A film about a computer with delusions of grandeur. Well, maybe just lusions of grandeur. It is pretty awesome!

Sun Ra's one of those performers who was both ahead of his time, and often ahead of his audience. Still, he had a massive effect on music, with his works running all the way from be-bop to electronica. His 1970 film Space is the Place is often cited as an early entry into the world of AfroFuturism, and it's also an Avant Garde work par excellance! 

The history of the first twenty-five years of American Flight is full of fascinating characters. Lindbergh and Earhart are well-known, but one name I was unaware of was Katherine Cheung. She was the first Chinese-American Female Aviator, and was one of the most interesting characters of those early flyers. Her story, Aviatrix: The Katherine Sui Fun Cheung Story is a wonderful tribute to such a great figure. 

​What's fascinating isn't just the fact that this wonderfully constructed documentary deals with an incredible figure, one who lived until 2003 and spoke of her times in the air often and well, but that it deals with the stories she has inspired, including an animated comedic short, and a really significant short student film. These glimpses are more than mere seasoning for her story; they are evidence of her impact, her impressive presence. When we see how she was portrayed outside of the archival footage (which is SUPER COOL!!!!!) she is given a life that feels new and fresh, which is a good thing for a character whose peak fame was the 1930s. 

Perhaps my favorite portion explained many of the important things I had no clue about aerial acrobatics. Along with the demonstration of those techniques, an interview tells us why they were important. This provides us with an impressive hook on which to hang Katherine's achievements on. She was breaking ground with her acrobatics! 

I can't say enough how much I enjoyed this doc. At 40 minutes, it feels as if they've done a solid job of delving into the topic, without overstaying their welcome, as often happens with single-subject docs longer than 30 minutes. The production, the interviews, and especially the archival footage, is all top-notch, well-edited, and gives the viewer a strong reward for diving in. 

Robert Smithson's Spiral Jetty​, both the Earth Art piece and the film he made about it, are American Masterpieces. 

George Lucas - Experimental Filmmaker. 

This student film from 1967 shows that, and we discuss how this student film shows so much in the way of the Avant Garde

350 million people have viewed the Exploding Whale video over the last 30 or so years. Can videos be on the National Film Registry? Should they be? Plus, a whale explodes. 

I've been waiting for Disney to buy the Kubrick Library so they can re-theme Space Mountain with 2001.

Anyway, here's me talking about one of the finest pieces of film craft ever attempted!

A look at how a television series becomes a movie, and how Doctor Who matters, dammit!

I will admit, I am largely clueless about te situation in Congo. I'm far more knowlegeable about the history of the nation, and particularly the interactions of the Belgian Monarchy in the region that the current situation. Such is my weakness, current world events. This is often true of historians. And Americans, I should add. 

Animal Park deals with a particular situation in Congo, that of the Virunga National Park. 

The nation has been in a continual state of civil war, and the rangers of the park see the only way to preserve it, and to draw tourists, is to excercize incredibly strict controlls. The rangers act as a paramilitary force, engaging in activities such as rape, and beheadings. The pain of those who live within the area of the park is obvious, an interview with a woman whose husband was beheaded and marched through the street of their village is touching and painful. The doc presents facts, interviews, including one with one of the rangers of the park, and it gives us a cleanly pointed message. The cinematography is phenomenal, and the editing is smarter than almost any doc of this kind I've seen in recent years. 

The best part for me is that it is a piece about something I do not know anything about, that I don't really understand, and it ends by asking questions that made me question my assumptions. Defending nature is always good, but does that defense require lethal force? Is conservation and the establishment of these kind of natural preserves a new kind of colonialism? Is Congo stable enough to deal with this idea of preserving the park without resorting to martial law? What is the rest of the world's responsibility in the matter? These are the hard questions, but they must be asked, and this doc does so, and beautifully, in a mere 8 minutes.  

www.officenumberfour.com/our-sky-our-land/animal-park/ has a trailer and details