14-year-olds Alec Atkins, Malcolm Brickhouse and Jarad Dawkins make up the metal band Unlocking the Truth. Though they started out playing to Times Square crowds, they eventually acquired a manager, a huge record deal, and became the youngest band to ever play Coachella. Luke Meyer’s music documentary “Breaking a Monster” follows the boys’ rise to fame and the troubles they face as they struggle with early adulthood and the pressures of stardom. Watch an exclusive clip from the film below.
Read More: How a Legal Battle With Sony Put This Documentary in Jeopardy
The film first premiered at South by Southwest in March of last year before traveling on the festival circuit. After the band underwent a contract dispute with Sony Music Entertainment, the film was in a holding pattern for over a year. Meyer and producer Tom Davis eventually started a Kickstarter campaign to help self-release the film with Abramorama.
Read More: How a Legal Battle With Sony Put This Documentary in Jeopardy
The film first premiered at South by Southwest in March of last year before traveling on the festival circuit. After the band underwent a contract dispute with Sony Music Entertainment, the film was in a holding pattern for over a year. Meyer and producer Tom Davis eventually started a Kickstarter campaign to help self-release the film with Abramorama.
- 10/6/2016
- by Vikram Murthi
- Indiewire
Abramorama released Luke Meyer’s music documentary, “Breaking a Monster,” in a limited theatrical release over the summer, opening the critically-acclaimed film on June 24 in NYC, and in Los Angeles on July 1, 2016, expanding throughout the country afterward. Now available on home video… Continue Reading →...
- 10/3/2016
- by shadowandact
- ShadowAndAct
To help sift through the increasing number of new releases (independent or otherwise), the Weekly Film Guide is here! Below you’ll find basic plot, personnel and cinema information for all of this week’s fresh offerings.
Starting this month, we’ve also put together a list for the entire month. We’ve included this week’s list here, complete with information on screening locations for films in limited release.
See More: Here Are All the Upcoming Movies in Theaters for June 2016
Here are the films opening theatrically in the U.S. the week of Friday, June 24. All synopses provided by distributor unless listed otherwise.
Wide
Free State of Jones
Director: Gary Ross
Cast: Matthew McConaughey, Keri Russell, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Mahershala Ali, Jacob Lofland
Synopsis: “In Jones County, Miss., Newt Knight joins forces with other farmers and a group of slaves to lead a rebellion against the Confederacy.”
Independence Day: Resurgence...
Starting this month, we’ve also put together a list for the entire month. We’ve included this week’s list here, complete with information on screening locations for films in limited release.
See More: Here Are All the Upcoming Movies in Theaters for June 2016
Here are the films opening theatrically in the U.S. the week of Friday, June 24. All synopses provided by distributor unless listed otherwise.
Wide
Free State of Jones
Director: Gary Ross
Cast: Matthew McConaughey, Keri Russell, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Mahershala Ali, Jacob Lofland
Synopsis: “In Jones County, Miss., Newt Knight joins forces with other farmers and a group of slaves to lead a rebellion against the Confederacy.”
Independence Day: Resurgence...
- 6/24/2016
- by Steve Greene
- Indiewire
Following in the vein of We are the Best! and Sing Street, this summer brings another movie about youngsters expressing themselves through music, and turning out to be quite good at it. The only difference with Breaking a Monster is that it’s a true story and its been captured in documentary form thanks to director Luke Meyer.
The film, which has screened at many festivals, including SXSW, Hot Docs and BAMCinemaFest, tracks the rise of Unlocking the Truth, a band comprised of then-7th graders who started out in Times Square playing to crowds and have risen to fame, opening for Metallica and nabbing a $1.8 million record deal with Sony. Ahead of a release later this June, well-timed with the debut of their first album, the first trailer has now landed. Check it out below, along with the poster.
Breaking A Monster begins as the three members of band...
The film, which has screened at many festivals, including SXSW, Hot Docs and BAMCinemaFest, tracks the rise of Unlocking the Truth, a band comprised of then-7th graders who started out in Times Square playing to crowds and have risen to fame, opening for Metallica and nabbing a $1.8 million record deal with Sony. Ahead of a release later this June, well-timed with the debut of their first album, the first trailer has now landed. Check it out below, along with the poster.
Breaking A Monster begins as the three members of band...
- 6/7/2016
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
"They're relating to everything in La because of Grand Theft Auto!" Abramorama has debuted a trailer for the documentary Breaking A Monster, which profiles the heavy metal / punk rock band Unlocking the Truth. The story begins profiling them when they're in 7th grade, following this three-man band as they play shows to big crowds on the streets of New York City, eventually landing a major record deal along with gigs opening for Metallica. The band features Malcolm Brickhouse on vocals & guitar, Alec Atkins on bass, and Jarad Dawkins on drums. It's not just another rock doc about being famous, since it's also a coming-of-age story of these kids growing up right when they're making it big living their dream. Fire it up below. Here's the official trailer (+ poster) for Luke Meyer's doc Breaking A Monster, direct from YouTube: Breaking A Monster begins as the three members of the band...
- 6/3/2016
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Needless to say, Unlocking the Truth isn't your typical heavy metal band. Consisting of three black teenagers from Brooklyn, the group broke through thanks to YouTube -- that great 21st century star-maker that gave rise to no less a pop sensation than Justin Bieber -- where videos of the trio's impressive performances in Times Square went viral. Whether Malcolm Brickhouse (guitar/vocals), Jarad Dawkins (drums) and Alec Atkins (bass) can successfully ride the fame-wave that has had them open for groups as iconic as Metallica, Guns 'n' Roses and Marilyn Manson is the question at the heart of Breaking a Monster, a new documentary that charts the unlikely stars' precocious breakthrough into the industry (they signed a $1.8 million, five album deal with Sony Music Entertainment before negotiating their release from the contract last year) and the inevitable pitfalls that arise from it. The Luke Meyer-directed docu looks like a...
- 6/3/2016
- by Chris Eggertsen
- Hitfix
Plus: Mpi acquires If There’s A Hell Below; Saban buys Come And Find Me; Shout! Factory, Legacy Classics in production-distribution pact; and more
Abramorama will release Luke Meyer’s music documentary Breaking A Monster theatrically across the Us, kicking off with a June 24 launch in New York.
The film charts the birth of the heavy metal band Unlocking The Truth as 7th grade schoolchildren who sign with an industry veteran manager and land a major record deal.
Saban Films has acquired North American rights to Aaron Paul starrer Come And Find Me, which marks the feature debut of Zack Whedon. Annabelle Wallis also stars in the thriller about a mysterious girlfriend. Automatik’s Brian Kavanaugh-Jones, Motion Picture Capital’s Leon Clarance and Oddfellows Entertainment’s Chris Ferguson produced the film and the executive producers are Laure Vaysse and Jo Monk.Broad Green Pictures has cast Megalyn Echikunwoke, Eden SherLyndon Smith, Gage Golightly, [link...
Abramorama will release Luke Meyer’s music documentary Breaking A Monster theatrically across the Us, kicking off with a June 24 launch in New York.
The film charts the birth of the heavy metal band Unlocking The Truth as 7th grade schoolchildren who sign with an industry veteran manager and land a major record deal.
Saban Films has acquired North American rights to Aaron Paul starrer Come And Find Me, which marks the feature debut of Zack Whedon. Annabelle Wallis also stars in the thriller about a mysterious girlfriend. Automatik’s Brian Kavanaugh-Jones, Motion Picture Capital’s Leon Clarance and Oddfellows Entertainment’s Chris Ferguson produced the film and the executive producers are Laure Vaysse and Jo Monk.Broad Green Pictures has cast Megalyn Echikunwoke, Eden SherLyndon Smith, Gage Golightly, [link...
- 5/26/2016
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Abramorama has acquired theatrical rights to Luke Meyer’s music documentary Breaking a Monster and will release it next month. The film, which premiered at last year’s SXSW, is a coming-of-age story following the breakout of Unlocking the Truth, a teen heavy metal trio from Brooklyn that skyrockets to fame after a video of their performance in Times Square goes viral. The pic opens June 24 In NYC, followed by Los Angeles a week later and other cities to be added during…...
- 5/26/2016
- Deadline
Full line-up of the Stockholm film festival includes feature and documentary competition line-ups.Scroll down for full line-up
The Stockholm International Film Festival (Nov 11-22) has unveiled the line-up for its 26th edition, comprising more than 190 films from over 70 countries.
The Stockholm Xxvi Competition includes Marielle Heller’s Us title The Diary of a Teenage Girl and László Nemes’ Holocaust drama Son Of Saul.
It marks the first time Stockholm has a greater number of women than men competing for the Bronze Horse – the festival’s top prize.
The documentary competition includes Amy Berg’s An Open Secret, an investigation into accusations of teenagers being sexually abused within the film industry; and Cosima Spender’s Palio, centred on the annual horse race in Siena, Italy.
Announcing the programme, festival director Git Scheynius also revealed that Chinese artist Ai Weiwei will visit Stockholm for the first time as chairman of the jury for the first Stockholm Impact Award, which...
The Stockholm International Film Festival (Nov 11-22) has unveiled the line-up for its 26th edition, comprising more than 190 films from over 70 countries.
The Stockholm Xxvi Competition includes Marielle Heller’s Us title The Diary of a Teenage Girl and László Nemes’ Holocaust drama Son Of Saul.
It marks the first time Stockholm has a greater number of women than men competing for the Bronze Horse – the festival’s top prize.
The documentary competition includes Amy Berg’s An Open Secret, an investigation into accusations of teenagers being sexually abused within the film industry; and Cosima Spender’s Palio, centred on the annual horse race in Siena, Italy.
Announcing the programme, festival director Git Scheynius also revealed that Chinese artist Ai Weiwei will visit Stockholm for the first time as chairman of the jury for the first Stockholm Impact Award, which...
- 10/20/2015
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
Summer may be over, but with this year marking the 35th anniversary of Friday the 13th, it's never too late to visit the lake. Ahead of the event's November 4th start date, the folks behind the Denver Film Festival have announced the first wave of programming, including a special November 13th 35mm screening of Sean S. Cunningham's monumental slasher film.
Press Release: October 9, 2015 (Denver, Colo.) - The Denver Film Festival (Dff), produced by Denver Film Society (Dfs), announced its first wave of programming. Recognized as the Rocky Mountain Region's premier film event, the festival will feature a focus on Polish Cinema, sidebars for CinemaQ, CineLatino, Late Night and Women+Film, as well as robust Shorts Packages and Music Spotlight programming.
"In keeping with our long and rich tradition of presenting the best in Eastern European cinema, we at the Denver Film Festival are proud to announce that this year's...
Press Release: October 9, 2015 (Denver, Colo.) - The Denver Film Festival (Dff), produced by Denver Film Society (Dfs), announced its first wave of programming. Recognized as the Rocky Mountain Region's premier film event, the festival will feature a focus on Polish Cinema, sidebars for CinemaQ, CineLatino, Late Night and Women+Film, as well as robust Shorts Packages and Music Spotlight programming.
"In keeping with our long and rich tradition of presenting the best in Eastern European cinema, we at the Denver Film Festival are proud to announce that this year's...
- 10/14/2015
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
The Look of Silence and new music from members of Sigur Ros to open festival; Monty Python documentary to close.
Sheffield Doc/Fest (June 5-10) has revealed the line-up of its 2015 edition, which will open with two events.
The first is the UK premiere of Joshua Oppenheimer’s The Look of Silence, the follow-up to critically acclaimed The Act of Killing, in which a family that survives the genocide in Indonesia confronts the men who killed one of their brothers.
The second is the world premiere of Icelandic director Benedikt Erlingsson’s The Greatest Shows on Earth: A Century of Funfairs, Circuses and Carnivals – a music and archive film that will feature a new score by Georg Hólm and Orri Páll Dýrason of Sigur Rós and the head of the Pagan Church in Iceland, Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson.
The film centres on the lives of travelling showpeople and has been created with exclusive access to the University of Sheffield...
Sheffield Doc/Fest (June 5-10) has revealed the line-up of its 2015 edition, which will open with two events.
The first is the UK premiere of Joshua Oppenheimer’s The Look of Silence, the follow-up to critically acclaimed The Act of Killing, in which a family that survives the genocide in Indonesia confronts the men who killed one of their brothers.
The second is the world premiere of Icelandic director Benedikt Erlingsson’s The Greatest Shows on Earth: A Century of Funfairs, Circuses and Carnivals – a music and archive film that will feature a new score by Georg Hólm and Orri Páll Dýrason of Sigur Rós and the head of the Pagan Church in Iceland, Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson.
The film centres on the lives of travelling showpeople and has been created with exclusive access to the University of Sheffield...
- 5/7/2015
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
Neil Armfield.s Holding the Man, Simon Stone.s The Daughter, Jeremy Sims. Last Cab to Darwin and Jen Peedom.s feature doc Sherpa will have their world premieres at the Sydney Film Festival.
The festival program unveiled today includes 33 world premieres (including 22 shorts) and 135 Australian premieres (with 18 shorts) among 251 titles from 68 countries.
Among the other premieres will be Daina Reid.s The Secret River, Ruby Entertainment's. ABC-tv miniseries starring Oliver Jackson Cohen and Sarah Snook, and three Oz docs, Marc Eberle.s The Cambodian Space Project — Not Easy Rock .n. Roll, Steve Thomas. Freedom Stories and Lisa Nicol.s Wide Open Sky.
Festival director Nashen Moodley boasted. this year.s event will be far larger than 2014's when 183 films from 47 countries were screened, including 15 world premieres. The expansion is possible in part due to the addition of two new screening venues in Newtown and Liverpool.
As previously announced, Brendan Cowell...
The festival program unveiled today includes 33 world premieres (including 22 shorts) and 135 Australian premieres (with 18 shorts) among 251 titles from 68 countries.
Among the other premieres will be Daina Reid.s The Secret River, Ruby Entertainment's. ABC-tv miniseries starring Oliver Jackson Cohen and Sarah Snook, and three Oz docs, Marc Eberle.s The Cambodian Space Project — Not Easy Rock .n. Roll, Steve Thomas. Freedom Stories and Lisa Nicol.s Wide Open Sky.
Festival director Nashen Moodley boasted. this year.s event will be far larger than 2014's when 183 films from 47 countries were screened, including 15 world premieres. The expansion is possible in part due to the addition of two new screening venues in Newtown and Liverpool.
As previously announced, Brendan Cowell...
- 5/6/2015
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
Read More: Meet the 2015 SXSW Filmmakers #23: Luke Meyer Follows Pre-Teen Metal Band in 'Breaking A Monster' Indiewire's Nigel M. Smith moderated a panel at the 2015 SXSW Film Festival in March discussing the musical, coming-of-age documentary "Breaking a Monster," which chronicles the young rock band Unlocking the Truth and their journey to stardom as well as childhood obstacles. The band's 12 and 13-year-old members, Malcolm Brickhouse, Jarad Dawkins and Alec Atkins, the film's director, Luke Meyer, and producer Tom Davis spoke about the making of the film, gaining their parents' trust and what it was like following the band for a year. Highlights from the talk are below. You can watch the entire discussion above. "Breaking a Monster" plays next at HotDocs Documentary Film Festival in Toronto. Teens Enjoy Their PrivacyWhen asked what they thought of the rough cut, band member Dawkins revealed that he initially thought that some of his personal.
- 4/28/2015
- by Travis Clark
- Indiewire
Becoming a music sensation may take time and effort, but the long rise to fame hasn't been an issue for the 12 and 13-year-old members of metal band Unlocking the Truth. In Luke Meyer's documentary "Breaking a Monster: Unlocking the Truth," the nonfiction filmmaker chronicles the band's breakout year in which its young members first encountered stardom and the music industry, ultimately transcending childhood to become the rock stars they always dreamed of being. What's your film about in 140 characters or less? The breakout year of pre-teen metal band Unlocking the Truth as they first encounter stardom and the music industry, and reckon with their rock-star dreams. Now what's it Really about? Art, commerce, big dreams, childhood, heavy metal and Grand Theft Auto. Tell us briefly about yourself. My first film, "Darkon," premiered here at SXSW where it won the Audience Award. After that I made a film called "New World Order,...
- 3/31/2015
- by Zack Sharf
- Indiewire
Read More: SXSW Reveals Features and Episodics Lineups; New Judd Apatow and Alex Gibney Make the Cut Unlike Sundance, Berlin, Cannes and other more traditional film festivals, South by Southwest traces its roots back to the music industry. Founded in 1987, SXSW began as a music festival, a launchpad for up-and-coming musical talent, and a discussion platform for the music industry at large. Over the past two-and-a-half decades, with the addition of a robust film and interactive program, SXSW has transformed into a multimedia showcase with a knack for featuring creative work that exists at the crossroads of multiple disciplines -- music documentaries being one such example. This year is no exception. We went through the line-up and picked out seven wacky-sounding music documentaries that we plan to check out at this year's SXSW. Read More: 10 Cool and Crazy Must-See Films at SXSW 2015 "Breaking a Monster"Documentary Feature Competition Director: Luke Meyer Why.
- 3/10/2015
- by Shipra Gupta
- Indiewire
Now that the busy winter fest schedule of Sundance, Rotterdam and the Berlinale has concluded, we’ve now got our eyes on the likes of True/False and SXSW. While, True/False does not specialize in attention grabbing world premieres, it does provide a late winter haven for cream of the crop non-fiction fare from all the previously mentioned fests and a selection of overlooked genre blending films presented in a down home setting. This year will mark my first trip to the Columbia, Missouri based fest, where I hope to catch a little of everything, from their hush-hush secret screenings, to selections from their Neither/Nor series, this year featuring chimeric Polish cinema of decades past, to a spotlight of Adam Curtis’s incisive oeuvre. But truth be told, it is SXSW, with its slew of high profile world premieres being announced, such as Alex Gibney’s Steve Jobs...
- 2/27/2015
- by Jordan M. Smith
- IONCINEMA.com
Amy Schumer and Bill Hader in TrainwreckPhoto: Universal Pictures With Sundance just wrapping up and Berlin starting up in a few days, we are now immersed in the year-long barrage of film festivals. One such festival in South By Southwest. A few weeks back they announced the first seven films of their program, including the opening night film Brand: A Second Coming. Today, they have revealed the rest of the features to be shown in March (except for the midnight program), and some of it has me very excited. The bigger titles announced do not do much for me. Paul Feig's Spy, starring Melissa McCarthy, and the Will Ferrell/Kevin Hart starrer Get Hard leave a lot to be desired in terms of anticipation, as does a work in progress cut of Judd Apatow's latest film Trainwreck. I'm guessing an Apatow work in progress is probably around three and a half hours.
- 2/3/2015
- by Mike Shutt
- Rope of Silicon
South by Southwest, the multi-faceted film, music and technology festival held annually in Austin, TX will feature such upcoming films as Paul Feig’s Spy, David Gordon Green’s Manglehorn, Alex Gibney’s documentary Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine, and Ondi Timoner’s Russell Brand profile Brand: A Second Coming as headliners in this year’s film festival lineup.
SXSW runs from March 13 to 21 in Austin and is now in its 22nd year. Variety has details of the 145 films and 100 world premieres bowing at this year’s festival. Brand, as previously reported, will be the festival’s opening night film.
Other notable titles on the list are the Will Ferrell/Kevin Hart comedy Get Hard, a rough cut of Judd Apatow’s Trainwreck, the directorial debut of 28 Days Later screenwriter Alex Garland, Ex Machina, and a new comedy by Michael Showalter, Hello, My Name is Doris.
On the small screen,...
SXSW runs from March 13 to 21 in Austin and is now in its 22nd year. Variety has details of the 145 films and 100 world premieres bowing at this year’s festival. Brand, as previously reported, will be the festival’s opening night film.
Other notable titles on the list are the Will Ferrell/Kevin Hart comedy Get Hard, a rough cut of Judd Apatow’s Trainwreck, the directorial debut of 28 Days Later screenwriter Alex Garland, Ex Machina, and a new comedy by Michael Showalter, Hello, My Name is Doris.
On the small screen,...
- 2/3/2015
- by Brian Welk
- SoundOnSight
Top brass at the 22nd South By Southwest (SXSW) Film Conference and Festival have announced the feature line-up for the upcoming festival, set to run from March 13-21 in Austin, Texas.
SXSW will showcase 145 features. The line-up includes 60 films from first-time film-makers and comprises 100 world premieres, 13 North American premieres and 11 Us premieres.
Head of film Janet Pierson and her team of programmers culled selections from a record 2,385 feature-length submissions composed of 1,614 Us and 771 international features. The record of 7,335 total submissions marks a 13% gain on 2014.
For the first time the number of films in the juried Narrative Feature and Documentary Feature selections have risen from eight to ten. The complete Conference line-up and schedule will be released on February 17.
Besides the Narrative Feature Competition and Documentary Feature Competition selections listed below, feature entries include Judd Apatow’s work-in-progress comedy Trainwreck starring Amy Schumer in Special Events, music film 808 (pictured) in 24 Beats Per Second and Alex Garland’s sci-fi...
SXSW will showcase 145 features. The line-up includes 60 films from first-time film-makers and comprises 100 world premieres, 13 North American premieres and 11 Us premieres.
Head of film Janet Pierson and her team of programmers culled selections from a record 2,385 feature-length submissions composed of 1,614 Us and 771 international features. The record of 7,335 total submissions marks a 13% gain on 2014.
For the first time the number of films in the juried Narrative Feature and Documentary Feature selections have risen from eight to ten. The complete Conference line-up and schedule will be released on February 17.
Besides the Narrative Feature Competition and Documentary Feature Competition selections listed below, feature entries include Judd Apatow’s work-in-progress comedy Trainwreck starring Amy Schumer in Special Events, music film 808 (pictured) in 24 Beats Per Second and Alex Garland’s sci-fi...
- 2/3/2015
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Having seen some of his output, this writer can safely say that Andrew Neel is one of the most interesting new filmmaking voices to arrive on the scene and is here to stay- having directed the likes of Darkon, which explores the world of the LARPer and Alice Neel, a fascinating look at the life of his Grandmother, the famous painter, Neel manages to create films that not only raise questions but also entertain, with engaging and very human narratives- be they subjects he points a camera at or something he constructs.
He is one quarter of New York Film Production outfit SeeThink Films- one of SeeThink’s latest films, King Kelly, is Andrew’s first narrative feature and was a hit at SXSW which has enjoyed huge success.
Andrew was kind enough to take up his time to discuss the philosophical layers of King Kelly, how they managed to shoot the film,...
He is one quarter of New York Film Production outfit SeeThink Films- one of SeeThink’s latest films, King Kelly, is Andrew’s first narrative feature and was a hit at SXSW which has enjoyed huge success.
Andrew was kind enough to take up his time to discuss the philosophical layers of King Kelly, how they managed to shoot the film,...
- 6/29/2013
- by Oscar Harding
- Obsessed with Film
While there have been many films riffing on reality tropes in the last several years, few have been as cleverly conceived and entertainingly executed as Andrew Neel’s debut fiction film, King Kelly. Set in the world of amateur webcam porn, the film depicts a monstrously fascinating Tracy Flick for our oversexualized social media age. Played ferociously by Louisa Krause, Kelly is a high-school student who runs a profitable one-woman porn empire from her suburban bedroom, with her parents none the wiser. Stripping on cam, uploading details of her everyday life and ruling over her chat room with a gonzo glee, Kelly embodies oversharing capitalist narcissism.
Taking place during one 24-hour span, King Kelly has a speedy plot involving a bag of misplaced drugs which Kelly is forced to recover by an irate dealer. She enlists her friend Jordan (Libby Woodbridge) as well as one of her pay-channel subscribers, a...
Taking place during one 24-hour span, King Kelly has a speedy plot involving a bag of misplaced drugs which Kelly is forced to recover by an irate dealer. She enlists her friend Jordan (Libby Woodbridge) as well as one of her pay-channel subscribers, a...
- 6/21/2012
- by Scott Macaulay
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Article by Dan Clark of Movie Revolt
Welcome to the first installment of Streaming for Your Pleasure where I highlight interesting and unique films now available on Netflix streaming. In each segment I will focus on one major overall category – this first time round I am looking at some intriguing documentaries that are worth checking out.
Chasing Ghosts: Beyond the Arcade
Directed By Lincoln Ruchti
Synopsis: At the unassuming Twin Galaxies arcade in Ottumwa, Iowa, early gamers fought for bragging rights at the 1982 Video Game World Championships. See how competitive gaming started, and meet arcade owner Walter Day, who still oversees scoring.
Why You Should Check It Out: There is just something about that arcade experience that I really miss. Today’s online gaming world is full of foul mouth preteen kids mocking you in almost every turn. Back in the day those kids were standing right next to you...
Welcome to the first installment of Streaming for Your Pleasure where I highlight interesting and unique films now available on Netflix streaming. In each segment I will focus on one major overall category – this first time round I am looking at some intriguing documentaries that are worth checking out.
Chasing Ghosts: Beyond the Arcade
Directed By Lincoln Ruchti
Synopsis: At the unassuming Twin Galaxies arcade in Ottumwa, Iowa, early gamers fought for bragging rights at the 1982 Video Game World Championships. See how competitive gaming started, and meet arcade owner Walter Day, who still oversees scoring.
Why You Should Check It Out: There is just something about that arcade experience that I really miss. Today’s online gaming world is full of foul mouth preteen kids mocking you in almost every turn. Back in the day those kids were standing right next to you...
- 4/9/2012
- by Guest
- Nerdly
Here’s your weekly dose of an indie film in progress; every Friday, we spotlight a bigger project, usually from an established filmmaker or affiliated with a bigger production company. "King Kelly" Director: Andrew Neel ("Darkon") Dp/Producer: Ethan Palmer ("Darkon") Producers: Tom Davis, Luke Meyer, Andrew Corkin, Susan Shopmaker ("Hedwig and the Angry Inch," "Afterschool," "Martha Marcy May Marlene") Co-Producer: Ed Vassallo Casting Director: Susan Shopmaker Cast: Louisa Krause ("Martha Marcy ...
- 9/2/2011
- Indiewire
After Andrew Neel and Luke Meyer's fantastic documentary Darkon took us inside the world of Live Action Role Playing back in 2006, the floodgates have since opened on both documentaries and fictional comedies all poking fun at LARPers in progressively less flattering ways. David Wain's Role Models was perhaps the highest profile film to feature wooden swords and homemade armor, and now the first trailer has been released for a new indie comedy from Joe Lynch (Wrong Turn 2) called Knights of Badassdom. The plot revolves around a group of LARPers who accidentally summon a real demon from hell and are then forced to step up and become heroes. In my mind I was picturing something akin to Bruce Campbell's horribly unfunny My Name is Bruce and I was kind of expecting to hate it, but I'm happy to say that this trailer won me over. The cast...
- 7/25/2011
- by Sean
- FilmJunk
It's no secret that Film Junk has a few documentary fans on staff and every year we try and highlight some of the stand out non-fiction films. Although The Cove and Anvil! The Story of Anvil made some appearances on our year end lists -- along with a few others on our end of decade list -- we didn't really get a chance to write up any doc specific lists, so I figured I'd share some of the love The Documentary Blog has been spreading over the past week. Below you'll find my top 10 docs of 2009 followed by my top 50 documentaries of the decade. Also, I put together a collection of some acclaimed non-fiction filmmakers (including Joe Berlinger, Sarah Price and Jeff Feuerzeig among others) who have shared their picks for best of the decade as well! You can check that list out here [1]. Until then, have a look below...
- 1/5/2010
- by Jay C.
- FilmJunk
Luke Meyer and Andrew Neel’s doc “New World Order” premiered at the 2009 SXSW Film Festival. The film is a behind the scenes look at the underground anti-globalist movement. This growing movement targets the annual Bilderberg conference, and the 9/11 attacks as focal points in the alleged global conspiracy. Alex Jones, a celebrity radio host, and underground cult hero, is the main character of the film. The film chronicles Alex, and …...
- 5/22/2009
- indieWIRE - People
Luke Meyer and Andrew Neel’s doc “New World Order” premiered at the 2009 SXSW Film Festival. The film is a behind the scenes look at the underground anti-globalist movement. This growing movement targets the annual Bilderberg conference, and the 9/11 attacks as focal points in the alleged global conspiracy. Alex Jones, a celebrity radio host, and underground cult hero, is the main character of the film. The film chronicles Alex, and …...
- 5/22/2009
- indieWIRE - People
We're all for getting out in the summertime, but there might not be anything more refreshing than cooling off in a movie theater... or seeing a movie in the comfort of your air-conditioned home on demand, on DVD, or online... or better yet catching a classic on the big screen at a nearby repertory theater. With literally hundreds of films to choose from this summer, we humbly present this guide to the season's most exciting offerings.
May 1
"Eldorado"
The Cast: Bouli Lanners, Fabrice Adde, Philippe Nahon, Didier Toupy, Franise Chichy
Director: Bouli Lanners
Fest Cred: Cannes, Warsaw, Glasgow, Palm Springs,
The Gist: When Elie (Adde), a hapless young thief attempts to rob Yvan (Lanners), a 40-year-old car dealer, the two form a unlikely friendship that leads to a road trip across Belgium in this slight comedy that won the Best European Film at the Director's Fortnight at Cannes last year.
May 1
"Eldorado"
The Cast: Bouli Lanners, Fabrice Adde, Philippe Nahon, Didier Toupy, Franise Chichy
Director: Bouli Lanners
Fest Cred: Cannes, Warsaw, Glasgow, Palm Springs,
The Gist: When Elie (Adde), a hapless young thief attempts to rob Yvan (Lanners), a 40-year-old car dealer, the two form a unlikely friendship that leads to a road trip across Belgium in this slight comedy that won the Best European Film at the Director's Fortnight at Cannes last year.
- 5/6/2009
- by Stephen Saito
- ifc.com
The reviled September 11th "truthers" are the folks you see in Manhattan's Union Square on weekends, insisting that the tragedy was not the work of Islamic extremists, but rather an "inside job" - a conspiracy that reaches the highest levels of government, big business, and the "global elite." Few thinking people credit their ravings, and rightfully so: they're ridiculous. Some go further and unload massive amounts of contempt on the conspiracy mongers, on the theory that what they do is an insult to the people who lost and risked their lives on September 11th and in its aftermath. Still others - such as one kind soul we see in New World Order, Luke Meyer and Andrew Neel's excellent new documentary about the subculture - plead with these people to do something more constructive with their lives.
Outwardly, New World Order is careful not to make these judgments. Like the...
Outwardly, New World Order is careful not to make these judgments. Like the...
- 3/24/2009
- by Eugene Novikov
- Cinematical
From fantasy role-play gamers to conspiracy theorists? The most recent documentary by filmmakers Luke Meyer and Andrew Neel, New World Order, examines folks who are really, really dedicated to exposing a secret worldwide conspiracy. It had its world premiere at SXSW last Friday night and screened again this morning, in advance of its debut via IFC's on demand service (available on cable and satellite systems) next month.
But there's no need to feel left out if you missed the SXSW screenings. The duo's previous, full-bore colloboration, the fabulous Darkon, is just waiting for you to stream it free at Snag Films. Darkon won the Documentary Feature Audience Award at SXSW in 2006, and it's no wonder why. It examines folks who are really, really dedicated to fantasy role-playing games, the kind where the players create alter-egos, make their own costumes, and act out elaborate scenarios. The group has been active since...
But there's no need to feel left out if you missed the SXSW screenings. The duo's previous, full-bore colloboration, the fabulous Darkon, is just waiting for you to stream it free at Snag Films. Darkon won the Documentary Feature Audience Award at SXSW in 2006, and it's no wonder why. It examines folks who are really, really dedicated to fantasy role-playing games, the kind where the players create alter-egos, make their own costumes, and act out elaborate scenarios. The group has been active since...
- 3/17/2009
- by Peter Martin
- Cinematical
If daylight savings time is upon us, it must mean the first quarter release graveyard really is out of sight now as some big name stars finally come out to play. Meanwhile, some previous SXSW alums make their theatrical bows as the film and music fest get underway in Austin and bromance continues to blossom.
Download this in audio form (MP3: 8:28 minutes, 11.7 Mb)
"Angel"
French helmer François Ozon's first English language feature is an adaptation of Brit author Elizabeth Taylor's seriocomic novel of the same title and promises to be a campy, ironic throwback to the melodramas of 1950s Hollywood. Romola Garai stars as Angelica "Angel" Deverell, the Barbara Taylor Bradford of the Edwardian era who specializes in romantic slush, which she flogs to long-suffering publisher Sam Neill. A woman of determined ambition, Angel callously manipulates anyone she feels will benefit her ascension to the upper echelons of society,...
Download this in audio form (MP3: 8:28 minutes, 11.7 Mb)
"Angel"
French helmer François Ozon's first English language feature is an adaptation of Brit author Elizabeth Taylor's seriocomic novel of the same title and promises to be a campy, ironic throwback to the melodramas of 1950s Hollywood. Romola Garai stars as Angelica "Angel" Deverell, the Barbara Taylor Bradford of the Edwardian era who specializes in romantic slush, which she flogs to long-suffering publisher Sam Neill. A woman of determined ambition, Angel callously manipulates anyone she feels will benefit her ascension to the upper echelons of society,...
- 3/16/2009
- by Neil Pedley
- ifc.com
A self-admitted lover of armchair philosophy, nonfiction filmmaker Andrew Neel prefers questions to answers. “Present day cinema, indie documentaries included, has devolved into thesis-driven filmmaking; people want a conclusion walking out the door. I think that’s the death of cinema. "When I leave a film that I feel is really good, I leave with lots of complicated questions that I can’t always answer, that I don’t feel comfortable answering,” he explains. In studying the little understood culture of political conspiracy theorists, Neel, along with longtime collaborator and co-director Luke Meyer, engages with New World Order several of these uncomfortable questions, the most unnerving of w ...
- 3/15/2009
- by Noralil Ryan Fores
- Spout
I suppose you never appreciate your hometown as much as when out-of-towners spout out about its greatness. That's the way it is in Austin. I Do live in the best city on earth. Especially during SXSW!
MoonThis film has two things going for it before it even begins. 1) Its star, Sam Rockwell, is a talented, sometimes underrated, actor, and 2) it's a sci-fi flick, full of cool shots of moon rovers with the big, blue earth in the background, talking computers, life endangerment and extraterrestrial mysteries.
Sometime in the future, Sam Bell (Rockwell) is just finishing up a three-year contract for a mining operation on the moon. Alone. Or so it seems. After recovering from an injury, the result of an apparent hallucination, Sam encounters another man on the moon: himself. Is one of them an hallucination? A clone? Is this Hal-esque computer (called Gertie here with voice work by Kevin Spacey...
MoonThis film has two things going for it before it even begins. 1) Its star, Sam Rockwell, is a talented, sometimes underrated, actor, and 2) it's a sci-fi flick, full of cool shots of moon rovers with the big, blue earth in the background, talking computers, life endangerment and extraterrestrial mysteries.
Sometime in the future, Sam Bell (Rockwell) is just finishing up a three-year contract for a mining operation on the moon. Alone. Or so it seems. After recovering from an injury, the result of an apparent hallucination, Sam encounters another man on the moon: himself. Is one of them an hallucination? A clone? Is this Hal-esque computer (called Gertie here with voice work by Kevin Spacey...
- 3/14/2009
- Pastemagazine.com
By delving into the personal lives of conspiracy theorists and allowing them to speak for themselves, New World Order asks the viewer to look at them as actual human beings instead of the nutjobs they sometimes appear to be. Filmmakers Luke Meyer and Andrew Neel previously followed fantasy role-playing gamers in Darkon, and New World Order is cut from the same cloth: skillfully assembled and surprisingly absorbing.
The documentary will have its world premiere at South by Southwest tomorrow, March 13, and will screen again on Tuesday, March 17, before premiering on demand (via various cable and satellite systems in the Us) on IFC Free on April 16, 2009.
I was initially very resistant to the subject matter. Radio talk show host Alex Jones stridently screams into a microphone in Austin, Texas, and I rolled my eyes. College student Luke Rudowski talks quietly and earnestly in Brooklyn, New York, and I shook my head.
The documentary will have its world premiere at South by Southwest tomorrow, March 13, and will screen again on Tuesday, March 17, before premiering on demand (via various cable and satellite systems in the Us) on IFC Free on April 16, 2009.
I was initially very resistant to the subject matter. Radio talk show host Alex Jones stridently screams into a microphone in Austin, Texas, and I rolled my eyes. College student Luke Rudowski talks quietly and earnestly in Brooklyn, New York, and I shook my head.
- 3/13/2009
- by Peter Martin
- Screen Anarchy
SXSW is one of my favorite festivals of the year as it showcases some of the best and most innovative real independent films, and with this host of world premiers, it's also playing alot of Sundance material as well as genre fare from all over the world, many of which we've covered heavily in these pages.
From the Sundance lineup, we have films like Moon, The Immaculate Conception of Little Dizzle, You Won't Miss Me, Grace, and Humpday, among others.
For the world genre material we've covered, there's Lake Mungo, The Square, Zift, and Awaydays.
I think you get the point that lots of great looking film will be playing. I'll leave a bit of the exploration to you..
Lineup after the break.
Narrative Features Competition
Artois the Goat
Director: Kyle Bogart. Writer: Cliff and Kyle Bogart
Lab technician Virgil Gurdies embarks on an epic quest to craft the greatest...
From the Sundance lineup, we have films like Moon, The Immaculate Conception of Little Dizzle, You Won't Miss Me, Grace, and Humpday, among others.
For the world genre material we've covered, there's Lake Mungo, The Square, Zift, and Awaydays.
I think you get the point that lots of great looking film will be playing. I'll leave a bit of the exploration to you..
Lineup after the break.
Narrative Features Competition
Artois the Goat
Director: Kyle Bogart. Writer: Cliff and Kyle Bogart
Lab technician Virgil Gurdies embarks on an epic quest to craft the greatest...
- 2/2/2009
- QuietEarth.us
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.