By C.J. Hirschfield (January 17, 2023) Two years ago, an extraordinary documentary on Russian opposition party leader Alexei Navalny was recorded. The film has just been released; he has not. Having been charged with everything from fraud to having created an extremist group “with the purpose of inciting hatred toward officials and oligarchs,” he currently […]
Navalny: An Ongoing Thriller
HBO documentary “The Forever Prisoner” is often sobering and chilling in its calm but blistering presentation on what the US government allowed to happen in the name of War on Terror. While it did not surprise or shock you much if you are familiar with its main subjects, the documentary is still captivating as providing […]
The Forever Prisoner (2021) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): It was torture indeed
Before he was a filmmaker, Peter Bogdanovich was a critic and historian par excellence. Coming of age as the first wave of Hollywood filmmakers were being put out to pasture, Bogdanovich sat at the feet of the men who made the movies and fell in love. Among those titans he admired, Buster Keaton stood tall, […]
THE GREAT BUSTER: A CELEBRATION
While it doesn’t dig as deep as one may hope, Becoming Cousteau is an honest yet engrossing portrait of one of the most iconic explorers.
BECOMING COUSTEAU: A Legacy Of Reflection, Desperation, And Hope
Directors: John Choi, Rob Sixsmith Writers: Nicolina Lanni, Rob Sixsmith, Conal Whyte Stars: Kwon Il-Yong, Kim Hee Sook, Cho Wook Hee RATING: 4 Stars From 2003 to 2004, in a span of less than a year, Yoo Young-chul killed a total of 20 people in various parts of Seoul, targeting victims including wealthy elderly people, […]
The Raincoat Killer: Chasing a Predator in Korea (2021) Netflix Review
Today, we’re going to take a slight detour from our regularly scheduled programming, and step away from the in-universe appeal of horror films. Instead, we’re taking a step back behind the curtain, behind the scenes, and dedicating a bit of time to the cogs and pieces that make these films work so well, even after […]
Behind the Masks: Horror Documentaries
Todd Haynes is not a joker. He took the task of creating the perhaps definitive Velvet Underground documentary very seriously. “The Velvet Underground”, is a sparsely titled, restrained, bleak, avant guarde mirror reflecting the velvet evolution: the conception, birth, life and death of the most important band that ever was. It is 180 minutes of […]
The Velvet Evolution: Review of the 2021 Todd Haynes Velvet Underground Documentary
I was curious about Errol Morris’ AMERICAN DHARMA, about Trump advisor and Breitbart exec Steve Bannon, but not apparently curious enough to see it when it was new. I finally checked it out. Essentially, it conforms to the conclusions I’ve already drawn about Morris’s filmmaking. When he was making documentaries about ordinary people, he had […]
The Big Mouth
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”
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 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. […]
Tribeca 2021: “Enemies of the State”
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)
