The Documentary Show

The only link this episode is that they rhyme. John and Keith start off with Ryan McGarry’s film, Code Black, which looks at the state of the ER and the US healthcare system. Then, they look at Crystal Moselle’s doc, The Wolfpack, that takes a look at a group of brothers who’ve spent most of their lives in a small NYC apartment and recreate their favorite movies.

John and Keith are joined by Michael Valentine, director of the documentary film Comix: Beyond the Comic Book Pages. Michael shares his experiences interviewing some of the great comic book creators, the world of comic books, meeting fans at conventions, and the process of making his first documentary. Listen to the interview and go to ComixTheMovie.com for more information on the film.

John and Keith are into the world of wrestling. They discuss the Netflix Exclusive, Jon Greenhalgh’s Team Foxcatcher, covering the year leading up to the murder committed by John du Pont. Then a story of hope and redemption of a former professional wrestler in, Steve Yu’s The Resurrection of Jake the Snake.

John and Keith are back on themes with Samantha Futerman and Ryan Miyamoto’s Twinsters, the story of two sisters separated at birth, reconnected by YouTube. Followed by Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky’s Brother’s Keeper, the story of brothers connected since birth and unable to be separated after one brother is accused of murdering another brother in the nineties.

John and Keith could not have picked more different films if they had tried. First up, Sebastian Junger’s and Tim Hetherington’s Restrepo about a platoon of U.S. soldiers setting up an outpost in the Korangal Valley in Afghanistan. It’s an unbiased look on their day to day lives in a war zone. And they wrap up with, Alan Zweig’s When Jews Were Funny. It’s a quest to figure out if and how comedy today was inspired by Jewish comedians and if Jews are naturally funny.

John and Keith dive into the wide world of sports with 3 of ESPN’s 30 for 30 documentaries. First they get financially responsible with the lessons of professional players in Billy Corben’s Broke. They get the truth about when Michael Jordan played baseball in Ron Shelton’s Jordan Rides the Bus. And they wrap up by realizing how great Bo Jackson was in Michael Bonfiglio’s You Don’t Know Bo.

Keith brings along the great, but sub-titled documentary, Ilinca Calugareanu’s story of how illegal American films helped spark freedom in the Ukraine. Then John brings a documentary that might be a documentary or it might be an expansion of a game, or an episode of Lost. Spencer McCall’s film will leave you with many questions because it did for us.

John brings the story of the best chess club in the country in Katie Dellamaggiore’s Brooklyn Castle and how these hard working kids deal with victory, defeat, and budget cuts. Keith brings a little bit of the story of Ricky Jay, and more about the history of magic with Molly Bernstein’s Deceptive Practices: The Mysteries and Mentors of Ricky Jay.

John and Keith accidentally picked a pseudo-theme for this episode. First up, Juan Carlos Piñeiro Escoriaza’s Second Skin taking a look at MMORPG players, their lives, relationships, and gaming addiction. Then, Albert and David Maysles’ Grey Gardens which looks at the life of Big and Little Edie who happen to live with raccoons and are related to Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.

John and Keith bow to the masters of voice acting with Lawrence Shapiro’s I Know That Voice. Their usual impressions and accents are lacking out of fear. In the intermission, they revive an old movie idea. Then dive into the great, but little discussed writer/director, John Milius. All thanks to Joey Figueroa and Zak Knutson’s aptly named film Milius.