Just perfect...

A Brilliant Conflict

It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

Go in cold, and you're likely to emerge with your blood boiling. This has to be seen to be believed.

The music, the editing, the characters! This entertaining documentary shows there is a street art scene in Asia. Everyone thinks Asian people are orderly and it's refreshing to see a documentary that explores the richness of the cultures and how connected we are with art. The music is great, the artists are fascinating people who have great stories. I especially loved the characters in Singapore who talk about the criminal consequences because I never knew anyone would dare commit that crime there after the Michael Fay case! So scary! They are either really stupid or really brave. Either way they are determined to share their ideas!

Very few documentaries actually warrant a sequel - Bomb It was one of those rare exceptions. There are so many subcultures built around graffiti around the world that it would be impossible to exhaust them all in one film. Director Jon Reiss returns in top form for Bomb It 2, gleefully steering us from nation to nation to scope out the local color. The film, like so many indies these days, was made possible through a Kickstarter campaign. One might attribute the sudden demand for street art documentaries to the success of Exit Through the Gift Shop, but the Bomb It movies are sui generis - rather than zeroing in on one artist, they instead choose to take us around the world, introducing us to a broad array of characters.It probably won't inspire you to take up a spray can yourself (one segment takes place in Singapore, where many infractions merit corporal punishment), but it certainly is an entertaining glimpse into the high-stakes world of graffiti art. I'd highly recommend its predecessor as well, but it's not required viewing for enjoying Bomb It 2.

I always question why graffiti artists put themselves at risk to perform this type of art, in most parts of the world it's considered a felony and has some serious consequences. In the film, a Malaysian artist explains that authorities will strip you naked and whip you with a soaking wet rattan, ouch... Jon Reiss takes you around the world meeting artists from Bethlehem, Hong Kong, Copenhagen, Bangkok, Singapore and a plethora of other cities/cultures and really gives you a strong understanding behind the story/motivation of graffiti artists. I really appreciate the risks that were taken by Jon Reiss and the other filmmakers involved to pull together these stories, I will certainly never look at graffiti art the same.

Indie marketing strategist, international lecturer, and, more importantly, documentary filmmaker Jon Reiss -- yes, that same Jon Reiss who brought us the first instalment of the Bomb It series -- boldly returns with the long-awaited followup to his whirlwind global tour of graffiti-around-the-world.Yes, ladies and gentlemen, Reiss is back with a vengeance, more jet-lagged than ever.Spanning another four-pack of continents and a grab bag of nations both developed, developing, and Third World alike, we, loyalists and aficionados of the swelling Reiss oeuvre, feast once again on the delectable offerings in this engaging work of social commentary.It's a doc which attempts to explain -- in interview format as is the traditional Reiss custom -- the reasons why the men and women who love to "detonate bombs" simply do the things they do. If you've ever wondered why, now's your chance to find out once and for all.The world's revolved another six years and the indie film distribution landscape has turned over on itself like a piñata on the juice -- where it stops nobody really knows (and anyone who tells you they do is a rotten egg).The production values on this new film -- from the graphics, to the tunes, to the title cards delectably done by animator Joaquin Baldwin, plus the sundry Bonus Features (believe me, there are many!) -- are what will likely catapult Bomb It 2 to even greater renown than the first.Reiss has scooped up a few tricks in the intervening half-dozen years and stacking the films up side-by-side, Bomb It-s 1 and 2, you can't help but notice.WHY YOU WANT TO WATCH THIS FILM:You don't want to catch a glimpse of Bomb It 2 because I respect the sort of work Jon Reiss and Co. set their minds to. I also don't want you to run to view this film because I said so.You want to watch this film because:** it's a very good piece of filmmaking entertainment, and you could use the break from screen-tapping and status updating ** the visuals are stunning -- regardless of how you feel about the creative commons -- the hours invested by these various creative professionals into their work boggles the mind and will floor you ** Reiss has worked very hard, logged a lot of air time, and been far away from his family to bring this piece of documentary artistry our way ** the artists all have something unique to tell us and you will learn something new from all of them, as I did. Just when you think you all there was to know about graffiti and the creative commons, along comes Bomb It 2, and ** because this is the way documentaries are going to be shot in the new lean non- traditional distribution era, and if you're an indie filmmaker looking to sink your chops in a serious campaign of audience engagement, you'll want to sit back and watch how Jon Reiss separates the men from the boys with this project.And in the meantime...SPRAY ON!