Steineded How sad is this?

Doomtomylo a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

Voxitype Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

Logan By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

SnoopyStyle It's the world of password puzzles. There is the 28th Annual American Crossword Puzzle Tournament. There are the various contestants. There is Will Shortz, the long time editor of the New York Times crossword. There are the everyday people who can't stop solving them and there are also the more famous fans like Jon Stewart, Indigo Girls, Bill Clinton, and Ken Burns.There is fun and then there is the obsession. Some of them seem to walk that line while others are perfectly happy with both. The contest is a fascinating subculture. It's also fun to see that so many people enjoying this. This is not a world breaking documentary but it is a small slice of it.

rooprect A documentary about a crossword puzzle competition. Hm. You'd think it has all the potential of a hilarious Christopher Guest mockumentary ("Best in Show") but for real. And with the DVD cover boasting "NAIL BITING SUSPENSE!", "PALM-SWEATING SUSPENSE!" and "THRILLING!" I figured this documentary would have some nifty surprises.The only surprise was the fact that I made it all the way through it without switching to Gilligan's Island. Don't get me wrong; this is not a bad documentary. But it certainly didn't live up to the sensational promises advertised on the box.I've enjoyed many great documentaries about subjects that otherwise wouldn't interest me. That's the mark of a great documentary: something that can (a) make me care about something I previously didn't care about, or (b) entertain me by showing the bizarre characters who care about things that I don't care about.Examples of great documentaries would be (a) "Ambassadors of Hollywood", which made me care about the misfits who dress up in costumes on Hollywood Boulevard, (b) "King of Kong" which entertained me by showing the bizarre obsession of people who play the video game Donkey Kong, and (c) "Anvil! The Story of Anvil" which made me care about, as well as be tremendously entertained by, the aging goofballs in the metal band "Anvil" even though I don't listen to heavy metal.I was expecting another success with "Wordplay", a documentary about perhaps the most UNexciting pastime ever invented by the human race. But no, contrary to the DVD's promise, there was no "nail-biting", "palm-sweating" or "thrills" here. Instead what I found was a very low key, uneventful documentary that might be good to kill some time while you're sitting in a hotel room or a laundromat, but I can't recommend it as a worthy use of your time.For the first 45 minutes it shows us clips of various famous and not-so-famous people talking about crossword puzzles. They don't really say anything that you & I wouldn't say; I guess we're just supposed to be dazzled by the fact that these people are famous. Comedian Jon Stewart is an exception, being very animated and dramatic. But after a while you get the feeling that all his clips were scripted, like a carefully rehearsed joke routine. These scenes are contrasted against the candid shots of the individual players in the crossword competition. Nothing special, they're just everyday human beings, not weird, not ridiculous, controversial or interesting in the least. There was one gratuitous shot of a gay man playing pinball with his partner and then kissing him. I felt like the filmmakers added that shot for a cheap attention grabber in an otherwise mundane & uneventful show.After the 45 minute mark, the competition begins. How can I describe it... Like my title says, it's about as interesting as watching people solve crossword puzzles. I'm not joking when I say a bingo competition would be much more suspenseful. The crossword competition has the same sort of atmosphere as a bingo competition but without the excitement.While this is not a bad documentary, it's definitely not an exceptional one. If you have 90 minutes to spare, I highly recommend the 3 docs I mentioned above ("Ambassadors of Hollywood", "King of Kong" and "Anvil! The Story of Anvil") as well as the excellent A&E TV series "Rollergirls" about the private lives of Texas derby queens who, at the end of each show, put on the skates and pummel each other in the arena--if you really want to see "nail-biting suspense".

Ed Uyeshima I have half-heartedly tried the New York crossword puzzles on occasion but had no idea what a devout following they had until I watched this refreshing 2006 documentary. Structured a bit like 2002's "Spellbound", the entertaining film that builds toward the 1999 Scripps National Spelling Bee, first-time director Patrick Creadon uses the 2005 American Crossword Puzzle Tournament as his climactic event where a group of nimble-minded crossword solvers vie for the championship. However, Creadon wisely focuses much of the film's initial attention on Will Shortz, the crossword puzzle editor for The New York Times who has gained renown as NPR's Puzzle Master. At his post since 1993, he has dramatically transformed the puzzle from an often frustrating, intellectualized exercise full of obscure clues to a more broad-based challenge that embraced popular culture and word games.The change has engendered a diverse number of celebrity fans, several interviewed here in entertaining snippets - a particularly caustic Jon Stewart, Yankees pitcher Mike Mussina, the Indigo Girls, filmmaker Ken Burns in a somewhat zen-like state, a wry Bob Dole, and Creadon's biggest get, an ingratiating Bill Clinton who conquers his puzzle with surprising zeal. Once the film turns its attention toward the tournament, the personalities of the top contenders are highlighted with the makings of a classic showdown among three-time champion and professional puzzle-maker Trip Payne; Al Sanders, the middle-aged perennial also-ran who can never seem to rank above third; and prodigious twenty-year old Tyler Hinman, the potential usurper who could become the youngest champion ever. One of my favorites is Ellen Ripstein, an unassuming statistician who twirls a baton, but the true unsung hero of the piece has to be frequent Times puzzle creator Merl Reagle.Delving into the crossword puzzles themselves, the most interesting extra with the 2006 DVD is a featurette called "Five Unforgettable Puzzles" about how the five of the most challenging Times puzzles were constructed as recounted by the creators themselves. Naturally, the puzzles are included in the accompanying booklet as well as the DVD-ROM for printing. The DVD also includes an amiable and insightful commentary track by Creadon, Shortz and Reagle, as well as a bevy of deleted scenes, including extended versions of the celebrity interviews. There is a twenty-minute short about the film's reception at the 2006 Sundance Festival, including a Q&A with the top contenders, as well as a music video. It's a robust package for a niche-oriented film but one that is more entertaining than it has any right to be.

lisabucher I just watched and enjoyed the movie 'wordplay' but was concerned about the lack of black people featured in the profiles of those who do puzzles.It seemed a bit all-clean-white (male) American to me, which spoiled the excellent story, great cinematography and music. Surely black people do the new York Times puzzle, although due to intrinsic economic and educational disadvantages they may not make the top 10 - this probably goes for women, too. (Its probably no coincidence that the top contenders were predominantly male). Yes, I did notice a few co loured people on the sidelines, but it would have been nice to have one as a feature. Better luck next time.