(Two NYC Documentaries)

Pirates, pirates, pirates. We never really bought into the first one as the cultural phenomenon it was supposed to be, so we can’t claim to have very high expectations for — or even much interest in — Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest. Johnny Depp is likely entertaining as usual, but, sorry, we like a little more story in our stories. Who needs black pearls or dead mens’ chests when a Michael Curtiz/Errol Flynn collaboration on DVD is so much more enjoyable. Next…

Ah, but A Scanner Darkly on the other hand… First off, it’s based on Philip K. Dick, so at least it springs from a quality source. Second, it’s nice to see director Richard Linklater’s rotoscope animation applied to material that it would seem to compliment naturally. We are admirers of his previous effort of the type, Waking Life, but where that film’s technique seemed to motivate the story, this one’s story seems to motivate the technique.

We’re also especially excited for a pair of New York-centric documentaries…

As previously stated we were privy to an early rough cut of Once In A Lifetime: The Extraordinary Story Of The New York Cosmos that we found to be extremely entertaining and informative. We recommend it highly.

Then there’s Kill Your Idols, an exploration of the New York post-punk and alternative music scene springing from the city’s Seventies heyday. Seeing as we’re a spin-off of a music site dealing with current New York post-punk and alternative — or “indie” as the kids say these days — artists, it’s safe to say this doc is of particular interest.

Also Opening:
Beowulf & Grendel
Heading South

Official Websites:
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest
A Scanner Darkly
Once In A Lifetime: The Extraordinary Story Of The New York Cosmos
Kill Your Idols (MySpace)
Beowulf & Grendel