While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

As with every other pop culture investigation of the 'typewriter renaissance', this documentary focuses almost entirely on vapid artists and obsessive collectors pontificating on their irrelevant emotional connections to typewriters, and of course the cliche of the incredibly skilled typewriter technician on the verge of unemployment. A comprehensive discussion of the machines themselves would make for a far more useful production, but instead they go for the same old wistful, depressing tone I've come to expect from technically inept documentarians trying to discuss historical technical subjects. They don't really understand the subject matter, so they film the only thing they know: feelings. Any self-respecting typewriter collector will spend two hours pointing at the screen saying things like "I have two of those" and "I have that one but mine's green instead of red", but that's about the extent of the enjoyment. The star of the show should be the typewriters, but they are secondary to pointless musings and a sense of loss.One final note of caution: the 'band' that plays 'music' on typewriters is pure cringe-worthy torture on every level. They alone are reasonable justification to avoid watching this film.

One of the big reasons that "California Typewriter" showed up on my radar was likely because I happened to be reading a book at the same time called "Revenge of Analog". That book describes a movement back towards things such as records, paper, board games, and other physical (not digital) forms of leisure and commerce. That is the main theme of "California Typewriter" too...only focusing on the device listed in the title.This documentary basically focuses on a number of different human interest stories involving a piece of technology largely thought "obsolete": the typewriter. From Tom Hanks' typewriter collection to the actual California Typewriter story, to a sculpture artist and and a collector looking for his coup de grace (and even a little history thrown in), this doc attacks the typewriter's story from nearly every angle.Even above the human stories, though, is the notion present throughout the entire doc of that "return to analog" of sorts. As technology marches on, sometimes we don't stop to evaluate whether the physical experience of creation needs to take a back seat to the ease of creation. Don't get me wrong...I'm not exchanging my iPhone for a flip phone, nor am I turning in my MacBook for a desktop PC. I'm no Luddite. But it is a fascinating idea for me (old enough to remember a time before the Internet and mobile everything)...this notion that sometimes, say, the act of typing something on a physical device might be more satisfying than the ease of a word processor.So, even though I'm not really "into" typewriters (I can honestly say I've never used one in my life!), I can say that this doc fascinated me and connected with me on a nostalgic, but also intellectual level. A return to analog devices may not be for everyone, but docs like this prove that the newest technology may not be for everyone, either. There is room for both, and even a mixture of both.

Ideas are not birthed, they are captured. Elusive and fickle, thought frolics like a kid straight out of school. Machines did not equip us with ideas; they merely help us capture them. Spear them down with safety pins, a grotesque abdomen of exposed entrails. Our thought is repulsive but honest, instinctive and pure.The typewriter is the remaining bastion of expression hunting. Not reliant on electricity, the mechanical cornucopia smashes its appendages on a miniature canvas, splattering emotion in precise linear shapes. The machine asks no questions and is supremely subservient to its owner.Documenting ideas has become more efficient as technology trudges into the electronic age. The typewriter challenges efficiency by introducing an element of savoring. The process tactile and the sensation tangible, keys clatter with purpose. There are no aids, only obedient marks summoned by an uncensored consciousness.Those bathed in admiration of the typewriter prefer a partner in their creation, and not a lifeless red squiggle or an absolute backspace bar. Mistakes are reduced to creative quirks and ink elevated to spilled blood. A dialogue forms between person and machine, and incubation of meaning initiates.Obsession always has noble causes. To outsiders a person's passion might seem overtly sensual or nonsensical, but admiration's roots grow deep in sentimental soil. Faced with a chaotic existence, a focal point for creativity provides a saving grace for those manic and compulsive. Being particular is becoming less praised in a multitasking world. Satisfaction slowly aligns with speed. A hollow qualification of accomplishment, completion overrides process. The typewriter stands stoically in the stream of this devolution. The journey is the creation, and the creation is the sum of one's creative missteps. Concrete are the symbols of this machine's language: Romantic and dying.

Who knew Tom Hanks would be type cast. He is among the most normal people in this unique typewriter fetish movie. The title refers to an office product store in Berkley California that does everything typewriters. There are plenty of talking heads on the virtues and creativity that spring from the use of a typewriter over a digital device.There are plenty of slightly askew typewriter lovers, mostly men who are enthusiastic over the keys and the bells. There is actually a musical group that plays songs on their typewriters. The history, origins, demise and perhaps an optimistic future are all presented in this a bit long documentary.If you like interesting non political, non controversial documentaries check this out. It's in limited release but with finding.