7 Documentaries You May Have Missed

Michael Moore isn't the only documentary filmmaker out there, and he's certainly far from the best. Yet his shenanigans consistently get the most attention, and as a result the lion's share of the gate. When his film "Capitalism: A Love Story" opens Friday it'll no doubt be to an opening weekend that will be many times the entire gross of the majority of documentaries out there.

But we at The Film Yap know there are literally dozens of worthwhile documentaries made in the past couple of years that deserve every bit the attention that any of Moore's films do. Here, then, are some recent documentaries that are more than worth your time to see.

Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father (2008)

Quite simply one of the most gripping, emotionally draining documentaries ever made. When Andrew Bagby is killed by his pregnant girlfriend, his friend, filmmaker Kurt Kuenne, decides to make a filmic tribute to his pal for the little boy to see. The film slowly changes focus to highlight the hell Bagby's parents go through just to see their grandson (and their unflinching grace amidst it all), as they have to make nice with the woman who murdered their son. Then something horrible happens and the film becomes a cry for social justice and calls out a legal system that failed a man and his unborn son, their family, and everyone.

The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters (2007)

What, you say? A documentary about two guys playing Donkey Kong? You can find more intrigue at your local Chuck E. Cheese, right? Wrong. This one features the best video-game one-on-one since Jordan vs. Bird (or, heck, even Spy vs. Spy), with the political machinations of the governing body of video game records (yes, there is one), a diva of a current record holder, and an everyman hero who faces constant adversity in his quest to become Donkey Kong champion. It's "Rocky" with a few more quarters. Even more interesting is some of the subjects openly questioning the film's authenticity.

Trouble the Water (2008)

A searing indictment of the failures of government on every concievable level in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina told from a primary source: an impoverished husband and wife who lived through it. First-hand accounts of the storm and its aftermath (much of the film was shot during the storm using a hand-held video camera) are heartbreaking (including a scene where Marines deny a group of displaced residents shelter in an abandoned school (at gunpoint), and utter, first-hand proof that racism is still an issue in America (check out the scene where a police officer hassles them for gathering in their neighborhood on the anniversary of the storm and rudely orders them to turn their camera off).

Jesus Camp (2006)

More frightening than "The Blair Witch Project," all of the "Halloween" movies, each "Friday the 13th" (twice!), and 4 of the Nightmare on Elm Streets. Combined. A look into a church camp where the director says she wants to see her campers "as radically laying down their lives for the Gospel as they are over in Pakistan and Israel and Palestine." Simply by turning on the camera and not making any judgments, this is a film that the religious right and zealots can each watch, with each side seeing a completely different film.

Young @ Heart (2008)

A heartbreaking, hilarious look at a chorus of octegenarians singing rock 'n roll. We see them struggle to grasp the material, hit their cues, and fall behind when members of the band get sick and, at times, pass away. Trust me when I say you haven't seen anything quite like this film, which toes the line between laughing at and respecting its elders.

The Tiger Next Door (2009)

The story of a man and his pet tigers, and the town that wants to take them away. Filmmaker Camilla Calamandrei steps back and allows the truth to shine through on this story of a man who owns almost 30 tigers and assorted other exotic animals, and whether the constant care he gives the animals justifies keeping them penned up in cages much smaller than they were intented to live in. A story that appeals to the heart and the head.