Ever wonder what Al Bundy and the Asian guy from the Black Eyed Peas might have to say about Bruce Lee? You’ll find out in the all-new Spike TV produced (I’ve been informed this was NOT produced by Spike TV) feature documentary, ‘I Am Bruce Lee’. The trailer is cut together using only three elements: footage from Lee’s films, footage from a single Lee interview, and talking head interviews provided by celebrities/experts/athletes, some of whom occasionally perform karate moves during their interviews. I can’t say I’m the biggest Bruce Lee fan myself, so maybe I’m not the right person to judge, but this trailer felt pretty uninspired. The film looks like an attempt at mixing Senna with Not Quite Hollywood, but the scope seems fairly limited and the content fairly shallow. Let’s face it, this trailer is completely void of any sort of interesting insight or observations beyond some lifeless soundbites. Here’s one of my favourite quotes from the aforementioned Black Eyed Peas guy: “That’s the vibe that Bruce Lee taught me…is to always bring it.” Interesting. Some other great lines:

“He was like the Elvis of marshal arts.”
“The moves that he could do…when you were wondering if they would speed up the camera.”
“That’s some cool stuff right there.”

To be fair, it’s only natural for the trailer to force in as many celebrity faces saying as many uninspired, cliched things as possible. So here’s hoping the actual film isn’t as dumb or claustrophobic as this clip makes it out to be. ‘I Am Bruce Lee’ hits select theatres on February 9th and 15th only. For more information on where you can see it, visit the film’s official website.

Okay, this looks awesome. I’m sure eyebrows might raise at the thought of a Keanu Reeves produced documentary, but this subject matter is pretty irresistible to me. The film is called ‘Side by Side: The Science, Art and Impact of Digital Cinema’ (directed by Christopher Kenneally) and it looks at the war between digital and analog filmmaking. Pretty relevant stuff considering the recent announcement that the Eastman Kodak Company has just filed for bankruptcy protection. Even though the digital revolution seems inevitable, there are a handful of filmmakers who refuse to go down without a fight, insisting that we’re acting too fast by replacing a tried and true format (film) with a technology (digital) that at this point, simply doesn’t compare in terms of the quality if the image. Here’s the synopsis:

The documentary investigates the history, process and workflow of both digital and photochemical film creation. We show what artists and filmmakers have been able to accomplish with both film and digital and how their needs and innovations have helped push filmmaking in new directions. Interviews with directors, cinematographers, colorists, scientists, engineers and artists reveal their experiences and feelings about working with film and digital–where we are now, how we got here and what the future may bring.

I have to say that I absolutely love Wally Pfister. His work is amazing and he’s refreshingly honest and outspoken about his stance on digital filmmaking (and his apparent hatred of 3D). Still, I think there are interesting arguments to be made on both sides, which is what makes this film so interesting. David Lynch, James Cameron, George Lucas and Steven Sodebergh all chime in as supporters of digital filmmaking. Each side has its share of supporters. As for docs, it seems film is even less relevant as it’s truly rare to see a non-fiction film shot on 16mm nowadays. I know I’m always excited when I hear about docs shot on film, but I guess it’s just too expensive when considering the digital alternative. It’s a truly a shame.

You can find more info on Side by Side here:

facebook.com/sidebysidethemovie
sidebysidethemovie.com
twitter.com/sidebysidemovie

Oh look! Another great screening series that I’m not going to be able to attend! That’s okay. I’ll just post the dates of this winter’s DocYard programming schedule and see if I might live vicariously through those of you in the Boston area who end up checking out some of these great films. The stand out on my list would have to be Ross McElwee’s ‘Space Coast’. I’ve never seen it but it looks pretty amazing. Lots of great stuff to choose from here, so hopefully these screenings fill up quick! Check out the line up below:

Opening Night Film – January 23 SPACE COAST (1979)
Q&A with directors Ross McElwee and Michel Negroponte
SPACE COAST follows three residents of Cape Canaveral, Florida, several years after the phasing out of Apollo moon missions.

February 6 OUR SCHOOL (2011)
Q&A with director Mona Nicoara
OUR SCHOOL follows three Roma (commonly known as “Gypsy”) children in a rural Transylvanian village who are among the pioneer participants in an initiative to integrate the ethnically segregated Romanian schools.

February 20 CAMPAIGN (2007)
Q&A with director Kazuhiro Soda
CAMPAIGN provides a startling insider’s view of Japanese electoral politics in this portrait of Yama‐san, a man plucked from obscurity by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) to run for a critical seat on a suburban city council.

March 5 BOMBAY BEACH (2011)
Q&A with director Alma Har’el
Winner, Best Documentary, Tribeca Film Festival
Winner, Emerging Cinematic Vision, Camden International Film Festival
BOMBAY BEACH is a dreamlike poem that sets the personal stories of distinctive yet familiar characters
to a stylized amalgam of observational documentary and choreographed dance. The film’s setting, the
Salton Sea, is a barren Californian landscape often seen as a symbol of the failure of the American
Dream.

March 19 BATTLE FOR BROOKLYN (2010)
Q&A with director Michael Galinsky and Suki Hawley
BATTLE FOR BROOKLYN follows the story of reluctant activist Daniel Goldstein as he struggles to save his home and community from being demolished to make way for a professional basketball arena and the densest real estate development in U.S. history.

April 2 SCENES OF A CRIME (2011)
Q&A with director Grover Babcock
SCENES OF A CRIME explores a nearly 10‐hour interrogation that culminates in a disputed confession
and an intense, high‐profile murder trial in New York state in which detectives, prosecutors, witnesses,
jurors and the suspect himself offer conflicting accounts of exactly what happened in this mysterious
and disturbing true‐crime documentary.

Closing Night Film – April 16 MARATHON BOY (2010)
Skype Q&A with director Gemma Atwal
MARATHON BOY is the story of a four‐year‐old boy who is plucked from the slums of India by his coach
and trained to become India’s greatest runner, but what starts in hope turns into the stuff of film noir: a
tale of greed, envy and broken dreams.

For more information on the DocYard and its 2012 Winter Season, visit www.thedocyard.com.

An awesome look at the prototyping, production and testing of John Delorean’s infamous stainless steel car from the future!

Everybody’s wondering what Amy Berg’s ‘West of Memphis’ could possibly add to a conversation that was started over 15 years ago with Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinosfsky’s definitive ‘Paradise Lost’ series of films. The original HBO docs are responsible for bringing worldwide attention to the controversial ‘West Memphis Three’ case and many would argue, directly led to the release of Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jessie Miskelly. While there’s certainly still some story left to be mined, the first trailer for Berg’s take on this case seems to rehash much of what we’d previously learnt. Having said that, my curiosity is still piqued.

Produced by Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh (who also helped fund the WM3 defence team), ‘West of Memphis’ promises to unveil new information and exclusive interviews that were previously unavailable in the HBO docs. What’s strange to me is the fact that the documentary is produced by Damien Echols and his wife Lorri Davis. Maybe it’s easy to assume that Echols loyalty lies with Sinofsky and Berlinger, but I he has every right to tell his own story how he sees fit. I just can’t help but feel that the whole thing seems a bit superfluous and kind of awkward. It reminds me of the debate surrounding David Fincher’s version of ‘The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo’ (which I actually preferred over the original). Is this the first example of a non-fiction remake? The LONG four minute trailer doesn’t really provide any evidence that this film is necessary, but I’m open to giving it a look. ‘West of Memphis’ premieres this month at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival.

The benevolent Mike Sullivan, age 65, has been shooting an epic stop-motion robot sex film in his apartment for the last 10 years. Obsessed with constructing the miniature robot porn stars, his apartment now overflows with thousands of them.

Yes please. I would like to watch this now. Meaning of Robots is an official selection at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. This film looks to be a perfect cinematic soulmate with Jessica Yu’s fantastic 2004 doc ‘In the Realms of the Unreal’. Thanks to Kurt Halfyard for the heads up on this trailer. I really need to get to Sundance again sometime soon.