Jones Beach Boys doesn’t know what it’s about. Ron Colby, the director, introduces his documentary as his own trip back to Jones Beach in New York. He sets up the question of why he returned without really addressing it. The movie is frontloaded with his narration: once it gets going, he lets his subjects steal the show.
As with almost any documentary, the people save it. These people live in an alternate universe.
Side By Side (2012) is an unexpected barn-burner of a documentary. They got together a bunch of A list Hollywood production talent (directors and cinematographers mostly) at what was, in retrospect, a turning point in the industry. For 100 years movies were shot on film, but in the late 2000s they started to shift to cheaper digital production. In 2012 and now, there were a few holdouts (Christopher Nolan being the biggest), but as digital technology gets better, film dies more.