Ok, who here has not seen Trolls 2 (PG-13. some language, no nudity)? If you haven't - and I assume that is most of you - then I highly recommend that you find yourself a copy (or borrow mine). Trolls 2 is truly the best worst movie ever; everything about the movie is just bad. It was supposed to be a horror film but I can't imagine it scaring anyone. Fortunately, bad movies usually tend to be great movies - for the wrong reason. There is a huge cult following for Trolls 2 and I watch it several times a year myself. It is one of those movies you casually quote or mention to a friend and when they say they haven't heard of it you get to freak out and make them watch it, thus creating a new fan.
One of the actors from the movie is all grown up now (the 'film' is 18 years old now) and has created a documentary about the movie and it's lasting appeal. The movie is called Best. Worst. Movie. and debuted this year. I cannot wait to see it! Below is a trailer and a clip of just one of the many, many bad scenes. Caution/; You are going to see some of the greatest acting all time in the second clip, lol.
I just found out about this movie earlier today and decided to find a trailer. Anvil is documentary that is, apparently, going to be like Spinal Tap but with a real band. Anvil was a metal band in the early 80s that people really liked but never really made it big. You can find live performances of them on YouTube if you look. Anyway, the trailer looks pretty interesting and I'm looking forward to checking it out.
Earlier this week I sat down and watched the 2007 documentary, Helvetica, on Blu-ray. Being a fan of documentaries, obscure knowledge, and graphic design I figured I couldn't really go wrong. Fortunately, my assumptions were proven right and I was rewarded with a (dare I say?) entertaining film covering the history and prolific nature of the font type helvetica.
The documentary takes the form of interviews with well known graphic designers and the family and friends of those responsible for the creation of helvetica in Switzerland 50 years ago. These interviews are divided by images of text all over cities throughout the world using the font. I must admit that I really was made aware of just how prevalent the font is. Since watching this I have also started noticing the font everywhere!
A bit more surprising was the intense opinions about helvetica held in the graphic design community. One woman basically said that in the 1970's she wouldn't use Helvetica because it was the font type of corporations and it was corporations that sponsored the Vietnam war. Easy, killer! Of course, it is easy to laugh at her statement, but one thing I was confronted with was how fonts effect how it is we see what we are reading. Some fonts cannot say what other fonts can say with the same words. The massive use of helveica is largely due to the fact that it is neutral and can say anything. Helvetica is the font of choice for corporations - and governments, advertisers, and people making lost dog signs. Helvetica is for everyone for anything.
In the end, Helvetica served it's purpose in giving me a history of the font itself, its use and theory, as well as confront me just how widespread the use of it is. It is put together very well and the movie never drags or gets boring. I really enjoyed watching it and feel a bit smarter - which is the point, right? I would not buy this Blu-ray (or dvd) but would definitely recommend it. I feel I should add that, oddly, there are a few f-bombs dropped by some of the interview subjects.