Sometimes hitting the multiplex just isn’t in the cards. That’s when Netflix steps in to provide a movie fix. But how to separate the wheat from the chaff? I’m happy to help; every week I’ll pick a flick from the Netflix Watch Instantly section and see if it’s worth your time. This week? “Maxed Out”.

Monsters. Serial killers. Rabid dogs. They’re kid stuff compared to the horrifying truths brought to light in Maxed Out, a documentary that focuses on America’s fascination with credit, and how our government and banking institutions don’t mind how far down you go. Maxed Out is a wake-up call to America, showing us that although individuals are the ones spending wildly, credit companies and banks are only too eager to push us into the quicksand of ever-escalating debt.

From the beginning of this film, with a perky real estate agent talking about how everyone “needs” a big house to the stand-up comedy of Louis C.K. — “I’m broke, anybody else broke?” — director James D. Scurlock deftly switches from the folks that profit from debt to the average Joe/Jane trying to make ends meet. It’s a shock to the system to see banks and collection agencies justify the levels of credit they give to people after listening to two women talk about how their kids got deep in debt in their freshman year of college. When things got bad, their children did the only thing their young minds could come up with; they took their own lives. It’s heartbreaking, but this documentary doesn’t let up, piling facts and figures on top of each other in a dizzying copy of America’s spiraling financial crisis. Even Suze Orman isn’t spared; she’s shown as someone with a deal with FICO. Oh Suze! Well, even she’s gotta make ends meet, y’know. Harvard Professor Elizabeth Warren’s research (based on Census data) shows that Americans are being driven “right to the edge” just with basic life’s necessities. So the thought that you aren’t doing as well as your parents or grandparents? Well, you’re right.  The fun, energetic soundtrack, from The Beatles’ “Money (That’s What I Want”) to Queen’s “Under Pressure”, keeps the brisk pace of the clips from becoming too emotionally overwhelming.

This documentary came out in 2006, when things were still looking relatively rosy for most (well, for anyone not in the path of Hurricane Katrina) and credit problems only seemed to affect “those people” (y’know, like the same idiots probably said about HIV back in the 80’s.) So watching Maxed Out after the bust, the recession and Obama’s attempts at cleaning up mortgage lending and credit agencies is like getting too close to the screen when seeing a top-rated movie in a theater. It’s an uncomfortable, painful experience but looking away just isn’t an option. On the plus side, there are new credit card rules with specific requirements for underage consumers. Elizabeth Warren is now the Special Advisor to Federal government’s Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (though she’s too scary to Republicans and businessmen for her to run the organization it seems.)

The most shocking thing I saw in Maxed Out was the information on how consumer credit report companies keep incorrect information on the books — and make things difficult to fix — because it helps lending agencies make more money. Mistakes equal problems on your report…which equal higher rates of interest. No wonder there are so many articles telling people to check their credit reports to make sure the information is correct! That’s scarier than any boogieman under my bed. I don’t have to make monthly payments to that monster. Maxed Out reminds us that what keeps us together can turn, quite literally, on a dime.

Here’s the breakdown:
Would I watch it again?:  Though it’s information on our ever-expanding debt, it’s so well done I’ll be seeing it again and again.
Should you see it?: Absolutely.  It will change the way you look at debt, and even with it’s dark subject matter the film is not only informative but highly entertaining.
Netflix average rating: 4 out of 5 stars — “Really Liked It”
My rating: 5 stars — “Loved It”

Morgan Spurlock goes meta on product-placement’s back end in POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold.  In making a documentary about how product placement gets done, he decides to pimp out his movie to the highest bidders.  I’m betting there are hundreds of documentary filmmakers smacking their foreheads, wishing they’d thought of this idea first.  It’s a deceptively simple idea, but Morgan goes deep into the system, and what he finds is mind-boggling.  From businesses whose sole raison d’être is to tell you how to brand yourself to school systems that have to resort to advertising on school buses and soccer fields just to make ends meet, this is Mad Men gone rabid.  And it’s a highly entertaining, thought provoking film.

Morgan interviews people from all sides of the product-placement biz, including entertainers, directors, producers, marketers, and brand-name companies.  The list is impressive; Norm Chomsky, Ralph Nader (natch), Norm Marshall, Quentin Tarantino, Peter Berg and Donald Trump to name a few.  I have a special fondness for the business bigwigs that took a chance on this film and placed their products and brand identity on the line.  It’s the best advertising they can get; look, it’s a company that isn’t afraid to be transparent in it’s marketing decisions!  Or maybe I’m just being told to think that way.  Dammit!

The way and how of product placement is astounding.  There are agencies that specialize in obtaining product placements, so you can figure out how to get companies to finance your project.  Marketers that make sure the brands they represent get noticed by production companies.  Industrial psychologists that work to help you find “your brand”.  I was fascinated by the super-secret underpinings of this business, and creeped out.  I know I could really use a delicious beverage right about now, but do I really want it, or have I been told I want it by the last show I watched?  Now, after seeing this film, I have the sinking feeling that we’re one step away from Idiocracy as documentary rather than satire.  The fact that The Greatest Movie Ever Sold forces viewers to consider why we want what we want is one of the best reasons to see this film.  My hope that it will engender discussions about how marketing has taken over our lives to such a large extent is another.

Years ago nobody knew about product placement.  It was all very hush-hush; you never really noticed it.  E.T. scarfed down those Reese’s Pieces, and everyone said “awwww”.  Now product placement is everywhere.  Companies don’t even bother to hide it anymore.  There seem to be close-ups of branded phones and high-selling soda cans any time you watch something.  My favorite game to play whenever I watch something is “check the bathroom”; when a character has to head into the loo, take a look around that set.  Make a note of every lable you recognize, every bottle/can/box that looks familiar.  There’s probably a drinking game in there somewhere.

Stay in your seat for the credits.  Trust me.  Not only does Morgan continue with the product placement info, but the “thanks to” section is a whole lot of fun to see after all that marketing.  And OK Go, “The Greatest Rock Band to Ever Write a Theme Song”, do a great job with the closing number, “The Greatest Song I Ever Heard”.  And I say that not because this film told me to, but because I saw OK Go live a few years ago and loved ‘em.  Take that, marketing.

No doubt there’s a section of the moviegoing public that won’t “get” The Greatest Movie Ever Sold.  That’s a pity.  Because this movie begs its viewers to sit up and take notice of exactly how they’re being manipulated by the media.  Is product placement good, bad or neutral?  The movie doesn’t really pick a side, but Morgan Spurlock does want to individuals to think about how media marketing affects us all.  By doing so he’s made an excellent documentary that is a must-see for anyone who is interested in film, marketing, business or how to live life with your eyes wide open.

The Tillman Story is an eye-opening, thought-provoking, and down-right frustrating documentary. If you’re looking for a a feel-good portrait of a war hero, you should definitely look elsewhere. This film is a painfully honest portrayal of one man’s sacrifice and his family’s reaction to the shameful events after the fact that discusses what it means to be a true hero and propaganda in the modern age.

In 2002, Pat Tillman, a highly successful defensive back for the Arizona Cardinals, along with his brother, Kevin, enlisted in the US Army. After two years serving in the military, he was killed in Afghanistan on April 22, 2004. This inspirational story of heroism and valor in battle seemed perfect for an administration struggling to promote an increasingly unpopular war. But it proved too perfect. In this eye-opening doc, Tillman’s family exposes the cover-up that hid the truth regarding his tragic death and tries to rectify their loved one’s image after the press took advantage of their loss.

Somehow, I had no idea what the real story behind Pat Tillman was. Although it was big news, both when he left his football career as well as when he was killed and all the way through until the massive cover-up was revealed, I missed that last most important part. This film really enlightened me in that respect as I was shocked as the mystery unraveled. However, I’m guessing most people are more familiar with the tale. Still, this fact-filled documentary does its best to spread the true story behind the media mess and eliminate any political agenda or hero-making.

And though the facts are spotless, what makes this such an excellent documentary is simply how much thought-provoking material it hits upon. The nature of heroism, modern propaganda, searching for the truth, privacy, and family ties are just a few of the many deep areas that this doc explores. Was it right for the media to cover his story so much? How much are we, as viewers, to blame for the Tillman family’s lack of privacy? Why did Pat Tillman join the Army in the first place? Was the military doing his family a service when they covered-up the true nature of his death? This extremely intelligent film asks these questions and many more, and will leave you truly questioning them. By the end of the film, you actually care about finding the answers.

Without the family behind it, this movie would have been very cold. By having his own family tell of their predicament, the film becomes truly engaging. Too many documentaries devolve into boring talking heads, but that is definitely not the case here. Interviews, stock footage, and other related images are edited together in such a way that really keeps your attention and tell a coherent, gripping narrative that drives the film’s points forward. This great flow enables the filmmakers to get their points across in an unobtrusive, organic way.

The beginning of the film establishes the mystery of what really happened that fateful April day and then we rewind and look at what Pat Tillman was like as a person, with his family, his teammates, and his fellow Army Rangers reflecting on his life and what drove him to make such a drastic change of lifestyle for the sake of his country. This section makes this movie into a heart-felt character piece, and also gives more weight to the mystery at hand. After the mystery somewhat resolves itself, the film follows the Tillman family as they try to bring to light the men responsible for covering-up the tragic event. This documentary has everything – a great mystery, a heart-felt core, a government cover-up, as well as a frustrating conclusion.

In the past decade, the documentary has seen tremendous growth in both fact-finding as well as storytelling. In this new era of highly competitive documentary filmmaking, a film must truly stand out to be noticed. The Tillman Story is that kind of powerful film and although it has no real cause to rally behind, many will find it illuminating and thought-provoking to the extreme.

Rating: ★★★★☆ 

Waiting for Superman, Davis Guggenheim’s documentary film about America’s broken education system, now has a trailer.

In Waiting for Superman, Guggenheim, whose previous work includes An Inconvenient Truth and It Might Get Loud, turns his focus toward public education in the United States, examining the fundamental problems that haunt many schools across the country. The film was the first film bought at Sundance this year, with Paramount buying it before the festival even started.

At the festival, the film received very good reviews, and I can’t wait to see it.

When Albert C. Barnes died in 1951, he left behind an extraordinary collection of almost 800 paintings, including 181 Renoirs, 69 Cézannes, 59 Matisses, as well as several Van Goghs. Today, the collection is valued in the billions, as many of the paintings are invaluable pieces of modern art. During his lifetime, the Barnes Collection rested in a building in Lower Merion, PA. However, after his death the art has been mired in controversy.

The Art of the Steal, which plays this weekend at Theatre N in Wilmington (click here for showtimes), is a documentary about the fight to prevent the Barnes from being transported to Center City, Philadelphia, a mere 15-minute drive away.

The film touches on the politics, corruption, and greed which accompanied the move. The problem is that in Mr. Barnes’ will he expressly forbade his collection from moving from where he placed it. He had carefully constructed an intimate place for his art to reside and wished to preserve that aspect of learning and culture which he had established. However, in the 1990s, many powerful people desired to move the precious artwork into Philadelphia.

Going into more detail would only diminish the film’s effect. The Art of the Steal is an extremely well-crafted documentary. It takes a seemingly dull, legally confusing tale and engages the audience by telling a story.

That is the heart of filmmaking – storytelling. Although traditionally documentaries have remained dull and purely informative, they can also become great films by telling a story. We have seen this more and more often in recent years, with movies such as An Inconvenient Truth and this year’s The Cove.

Director Don Argott skillfully tells a story through old-fashioned ways (interviews, archival pictures, you know – typical documentary fare) but his skill really shines through. Rather than being dull talking heads, the interviews are framed excellently, but it isn’t distracting, and other visual cues (such as scene titles every once-in-a-while) pull you into the story.

Now, some have argued that the film is too subjective, including Bernard C. Watson, head of the Barnes Foundation, who wrote a scathing editorial on the film. The film definitely has a stance, but the facts are represented truthfully, and much effort was made to keep the movie from becoming too one-sided. The fact remains that most of the opposition to the film declined to be interviewed for it.

As a film, The Art of the Steal succeeds both in telling a story and defending an argument. I had never heard of the Barnes Collection, but I came out of the film with strong feelings about the film’s subject matter. Whether you have a personal investment in the story or not, this is a fantastic documentary.

Rating: ★★★★☆ 

If you are a horror fan, you probably already know the pleasures to be found in Paco Plaza and Jaume Balaguero’s outbreak thriller [REC]. The Spanish-language film took the concept of a zombie infection, ran it through the lens of a first-person, hand-held camera perspective, and then unleashed a ghoulish parade of prickly, low-budget thrills. It was the movie Cloverfield and Diary of the Dead wanted so badly to be; the chilling, ground level document of an epic event with an emphasis on sympathetic, unlikely characters.  Last year, it was translated, rather clumsily, into the American flick Quarantine. That film, like the aforementioned pictures, failed to really humanize the people at the heart of the event.

Now, [REC] 2 has arrived, brought to us by the same directors, and the question  is, have they managed to capture what was so compelling about the original film? The answer is yes, and no. At any rate, [REC] 2 is an intense, exhilarating cinematic ride and one highly recommended for fans of horror or zombie flicks.  What works in its favor is the choice to immediately follow up the events of the original with two new groups of characters, and then intertwine those stories throughout.   The tenement building that served as ground zero for what appeared to be a zombie infection is again the film’s dark, menacing setting, and the action begins with a ready-for-bear SWAT team heading into the now sealed off apartment with a medical officer in tow.

What they discover inside is both exactly what we expect and thematically fresh from other, similar exercises in the subgenre of the zombie film. At the close of the first, there was a suggestion made that the cause and course of the infection was more supernatural as opposed to  viral. [REC] 2 follows up that tantalizing concept with a real game-changer for the occupants of  the building; how does one stave off an epidemic triggered by something outside the bounds of modern medicine, or in fact, natural biology?  

Balaguero and Plaza don’t even hold to the same slowly-building horror format of their initial work, instead transforming the setting and their antagonists into something better suited for an edge-of-your-seat action picture, populated with endless jump scares, twisting of narrative perspective and as many nightmarish death scenes as possible.

Visually, this is a sharper, clearer picture than the first and there’s something a bit more theatrical about its set pieces and stylistic flourishes. There was a shabby, improvised feel to the original [REC] that helped ground its shivery scenario. But this time out, the boys have seemingly jumped genres; there’s a slick and relentless nature grafted onto the infected. As the script begins to rethink them in thematic turns, their attack and appearance grow increasingly more fearsome and crazed. When the SWAT team encounters them, the shaky, haphazard style of the camera subtly shifts to a canny observer of carnage. The transition is nearly seamless, and the only calling card of the technique is found in the chills up your arm, or that thrill jolting through your system.

The weakness that prevents [REC] 2 from becoming the equal of its predecessor is in the area of character development. First time around, the slow escalation of events allowed the audience to understand and empathize with the survivors, so by the time the dark frenzy of the later sections arrived, there was a significant investment. Here, by amplifying the threat and jumping right into the action, there’s no time to get to know or relate to the new group. In fact, just as we are getting used to the SWAT team, the picture throws another curve ball and begins again with a set of  teens who have wandered into the building via the sewers. They were decoration in the first half, and then are suddenly cast as the protagonists in the second. It’s clever, but works against the need for well realized characterization.  

It was never going to be easy to balance the new pacing and focus with the strong characters. Here, the people get sacrificed—in more ways than one—although Balaguero and Plaza have taken this into consideration and actually shrink the focus and scope of their ambitions. [REC] 2 is pared down to the point where it’s as lean and mean as a traditional survival horror could be. There are few let-ups between attacks and revelation, and each sequence is tied so precisely to the next that they form an ever-coiling spring of suspense.

I walked out of [REC] 2 reminded of the potential for horror to actually provide scares and anxiety without resorting to gutter-level shock tactics. Like the film it follows, this is one thrill ride worth taking a second time.  

Rating: ★★★½☆ 

After a short period of flux after leaving “The Tonight Show,” Conan O’Brien was back in the spotlight a few weeks ago when he created a Twitter account and announced his upcoming comedy tour.

His contract with NBC prohibits him from any television appearances until the fall, so what does he do in the meantime? A comedy tour, of course! The tour is fittingly called, “The Legally Prohibited From Being Funny on Television Tour” and kicks off on April 12th in Eugene, OR. He will visit 30 cities until June 12th, when he is set to finish in Atlanta. Go to the tour’s website, TeamCoco.com, for a full list of dates.

In addition, O’Brien will not be taking any of the profits from the tour. He has chosen to give it to the families of his crew of about 40 who were uprooted to New York following his move to “The Tonight Show” and subsequently put out of work.

Now, Deadline is reporting that O’Brien is in talks with Media Rights Capital to create a documentary about the tour. This won’t be a simple video of the comedy, but a feature-length documentary, hopefully with a lot of good behind-the-scenes bits. Rumors have it that Rodman Flender, of Leprechaun 2, is going to direct.

This should make for an interesting film. The late-night shuffle of Jay and Conan has brought more attention from the public than ever to bear upon the comedian and his fans have only become more fervent supporters. Hopefully, this movie gets made and gives some insight into the cross-country comedy tour that is sure to be hilarious.

Set to a limited release March 26, 2010 is director Don Hahn’s documentary Waking Sleeping Beauty. See the trailer here. Hahn produced such Disney classics as Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Beauty and the Beast, The Nightmare Before Christmas and The Lion King (also The Emperor’s New Groove which is a great buddy movie if you haven’t seen it).

Needless to say Hahn knows about Disney, Disney’s failures and Disney’s successes which he documents wonderfully in this film. It seems that before my time there was a period when Disney had “lost it” and wasn’t making animated movies up to the level set by Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Fantasia, Bambi, and Sleeping Beauty to name just a few (disclaimer: I heart Disney).

Full-length animated features such as The Great Mouse Detective (a favorite of mine) were not performing at the box office as well as expected and the general feeling at Walt Disney Studios Feature Animation department was grim. A struggle between young and old, and a lot of other things, helped wake the sleeping giant that was Disney Animated Features and create the renaissance that gave us Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King.

I cannot wait to see this documentary, can you? I sure hope Dallas is one of the limited release cities if not then I may be coming to your town and sleeping on your couch just to see this movie! By the way my favorite Disney movie is The Sword in the Stone — what’s yours?