Documentary

Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat

  • Title: Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat
  • IMDb: link

Director Johan Grimonprez‘s film is an unusually structure documentary blending music, soundbites, interviews, archival footage, and narration from different sources to examine jazz, decolonization, subversion, autonomy, political assassination, and Cold War clashing ideologies all through the lens of the murder of prime minister Patrice Lumumba of the newly independent Congo which was unwittingly aided by Louis Armstrong in his role as an ambassador to Africa.

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Blink

  • Title: Blink (2024)
  • IMDb: link

After learning that three of their four children suffer from a degenerative eye condition which will gradually leave them blind, a family sets off around the world to pack a lifetime of experiences and wonders in a single year. The documentary from Edmund Stenson and Daniel Roher chronicles the French Canadian family’s travels across the world through a variety of locales balancing the emotions of wonder and awe with fear, sadness, and impending loss.

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Catching Fire: The Story of Anita Pallenberg

  • Title: Catching Fire: The Story of Anita Pallenberg
  • IMDb: link

Told through the use of an unpublished memoir found after her death, Catching Fire: The Story of Anita Pallenberg looks back at the life of model, actress, and Rolling Stones‘ muse Anita Pallenberg with a large section of the film devoted to her relationships with Brian Jones and Keith Richards. The documentary from Alexis Bloom and Svetlana Zill is most notable for the vintage photos and video footage of Pallenberg’s life incorporated into the film.

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28 Outs: An Imperfect Story

  • Title: 28 Outs: An Imperfect Story
  • IMDb: link

28 Outs: An Imperfect Story

It was the perfect game, except according to Major League Baseball it wasn’t. Framed in part by law professor Lawrence Jones presenting the case before his class to teach an example how rules and laws can sometimes work contrary toward justice, 28 Outs: An Imperfect Story takes a hard look back at Detroit Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga‘s 28-out perfect game marred only by a controversial on-field decision that even umpire Jim Joyce regretted just moments after the game. A perfect storm created a historic event for the wrong reasons, keeping Galarraga from being recognized for throwing a perfect game which, to this day, MLB has refused to officially acknowledge.

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Mr. McMahon – Junior

  • Title: Mr. McMahon – Junior
  • IMDb: link

Mr. McMahon - Junior

Filmed primarily prior to the allegations which eventually drove Vince McMahon from the wrestling empire he built, the first episode of Netflix’s Mr. McMahon feels more A&E Biography than Dark Side of the Ring. Largely toothless, the episode briefly mentions the allegations before moving into an episode that champions McMahon taking over the wrestling territory from his father and forcing his way across the country poaching stars and stealing talent from other promotions. As Vince puts it, he doesn’t know if was good for the industry but it was certainly good for him which the documentary chalks as a win. Those familiar with McMahon’s story won’t find much new here, except perhaps some commentary about his strained relationship with his father.

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