3 out of 5 stars. WWE Royal Rumble 2020 Blu-ray review. Except that Kim Jong Un doesn’t have Tom Cruise bounding on stage to lend his support to the idolatrous acclamation that Scientology’s leader commands. Scientology maintains its power through secrecy and intimidation, and Theroux gets a view of both when he visits the group’s notorious “Gold Base” in Riverside, California, a sprawling rural enclave that’s surrounded by high walls and a phalanx of security cameras. This film has a lot going on in it and I have quite a few thoughts about it. My Scientology Movie. Instead, he decides to cast actors to do the job for them. My Scientology Movie is a hilarious, if at times provocative, documentary. Anticipation: 4/5 I was disappointed not to catch My Scientology Movie at the cinema. My Scientology Movie, 2016. goons outside Scientology’s dusty Californian compound about whether he’s on its land illegally. I have been a long-time admirer of Louis Theroux’s documentaries. The treatment of ‘Suppressive Persons’ — Scientology’s supposed apostates — is tackled with terrifying gusto by the actor playing Miscavige. For much of the movie, Theroux drives a rent-a-car around Los Angeles and its environs, looking at Scientology locations and talking to people who have escaped the cult’s grip about its byzantine doctrines and practices. Their efforts to intimidate are dulled by the fact that they all look well past 60—a sign, perhaps, that the cult may not last much past Miscavige’s passing, if that long. Needless to say, our intrepid reporter doesn’t make it inside, but he gets to film Scientologists’ cameras filming him as its security people come out and demand that he leaves. Oppenheimer’s film has real people recreating their own shocking acts of genocide; here Theroux’s actors make willing surrogates, but they’re no substitute for access to the organisation itself. Theroux serves up TV clips from Scientology rallies of recent years, where Miscavige and the torrents of worship washing over him resemble nothing so much as the cult of the Great Leader in North Korea. Among the Scientology apostates that Theroux interviews, some of the most vivid testimony comes from former Scientology Quartermaster General Marty Rathbun, who describes Miscavige’s hysterical rants and violence against his underlings. Unlike one of the main inspirations, Joshua Oppenheimer’s The Act Of Killing, Theroux’s gambit is only half successful. Making a Scientology documentary will always guarantee you an audience, even if it's just a small army of lawyers. Rathbun also participates in the film’s most productive contrivance, when Theroux sets up auditions for actors to play the parts of Miscavige and Cruise in a fictionalized probe into the Scientology story. While "My Scientology Movie" provides a very entertaining tour of some of the questions that swirl around Scientology, viewers who’ve followed the story through the years will find little that’s new or unexpected. Scientology is a complex subject that takes quite a bit of work to understand. Men in Black: International review. Needless to say, this film (directed by John Dower) doesn’t end up being the first flattering documentary about Scientology made by an outsider—not that Theroux, of course, probably ever thought it would. Louis Theroux versus the Church of Scientology. American viewers familiar with the documentaries of Nick Broomfield may find those provide an apt point of comparison for “My Scientology Movie,” although Broomfield is an actual documentary filmmaker while Theroux (son of writer Paul) is the species of TV personality that Brits call a “presenter.” He has a weekend show on the BBC, that is, and when he arrives in Los Angeles to launch his own investigation into Scientology, the film’s tone suggests that it is aimed at viewers already familiar with his low-key comic persona. My Scientology Movie 2015 ★★★½ . For years, Theroux confesses, he had hoped to make a film that would discover a more positive side to Scientology than the countless negative images projected in the media. With Louis Theroux, Tom Cruise, Marty Rathbun, Paz de la Huerta. Of course, this is an easy contrivance on the director's part: Theroux and company know they’ll be turned away in this manner, as have many before them. I frequently revisit his earlier Weird Weekend series just because each time I watch the peculiar world Louis navigates, I find myself met with a renewed sense of astonishment.… Some gloriously surreal moments … Louis Theroux in My Scientology Movie. 3 out of 5 stars. There are some tense and violent moments, including a disturbing scene in which actors who have been hired to portray some of the highest-ranking members of Scientology show what behavior is alleged to take place … He has written for The New York Times, Variety, Film Comment, The Village Voice, Interview, Cineaste and other publications. Louis Theroux documents his investigation into what goes on behind the scenes of the infamous Church of Scientology. This review was written by WatchThatTV. I n My Scientology Movie, it doesn’t take long for documentarian Louis Theroux to get rattled by fears of harassment and surveillance by agents of the Church of Scientology.During an interview with former Scientology enforcer Marty Rathbun, a woman in a bikini saunters up to them to ask what they’re doing. A small army of lawyers, in the first instance. Bauer Media Group consists of: Bauer Consumer Media Ltd, Company number: 01176085, Bauer Radio Ltd, Company Number: 1394141, Registered Office: Media House, Peterborough Business Park, Lynch Wood, Peterborough, PE2 6EA H Bauer Publishing,Company Number: LP003328, Registered Office: Academic House, 24-28 Oval Road, London, NW1 7DT.All registered in England and Wales. He has written for, Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief, The TV Homages of WandaVision are an Amusing, Unfulfilling Distraction, On the Disempowerment of Promising Young Woman, Entertaining 30 Coins Examines Depths of Evil with Style. Making a Scientology documentary will always guarantee you an audience. For the current era, Alex Gibney’s authoritatively damning “Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief” is likely to remain the movie about the pseudo-scientific mind control cult that calls itself the “religion” of Scientology. My Scientology Movie is a 2015 British documentary film about Scientology directed by John Dower, and written by and starring Louis Theroux.The film takes an unconventional approach to the subject matter, featuring young actors "auditioning" for parts playing high-profile Scientologists in scenes recreating accounts from ex-members about incidents involving senior church management. It’s becomes very meta as we get interviews with the actors who are cast to be important figures in the Church of Scientology for the re-enactments. My Scientology Movie seeks more to understand Scientology, its inner workings, and what its members are searching for than it does to “catch” Scientology out. It ends with them slinking off. Parents need to know that My Scientology Movie is a 2015 documentary in which broadcast journalist Louis Theroux attempts to find a way into the inner workings of Scientology. Stonewalled by its bug-eyed loyalists, threatened by its lawyers and unable to get close to its leader David Miscavige, Theroux instead chooses to recreate its practices (and, more pertinently, malpractices) using actors he casts in sessions, a little guidance from former Scientologist-turned-whistleblower Marty Rathbun and the odd visit to headquarters. Gibney’s documentary–an adaptation of Lawrence Wright’s book of the same name–is a top-to-bottom takedown of the entire Church of Scientology, looking at the group’s origins via … Theroux’s first big-screen doc is an entertaining affair, peppered with surreal moments and wry wit, but its elusive subject remains out of reach. VAT no 918 5617 01, Bauer Consumer Media Ltd are authorised and regulated by the FCA(Ref No. Louis Theroux's My Scientology Movie has been released in the UK and is soon coming to the US. Read full review British provocateur takes a novel approach to investigating Scientology. My Scientology Movie SUMMARY Without the highlights of the reactions to the reconstructions, the rest of the film is fairly ‘so-so’, tabloid-style baiting - as … Photograph: Flat … This is my review of Louis Theroux’s new documentary, called My Scientology Movie. Godfrey Cheshire is a film critic, journalist and filmmaker based in New York City. He’s also one with a clearly stated goal that sets us up for the droll chagrin that follows. Only the good-natured Theroux seems to stand between them and an Anchorman-style camera crew battle. Directed by John Dower. My Scientology Movie Director: John Dower Rating: NR Release Date: March 10, 2017. “My Scientology Movie,” which bears a title that projects its farcical nature, is the second attempt to scorch what rational people consider an almost insane cult passing for a religion. The young performers are very game for their task, and some go deep into the dark emotions that Rathbun describes. Louis Theroux versus the Church of Scientology. For Americans previously unfamiliar with Theroux, however, this presents at most only a temporary barrier, because his unassuming humor quickly establishes him as a narrator worth listening to. How close can a filmmaker get to Scientology? Louis Theroux presents an entertaining but rather light doc on the infamous Church. And similar things occur in other circumstances, most comically when they’re filmed twice by a cameraman who claims to be just a freelance shooter-for-hire but won’t identify his employer. Directed by John Dower. That’s not to say Theroux doesn’t burrow gently under his subject’s skin. 710067). Review by Graham Williamson. It could even be read as a dryly self-deprecating acknowledgment — as befits writer-presenter Lo… My Scientology Movie review – amusing but lightweight 3 / 5 stars 3 out of 5 stars. Alex Gibney estimates 160 legal eagles watched last year’s Going Clear before its release, and it’s hard to imagine Louis Theroux’s addition to L Ron Hubbard’s DVD cupboard wasn’t given a similarly fine-toothed treatment. The two eventually chosen to embody the Great Leader and his Movie-star Acolyte (whose way of staring is carefully examined) are eerily good at playing men who sometimes seem not altogether human. There is no denying that Scientology’s mysterious influence … ... “My Scientology Movie” relies on a shaggy, meandering charm. Louis Theroux plays this setup- and stunt-driven documentary for laughs My Scientology Movie relies on a shaggy, meandering charm. Remember to visit and follow for more awesome reviews: WatchThatTV Louis Theroux, a true British national treasure, adopts a unique method in his first feature film to document the relatively unknown world of the Church of Scientology. Where they do pay off is in a recreation of the infamous Hole, a prison for senior Scientologists (or Sea Orgs) where the most extreme abuse is alleged to have taken place. News Politics World Sport Technology Business Money Opinion Obituaries Travel Culture Lifestyle Women Family Health and Fitness Fashion Luxury Cars Free Mobile App UK Voucher Codes US Coupons Jobs Financial Solutions Rewards Events Watched Oct 10, 2016. The personal pronoun in the title of “My Scientology Movie” makes sense in more ways than one. “After four hours of the same car being behind you,” he notes during a drive through LA, “you start to get suspicious.” Often lingering on the edge of his frame are edgy footsoldiers, awkwardly filming him as his crew films them. Review: ‘My Scientology Movie,’ an Offbeat Inquiry. For instance maybe a small army of lawyers. My Scientology Movie review – Louis Theroux gets smart with the cult church. My Scientology Movie BBC filmmaker Louis Theroux sets out to make a documentary about Scientology, but is soon stymied by its leaders’ refusal to participate. My Scientology Movie is the second documentary on the subject in recent months, following Alex Gibney’s more thorough and methodical Going … "My Scientology Movie" very much lived up to its title in being a somewhat self-indulgent and directionless peek into the Church. 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