 21:44

Groovelord Neato: Dec 6, 2014

abducted in plain sight is loving bonkers. i can't believe these people exist.

# ? Feb 7, 2019 23:48

Mahoning: Feb 3, 2007

Groovelord Neato posted:

abducted in plain sight is loving bonkers. i can't believe these people exist.

I just finished it.

:vince:

# ? Feb 8, 2019 02:17

ptkfvk: Apr 30, 2013

are they planning the next fyre festival yet? i'd imagine this is the best time to do a second one. half the people will go hoping it is torture

# ? Feb 8, 2019 07:06

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# ? Apr 16, 2024 22:40

Groovelord Neato: Dec 6, 2014

Mahoning posted:

I just finished it.

it says something that "little girl believes she has to have a child with a grown man to save the world because aliens told her so" is the least crazy part.

# ? Feb 8, 2019 14:59

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > Cinema Discusso > Let's watch Awesome Documentaries, 201X edition

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