Rock documentaries generally skew towards humanizing musical icons and paint portraits of overcoming personal adversity. That’s just the kind of way they lean, complete with a rise and fall and redemption arcs. But the soulful and affecting “David Crosby: Remember My Name” is special nonetheless, managing to break through those tropes as it chronicles a similar architecture of ups and downs, successes and tragedies. Directed by A.J. Eaton, with the help of producer Cameron Crowe, who acts as Crosby’s interlocutor throughout, it’s almost impossible to not be taken by this brutally honest and emotionally vulnerable film about a famous musical icon, who’s also just a man who’s beginning to contemplate his last act in life. It’s moving stuff and regardless of whether you’re a fan or not, chances are this winning doc will hit you hard.
Read more‘Ask Dr. Ruth’: America’s Most Famous Sex Therapist Gets RBG treatment in Entertaining New Doc [Review]
When we think of Dr. Ruth Westheimer, we think of sex. After all, she brought it to the forefront of the American conversation back in the ‘80s. But after watching Ryan White’s “Ask Dr. Ruth,” the most comprehensive documentary about her life and times, you start to realize it’s the least interesting thing about her.
Read more‘Meeting Gorbachev’: Werner Herzog's Fascinating Doc on Former Soviet Leader [Review]
Mikhail Gorbachev’s legacy is that of being the eighth and final President of the Soviet Union, but this often misunderstood leader had a much more significant role in the world stage. Prolific director Werner Herzog‘s powerful documentary “Meeting Gorbachev” tries to paint a picture of a leader haunted by a never fully completed vision of a utopian, capitalist-driven USSR, one which, the director shows, had incredible similarities to today’s European Union.
Read more‘Knock Down the House’: Love Her or Not, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Doc Will Fire You Up [Review]
Young, female, brown, carrying oh-so-terrifying socialist ideals of equality for the underrepresented, and not afraid to speak her mind loudly, U.S. House of Representatives politician and activist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez currently has the Washington D.C. establishment quaking in their boots. Laugh if you want to, but there’s absolutely a reason a brand new, relatively inexperienced 29-year-old congresswoman—the youngest woman ever to serve in the United States—has found herself in the crosshairs of Fox News, The Daily Caller, and dozens of alt-right conservative voices. She’s absolutely dangerous to them because she represents a wakeup call to America and a voice of change they desperately want to suppress.
Read more“Leaving Neverland" Feels More Like an Opportunistic Hit-Piece Rather Than a Documentary [Review]
I can “review” HBO’s upcoming “Leaving Neverland” or just give an opinionated schema of Michael Jackson and his history of sexual abuse allegations towards underaged teenage boys. I’ll try to do both.
Read more‘Fyre’ builds on one cringe-inducing WTF moment after another [Review]
The term "clusterfuck" was invented for use when events such as the misbegotten Fyre Festival happen. Fyre was a music fest that was the brainchild of Billy McFarland and rapper Ja Rule. It was driven by a nifty marketing campaign which promoted musical nirvana on a a deserted island (once owned by Pablo Escobar) in the Bahamas. McFarland would overcharge thousands of music fans to what the ads deemed to be the “most exclusive music festival on the planet.”
Read more‘Untitled Amazing Johnathan Documentary’ Is A Riveting, Twisted Examination Of Non-Fiction Filmmaking [Sundance Review]
The unbelievable strangeness inherent in truth has made for some incredibly destabilizing documentaries about the blurred lines of fact and fiction. Films like “Dear Zachary,” “Catfish,” “Exit Through The Gift Shop” and “The Imposter” all blow themselves up in the middle all featuring “oh shit!”-like twists so disarming, so surprising they make one question the very reality and existence of what you’ve been watching. So, prepare to be fooled, thrilled and surprised with a new classic of this upending subgenre with “Untitled Amazing Johnathan Documentary,” a doc that uses the integral subject of magic and artifice to create a riveting meta-story about the illusory nature of truth, trust and the self-examining questioning of what you thought to be real.
Oscars: ‘Won’t You Be My Neighbor?,’ ‘RBG,’ ‘Three Identical Strangers’ and Others Make Doc Shortlist
The shortlist for the Best Documentary Oscar has been revealed, there are 15 movies remaining and vying for the final five spots. The biggest snub is Michael Moore‘s “Fahrenheit 11/9” which clearly irked people on both the right and left end of the political spectrum. Moore's film left no person unscathed as it not only condemned Donald Trump's "erratic" behavior, but scolded the D.C. establishment composed of Hilary Clinton and Barack Obama. Other films that are missing on this shortlist: Morgan Nevile‘s Orson Welles documentary for Netflix, “They’ll Love Me When I’m Dead,” Rashida Jones' “Quincy,” Robert Greene's “Bisbee ’17,” and “Divide and Conquer: The Story of Roger Ailes” by Alexis Bloom. However, all in all, it seems as though the usual suspects have been kept for the final dance.
Read moreDirector Morgan Neville Talks His New Orson Welles Doc & Welles’ Final Film ‘The Other Side Of The Wind’ [Interview]
Morgan Neville‘s “They’ll Love Me When I’m Dead” is more than just a documentary about the making of Orson Welles‘ “The Other Side of the Wind.” The legendary’s director’s final film, which has been touted for the better part of three decades as the ‘greatest film never released,’ finally is available for all to see on Netflix. Neville’s narrative in ‘Dead’ focuses not just on Welles’ unreleased production, but also his final two decades of life.
Read moreErrol Morris is 'Pissed' That His Steve Bannon Doc 'American Dharma' Cannot Find a Distributor Due to Left-Wing Backlash
"American Dharma" gives Steve Bannon a voice, so if you're already turned off by that prospect, then documentary filmmaker Errol Morris' latest movie is not for you. The rest of us can go into this beguiling film with an open mind and accept the challenge of an open dialogue with a man who many believe to be responsible for the emergence of the "Alt-Right" movement in this country.
Morris has been criticized for not being tough enough on Bannon in this doc, but I say phooey. Morris not only calls Bannon "racist," "evil," and "scary" to his face, but he is there to counterbalance and debate him throughout. Of course, deciding to boycott this doc plays right into the hands of the alt-right, who won the election because of the safe-space mentality inflicting America today.
Read moreOrson Welles’ Doc ‘They’ll love Me When I’m Dead’ is an Incalculably Important Cinematic Document
Morgan Neville‘s "They’ll Love Me When I’m Dead," which will play next week at Alice Tully Hall as part of the New York Film festival, is more than just about the making of Orson Welles‘ "The Other Side of the Wind," his final film which will, after being touted for the better part of three decades as the 'greatest film never released,' finally be in theaters later this fall via Netflix.
Neville's narrative in 'Dead' focuses on Welles' final few decades on earth. The documentary is an attempt to dissect Welles' controversial and mysterious personality and to explain the experimental style in which Welles' worked between 1970-1990.
Read more‘Free Solo’ Soars at Specialty Box Office
It's been an incredible year for documentaries. "Three Identical Strangers," "RBG" and "Won't You Be My Neighbor" have broken records at the box-office. However, news has come out that Vasarhelyi and Chin's "Free Solo" just had the strongest opening weekend of any documentary in 2018. This movie has to be seen in a theater, NOT on home video.
From my review on 9.16.18:
Read morePeter Jackson's 'They Shall Not Grow Old' Stunningly Revives Century-Old WWI Footage [Trailer]
We haven't heard from Peter Jackson since he released "The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies" back in 2014, it must have been an exhausting journey to make that trilogy and I'm sure he needed the time to rest. His next movie is set to be the "Tintin" sequel. In the meantime, Jackson has finished post-production on his WWI Documentary, an ambitious project. This film, comprising of real-footage of the first World War, is set to premiere this October at the BFI London Film Festival.
"They Shall Not Grow Old" will use never-before-seen archival footage of the "great war," all of which will be colorized and restored in 3D format. This is an incredibly fascinating project which will be screened exclusively in theaters on October 16th.
Read moreHow ‘Making A Murderer' changed TV forever
Netflix's “Making a Murderer” should be considered one of the most influential shows of the decade. It opened the door for a slew of murder-mystery dramas, which have all but invaded the TV stratosphere and podcasts such as Serial. If you remember, the non-fiction docu-series chronicled the conviction of two men for a crime that they may, or may not, have committed. By the end of the series, most of America had their own opinion on who did it. It was a magnificently rendered work of art.
Read more‘Free Solo’: A Thrilling, Astounding Mountain-Climbing Doc [TIFF]
"If you're seeking perfection, free soloing is as close as you can get." Those are the words spoken earlier on by free solo rock climber Alex Honnold, the subject of directors E. Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin's ("Meru") mind-blowing new doc.
Read moreSteve Bannon documentary 'American Dharma' warns of an impending American civil war [TIFF]
"American Dharma" gives Steve Bannon a voice, if you're already turned off by that prospect then documentarist extraordinaire Errol Morris' latest movie is not for you. The rest of us can go into this beguiling film with an open mind and accepting the challenge of an open dialogue with a man that many believe to be responsible for the emergence of the "Alt-Right" movement in this country.
Read more'Free Solo' has the greatest mountain-climbing sequence ever put on film [TIFF]
Earlier on in "Free Solo," rock climber Alex Honnold's brain is scanned to assess the activity in the Amygdala, the part of the human brain which triggers stress and fear, and the results are astonishing: there is barely any activation in Honnold's scans. This stuns the doctors but they do understand why that might be the case; you see, Honnold is a free solo climber — he climbs without safety ropes — and he is crazy enough to attempt a trek up the 3,000-foot cliff of El Capitan in California's Yosemite National Park without safety ropes, of course.
Read more‘Whitney’: Kevin MacDonald Delivers A Moving Portrait Of A Tragic Icon [Cannes Review]
Kevin MacDonald, director of the excellent Bob Marley documentary "Marley," no doubt knew the importance of the task at hand when he decided to tackle the rise and tragic fall of the iconic Whitney Houston. Houston's complex personality is what fascinates MacDonald most here, and he makes the most of never-before-seen archival footage to deliver an affectionate and deeply compassionate film that refuses to play it safe. My full review here.
Marvel's "Ghost Rider" just hired one of the best cinematographers working today. Linus Sandgren will serve as DP on Shawn Levy's MCU flick, and, most notably, the project will be shot on film.