kevinh92

"I have a hard time trying to communicate with people...skateboarding's a way for me to communicate..." -Mark Gonzales, Professional Skateboarder

Even though the above quote was written by an athlete, I think it fits the theme of the show quite nicely. "Oddities" is a series that centers around an antique store that buys and sells, just that, oddities. Strange medical equipment, and all other manners of macabre artifacts come into and out of the shop, and that alone is interesting, but what I think makes the show unique, and compulsively watchable are the people both in front of and behind the counter.

The owners are passionate about their work, and it brings them into contact with many people. Whether it be authenticators, hobbyists, buyers or even the occasional lawyer, they're always treated kindly and professionally. They're not just buying and selling, they're communicating their passions.

The show does the same thing. A lesser show would consider some patrons as eccentrics, but this show takes a higher stance and presents them as individuals, not making a point of their uniqueness, but not downplaying it either.

I think the subtext is that, in a way, we're all "Oddities", along with the things we love.

While I do have some reservations about this program (back-to-back episodes can get repetitive etc) I think this show is up there with a lot of the better Discovery Channel Series' (and general TV documentaries) and I really hope it gets the audience it so richly deserves.

Spike Jonze's work always has a sort of realism and thoughtfulness to it that usually grounds everything else. The only difference between his other works ("Adaptation", "Sabotage" by the Beastie Boys) and this one, is that this is a documentary.

Spike more or less just follows a group of kids as they tell stories, practice on becoming rodeo stars, and overall just hang out. Personalities emanate from the screen, and you start to get a feeling of who these kids really are.

Of course no movie can be completely objective, but this film fulfills the promise of great documentaries because it is tells a story that some people might not be familiar with, and it does it in an entertaining way through empathy and clarity.

They occasionally wear cowboy hats and blue jeans, but above all they kind of remind me of a lot of American teenagers growing up in suburbia, albeit in their own version.

*Spike Jonze recently directed Arcade Fire's "Scenes from the Suburbs", I'm not suggesting that there's a direct connection, but I think this seems to cover some of the same themes.

What an incredibly insightful and interesting behind-the-scenes look at the film making process. The best way I could describe this film, is exactly how it describes itself. Imagine Stanley Kubrick's daughter capturing footage on the set of "The Shining", and you'll probably have an idea of this short documentary.

She follows the actors, the crew, director, and even some visitors that come in between shots and are flustered to meet "Jack Nicholson" and "Stanley Kubrick". I put their name in quotes because, like those visitors, many people are quick to put Jack, and even more so, Stanley Kubrick on a pedestal. This is probably deserved, but what makes this documentary so great, is that, perhaps due to Vivian's closeness to the set, the feel remains intimate without being reverent. There's an easiness and honesty to it.

You can kind of tell she's her father's daughter, because the shots on set are handled so languidly. One of the best parts of the movie is just watching as the camera smoothly just follows an actor through elaborately constructed halls passing by various crew members, or just watches Stanley Kubrick, a figure some people hold as a sort of enigma, nonchalantly talking while all these other things are happening in the background.

As clichéd as it sounds, the first thing you learn in screen writing is to "show more than tell". I think it's ironic that some people are disappointed that the film does just that. We see Stanley Kubrick working, but we never see him sitting down explaining his decisions. Which is kind of just right.

Also, an electronically remixed classical track that didn't make it into "The Shining" closes out this film, and I think it's just the perfect touch.

*I titled this Vivian Kubrick's Masterpiece, not only because it's perfect in its own way, but also because it's her ONLY film to date. She made this when she was 17, and it already has the marks of a skillful director and cinematographer. Most feedback on this documentary cites that it's about a great film maker, what they sadly usually don't say is that it's also BY one. I really hope she finds her way back into making movies.