There are films that come along, maybe once, twice in a generation. Films that speak to the heart of the audience and capture the zeitgeist so perfectly, so profoundly, that one shudders at the possibility of the question “is this art? or is this life?” This film is astounding. Perplexing in it’s simplicity it forces the audience to face the fact that we, like Dory’s titular reef cam are all just staring out into a loop of the world we know, recycling and recirculating, waiting for something different to come along, always aware that perhaps it could happen. Viewers of this film know what I’m saying to be true, but I ask, are we viewing out into the reef or is the camera reflecting back our souls? We should all count ourselves fortunate that we were able to bear witness to this shining accomplishment of not only cinema, but human ingenuity and the ability to self examine and then reflect that examination to the audience. This is what film is all about. Ten Stars. LIFE CHANGING
Satyran's comments
Poorly shot, poorly edited, a very poor production. The ex-wife seemed particularly enthralled with the word “fame” and mentions it frequently throughout the “film”. She seemed exceptionally disingenuous and detached. The documentary was less about Gary Coleman and more about what the ex-wife’s thoughts on Gary Coleman were. There are several scenes that could have easily been fixed by extremely simple re-shoots or even the most minimal of editing. The fact that this film even exists (and especially in the form it does) shows that it is clearly once last final attempt to squeeze out whatever money was left in the cold dead corpse of Gary Coleman. I feel very bad for Mr. Coleman, even in death he cannot find peace from the vultures, who aren’t even content to leave his eviscerated corpse alone without sucking the bone marrow out as well. Hopefully, this is the last we’ll hear from this lady and maybe, perhaps maybe, Mr. Coleman can finally rest in peace. I think the absolute shocker was the final scene where the ex-wife brings up that they never actually consumated their marriage. No one asked about this, no one brought it up. I think it is very showing that it was important for the ex-wife to relay to the audience that she was not physically intimate with Gary Coleman, and additionally she mentions that she had never seen the show and that she called him “Shorty”, as though that was some hilarious joke. She seemed like a total bitch.
Thanks for the comment I would of totally missed this. Cant believe I havent seen this before!
No problem! Yeah, I was surprised that I’d not heard of it either and I really liked him when he was in UFC during that first run. The kids even had a doll of him! Glad I could help bring it to your attention! Thanks!
A great documentary. It should be required viewing for any fan of MMA. The director does a great job of juxtaposing the highs and lows and showcasing the multifaceted personality and decisions of Evan Tanner. He seemed like a truly unique individual and while this film shows the highs and how great he could be, it is equally adept at showing the lows. I think the scenes where they are talking about the boat and all that happened in that situation, is really indicative of his personality. Overconfident at times and underinformed with things that really require alot of technical expertise and proper prior planning, Evan Tanner seemed like someone who would throw himself into things that he had a passion for and try to just mash through them, and for some things in life, that just won’t work. Fortunately for him, it did work in the fight game…until it didn’t. And unfortunately for him, the desert is no place to f around and not be completely prepared for. But with that said, a great film and a great documentary about his life and death.
Awesome documentary report. The reporting was fair and at time was even sweet and tender in his handling of the subjects. The reporter didn’t press people too hard on camera but he did press the story, probably getting more out of subjects too afraid to appear on camera than if they had agreed to appear on camera. There was such a palpable element of loss throughout the entire program. I hadn’t thought much about this subject before, and after seeing this film, I will have more sympathy and compassion for the families and be more cognizant of how my interactions with people could hope to prevent or at the very least not contribute to this problem. We are all humans and should view one another as brothers and sisters.
Around the 17 minute mark….so you could say that there are two girls for every boy? Is this place Surf City? I kid, I kid.
OK, so this documentary is both good and not good. The good things are that it shows alot of things about Moby that most people probably didn’t know. It’s done in an interesting and artistic style, it is visually compelling, and it’s also alot of fun in parts. With that said, it’s also serious where it needs to be. On the flip side, I think anyone someone makes a documentary about themselves or is heavily involved in a documentary about themselves, there is an element of ego and self indulgence. Even though Moby is at times appearing to be self deprecating, because of his involvement, he does bring it back around to somehow making himself seem cooler. Case in point, at one point in the documentary he is talking about how down he was to be living the rock and roll lifestyle. I mean, am I supposed to feel bad about a rich guy who is partying with beautiful people, having sex and doing drugs without a care in the world? I think it would be fine IF someone else said that about him. In any case, definitely worth watching if you were a fan of his. I do wish it had more about the music and the creation of the songs, what inspired him and in what ways, how did the events of his life inspire his music. Instead it’s a lot of complaining or half hearted faux humility, which is really just egotism disguised. I guess, in alot of ways, this doc is alot like his music was, initially impressive but upon further examination actually of little substance. Which, in my opinion, is why he skyrocketed to fame and very quickly fell back into obscurity.
At first, I thought, “am I really about to spend over an hour watching a documentary about giant balls of twine?” I’m glad I did. This is a sweet and kind documentary, interesting in a human interest sort of way. It’s more about people than the twine balls. It’s about community and how people can become proud and happy about even the most wacky things. I also liked that the documentary was filmed before everyone had a cell phone. It was almost like visiting the 90’s for me personally. Will this film change the world? Obviously it didn’t, BUT if you are looking for something sweet and interesting to spend around 90 minutes on, then this is a good watch.
Very good finale. Typical Conan shenanigans and zaniness, but also sweet and heartfelt. In the last few years I really enjoyed when he would visit other countries, and I’m glad they showed some of that, plus the stuff with Jordan is classic. I’ll miss seeing him on tv. I know he’ll never see this, but Thanks for the memories! A great ending to a great show!
wasn’t that an incredible story of bravery, tenacity and perseverance. Carman inspires so many with her story
Absolutely. I don’t think I could do and go through everything that this woman has went through. A very strong person and I thought it was particularly cool that she was even continuing to want to learn and do new things. A great example of strength and determination.
So, amazing story. Unfortunately, Carmen’s body rejected the face in 2019 and she had to receive a second face transplant in 2020. So far she is doing well with her second face transplant.
zero stars if possible. Total waste of time, money, and energy. Easily the most unlikable group of people.
oh wow, this….was…not good. I turned it off after ten minutes, horrible voice over, weird intro (and not good weird, offputting weird), a very strange host who seriously overacts and has a voice not suited for this sort of thing. All in all, I love this subject, but this was so poorly done, I just can’t.
https://www.primewire.li/tv/1363397/watch-louis-theroux-life-on-the-edge-season-1-episode-2 If you haven’t seen this episode it reveals how some of the people in this episode turned out.
oh wow! Thanks so much! That’s really awesome of you. I really appreciate it.
Very well done documentary. Louis’ documentaries usually are. I find myself coming away from this one very sad, kinda depressed. Not that I feel sorry for the subjects, but I guess, in a way, I wish they didn’t feel like this was a viable option for them. I hope all of them are okay and did well with their lives. In any case, it did make me sad.
i honestly couldn’t agree more. it’s poverty porn, basically.it addresses nothing of serious merit and offers nothing unique or even vaguely helpful.
Poverty Porn, That’s a great term, I think it encapsulates everything wrong with things like this film (and others that are similar). I had not heard that term before. This film was reminiscent of the feeling I got when someone first attempted to show me one of those bumfights type VHS tapes in the 90’s. I really appreciate your comment Thank You for your reply.
This is a very strange film. It purports to show the harmony between the homeless population of Isla Vista and the college students, yet, at the 15 minute mark, a male college student aggressively encourages Pirate Ray to smoke a cigarette through his eye socket (because Ray has a missing eye). The level of novel exploitation is palpable throughout the film, even if the students act like they are “helping” they really are just exploiting the homeless population for either entertainment or to make themselves feel like they are doing something positive. Even this documentary uses the homeless as a sort of side show attraction. HEY EVERYONE! LOOK AT HOW WEIRD THESE PEOPLE ARE! ISN”T IT GREAT HOW NICE WE ARE TO THEM! Here’s a thought, try putting down the camera and actually helping the homeless. Videotaping some drunk college kid forcing an old man to smoke a cigarette through his eye isn’t “shedding light on the problem”. It’s exploitation, Pure and simple. On top of it all, this documentary is pretty boring to boot. Nothing is truly explained or researched, no answers are sought, no questions really asked, in some ways it is just an odd collection of clips, loosely linked because they contain some of the same people. It’s everything wrong about internet based amatuerization of the film industry. I only regret that I cannot give this film negative stars.
Got about twenty minutes into it, pretty boring, and then I tapped out. The sound level between the background music and the audio of the people speaking is waaaayyyy off. The music in blaring and you have to strain to listen to the people, which you really would not want to do as what they have to say isn’t interesting at all. The doc seems weirdly put together and does not easily present an argument for or against anything immediately. Seemed more like a weird collage of youtubers and personality types, without explaining either. Not a fan.ps I also hate labels.
(wanted to say this first, no dogs are harmed or hurt or get killed in this documentary. That was a concern of mine before watching it)
This documentary is well made and oddly extremely interesting. Through the dogs you learn alot about the people of this city in Turkey. I was surprised to see how caring the Turkish people are, how forgiving they are, and how they genuinely didn’t want the dogs or the street kids to suffer. It was sad yet uplifting, it was dark, yet hopeful. This doc is truly a dichotomy of emotional states. I like to think that Kartal was returned to his rightful owner and that the kids got the help they needed. In any case, well worth watching and a truly fascinating documentary on a subject that prior to watching this, I had no idea existed.
Really good and informative doc on Vampiro. I think it does a great job of showing how popular and influential he was/is to lucha libre. You can tell that this was originally supposed to be a documentary years ago, and that the project was abandoned/put on hold, but IMO, that really adds to the legend of Vampiro, as this new film is created out of the original idea and covers Vampiro’s highs and lows. With that said, alot of Vampiro and his life, has been mytholigized, even by Vampiro himself. I think Vampiro wants to project a certain image, so I don’t feel like he is entirely honest on several topics. i did really enjoy this film though.
OMG, this was soooo good! Just runs the gamut from the start of the WB relationship, to the end, and the fallout afterwards. If you love Hammer, this is a great window into the thoughts and actions of those who were there, if you are not really all that familiar, this is a robust and entertaining history of the films, the studio, and the time period with all the little intrigues of society and internal politics. It was delicious!
Really interesting doc. I had no idea about how much he had done in his career and how talented he actually is. This is a great doc because it does show the highs and lows without burying him or overpraising him. Really good stuff.
interesting documentary, but also somewhat strange. It was really fun at first, did a great job of explaining his life and career, but Good Lord, the last thirty minutes, well, it’s depressing, overly negative, and does a TERRIBLE job as an ending. Hour 1-5 stars! last 30 minutes-1 star
Pretty interesting, BUT there’s alot of half truths, personal interpretations of data, & definitely the personal agenda of the film maker and those appearing. IF someone is really interested in this sort of thing, there are alot of online resources for you to do your own research.
What a confusing “documentary”. On the one hand, it is a cynical view of Nostradamus, the person and the character and also his writings. On the other hand, it is almost reverent, in spots, and actually starts to lend credence to his prophecies. I have never believed in this stuff, but it seems like the film makers were somewhat confused about their feelings on Nostradamus. It was weird, but kind of serene and enjoyable, albeit confusing.
Great episode! But Luke’s ultimatum was B.S.! Grogu is unconditionally entitled to both! First reason being one was a gift. One that would serve a VERY useful and important(and potentially life and/or limb saving!) purpose! Second reason is that Grogu was the logical(if not legitimate, and only), heir to Yoda’s lightsaber! The scene makes me mad for its illogical rationale! I would have NEVER written such a scene if I were a show writer! Or shoot it if I were the director!
Well, there’s two things happening in this scene…1. it parallels when Yoda gave Luke the choice to stay on Dagobah and continue training or leave to save his friends and 2. it parallels when Obi Wan presented Luke with Anakin’s light saber. You are thinking that there is a right and wrong choice for Grogu to make and you are also thinking that Luke, who is the king of attachment in the Star Wars Universe, is setting Grogu up, he isn’t, and perhaps there are two answers or perhaps both answers are correct. So, like all good Star Wars, it rhymes with what has happened in the past. Do you really think the team that brought us Grogu, Luke, Ahsoka, Cad Bane, Cobb Vanth, Boba Fett back from the dead, an Order 66 flashback, etc. etc. doesn’t know exactly what they’re doing? Whatever Grogu decides, the outcome will be epic. So hold tight, you are supposed to feel conflicted and confused, just like Grogu would in that moment, not only is that good writing, it’s great writing and it’s great Star Wars.