HOW TO DANCE IN OHIO ★★★★

A documentary about autisitic kids on the more functioning end of the spectrum and their preparation for a formal being organised by the centre that they go to regularly for treatment. A wonderful film offering insight into those with autism.

STEVE JOBS: THE MAN IN THE MACHINE ★★☆

I dunno, I guess it was sort of okay in parts. But really, logic like “Eight companies were doing this, one was Apple -> APPLE IS BAD!” and “A company in China who any number of companies use that is also used by Apple -> APPLE IS BAD!” and “Let’s interview an anti-Apple journalist about Apple -> APPLE IS BAD!” kinda gets tired. The premise of the documentary was good; why did so many people feel sad when Steve Jobs died, to the point of leaving flowers outside shops, etc?. Too bad Alex Gibney couldn’t come up with an answer.

THE DIARY OF A TEENAGE GIRL ★★☆

Had a choice to see this film or catch up friends for drinks. I chose the latter after about 20 minutes. Call me a party pooper but I didn’t find the 15 year old main girl having sex with her mom’s boyfriend as funny as some.

808 ★★★☆

The bass goes BOOM. This was a pretty good doco about the Roland TR-808 drum machine. Yep, a documentary. About a Drum. Machine. I really like Zane Lowe as a DJ on Beats 1, but his enthusiastic shouty narrative didn’t really fit so well. Not a biggie. The parts with some of the (incredibly broad and extensive) interviewees were great. Particular highlights were the interviews with The Beastie Boys and Goldie. If it had a flaw, it was that it kind of went a little too long, and started to feel a bit disjointed towards the end. Easily worth a look if you’ve had a passing interest in dance/pop/hiphop since the 1980s. Looking forward to seeing if there’s a sequel for the TB-303