Charge: Zero Emissions/Maximum Speed (May 23rd at the Capitol Theatre)

[CHARGE: ZERO EMISSIONS/MAXIMUM SPEED screens Thursday May 23rd at 7:30 pm at the Capitol Theatre.]

Review by Bob Ignizio

The Isle of Man TT bike race is a thrilling competition in which cyclists zip along public roads at high speed. Death is a very real possibility for the incautious or unlucky racer. Now add in to the mix bikes that are largely untested experimental vehicles designed to run on battery power instead of gasoline, and things can get even more interesting. At least that's the idea behind Mark Neale's documentary film CHARGE: ZERO EMISSIONS/MAXIMUM SPEED. And for the most part, that's how the film plays out.

Several teams of engineers from around the world converged on the Isle of Man in 2009 for the first ever zero emissions race. CHARGE spends most of its time focusing on American bike designer Michael Cyzsz and the British eccentric/genius Cedric Lynch, inventor of the Agni motor that most of the racers in the film use. Lynch is the kind of character who could probably carry a whole film on his own. There's plenty of drama in the Cyzsz camp as well, though. Despite being the seeming favorites going in, the Cyzsz team's hopes start to fade as they become a classic example of Murphy's Law (“everything that can go wrong, will go wrong”).

Jackboots on Whitehall (now available on home video)

[JACKBOOTS ON WHITEHALL is now available on home video.]

Review by Bob Ignizio

In the recent documentary MARWENCOL we meet Mark Hogancamp, a man trying to cope with the mental and emotional problems (including amnesia) brought on by a severe beating. He does so by creating a village out of dolls and carefully detailed models that he places in a World War II setting.

JACKBOOTS ON WHITEHALL looks a lot like Hogancamp's imaginary town come to life. The film is set in an alternate version of World War II where the Nazis take over London. The flesh and blood cast, which is a veritable who's who of British actors, lend their voices only; the on-screen action is brought to life using animated action figures. I doubt there was any direct influence, but the visual similarities are strong enough that you can't help but compare if you're familiar with Hogancamp's unusual vision.