WELCOME (BOBBY FISCHER AGAINST THE WORLD, THE KING OF KONG & SENNA)

Alright then, I'm a 3rd year Film student, and I watch a hell of a lot of films so I'll try and list and give a brief description of why they're the mutt's nuts or not... plus chuck a few all time fave reccomendations in for good cinematic measure.

HOKAY... so, I'm gonna start of this blog with a pick of recent documentaries which are off the chain insane.

All these docs share a similar theme; the extremities of human obsession.
The addictions vary; Chess, Donkey-Kong and Driving, but all showcase a brilliant portrait of people with unique talents and how they deal with all the burdens that come with gaining notoriety...




1980's arcade videogames were fucking mental.

First of all, they were built up level by level until they literally ran out of space, so beating the game is literally impossible.

Secondly, they were coin operated so are not designed to even let you win at all.

It turns out there's quite a few people stuck in an 80's time-warp still well into these games, precisely because of their imense difficulty, simplicity and requirement for an unworldy amount of concentration, dedication and skill.

The King of Kong (2007, Seth Gordon) explores this crazy little sub-culture with the help of an inspiring, frustrating and ultimately uplifting tale of a man's battle to OWN DONKEY KONG.

Many entertaining obstacles make for a real treat and an insight into a small world with BIG problems.

8.5/10

Trailer:








Another internal and external battle to master and control extreme skill (and the burdens that come with it) are amazingly portrayed in Senna (2010, Asif Kapadia).

The story of Brazilian Ayrton Senna's racing career is documentary gold, superb original footage and interviews take us through every bend and hairpin in his magnificent but short career as one of the worlds most talented drivers and as Brazil's most revered national sporting hero of all time.

Truly brilliant and horrendously tradgic, Senna's career is full of amazing stories and moments that are already stitched into narrative form.
I'm not a Formula 1 fan, on the surface it can seem a little boring, but Senna follows some defining moments in it's evolution as a sport and also manages to highlight mistakes that can be made in such a dangerous business.

9/10

Trailer:





The life of Bobby Fischer is a very interesting one. Brought up on a diet of chess and chess washed down with more chess, he understandably dreamed of becoming chess grandmaster when he grew up, so that's what he did....

Bobby Fischer Against the World (2011, Liz Garbus) is truly an incredible portrait of genius and the internal conflict that such intelligence brings to the human condition. Like Senna the film follows his life and career in an enlightened and rewarding spectrum, witnessing the highs and lows of not only his chess playing but his own life.

A disturbing ending sees Bobby adopting some rather frightening mantra's, but the film manages to make Bobby a victim of circumstance and understand, rather than explain his apparent social and psychological collapse.

8.5/10

Trailer:




You should also check out Morgan Spurlock's latest feature, The Greatest Movie Ever Sold which is about product placement and advertising, well worth a look.

Trailer:





I'm really looking forward to these documentaries out in the near future:

Project Nim:



Vigilante Vigilante:




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