Biographical documentary brings sex researcher Shere Hite, who revolutionized how we view women’s sexuality, back into the spotlight.
Sundance: The Disappearance of Shere Hite
SXSW: Love to Love You, Donna Summer
Co-directed by her daughter, this new doc on Donna Summer gives us a peak at the real woman behind the iconic image.
SXSW: The New Americans: Gaming a Revolution
An engrossing documentary about the new age of financial and digital disruption. Ondi Timoner takes a complicated subject and makes it accessible and entertaining.
Witches: Stalked by the Shadow of Madness
A serious yet poignant documentary that explores the parallels between the historical portrayal of witches & mental illness during & after pregnancy.
The Voices of the Silenced (2023)
Documentary film “The Voices of the Silences”, which won the Mecenat Award for Best Documentary when it was shown at the Busan International Film Festival in last year, is about one defiant old Korean Japanese woman and her old but valuable chronicles of her fellow Korean people in Japan. As her several old documentary films […]
Schumacher [2021]★★★
To miss a documentary about 7 time Formula One world champion Michael Schumacher would be the equivalent of skipping a Martin Scorsese film. It might not be as compelling as 2011’s “Senna”, but it’s still a phenomenal look at Schumi’s career, from his time with Benetton in the early 90’s, to his unforgettable years at […]
‘Occupied City’ Review: Steve McQueen’s Doc Is a Trial to Sit Through
Adapting a chronicle of Amsterdam Holocaust victims’ stories, McQueen does a one-note meditation on past and present.
London Film Festival 2024: Endurance Review
Anyone who has spent time around me knows that I am fascinated by what is known as the ‘Heroic Age of Polar Exploration.’ Ever since I saw the Fram, the ship that took Roald Amundsen to the South Pole, I have been fascinated by this period of history, events like the race between Amundsen and […]
London Film Festival 2024: Endurance Review
Documentary Reveals New Perspectives on the Menendez Brothers
The Menendez Brothers explore the complex story of the brothers, provoking reflection on guilt, trauma, and social judgment.
Documentary Reveals New Perspectives on the Menendez Brothers
Crossing the Bridge: The Sound of Istanbul – Uniting Modernity and Tradition in Turkish Music
MUHAMMED NOUSHAD reviews Fatih Akin’s documentary Crossing the Bridge: The Sound of Istanbul. Turkish music is irresistibly intoxicating. The more you listen to it, the more it binds you inside. Once you begin to indulge in its soothing pleasure, it engages you to endless entrapment. Here, modernity cohabits with tradition as in the historic city…
Maestro (2023)
Maestro (2023) is a biographical drama film from sophomore writer-director Bradley Cooper. Cooper also stars in the film as Leonard Bernstein, renowned Broadway composer, following his life and relationships, particularly with his wife Felicia (Carey Mulligan). The film debuted at the Venice Film Festival to strong reviews, and releases in theaters and on Netflix this December.…
“Navalny” Is A Must See
Remember when Putin’s nemesis Alexei Navalny was recovering in Germany following his August 2020 poisoning? Director Daniel Roher was with Navalny and his core circle during that period and he made a documentary about it that you’ve got to see to believe. It’s fascinating, terrifying, and heartening all at the same time. Have you ever…
Navalny: An Ongoing Thriller
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 […]
The Forever Prisoner (2021): It was torture indeed
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
THE GREAT BUSTER: A CELEBRATION
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
BECOMING COUSTEAU: A Legacy Of Reflection, Desperation, And Hope
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
The Big Mouth
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 Devil’s Drivers
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 […]
Val (2021)
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 – Stray (2020)
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 […]