Several films have already been made about the banking crisis in 2008 (eg The Big Short, Margin Call) and the conclusion is often that no one has been prosecuted for it. The main reason for this is that most of them were “Too big to fail”. If they would have to deal with a lawsuit, it would have a huge impact on the financial system. Abacus Federal Savings in New York, a very small bank focusing mainly on the Chinese community in Chinatown, was the only bank that faced a lawsuit on mortgage fraud. A case that could have a lot of impact on this small family business and its customers. Continue reading
Tag Archives: Documentary
How to Build A Time Machine (2016) – Review
One of the most fascinating concepts for me has always been time travel. It is something that appeals to the imagination, often involving all kinds of paradoxes, but also endless possibilities. Fortunately, there are also a lot of films that play with time (see my personal top 10 here) and for some people they are so inspiring that it has greatly influenced their lives. This documentary shows how the story of H.G.Wells and the film The Time Machine from 1960 became an obsession for Ronald Mallet and Robert Niosi, who both got inspired in a different way. Continue reading
Man with a Movie Camera (1929) – Review
Man with a Movie Camera is a movie I had heard about for a long time and although I’m a huge fan of documentaries, this title never really appealed to me. My expectation of such an old film about daily life in a Russian city simply did not seemed special to me, especially because I have seen so many fantastic documentaries. Yet I have learned over the years that you should give films a chance because they can surprise you. And how glad I am that I did. Continue reading
Generation Iron 2 (2017) – Review
When you think of bodybuilding documentaries, there is probably only one you might know, Pumping Iron. It showed the rivalry between a then unknown Arnold Schwarzenegger and Lou Ferrigno, who seemed to have the greatest chance of winning the title of Mr. Olympia. Bodybuilding is a niche market, but thanks to the later career of Schwarzenegger this documentary has become known. Generation Iron from 2013 was presented as a spiritual successor, which not only Schwarzenegger and Ferrigno were part of, but which mainly focused on the battle for the title between Phil Heath and Kai Greene in 2012. The sequel also steps back into the world of bodybuilding , but shifting its focus from the competitive aspect of this sport to the sport itself and how it has changed in recent years. Continue reading
Long Shot (2017) – Review
In recent months, a number of new “true crime” documentaries have appeared on Netflix. A genre which I find very fascinating. With a length of just 39 minutes Long Shot was an interesting snack with a bizarre story. Continue reading
Out of Thin Air (2017) – Review
The fact that our memory is not always reliable has often been proven by various studies. Seeing photos or hearing stories from others, can influence us so we can recall certain events that were different in reality or did not happen at all. In Iceland in 1974, two men disappeared without trace just month from each other. It kept the country, with a relatively small population, busy for months. Who was responsible for this and why had no one been arrested? The police were under pressure and eventually arrested six people. They were held for a long time, interrogate under a lot of pressure, until they finally broke and made incriminating statements. They did so while they had no clear memory that they might have committed a murder. Yet they were all convicted. Continue reading
The Art of Organized Noize (2016) – Review
Organized Noize will not be a name everyone will recognize immediately. But if you are familiar with the early work of Outkast, Goodie Mob or the songs “Waterfalls” by TLC or “Do not Let Go (Love)” by En Vogue, you will know their work. It is the production team behind the music that put Atlanta on the map as a music city. This documentary, which can be found on Netflix, shows their history and how they managed to reach the top, but also how they eventually lost that position. Continue reading
Score: A Film Music Documentary (2016) – Review
Film music can make or break a film. Whether you are aware of it or not (I belong to the latter camp), it sets the tone for what you see. It can create tension, strengthen emotions and can even help making a movie a classic. If you hear the word Star Wars, Psycho or Jaws, you can easily sing the music that goes along with those films. But what has been the role of music over the years, who are the composers behind all that music and how do they work? These are all questions that are addressed in this documentary. Continue reading
Alive and Kicking (2017) – Review
How good are your dance skills? Whatever the answer, after seeing this documentary you might start to doubt them. This documentary is about the world of swing dancing. A way of dancing that is extremely energetic, fun to watch and sometimes acrobatic. A dance that seemed to have died a silent death and wasn’t performed for many decades, but which suddenly became enormously popular again in the late 80s and early 90s. The reason? The fact that a large film studio decided to release old films with the dance on video. People who saw the Lindy Hop being performed in old films wanted to know more about it and the popular dancers of that time were suddenly asked to teach again, even though they were already elderly. Swing dancing made a huge comeback and never disappeared. Alive and Kicking tries to make it clear why. Continue reading
Bad Rap (2016) – Review
Although I have been listening to hip hop for more than 25 years now, if you asked me to name some American rappers with an Asian background, I would not get very far. The only one I could name is Jin, who became known years ago by his performance on Freestyle Friday at 106 and Park, where he beat other rappers for several weeks. The others tried to use the stereotypical images of kung fu, chinese food, and so on, but Jin went so hard that they didn’t stand a chance. Of course there are many more and this documentary looks at four other rappers, who all try to make a name for themselves. Continue reading