john
Reviews
Man on wire
fantastic first account which shows the preparation behind the daring challenge, everything in-between and after.
Anvil: The Story of Anvil
A documentary about the heavy metal band Anvil as they perform on tour and live their day to day lives. In the film we see the ups and downs of touring in a band, the struggle of "trying to make it" as well as taking the opportunity to make some comedic moments such as "hey the place is going to be packed out man" - next shot is of a practically empty gig. Ultimately this documentary highlights poor management and missed opportunities for a talented band despite that fact their music is not everyone's cup of tea.
To me anvil seem like a band which should be more popular than they currently are. Since the band have been together for more than 30 years it's clear to see that these guys are passionate about making good, genuine heavy metal.
The Revelation Of The Pyramids
Overall i think The Revelation Of The pyramids is a fantastic documentary and i love the fact that there are not any other documentaries about Ancient monuments quite like it. I truly do believe the vast majority of the evidence is true and presented very well... However there are parts in the movie were you are finding yourself having to pause and recite what the hell was just explained. For example when the dimensions of the Great Pyramid and its relation to the other surrounding monuments on the Giza Plateau is being explained the narrator runs through the math at a blurry pace which to me is unfortunate as the information presented is outstanding. Not only that it is crucial to the conclusion of the documentary. If you mishear parts such as this the theory of the real purpose carries less weight. Great documentary but it could have been laid out at a much more leisurely pace as almost every piece of evidence is outstanding. WATCH THIS FILM.
A Jumbo Jet Engine
This is a really fantastic documentary that throws out some crazy stats; at full throttle the Trent engine cycles 2 tonnes of air per second and each blade of the fan is subjected to 90 tonnes of force. If you are applying for a job at Rolls Royce it would be a good idea to watch this documentary first.
Everything and Nothing
Excellent documentary series that covers a deep wealth of information about the reality we as humans have managed to comprehend over the centuries. I really enjoyed the first episode but the second one is especially good since it delves right into some of the modern defining moments of our understanding of the cosmos, for example the Dirac equation, its monumental connection between Einsteins law of relativity and quantum mechanics the likes of which are intensely difficult to truly understand.
The only problem with this fantastically produced and well researched series by Jim Al-Khalili is that fitting all the information (almost (by a long stretch)) we know about the universe into a 2 hour series has proven a difficult task, and for a viewer who is just being introduced to the stepping stones upon our knowledge could well end up delirious.
A very fluent documentary exploring how we have gained our current knowledge of everything and nothing.
My Scientology Movie
Considering only a couple of people who have been in high positions within the church of scientology have come forward to tell their accounts of what happens behind the scenes, Louis has done a great job of putting together a doc about it.
102 Minutes That Changed America
Incredible documentary, the most poignant part for me was how people were reacting to what was unfolding before their eyes. It was so unclear just what the hell was going on, and then the second plane hit and everything changed.
Horizon: How to Build a Time Machine
The BBC is back on form with this science documentary. Some of the concepts of time travel that are explored in the documentary are relatively basic and have been explored in other Horizon programs, however, many new ways to think about time were also presented.
My one quarrel with the film is the dig at Donald Trump, which sullied some of the really good scientific theories. One interviewee said, "you couldn't go back in time a kill a young Donald Trump". Yes, this was actually said in a science documentary. Frankly, this comment should have never made into the final cut. Would the BBC have allowed the same thing to be said about Hillary Clinton? I doubt it.