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Chipotle Promotes Food, Inc. Documentary
Chipotle doesn't just want to feed its customers — it wants to educate them, too. The fast-casual food chain has teamed up with Magnolia Pictures, Participant Media, and River Road Entertainment to promote Food, Inc., a documentary that exposes issues with the food industry in America. Beginning today, Chipotle Mexican Grill will host free screenings of the film.
Oscar Movie Preview: The Betrayal For Best Documentary
Since it can often be hard to see some of the Oscar-nominated documentaries in theaters, it's nice to get a taste of them before Oscar night — not to mention that it might help you when you fill out your Oscar ballot. So this week I'll feature as many of the Best Documentary previews as I can.
The New York Times writes that while the topics in The Betrayal are big and heavy (war, revolution, immigration), the film maintains an "intimate mood and a lyrical tone."
Gonzo: Focusing on the Work of Hunter S. Thompson
Hunter S. Thompson isn't always associated with terms like "brilliant writer" or "inventor of gonzo journalism" or even "patriot." By the time his famous work Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas was adapted for film in 1998, he was becoming a caricature and a symbol of a bygone era.
Shine a Light: Long Live the Rock Doc
When I realized that Martin Scorsese's new rock doc Shine a Light chronicles two Stones concerts from 2006, I was slightly disappointed. Don't get me wrong: I devour rock documentaries (Scorsese's The Last Waltz is one of my faves), and I love me some Rolling Stones. But I've never had much interest in seeing the band live in its modern incarnation (or in paying the high-ticket price for a stadium show).
Sundance Review: American Teen
What is it about teenagers that fascinates us so? In the case of many TV shows — from The O.C. to My Super Sweet 16 — there's an obsession with wealthy teens, kids who seem to have way too much way too young.
King Corn: A Food Documentary to Watch
"Everything on your plate is corn." That line, uttered by an interviewee in King Corn, is essentially the premise behind this new food-focused documentary. Much the way that Super Size Me uses a clever gimmick to take on the fast-food industry, King Corn follows two friends, Ian Cheney and Kurt Ellis, who move to Iowa to find out how this unassuming crop has made its way into so many grocery-store staples in the form of corn syrup, malodextrin, and other not-so-healthy ingredients.
What to Netflix: Red Without Blue
The premise of Red Without Blue pretty much sells itself: The documentary follows two identical male twins as one of them undergoes gender reassignment surgery to become a female. I attended the local premiere of this movie last year, but since it was made by three first-time filmmakers from SF, I didn't expect to be blown away. Boy, was I wrong: Since then, it has become the little documentary I cannot stop recommending to people.
What to Netflix: The Times of Harvey Milk
Okay, all you documentary fans, have I got a recommendation for you. The Times of Harvey Milk, winner of the 1985 Academy Award for Best Documentary, left me speechless and filled with mixed emotions. In the 1970s in San Francisco, good-natured camera store owner Harvey Milk was elected onto the board of city supervisors, becoming the first gay city official in the U.S.
Do You Go to the Theater to Watch Documetaries?
In recent years, documentaries (like today's Sicko) have enjoyed a surge in popularity, perhaps due to the genre becoming more entertaining, or because bigger studios are now seeing the genre as a viable money-maker and are pumping more funds into the production.
Whatever the reason, I'm happy about it because we've been treated to intriguing documentary fare like March of the Penguins, Murderball and An Inconvenient Truth.
Now the question has become: To shell out money on a theater ticket, or to rent?
Movie Preview: Sicko
Along with the animated rat chefs and dying ladies with stories to tell this Friday, there is Michael Moore and his latest documentary, Sicko, in wide release. The film explores health insurance in the U.S. and how it compares to that of other countries.
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