K-R-Hallagan

B Movies are known for their absurdity, weak story, cheesy visual effects, and ... acting, but how does a product like this get made, and more perplexingly, how does it become popular? Somehow we love watching these films BECAUSE of how bad they are.. the worse they are, the more often we watch and talk about them, even making them part of our holiday traditions. Popatopolis gives us at the underbelly of the underbelly of cinema, and the results are, well, not that surprising. You see low budgets, little-no preparation, and an almost nonexistent passion for the art. What truly shines about this documentary are the personalities, which seem so genuine, and how all the arguing, the disorganization, and the minimal forethought defies probability to result in a finished product.

In this age of post-empirical popular culture, we tend to dismiss anything to do with stereotypically vain connotations, most obviously beauty pageants, and in the case of shows like 'Toddlers in Tiaras' we immediately denounce the practice as culturally damaging, and the people involved as ungrounded. 'Miss You Can Do It' not only presented me with selfless characters, but it shows us what child pageants should be. An environment for friendly competition, strengthening self esteems, and the realization that our personal problems should never be a limiting factor. These children push through adversity, and you can see them and their families shedding preconceptions of 'can' and 'can't'.

A truly heart-warming story.

'Skum Rocks!' (2013) is unlike any documentary I've seen, it really breaks down the barrier between viewer and subject, entirely unafraid of exposing the process of its own production in its quest to unearth a story about a wholly unique set of performers. The filmmaking style plays extremely well to the characters, in a way giving the viewer a bit of the true 'Skum' experience. In terms of story, 'Skum Rocks!' almost covers three stories with the same characters, organizing them into three acts, with three filmmaking styles, and a definite progression of personalities. You won't get any 'Spoiler Alerts'from me, but this documentary will definitely keep you thinking about what makes a performance or presentation 'good'.