I just watched it based on the recommendations here, and thanks for pointing it out. It was a most excellent documentary I wouldn’t have otherwise watched, but I can’t help but think that the entire premise was some super-elaborate Banksy hoax.
madkevin
1702
I don’t think the entire premise was a hoax. On some basic level, somebody must have taken that video footage of Space Invader and Fairey doing their thing - I don’t believe that footage was faked.
But on the other hand, some of it must be fake. It’s telling that the only times we ever see Mr. Brainwash try anything technical, he fucks it up - spilling paint in the back of the car, or falling off of ladders. We never see him make anything, ever. Add to that the sheer volume of work produced for the L.A. show, and the way the doc hand-waves away important questions of where Brainwash got the money to do all of this in the first place, it seems clear that Brainwash as an artist is a fake, probably the front for a collective of like-minded artists who wanted a fun outlet to try and make the worst art imaginable.
As I watched the movie, I found myself assigning percentages to various bits of information based on how likely I thought it was to be faked. Like that hilarious first version of the documentary? I have to believe that’s fake, mostly because it’s such a dead-on parody of bad Derek Jarman-style student art films. But did Brainwash really shoot all that footage on those old videotapes? Maybe. Crucially, the movie itself never waivers from it’s viewpoint that it’s all real, so it’s impossible to tell.
Goddamn, I love that movie.
Musashi
1704
Well, doesn’t he have underlings do most of the work? Like Warhol/Factory-style? That was the impression I got.
I’m convinced the documentary is mostly truthful, but I can see where others might be mightily skeptical.
Indeed. I feel almost exactly as Madkevin does, except I disliked the second half of the movie purely for how transparently false it seemed.
Hey, that sounds interesting. So Netflix does friends, is this like Xbox Live or something? Because I think it would be pretty cool to catch what you guys are watching and suggesting (or warning about).
jason
1707
Faced with the explosion of social media, Netflix chose to eliminate their community tools. You used to be able to friend people and recommend movies and see queues and all that. Now you can’t.
That has pissed me off so much.
-xtien
Honestly, there’s so much crammed into Exit Through The Gift Shop that what I mentioned barely scratches the surface.
Grifman
1710
I really can’t recommend the following two movies enough:
http://feedfliks.com/movie/sophie-scholl-the-final-days/7013'
This movie is about Sophie Scholl, who along with her brother, led a student resistance movement against Hitler in World War 2. This is the story of her arrest, interrogation, trial and execution. The tension leading up to her confession was almost more than I could stand, while her verbal duel with the interrogator about Hitler’s Germany was outstanding. Definitely a tear jerker though.
http://feedfliks.com/movie/john-rabe/116456
This is the story of a German representative of Seimens in China at the beginning of the Japanese invasion who uses his Nazi Party credentials/influence to save tens of thousands of Chinese during the Japanese Rape of Nanking. Think Schindler’s List in China.
Both are excellent films with unlikely heroes.
Cyrano
1711
The Amazon Unbox thing is for buying movies and TV shows through Amazon, not the Prime streaming, right?
Apparently it’s the recommended venue for this as well. I began following the instructions they emailed me to set it up in my xbox but got bored and watched netflix instead. I hate Windows Media Player sharing.
Me and Orson Welles now available for streaming: http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/Me_and_Orson_Welles/70105940?trkid=2361637#height2384
Not a great movie, but Christian McKay’s amazing performance as Welles (he was robbed of a Best Supporting Oscar nomination) is worth the price of admission, especially when the price of admission is zero.
I was all set to watch The Grapes of Wrath but it looks like it was incorrectly encoded to widescreen instead of the proper 1.33:1 aspect ratio. Very annoying.
Marcus
1715
Just finished The Art of the Steal pretty fantastic documentary about one man’s amazing art collection and the “assholes” who want to get at it.
EDIT: Ok you know what I lied I wasn’t actually done with the movie when I posted this. I am now and let me just say fuck these assholes. Don’t watch this movie if you don’t want to be fucking livid by the end of it. It is horrible what happened here and completely unacceptable.
Is anyone having the problem on the 360 of not being able to see your “recently watched” list? It’s the easiest way for me to pick up on episodes of a series I’ve been watching instead of having to add everything to my instant queue, but it’s now just suddenly gone.
prolix
1717
This happens to me on the Wii as well. Sometimes the category is listed; sometimes it’s not. There doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason to it.
Houngan
1718
If you want to get a good dose of Appalachia and surrounds:
http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/The_Wild_and_Wonderful_Whites_of_West_Virginia/70117032?trkid=2429438#height1720
I saw the original “Dancing Outlaw” documentary before all this internet nonsense and it was fascinating, this is a sad look at the trashy family that produced it. Though I was blessed with a great family, I have known people like this and been places like this. Brutal.
H.
I noticed Netflix had the pilot episode of The Kids In The Hall a while back, but never saw any seasons. Now they have all five: http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/The_Kids_in_the_Hall_Season_1/60035837
jason
1720
Day Break: The Complete Series - fantastic show
My So-Called Life: The Complete Series - launched Claire Danes and tried to make teen angst super cool
Stripes - a classic
Tapeheads - a personal favorite with John Cusack and Tim Robbins and Roscoe’s Chicken & Waffles
