No No: A Dockumentary
Here’s the thing about baseball, and about sports in general: Lost in the big, arching narratives that we all tend to get caught up in — especially in the modern era — there are legendary players and small moments. When you think about the greatest pitchers or greatest performances throughout baseball history, you think of Nolan Ryan and Sandy Koufax because of how they dominated. But the title of greatest no hitter of all time belongs to Dock Ellis for one simple reason: He did it while on LSD.
Dock Ellis had a mostly successful eleven-year career as a pitcher in Major League Baseball, was an outspoken advocate for the rights of players and African Americans, and became a World Series champion. He was also an alcoholic and struggled with an addiction to amphetamines. No No: A Dockumentary examines the many elements of Dock’s life, on the field and off it, and how they shaped him over his career and during the years after baseball, leading to his untimely death in 2008.
The Puffy Chair
The Duplass brothers are now well known for their penchant for making charming and interesting indie flicks, but back in 2005, they had little fame. The Puffy Chair marked the arrival of the duo. Starring Mark Duplass, the film is a road trip wrapped in odd and interesting twists, all of which are meant to reveal more about the relationships between different people. There’s a reason this flick launched the Duplass duo to future successes, and it’s worth revisiting.
Beyond Clueless
If you did your growing up during the ’80s and ’90s, you more than likely saw the movie Clueless. It was, at the time, the quintessential teen movie. For the next generation, that role belonged to Mean Girls. The documentary Beyond Clueless hones in on the generation of teen-centric cinema that popped up in the decade between those two films, and searches for answers as to what the explosion of high school films tells us about teens and ourselves.
Grizzly Man
If you know anything about the film Grizzly Man, then you probably already know how it ends. Luckily, that’s not the most interesting part of the Werner Herzog directed documentary. Using real footage of naturalist and bear enthusiast Timothy Treadwell’s time living in Katmai National Park and Preserve, Alaska, the film shows the story of a man who lived as close to bears as he could possibly get. His story can be seen on film as it plays through his own eyes.
Men in Black II
The Men In Black series has never been as strong as it was in its original iteration, but it’s one of those franchises that fans will always have an affinity for because of the characters. Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones are back as members of the secret government agency that deal with aliens on Earth. Once again, the planet is threatened, but this time MIB headquarters has been overtaken, leaving Agents J and K with little help, while they try to save Earth from being obliterated.
