We all make some ridiculous resolutions for the New Year, including but not limited to; training the dog, getting straight A?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s, dating more, getting married, quitting something, starting something, losing about one hundred pounds, getting that big promotion, or just being happy. Gyms have all time high registrations post New Years and all time high no shows from January 2nd on throughout the year. I followed suit and sat lazily feeling depressed that my resolutions were so far out of reach, only because each new day I would not start working on them.
As my New Year?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s resolutions pass me by, working out and feeling comfortable with myself seem further away than before December. To get my mind into gear I watched Straight Acting, the perfect combination of inspiration and humor.
This light fun doc touched on deeper issues of sexual orientation and discrimination but mostly embraced the breaking down of stereotypes in the world. Featuring gay rugby, rodeos and hockey teams, Spencer Windes leads you through his personal exploration of his own sexuality and sense of masculinity. Windes found brotherhood and a greater comfort with himself within his rugby team that is made up of only gay men.
A scene featuring speed goat dressing (that?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s right dressing a goat in clothing) had me laughing. While scenes of men all over the world enjoying their sexuality and finding awesome ways of bonding with others and breaking down the prejudices associated with homosexuality. I was so proud of Windes and I don?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t even know him.
Instead of feeling guilty that I am almost a month behind on starting my resolutions, this doc showed me that anytime is a good time to start. Better late than never to start working off those holiday sweets and feeling cozy in my own skin. With all the obstacles that faced Windes, being severely overweight and in denial of his sexuality, he took the initiative and embraced both in order to overcome them.
Wishing Spencer were one of my friends so he could motivate me to get to the gym, I took what I could get from him and started working out again. As long as I am alive I?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢m sure I will set outrageously lofty resolutions for myself, but Windes put into perspective that anything is possible and there are tons of other people out there just like you. Don?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t feel bad about your resolutions past?¢‚Ǩ¬¶ there is no time like the present.

I just read about ?¢‚Ǩ?ìZoo,?¢‚Ǩ¬ù a documentary look at the life of a Washington State mechanical engineer who died after his colon broke while having sex in a barn with a horse named ?¢‚Ǩ?ìBullseye.?¢‚Ǩ¬ù

It?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s one of 16 documentaries chosen, out of 856 documentary films submitted, to be shown this week at the Sundance Film Festival. It was directed by acclaimed filmmaker Robinson Devor, and is to be released, hopefully this year, by ThinkFilms, a New York and Toronto-based distribution company.

Devor?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s other widely known films, both of which are dramas, NOT documentaries, include ?¢‚Ǩ?ìPolice Beat?¢‚Ǩ¬ù and ?¢‚Ǩ?ìThe Woman Chaser,?¢‚Ǩ¬ù made big impacts at Sundance in 2005 and 1999.

The world premiere of ?¢‚Ǩ?ìZoo?¢‚Ǩ¬ù at the festival is worth writing about for three reasons: 1) Sundance received 856 documentaries! Christ that?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s good news for the industry. 2) If someone can have success making a documentary about bestiality, obviously the sky is the limit for the genre. 3) Story ideas for documentaries abound and chances are they?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢ll end up being more entertaining than the latest Hollywood release. Devor heard about the man?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s strange death from the limited media coverage of the story.

Yeah, this guy suffered a horrible, twisted, gross death; but why, and how did it come to that, and what does it say about humanity that the story was The Seattle Times most downloaded story of the year? Devor?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s film tries to find some answers. I?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢m curious aren?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t you?

Hello to you gentle Doc Channel Viewer. Chris here, coming to you from deep within the bowels of Doc Channel HQ (which really means my office, which in reality is on the first floor…i’m not even sure our building has bowels….hmmmm…i’ll get back to you). At any rate, I hope you’ve been watching Anti-heroes month on the channel which has featured a number of my personal favorite films currently in rotation here on DOC but if you haven’t you’ve still got a week left to bask in the multi-faceted splendor before February begins and we’ll be celebrating Black History Month.

So many things to talk about I’m not sure where to begin. The Golden Globes were this week and I have to say that it was my genuine pleasure to see Sascha Baron Cohen receive a GG for Borat (which has a lengthy subtitle that I shan’t duplicate here) and also to see Warren Beatty (who i’ve long had a deep respect for) receive the Cecil B. Demille award. It was a good year.

Also, I hope you’ll take a moment to read my From The Vault Column this week as it deal’s with a film that I enjoy very much and that I deeply believe needs to be seen by everyone “Stephen Tobolowsky’s Birthday.” In other non-documentary related news the remake of the cult horror flick “The Hitcher” opened today and while i’m wary (the onslaught of recent mediocre remakes and sequels of remakes has caused this) I still have to go. It’ll be a total shocker if the tone and intensity of the original film is at all present in the shiny new retread. Give or take a C. Thomas Howell the cast of the original was top drawer with Rutger Hauer and Jennifer Jason Leigh (sorry Kate, but i’d still marry her***) both doing a fine job and though the remake’s own eponymous madman Sean Bean is certainly no slouch it remains to be seen as to whether he’ll be able carry the weight of the entire remake on his shoulders (plus let’s face it Rutger Hauer does creepy well). Till next week…

***Editor’s note: This Comment was directed toward our own SVP of Programming Kate Pearson who has been very supportive when it comes to my unrequited love for Zooey Deschanel but who has yet to back my second choice Ms. Leigh (you know, in case the whole Zooey thing falls through)

Ok so really there are no pod people so you can relax. But don’t get too relaxed because the second edition of the awesomer than air Documentary podcast is nearly upon us. This episode is gonna be a good one. It features an interview our own Roxanne Benjamin recently conducted with Stanley Nelson filmmaker of “Jonestown: The Life and Death of People’s Temple”. Also we’ll talk a bit about the best docs we saw in ‘06, read a bit of viewer mail and load you down with some of my personal favorite tunes from some of last years best records. Stay tuned gentle viewer, have a snack to get that blood sugar back up and patrol www.documentarychannel.com/podcast for all manner of goodness.

The latest Kate Winslet movie, ?¢‚Ǩ?ìLittle Children,?¢‚Ǩ¬ù puts a mirror in front of America?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s paint-dried suburban white upper-middle class, such a tired subject it is fast becoming its own genre.

“Little Children”, a?Ǭ†Todd Field film, (his second widely distributed film, his first?Ǭ†being?Ǭ†?¢‚Ǩ?ìIn the Bedroom?¢‚Ǩ¬ù) is an?Ǭ†intense experience?Ǭ†and entertaining throughout?Ǭ†because of its skilled acting, editing and directing. Otherwise it?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s a collection of flat, sterile images and?Ǭ†overly dramatic scenarios?Ǭ†involving low points in the lives of emotionally challenged yet well-off white people.

Why do I care? I don?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t. Why does it matter? It doesn?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t. Yes, modern American life is mostly?Ǭ†pointless self-indulgent waste. And that includes the popular act of rearing children who will grow up and likely experience a less fruitful more spineless life than their parents. But that doesn’t mean I want American movies to be useless too.

Making a documentary of Winslet?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s day-to-day life as a real-life mother would have been a more worthwhile and interesting endeavor than spending millions of dollars to make this movie.

Of course it?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s not a?Ǭ†revelation to say Hollywood movies are less thought-provoking than a good documentary. But as an intern at The Documentary Channel, I?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢ve now watched enough non-fiction films that I think my tastes have changed?Ǭ†for good.?Ǭ†Watching just 10 minutes of Barbet Schroeder?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s ?¢‚Ǩ?ìThe Charles Bukowski Tapes,?¢‚Ǩ¬ù a 1985 documentary film made about the beer-and-wine-loving?Ǭ†author, was much?Ǭ†more fulfilling?Ǭ†than watching all two hours of ?¢‚Ǩ?ìLittle Children,?¢‚Ǩ¬ù a movie based on a popular book of the same title written by Tom Perrotta.