Hamouda and his cousin Ismail are Palestinian Bedouins living in the town of Yatta. With few ways to make a decent living, they offer a unique taxi service, driving Palestinian workers across the Negev desert to a southern gap where Israel’s border wall hasn’t been finished. Or smuggling Palestinian workers, I should say, as this […]
The Devil’s Drivers
Title – Val (2021) Director – Ting Poo & Leo Scott (feature debuts) Cast – Val Kilmer, Jack Kilmer Plot – An exploration of the life and times of Val Kilmer, utilizing countless hours of footage the ailing performer shot across his journey as both an upcoming actor and one of the hottest stars in Hollywood. […]
Film Review – Val (2021)
Title – Stray (2020) Director – Elizabeth Lo (feature debut) Cast – Zeytin, Nazar, Kartal Plot – Follows the day to day goings about of Zeytin, a stray dog on the streets of the sometimes harsh, sometimes caring city of Istanbul. “Nothing bothers someone who lives day to day” Review by Eddie on 02/08/2021 In […]
Film Review – Stray (2020)
Director: Eric Gordon Running time: 1hr 17mins In the end, statistics are just numbers – and this means they always have an element of comfortable distance to them. For instance, 44 million people worldwide living with Alzheimer’s disease or a related form of dementia. In a world of 7 billion human beings, the true horror […]
When All That’s Left is Love (2019) – 5 stars
By Karen The documentary about Anthony Bourdain that we’ve been anticipating for at least two years finally hit theaters today, and I just returned from the first showing. Besides me, only 11 other people, including four men, were in the audience. I sat in the top row corner in case I got emotional and had […]
Roadrunner, I’ve Seen It
It doesn’t look like much. The Harrisville, Rhode Island home might not get a lot of second or third looks on Zillow. “Needs paint” translates as “rustic” and “historic.” “Low ceilings” just means its out of date. But “historic” is right on the mark. This 300 year-old wood frame/clapboard house is where the events depicted […]
Documentary Review: The “Conjuring” house goes AirBnB — “The Sleepless Unrest”
Tribeca 2021: “Enemies of the State”
Rating: 4.5 out of 5. Nowadays, it is so difficult to differentiate the truth from lies. False allegations and conspiracy theories are easily being spread to be sold as the truths. But the only person who knows what is the truth and what is not is the one who becomes a ‘target’ of it. […]
Dancing is an important element that helps tell the story of love, passion, struggle, pain and even death. It also reveals the identity of the one who performs it and of those who watch.
From director Jamila Wignot, “Ailey” is a beautifully crafted documentary that centers around Alvin Ailey, an African-American dancer, director, choreographer, and activist who founded the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.
The appealing documentary Brewmance traces the evolution of the American craft beer phenomenon – and it’s quite a story. The United States may have been the richest and most powerful country in the world, but before bottled Anchor Steam came out […]
BREWMANCE: barley, hops, yeast and underdogs
Greetings again from the darkness. For anyone who still believes documentaries are dry and boring, the cure is this latest from Jonathan Blank, a filmmaker who returns to Holland 25 years after his first documentary, SEX, DRUGS & DEMOCRACY (1994). Entertaining and informative is a terrific blend as Mr. Blank uses interviews, statistics, and animation […]
SEX, DRUGS & BICYCLES (2021, doc)
Auschwitz survivor Primo Levi wrote “Monsters exist, but they are too few in number to be truly dangerous. More dangerous are the common man, the functionaries ready to believe and to act without asking questions.” The thrust of that quote forms the backbone of Luke Holland’s engrossing new Holocaust documentary “Final Account”. In it Holland […]
REVIEW: “Final Account” (2021)
Not a fun time. Meet filmmaker Ali Tabrizi. He likes to do his part for the environment. He picks up trash on beaches, he always carries around a reusable water bottle, and he donates money to marine conservation groups. But can he be doing more? This documentary is about him traveling the world and conducting […]
“Plenty” of Fish in the Sea – Seaspiracy (2021)
Not every story can move us one way or another. Not because we are senseless, heartless or indifferent towards others but because we think no problem is bigger than our own. Then why, one may ask, should I even bother knowing what happens in the rest of the world when my own is in scrambles? […]
Hot Docs 2021: “Writing with Fire”
“The New Deal for Artists” was a mid-70s documentary for public television that gathered many of the folks who benefited from Franklin Roosevelt’s assorted New Deal work projects to talk about how that Great Depression “put people back to work” program benefited themselves, American art and America in general. From New York theater types to […]
Classic Documentary Review: “The New Deal for Artists” (1976)
Hot Docs 2021: “Philly D.A.”
Rating: 4 out of 5. Mass incarceration is one of the largest problems in the US. Maybe it’s because of the privatized prisons. But the numbers are rising at an alarming rate, and Philadelphia is the city that holds the ignominious record for being the U.S. city with most incarcerations ever. “Philly D.A.” is […]
These are twenty documentaries that you shouldn’t miss at the 12th Taiwan International Documentary Festival which will take place from April 30th until May 9th, 2021 in Taipei, Taiwan.
20 Documentaries you shouldn’t miss at the 12th Taiwan International Documentary Festival (Part 1)
Inside the Red Brick Wall will open the 12th Taiwan International Documentary Festival which will take place from April 30th until May 9th, 2021 in Taipei, Taiwan.
12th Taiwan International Documentary Festival – Opening Film
In villages in the hill country of extreme northwestern Italy life moves slowly, and can seem to revolve around an elite corps with names like Nina, Birba, Pepe, Leo and Siana, Tina and Jeri, Fiona and Titina. They are the adored dogs with the million Euro noses, “The Truffle Hunters.” Sure, their human partners are […]
Documentary Review: Superheroes with snouts — “The Truffle Hunters”
SXSW 2021: “The Lost Sons”
Rating: 4 out of 5. There is no bigger moment than the birth of a child. The newborn brought to life should be cherished and celebrated. It seems nothing could stop life from being happily ever after, except for one event, the worst nightmare of any parent – the kidnapping of the child. It’s […]
