Coming Soon Candy is back with a new edition this week dedicated to the best documentaries landing in theaters in the near future…
By Trevor Dueck — Staff Writer
Follow on Twitter @TrevDueck
As promised last week, it is time for Coming Soon Candy: Documentary Edition. I really need to find a better name “Documentary Edition?” How about Doc Gawk? or Doc’ed and Loaded? I’m open to suggestions. If you watch the following films you will instantly become smarter and know a lot more about stuff. Which is always good.
1. I thought we would kick things off with a little doc by Alexandre O. Philippe who brought us The People vs. George Lucas. According to the website, Doc of the Dead is a definitive zombie culture documentary that was shot and edited in a cinematically edgy, high-octane style. It will host a rich pop culture dialogue with zombie experts and celebrities, seek participation from YouTubers and indie filmmakers, and investigate the possibility and ramifications of an actual zombie outbreak. The film does not have a specific release date yet, but it does have a distributer and I have been told it will be released sometime in 2014. Regardless here is the first teaser trailer.
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2. We go from Zombies to Free Willy. I live out on the west coast of British Columbia where Orcas are looked upon as majestic creatures. However, the following documentary Blackfish shows a different side of the Killer Whale in captivity. Tilikum, a resident bull Orca in Sea World, has a rap sheet a mile long. This doc has been getting a ton of buzz and is currently doing the big film festival circuit. I fully expect it to get an Oscar nod. It was directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite. It will go down as important film and will definitely open your eyes to the multi-billion dollar tourist attractions that exploit these poor creatures.
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3. 12 O’Clock Boys is directed by Lotfy Nathan and it focuses on urban dirt-bike riders in Baltimore, Maryland. According to their website the 12 O’Clock Boys are a notorious urban dirt bike pack in Baltimore – popping wheelies and weaving at excessive speeds through traffic, the group impressively evades the hamstrung police. In Lotfy Nathan’s wild, dynamic documentary (three years in the making), their stunning antics are envisioned through the eyes of young adolescent Pug – a bright kid from the Westside obsessed with the riders and willing to do anything to join their ranks.
After watching the trailer, this is a film most of you are going to want to check out. It is currently doing the film festival circuit but set for wider release in 2014.
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4. The final trailer is for a documentary called Terms and Conditions May Apply. You know those little contracts we click ‘YES’ when downloading software or applications onto our computers? Did you know that with one click of the button we have pretty much agreed to give all our personal online information to the “The Man?”
This documentary was directed by Cullen Hoback and according to Rotten Tomatoes the synopsis of the film is about how billion-dollar corporations are learning more about your interests, your friends and family, your finances, and your secrets… and are not only selling the information to the highest bidder, but freely sharing it with the government. And you agreed to all of it. With fascinating examples and so-unbelievable-they’re-almost-funny facts, filmmaker Cullen Hoback exposes what governments and corporations are legally taking from you every day – turning the future of both privacy and civil liberties uncertain. The film was released in limited theaters back in July and is currently part of the Hot Docs film festival.
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There you have it. Before you move on, if you are looking for some great docs to watch over the coming days here are a couple of my recommendations:
• West of Memphis (Before you watch it, check out Paradise Lost Trilogy)
• Sound City (Considered by some the best documentary of 2013. One of my favorites.)
• The Stories We Tell (Another great documentary directed by Sarah Polley)
