It is one thing to be angry and quite another to see that anger manifest itself in a sensible—and potentially productive—way. The same is true for any emotion. Of course, try as we might, we can’t always control the ways… Read More ›
documentary
Movie Review: “Some Kind of Heaven”
In the leadup to Joe Biden’s November victory in the Presidential Election, I saw more than one article about arguments at The Villages, a massive retirement community in Florida. Trump, infamously, < a href=”https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/28/us/politics/trump-white-power-video-racism.html”>retweeted one racist moment their (naturally, he… Read More ›
Erik Nelson of “Apocalypse ’45” on U.S. Might and Directorial Power
Featuring stunning images of the Pacific Theater during World War II, “Apocalypse ’45,” is currently airing on the Discovery Channel (check your local listings for exact days and times). Today’s podcast features the film’s director, Erik Nelson, who tells us… Read More ›
Movie Review: “You Cannot Kill David Arquette”
Not every documentary can necessarily be believed. By their very nature, a documentary claims a certain amount of nonfiction status, but claiming that status and actually being nonfiction are two wholly different things. It would not surprise me in any… Read More ›
Peter Medak Talks Peter Sellers
Director Peter Medak has made a new documentary entitled, “The Ghost of Peter Sellers.” The movie looks at Medak’s experiences directing Sellers in the the 1973 film, “Ghost in the Noonday Sun.” Well, we say the “1973 film,” but “Ghost… Read More ›
Movie Review: “The Painter and the Thief”
A painter has a show in an art gallery. A drug addict in the middle of an extended binge breaks into said gallery with another man and steals two of the painter’s works. When the thief comes down and is… Read More ›
Movie Review: “Spaceship Earth”
No, “Spaceship Earth” is not a tale of the ride inside the sphere right at the front of EPCOT, and if some of the architecture in Matt Wolf’s documentary looks similar to that of EPCOT’s Future World, it has to… Read More ›
Movie Review: “Becoming”
Watching the new Netflix documentary, “Becoming,” born from Michelle Obama’s memoir of the same name, there is the inescapable feeling that it is, in no small part, a promotional piece. That is, the documentary exists to work in synergistic fashion… Read More ›
Movie Review: “Elephants” (2020)
Disney has been anthropomorphizing elephants for decades so it doesn’t come as a surprise to see them do so again in the new DisneyNature film, “Elephant” (and, yes, animal documentaries regularly anthropomorphize their subjects). Launching this Friday on Disney+ in… Read More ›
Movie Review: “Cold Case Hammarskjöld”
Appearing front and center in the documentary “Cold Case Hammarskjöld” is the film’s writer-director, Mads Brügger. He tells the story via voiceover, he tells the story directly to those he’s working with, he—quite theatrically—injects himself into everything going on. He… Read More ›
Movie Review: “Mike Wallace is Here”
There is no doubt that director Avi Belkin’s new documentary, “Mike Wallace is Here,” wishes to squarely place itself within the present day journalistic conversation, the conversation which includes the President of the United States and his White House abusing… Read More ›
Movie Review: “Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché”
Documentaries prompt questions, it is simply in their nature. For instance, there is often the easy and obvious question: why is the filmmaker telling me this; what is their goal? But, the questions don’t stop there at the easy and the… Read More ›
Documentary “For the Birds” is Anything but
What must it be like to keep over 200 types of fowl at your house? What sorts f havoc must that wreak? Wonder no more, because director Richard Miron has documented Kathy Murphy’s trials and tribulations in “For the Birds,”… Read More ›
Movie Review: “Framing John DeLorean”
What exactly is “Framing John DeLorean?” It is a movie, certainly, but is it a documentary? Is it a biopic? Is it simply reenactments? Is it a “making of” movie? Is it a proof of concept for a larger film? … Read More ›
Movie Review: “The Biggest Little Farm”
Sometimes skepticism is healthy, and sometimes it is not. All too often, however, it is impossible to tell to which side one’s skepticism belongs. As an example, take director John Chester’s documentary, “The Biggest Little Farm.” The piece focuses on… Read More ›
The Years Making “Scheme Birds” were well Spent
On this week’s podcast we have directors Ellen Fiske and Ellinor Hallin. The two women spent years filming Gemma, an inhabitant of a housing project, or “scheme,” in Scotland. Although they may not have known where the voyage would take… Read More ›
Movie Review: “Apollo 11”
However it may play on the small screen, or even smaller big screens, in IMAX, “Apollo 11” is a powerful piece of filmmaking. The documentary, as its name implies, focuses on the Apollo 11 trip to the moon in July… Read More ›
Movie Review: “Divide and Conquer: The Story of Roger Ailes”
More than halfway through the Alexis Bloom documentary, “Divide and Conquer: The Story of Roger Ailes,” an interesting question comes to the fore – did Roger Ailes believe the stories he had Fox News peddle, or was he just in… Read More ›
Movie Review: “The American Meme”
What if there is a dark side to fame? What if money does not always buy happiness? What if there are actual real-world consequences to one’s actions? Such are the supposedly shocking revelations put forth by the new documentary, “The American… Read More ›
“To Kid or not to Kid” That is Maxine Trump’s Question
This week’s podcast episode features director Maxine Trump, whose new documentary, “To Kid or not to Kid” just premiered at DOC NYC. The movie looks at the decision most people have to eventually make on whether or not to have… Read More ›
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