The Best Documentaries of 2020
Because documentaries can be so bloody good at times, even way better than scripted feature films.
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- DirectorJeff Orlowski-YangStarsTristan HarrisJeff SeibertBailey RichardsonExplores the dangerous human impact of social networking; tech experts sound the alarm on their own creations.Believe the hype...oh, yes...please believe the hype. Netflix's The Social Dilemma is the most eye-popping, explosive documentary you'll see this year, demanding mandatory viewing. If you think you're controlling what you search on social media, think again. If you think you're being fed facts, think again. If you think you're the customer on social media, think again; we're the product being sold to advertisers who're the actual customers. Each question has different facts popping up for different users based on their individual search histories, and it's all because the age of the AI is already upon us and it's nothing like The Terminator or The Matrix and it can control entire elections, even influence decisions throughout a country. And yes, even trolls and online bullying is a direct result of this and the biggest threat to the fabric of democracies all over. So the next time, you sprout that ugly-entitled comment on social media: "I'm entitled to my opinion," think ten times again whether it's really your opinion and how it may be inversely destroying democracy by distorting facts. The best and most important documentary I've seen since 2013's Blackfish.
5/5 stars - DirectorJenny PopplewellStarsNickole AtkinsonJim BenemannLuke EppleIn 2018, 34-year-old Shanann Watts and her two young daughters disappear in Colorado. With the heartbreaking details emerging, the family's story made headlines around the world.SHOCKING! THOUGHT-PROVOKING! RIVETING! Netflix's new documentary, American Murder: The Family Next Door, is not only as groundbreakingly filmed as it was hyped to be, moving almost in real time despite depicting harrowing events from over two years ago — I'm yet to see a doc where not a single interview has been taken, and everything is put together entirely from police-and-media-archival footage. Director Jenny Popplewell's decision and the conviction to pull off such a slippery task gives this web-film documentary the feel of a thriller, even if you're already privy to the facts, and where the characters and events unfolding before you are all too real. The fact that this transpired in a middle-class suburban neighborhood begs the question whether we actually know whom we live next to and what actually happens behind closed doors? Tragically entertaining and thrillingly disturbing without being insensitive — docu lovers shouldn't miss this for the world. As for those who're not used to docs, this is as good a place as any to begin.
4.5/5 stars - DirectorPippa EhrlichJames ReedStarsCraig FosterTom FosterA filmmaker forges an unusual friendship with an octopus living in a South African kelp forest, learning as the animal shares the mysteries of her world.Netflix's documentary film, My Octopus Teacher, redefines the bond between a human and animal, and truly opens our mind to new horizons of where we stand and how little we know in the vast scheme of things that is 'Mother Earth', especially when we come to the greatest mystery of all on the planet — 'the ocean'. The scenes where the octopus first begins trusting diver Craig Foster, and all that he explores and gets to understand by observing the octupus, not to mention how he enhances his own life and relations, are nothing short of magic being created amidst the oceanic kelp forest. And the scene where (spoiler alert) the octopus snuggles on Craig's chest is heaven on earth. Despite needing slightly crisper editing in the middle portion, this is among the most beautiful and brilliantly shot documentaries I've ever watched (and I've watched a lot), and is a mighty strong contender for the Best Documentary Oscar this year.
4/5 stars