Capturing the Friedmans                                       

Andrew Jarecki's 2003 film started out with the intention of filming children's entertainers but during his research he realised one of his subjects was the son and brother to convicted child molesters. He turned his attention to this instead and began research into their lives. He highlighted cases they were charged with and used archived footage from home movies that documented the tension it caused between the family. It is filmed in an unbiased manner by taking opinions from both sides of the story and asks the audience to make up their own mind, garnering the tag-line: "Who do you Believe?" I personally am still undecided. While their was significant evidence pointing towards Arnold's prosecution I don't think Jesse was guilty. 

Overall I thought this documentary was a fantastic piece of film making and 'decisive moment' commentary on pedophilia at a time when it was not so much in the public eye.

The Devil and Daniel Johnston                                

Jeff Feuerzeig's 2006 documentary takes an in depth look into the childhood and life of american musician Daniel Johnston with a focus on how he adapted to bipolar disorder and how it manifested itself. It has heavy use of archive footage from DJ's childhood, exposing emotional turmoil he had experienced and drug use that proceeded. His musical career is more of a side note but it used to dictate the narrative pace of the film, using milestones in his career to pair with interesting stages of his life. Inspirational story of an inspirational character. 

Tyson                                                                     

James Toback's 2008 documentary follows the life and controversies of the once heavyweight boxer, Mike Tyson. Again there is a heavy use of archived footage to divulge into his most famous fights as well as his saddest personal moments. The film focusses on stages such as the Holyfield fight, his rape conviction and his bankruptcy to name a few. All the archive footage is paired with a intimate interviews with Mike Tyson himself to gain his reaction to his eventful life. In a way it is a participatory documentary for Tyson himself, through his own life. 

The Corporation                                                     

Mark Achbar's 2003 documentary was a expository look into the world of conglomerate companies and weighing up whether the power they have is good or bad. The film is split up in to sections that tell a different aspect of business and its effect on the world economically, culturally and physically; for example global warming. Special effects are used throughout to portray certain points that can't be filmed, this is clearly a constructed scenario, and may not be truthful. To back up these images they often pair them with an interview with experts or civilians who validate their point. 

Although I did not finish watching it (2hrs and 15mins too long). It gave me the impression that it stood against corporations and the power they hold attempting to divulge into the negatives of capitalism more than the positives. This gives it a biased opinion that it forces onto the viewer and provokes a reaction, be it agreeing or not. 

Biggie & Tupac                                                     

Nick Bloomfield's participatory expository documentary explains the lives and deaths of rappers Biggie and Tupac, and the controversie that surround them.