Agent Palmer

Jasper Mall is a documentary about where malls are as of 2020. The height of “mall nostalgia” isn’t enough to support the malls, so we’re forced to ask, “Where are they now?” They aren’t nearly what we remember, and unless something changes, they won’t be anything but myth.

There are some real shots at the beginning of this documentary that feel like they belong in a surrealist film. Empty mall. Empty parking lot. Empty sky. These shots, while beautiful, are also haunting.

If you have been listening to The Palmer Files podcast or following me on Twitter, then you know I am interested in the process. I love figuring out how it’s done, how to do it better, how to create and recreate. I’m intrigued by all of it, and “It All Begins with a Song” is absolutely about the process.

It’s the story of Nashville as the songwriting capital of the world, but it’s also about the process of songwriting, which is applicable to any and all creative endeavors. For this reason, every creator should watch this documentary.

Over the course of 16 months the world has learned a lot about Val Kilmer. If you ever wanted to get to know him as an actor, an artist, or the man behind all of that, you can through the April 21, 2020 release of his autobiography I’m Your Huckleberry, and the July 23, 2021 release of the documentary Val.

I’ve read and loved the autobiography, so I was curious at what awaited me in the documentary. It’s the same, but different.

Not all documentaries are created equal. Some are out to prove a point, others hope to make you think, and even more are out to entertain, uncover, or educate. Music documentaries do a lot of those things, except they obviously tend to have music.

In having said music, the talking heads are commonly musicians or fans, and even the most serious music documentary has some light moments of laughter.

Garden State examines the cloud of one’s self. There are moments of varying length where we spend a ton of time in our own world; meanwhile, to the world at large, we’re just going through the motions.

This film is about that, and how one person, at one time, pulls himself out of that cloud.

It’s also very much an art film. The first few minutes establish that well, and Zach Braff’s vision of the film as a piece of art is beautiful.