This week has held no press screenings until Thursday night which means I’ve had plenty of time to catch up on my hit list. As Above/So Below screened the night before it was opening, a generally telltale sign of bad things to come, but proved to be a madcap fright-fest. More by random chance than anything, I found myself watching three documentaries from 2014; Jodorowsky’s Dune, 12 O’Clock Boys and To Be Takei; each of which was great for their own reasons; a reminder of why I love documentaries as much as I do. Additionally, I caught up with two older classics, Werner Herzog‘s Aguirre: The Wrath of God and Risky Business starring Tom Cruise, both of which I enjoyed monumentally. So all in all, a very good week for Weekly Review.

AGUIRRE: THE WRATH OF GOD (1972)

Haunting and electrifying, Aguirre: The Wrath of God is the story of one man’s descent into madness with Klaus Kinski giving an unhinged performance as the hubristic titular character. The story follows Aguirre’s quest through Peru to find El Dorado as loyalties falter around him and insanity takes hold. It’s got an unnaturally real feel to it, accenting the existing eerieness of Werner Herzog‘s production. It’s as if Aguirre is partially a documentary in spirit and Herzog is a guide taking us into 1530 and stranding us there for 93 minutes. His minimalist, fly-by-the-seat-of-his-pants directorial style leads to a bevy of moments that could have never been choreographed or planned, making the whole endeavor that much more wondrous and awesome. (A)

RISKY BUSINESS (1983)

If Ferris Bueller picked up a hooker on his day off, John Hughes‘ classic tale of teenage ruckus would probably look a lot more like Risky Business. Paul Brickman‘s venture into adolescent male fantasy is marked by a subtlety oft missing from most coming of age stories from the same generation. In such, Risky Business is a groundbreaking, almost earth-shattering picture. One can also point to Risky for Tom Cruise‘s breakout role and for good reason. Though Cruise’s voice is still crackling with youth, he showcases the effortless charm, rebellious tinge and winning smile that would go on to define his success. All in all, Risky Business is a winning formula that sees ultra-sexualized feminine guile slam on the shores of pubescent, budding masculinity and the funny, poignant mess such leaves behind. (B+)

JODOROWSKY’S DUNE (2014)

A captivating journey into what should have been but never was, Jodorowsky’s Dune is a bittersweet fairy tale. The most influential film that was never made, Jodorowsky’s vision for his film version of Dune has bleed a plethora of its distinctively forward-looking DNA into most iconic of films. Star Wars, Alien, Terminator, The Matrix, this mind-boogling documentary presupposes that without the Dune that never was, none of these would have ever existed. Perhaps the most intriguing aspect is the stable of off-kilter talent Jodorowsky was able to reel into the project, including none other than Dali (yes, that Dali) and Mick Jagger. Though it’s almost depressing to see such a work of passion crash and burn as hard as it did, at least this wonderfully captured chronology of Jodorowsky’s Dune will carry on the legacy of one of Hollywood’s wildest and most missed-out on production. (A-)

12 O’CLOCK BOYS (2014)

A searing look into the ethos of a gang of Baltimore dirt bikers, 12 O’Clock Boys follows young wannabe Pug as he aspires to join up with the revered crew. Named after the posture of a dirt bike pulling a gravity-defying wheelie, the 12 o’clock boys are at odds with the local police and the community at large. While they’re not gang members of the gat-wielding variety, their vehicular acrobatics puts other drivers at risk and often leads to the gruesome demise of their members. It’s a hard watch that’ll elicit conflicting emotions and is especially pertinent in the wake of the Ferguson events. While we as an audience struggle to relate to a fast growing Pug – the doc filmed him for three years – we can’t help but judge him and his hapless, tragic descent into hoodlumdom. As film tracks Pug over that span of years, we see a transformation from a child who dreamed of being a veterinarian to a teenager who kicks his own dog to quiet it down. Unfortunately, 12 O’Clock Boys ends abruptly and without warning, as if it had to be rushed to the theater and we’re left guessing of the fate of the character we’ve grown attached to, leaving us without the closure and moments of reflection that the film so badly needed. (B-)

TO BE TAKEI (2014)

Actor turned activist George Takei might be best known for his role as Sulu on the original Star Trek series but it’s his constant strife for social equality that makes him as important a figure as he is today. Bill Weber and Jennifer M. Kroot‘s biography digs up Takei’s roots, his tenure on Star Trek, his later plight for egalitarianism and his oddly bumbling, indescribably pure relationship with Brad Altman. Even though the documentarians seem more focused on cramming in all the facts than of stream-lined and laser-focusing their effort, they find immeasurably powerful moments in Takei’s brutal honesty, especially in the later half of the film. We learn that Takei’s struggle is not just that of a gay man but of a Japanese gay man; a man who’s been beat down by homophobic political policies; a man who spent a portion of his childhood in the American Japanese Internment camps. From being a politic ally to Bill Clinton to appearing on the Howard Stern Show, Takei’s journey as a human being has all but become one big boxing match for equality and even though the film biographing him isn’t perfectly constructed, it’s a forceful reckoning with our skewed political agendas and often emotionally hard-hitting to boot. Plus, it’s nice to spend a little more time with George Takei. (B)