Great documentary recently hit Netflix Instant. Side by Side did its rounds on the film fest circuit, got a great response and is now easy to see for everyone.

It’s a discussion on the warp speed that digital film making is over taking traditional celluloid film and techniques (many Cinematographers feel threatened). Film stock has been in use for more than 100 years and it’s only been about 13 years since digital has hit the professional scene to slowly claw it’s way into favor. In fact. traditional film cameras stopped being manufactured in 2011.

This is really a story of the inevitable. Digital was vastly inferior to film, but that is quickly changing. Equipment and workflow is changing to almost all digital, with many cost, speed and versatility for production benefits. There’s a few steadfast film makers who are holding on to film and Side by Side gets their side as well as the more forward thinkers. It’s an even movie where the pros and cons of each side are given equal time and consideration. While the conclusion seems pretty clear to anyone right at the start, this docu is a great history lesson with some fantastic interviews from some of the biggest names in cinema. A must watch for movie buffs.

It’s been awhile since I’ve seen a cop movie, so it was nice to visit the genre again. End of Watch is the story of two young Los Angles cops on the beat. Following them for about a year, Brian and Mike are not only partners on the force, but really good friends. Through their everyday job the stumble upon a very deep rooted and dangerous criminal organization that does not want anyone disturbing their business.

End of Watch is shot documentary style and that’s my biggest problem with it. There’s no need for it as the filmmakers didn’t stick with the idea. It’s set up so that Brian is going to school on the side and one of his electives is a film class, so he has a hand held camera and two cameras that he has pinned to the chest of himself and Mike. So that’s where most of the footage you see “comes” from. Sometimes other people have cameras too, like a gang banger sitting in the back of a car on their way to a drive by. But throughout the movie, you see camera angles that don’t fit this set up. Cameras disappear and come back, traditional steady cam shots are used in chases…it doesn’t make much sense to me. A few lines of dialog are said to explain the video camera footage, but what for? It wasn’t used and there was no benefit to it. I might be over reacting, but it stuck out to me for the entire film.

Aside from that, I thought it was a great movie. I’ve heard a lot of grandiose praise for this flick which I think is a bit much, but it’s defiantly worth a watch. I like Jake Gyllenhaal a lot and he’s got great chemistry with Michael Pena. It’s well made all around, the banter between the two leads is fun even if there are a few dips into douchey bro cop territory.

Good times, I recommend it.