10) 60 Spins Around the Sun
Randy Cortico is a comedian who has done pretty well for himself. And like all comedians, he has become more and more political as the years have gone by. Featured at Cinequest this year, Laura Kightlinger’s doc on the comedian and activist is one of the most powerful I’ve seen in years.

9) Unforgivable Blackness - The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson
I love Boxing. I don’t really like Ken Burns. This look at the early 20th Century’s first Black Heavyweight Champion may be his best work, not because it is exhaustive like Baseball or The Civil War, but because it’s a powerful story and it’s told with excellent footage, still photos and interviews. Here, Burns’ love of stills substituting for moving image works very well indeed.

8) March of the Penguins
It made a lot of people go ‘awwwww’, and I did too. The American, English-language version was made that much better by having Morgan Freeman doing the voice-over. I liked it more than Derek did but you can find that review here.

7) Missionary Positions
It’s a weird film. It’s about xxxchurch.com. I loved the premise, and at first I was sure it was a mockumentary, but in fact, it was simply a doc about a bizarre group that tries to convert porno viewers. Somehow, I missed them on Larry King and The Daily Show, but the doc was very well-made, and was so slickly done that the confusion over whether or not this was a Mock really set in hard. The site’s mascot is the highlight.

And you get all this neat stuff...

6) RKO Production 601: The Making of Kong, Eighth Wonder of the World
If you buy only one DVD this year, make it the two-disc set of the 1933 King Kong. Even if you never watch the movie, watch the second disc and go to the second doc on the making of Kong. It’s amazing. Featuring an in-depth look at the team that made the original, the doc, partly directed by Peter Jackson, talks to folks like Rick Baker (effects man of the 1976 Kong) and Jackson, as well as dozens of others who just love the movie. There’s a great look at Willis O’Brien and his pre-Kong attempt at a stop motion feature called Creation. Even more impressive, Jackson leads a team to recreate, as best they could, the original Spider-Pit sequence that was lost from the original Kong. Using stop-motion and new foam rubber dinosaurs created after x-raying some originals (at least one having come from Forrest J. Ackerman’s collection), this sequence is a hundred times better than the same one in Jackson’s remake.

5) Mad Hot Ballroom
Kids dancing Ballroom. What’s not to like?

4) Strange: Bernie Worrell on Earth
The best short doc this year was all about Parliament/Funkadelic’s keyboarder, Bernie Worrell. A wonderful combination of filmmaking talent and interviews with folks like Bootsy Collins, producer Bill Laswell, Mos Def, and more. A great doc which crams a lot into 30 minutes.

It sure made me feel lazy.

3) Murderball
The Documentary Personality of the year is Jeff Zuppan. No question that he’s the driving force behind this excellent doc on Wheelchair Rugby. The guys pummel each other on the court, and off the court, they just play harder. The highlights are many, though my fave is Zuppan’s girlfriend who is exceptionally hot and works in a morgue. It’s a wonderful film that is almost inspirational, but instead decides to give us real and harsh. Even an unsatisfying ending doesn’t hurt this great movie.

2) My Date with Drew
I’ve said a lot about this great documentary. You should go out and rent it since I know it’s in Hollywood Video and Blockbusters around the country.