Documentaries have really taken off this year and that personally makes me smile. They are booming at the box office and making some real dough. For instance, Won’t You Be My Neighbor? has become the highest grossing documentary ever in America with over $20 million! The lesson here is you’re greatly missing out with every tremendous doc you pass up.
Thankfully, you got me! In 2018, docs are in demand, so I shall share some of my favorites from the year so far. Go see these any way humanly possible. You won’t regret it.
MINDING THE GAP
An unexpectedly beautiful and stirring doc about three young men who share a love of skateboarding that becomes their way to heal from their pasts, even if only for a moment. In his stunning first feature, director Bing Liu captures compelling stories in a crumbling Illinois city where family abuse leaves an incredibly lasting impression that must be forgiven. The friendships and relationships that are explored are complicated with no easy answers; but that’s how life is and this immense, intimate journey is them figuring it out.
MERCURY 13
While a woman could’ve orbited Earth or walked on the Moon, their hopes were slashed, but they refuse to be forgotten. This space documentary soars with its telling of women pilots who became pioneers as they defy expectations of what it takes to be an astronaut.
IF I LEAVE HERE TOMORROW: A FILM ABOUT LYNARD SKYNARD
A rollicking documentary about the southland rock n’ rollers who are much more than their greatest hits. It’s an engrossing look in to how the guys’ passion and dedication made them a powerful musical force while raising some hell along the way. For longtime fans, it’s a chance to relive the early days of Skynard and remember Ronnie Van Zant and his rebel soul that fueled the band.
MCQUEEN
This work of beauty threads together the brilliance and sadness of a fashion sculptor whose art is displayed in every piece of his designs. Keeping it elegant and emotional, this documentary embraces Lee Alexander McQueen’s undeniable passion, along with his unforgiving exquisiteness. He didn’t want approval, he wanted to astonish. Whether his magnificent, twisted shows dazzled or disgusted, the emotion was always there. Directors Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui get candid with family and friends to gain our attention on just how groundbreaking McQueen was; but, the more acclaim he received, the more unrecognizable and self-destructive he became.
WON’T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR?
We are enlightened by director Neville’s terrific and timely documentary about a television pioneer who gave his life to embolden childhood education while rocking one colorful sweater after another. Being shocking doesn’t seem like Rogers’ style, but he absolutely was for his time. Children were able to understand what it meant to be accepting and kind with each episode when he walked through the door. He had such a pure heart. And, it’s refreshing to see a person have such a genuine understanding of kids and knew love (or lack thereof) could make a world of difference in their lives. In all of our lives. This touching, thoughtful 94 minutes will make most smile, a lot cry, and have us all wanting to be better humans.
HAL
A fascinating yet mournful documentary about a filmmaker who loved the art but despised the industry in which he made it for. Always going against the grain, Hal Ashby directed such 70’s classics as Shampoo, Harold and Maude, The Last Detail, and Coming Home. However, his obsessiveness and craving of perfection was his gift and his curse. Director Amy Scott isn’t as interested in Hal’s personal life as she is of his career and grueling process. Then again, his life was his movies. Putting a spotlight on his genius is well overdue, and perhaps what he stood for and spoke out against didn’t make him the most popular, but it sure as hell made him honest.
THE BLEEDING EDGE
Filmmakers Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering slice open the greed, depravity, and the long-lasting devastation left by the $300 billion medical device industry. The tragedy of seeing uninformed patients (mainly women) putting trust in procedures that should be safe but instead destroys them from the inside out is infuriating. This jarring documentary puts the industry, FDA, and doctors under the knife to cut through the bullshit so to bring much-needed awareness to those who think innovation is always a good thing.
WHITNEY
Director Kevin MacDonald’s explosive and empathetic documentary about the iconic singer reveals much more about her God-given talent and how her troubled, tragic life tore it to shreds. And as heartbreaking as it is to see her fall from grace, she was dealing with some inconceivable pain and confusion that has never been talked about until now. Everything you think you know about Houston’s career, addictions, marriage and death is sideswiped by this new, revelatory perspective that is a serious attempt of making sense of it all.
SEEING ALLRED
Love her or hate her, she’s a ball-buster for human rights. In this sensational, enthralling doc, we get to see the woman behind the press conferences, along with the fighting for justice that is her life. Her personal challenges are barely touched, but there’s no mistaking that her hell-raising, while shocking back in the day, has brought tremendous change.
CRIME + PUNISHMENT
The NYPD’s feet are held to the fire in this discerning, infuriating documentary about quotas and summonses that should be illegal but are still enforced. Officers and their victims are turned in to nothing but numbers, and director Stephen Maing takes his cameras undercover with a group of brave officers willing to fight for what is right. Known as the NYPD 12, they want to shut down the systematic racism capable of stifling careers and ruining lives. The reveals are riveting and tragic, observing injustice being normalized and ridiculous retaliations being rationalized. No matter the race, it’s disgusting to see those who are supposed to protect only wanting to profit.
THREE IDENTICAL STRANGERS
A mind-blowing documentary about the significance of nature, and the unbelievably loving way parenting can alter a life. Director Tim Wardle shapes an astonishing, unsettling true story that is part discovery and part detective mystery about triplets being separated at birth, only to be reunited by fate 20 years later. The less you know the better, but brace yourself to be stunned, furious, and left questioning humanity’s empathy for the innocent.
RECOVERY BOYS
A revealing documentary about the opioid epidemic shown through four young guys needing recovery while healing deep wounds out in the West Virginia country. Director Elaine McMillion Sheldon puts addiction up-close and personal, witnessing first-hand the struggle, fear, strength, and the never-ending journey of being clean. It’s affirming and affectionate seeing such fragile lives saved, but also alarming when one little thought can shatter them in to tiny pieces.
RBG
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is a legal legend with an incredible intellect to slowly lay down the foundation to put sexual discrimination on the map and in the minds of those in the highest of power. Directors Betsy West and Julie Cohen have put together an eloquent documentary that gets insightful and personal, and you can’t help but relish in the time you get to spend with the Notorious one. It’s a dashing discovery of her perseverance, her gift of getting people to listen, and her power that should never be underestimated.
“Nature Boy” Brandon Vick is the resident film critic of the SoBros Network, and star of Brandon’s Box Office In Your Mouth. Follow him on Twitter@SirBrandonV and be sure to search #VicksFlicks for all of his latest movie reviews.
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