From Polar Bears to Banking ... with "That Orange Plastic Olivetti Typewriter Feeling" in the Middle: Recent Documentaries

In the right-hand column here, "Good Movies I've Seen Recently," you'll see that a number of them are documentaries.  I've been watching some splendid ones--delivered by the postman in those little red-and-white envelopes.  Thinking you would enjoy them as well, I thought I'd bring them to light.

A particularly excellent one is Earth (2007), narrated by James Earl Jones, and featuring (but not limited to) a polar bear family, a herd of elephants in Namibia, and a humpback whale mother and calf that swim from tropical waters to the Antarctic.  The photography is truly amazing with close-up shots you wouldn't believe.  There is also some splendid time-lapse photography, some laugh-out-loud moments, and an especially gripping shot of flying above what then immediately drops away into Angel Falls, Venezuela--the world's highest.  This is a Disney film, but not gushy.  Wonderful for everyone.

In another vein, I've watched three with an artistic bent.  Kings of Pastry (2009) deals with French pastry chefs who want to win the Meilleur Ouvrier de France that allows them to wear the coveted blue, white, and red striped collar of the country's best pâtissiers.  They are not in competition with each other.  Any number might win.  But in this film sixteen meet in Lyon, France, for three days of highly intense labor as the drama unfolds.  Did you know you could hold your breath watching someone maneuver sugar sculpture?  They rehearse long hours beforehand since the test/competition only occurs once every four years.  You're right there with them, oohing and ahhing, hoping nothing goes awry.

Perfection (and reflection) from our local farmers market pastry maker

Milton Glaser:  To Inform and Delight (2009) is an excellent view of this graphic designer whom few know by name but whose works are totally familiar.  The "I (heart) NY" poster is one.  The Bob Dylan poster another.  Hard to describe; look him up and check out his logos, drawings, ad campaigns.

Helvetica (2007), also excellent, speaks of this font that is now nearly fifty years old.  A sans-serif with a clean, neutral look, it has become something of the default font, especially in signage and advertising.  It's particularly popular in Europe.  You also see it in New York City's subway signs ... and the U.S. income tax forms.  It's neither saucy nor staid, just pleasantly rounded and healthy looking.  When I went grocery shopping the morning after seeing the film, I found that I had to be careful driving because I kept looking for (and finding) Helvetica.  On highway signs, the sides of trucks, buildings I passed.  Here (in Helvetica) is how one man in the film described it--he said the font gave one "that orange plastic Olivetti typewriter Roman Holiday espresso feeling." 

I found a sample on a pay-to-park ticket in my car

Freakonomics is a film based on the book by the same name--about the mix of popular culture, economic theory, and various statistics as it focuses on sumo wrestlers who cheat, the impact of the name one is given at birth, and ninth graders who are given bribes to see whether or not they will pass their courses.  Totally off the wall.

Then there are three excellent documentaries about current corruption.  You know, the power, greed, fraud stuff that's been going on.  Hacking Democracy (2006) deals with the extensive use of voting machines and how they are easily hacked.  (Very gripping.  Will anyone ever trust an election again?)  Casino Jack and the United States of Money (2010) is about lobbyist Abramoff and the fraud, conspiracy, and tax evasion that sent him to prison.  And Inside Job (2010), an Oscar winner narrated by Matt Damon, details the 2008 economic collapse and corrupt banking practices. Good stuff.