Hey, it's time to find out what happens when people stop being polite and start being real... in these 13 "docs" about real life. "Docs" is an abbreviation term that people in the biz use for "documentaries," which are movies about real life. I'm so tired of Matthew McCokiughehey. And Liam Neeson? Give me a break. Hey Meryl Streep! Give someone else a chance! Sheesh. It's time for something real.
This list should help you navigate your way through the documentary k-hole of Netflix.
A Life in Dirty Movies
This is a fascinating look into the life of a man who made a great living of being a soft-core porn director, back before hard-core was a thing. He tries to make a comeback in a time when hard-core rules, standing by his art and his own style of film-making that is tasteful and respectful to women.
Frontline: The Secret State of North Korea
Wow. I've seen a lot of North Korea documentaries, but haven't seen anything quite like this. A network of North Koreans actually go undercover with hidden cameras and show us some of the real shit that goes down in North Korea, which is not what we're used to seeing. The movie also interviews several people who have fled to North Korea and speak of many North Korean citizens' dissatisfaction with with their country. Other documentaries we've seen portray citizens as brainwashed, blindly worshipping their dear leader, while The Secret State of North Korea shows us that that might not fully be the case.
Particle Fever
I mean I didn't totally understand what's going on in this because it's about complicated particle science. However, it's pretty interesting because it's about finding the Higgs particle and shows us how physics is now sort of at a fork in the road, and the universe might just be chaotic!! You just have to watch it to make any sense of it. There's a whole bunch of weird nerds in this movie.
We Always Lie to Strangers
This film is about the town of Branson, Missouri, one of the strangest places on earth. The very small town of Branson thrives on tourism and they have all these weird old-timey variety shows. It was seemingly shot around the time of the recession, or possibly even more recently. But basically these shows are having trouble making money. So this is about some of the show families and the town surrounding them.
Cropsey
Watch this and learn about a Staten Island urban legend that was an attempt to explain a series of child disappearances that happen in the 70's and 80's. Is the legend true?
Queen of Versailles
So this super mega crazy fucken stupidly mega rich family gets their money from owning a shit ton of time share properties. It just so happened that this doc was being filmed right when Wall Street imploded. The movie was originally supposed to be about the construction of the family's giant-ass home (the biggest home in America or something). BUT since their whole business model depended on little mortgages, the movie became more about their shit falling apart. It's pretty crazy.
First Position
It's a bunch of kids who are really really good at ballet, spend lots of time doing ballet, love ballet, and compete in ballet. Fun to watch.
The Price of Gold
Tanya Harding. You just cannot look away. This takes us through the Harding/Kerrigan story from each of their early years to the scandal, to present day. The scandal is even more dramatic than what I remember. What really seals the deal on the awesomeness of this movie is Tanya Harding's interview. Yesssss.
Virunga
Oscar-nominated! And well-deserving! It's about The Congo's Virunga National Park, the efforts to preserve it, why it's important, and the efforts to exploit it. Well-done, and visually stunning too.
The Battered Bastards of Baseball
This is a fun one. It's about a defunct baseball team, which means it had no farm team and was not supported by the MLB. But it competed in the minors. Bing Russel owned the team and and his son Kurt Russel was even ON the team! They were a rag tag bunch of long-haired crazies who the MLB didn't really like.
Korengal
A follow up to the oscar winning Restrepo, this takes place in the most dangerous part of Afghanistan during the war. This one is slightly lighter than Restrepo, though not that light. These guys get shot at for days straight, and this film is about comradery, fear of death, non-fear of death, addiction to adrenaline, boredom, guns, and brotherly love. Very good.
I am Santa Claus
Hilarious! Adorable! Hilarious! This doc, produced by and featuring former WWE guy Mick Foley, is full of joy. It has funny little kids, funny men who are obsessed with Christmas, partying bears (the gay kind), hawaiian shirts, almost naked old men, parents lying to their children, drunk people, swingers, mobile homes, and elves.
Short game
I guess I'm on a sports documentary kick, but this Netflix produced movie is beautifully shot, lots of fun, and pretty fascinating. Seriously, watch it. It's about these tiny baby children, all eight years or younger, who compete in the World Championships in Pinehurst. The little stars of this movie, who are from all over the world, are absolutely obsessed with golf. It's really fun to see their parents, the difference in families, and what kind of attitudes they bring into the game. Turns out golf is not for the weak at heart. It's also really fun to see their adorable personalities shine. My favorite was Zama, the eight year old South African boy.
"There are two kinds of particle physicists. There are the experimentalists. They built the big machines, run the experiments, analyze the data, and try to discover things, like new particles. And then, there are the theorists, like me. We construct the theories that try to explain everything we see in nature. Without us, the experimentalists are in the dark, but without them, we'll never know the truth."
Particle Fever (2013, dir. Mark Levinson)
