A Ripple of Hope
Netflix | Amazon Instant Video
DVD
Directed by Donald Boggs
Starring Martin Luther King, Jr., Robert F. Kennedy, John Lewis
PBS Home Video
Originally Released: April 04, 2008

"Martin Luther King dedicated his life to love and to justice between fellow human beings. He died in the cause of that effort. In this difficult day, in this difficult time for the United States, it’s perhaps well to ask what kind of a nation we are and what direction we want to move in. "
– Robert F. Kennedy

With Martin Luther King, Jr. Day on Monday, January 21, I opted to grab a streaming documentary in recognition of the day of remembrance. While most King documentaries focus on the man’s life, his famous speeches, his significance in the Civil Rights movement, or his murder, the short PBS documentary entitled A Ripple of Hope instead focuses on the historic speech made by Robert F. Kennedy on the day of Dr. King’s death.

It may be bold of me to say so, but it’s my belief that countless young people don’t understand King’s significance in this nation’s history – indeed, many of my own generation have little comprehension of his importance. We may know of him, but many of us did not live during the days of segregation and the uphill battle faced by African American during the time. And yet, we’ve all benefited from an improved prevailing social outlook and attitude in not only welcoming our cultural differences, but also in celebrating them in unity.

A new forthcoming documentary about drummer Ginger Baker, entitled Beware of Mr. Baker, is on the cinematic horizon, and it shows the former Cream and Blind Faith drummer at all his peak highs and valley lows.

You can watch the trailer below, in which percussive luminaries like Rush’s Neil Peart and The Police’s Stewart Copeland wax poetic about Baker, citing him as pretty much the archetype of modern rock and roll drumming.

Baker remains one of the bright lights of the late 1960s wave of British rock and roll. Like contemporaries of the time Keith Moon (The Who) and Mitch Mitchell (The Jimi Hendrix Experience), Ginger Baker attacked his drum set with a rhythmic fervor, utilizing a double bass expansive drum set which he played like a lead instrument, making full use of his mounted and floor toms, and adding a thunderous back beat to whatever lineup he was playing with, Cream especially, which brought him and fellow band members – Jack Bruce and Eric Clapton – dizzying success.

Being an Aussie Metal Head, I’m particularly opinionated when it comes to heavy metal from my home country. While international fans are very aware of the impact of bands such as AC/DC‘s early hard rock influence, many remain unaware of some of the hard-edged unyielding metal bands that have driven not only the scene down under, but the world of metal in general. Often ignored, I sometimes feel that Australian Metal gets the same respect as the creepy stepchild kept shrouded in the basement.

So it was with surprise that I was greeted with the news that filmmakers Nick Calpakdjian and David Hawkins are establishing a document of the history and influence of Aussie Metal with their upcoming film, Metal Down Under. As a fellow weirdo who self-proclaims to be your local Heavy Metal Historian, this makes me giddy with giggling glee. Uh”¦ I mean, it makes me pump my fist in the air and sacrifice a puppy to Satan. Hails and horns, yo, hails and horns.

When Quincy Gow left his career in New York City, he walked away from working on the sets of projects as diverse as The Amazing Spider-Man to Precious to FX’s Louise, what many of us would consider a dream job. He returned to his home state of Michigan in part to be closer to an old friend of his who’s been diagnosed with cancer who, despite his illness, insists on working towards the completion of a children’s book. Quincy was compelled to help in the only way he knew how, make a movie.

Dive into this week’s Disney In Depth, an exploration into the documentary Ghosts of the Abyss, cementing director James Cameron as a leader in the efforts to appreciate the misfortunate vessel known as Titanic. This is deep in more ways that one (sorry, I couldn’t resist).

This 2003 feature, released in IMAX 3D, finally pulls into port. Well, rather the Blu-ray 3D (and DVD) home release port. Narrated by and featuring actor Bill Paxton, best known for his roles in adventure films Apollo 13and Titanic, serves as the audience’s captain, so to speak, on Cameron’s mission to survey the whereabouts of the illustrious ship that submerged into the depths of the North Atlantic. Paxton, recruited by Cameron to join him on the expedition led by scientists, historians, and ocean explorers, boards the ship that will take him to the site of its sinking.