Netflix has become the new home of the true crime documentary series, the tightly knotted, edge of your seat sort of documentary that has as many cliffhangers as it does chapters (“Making a Murderer” and “Wild Wild Country” most recently). Which is what makes the streaming service’s newest edition, “Bobby Kennedy For President” such an anomaly.ContinueContinue reading “Netflix’s ‘Bobby Kennedy For President’ Documentary Series Is A Portrait Of What Could Have Been [Review]”
Tag Archives: Review
‘Elvis Presley: The Searcher’ Ignores The Ugly Details In An Attempt To Redeem The King’s Legacy [Review]
There’s only one Elvis. A titanic figure, who, for America’s formative pop culture years, was the biggest and most influential star in the world — bringing rock n roll to the masses and crooning his way through dozens of Hollywood hits. He was, in many respects, the first superstar, blazing a dangerous and lonely trail toContinueContinue reading “‘Elvis Presley: The Searcher’ Ignores The Ugly Details In An Attempt To Redeem The King’s Legacy [Review]”
‘Alt-Right: Age of Rage’ Is An Unsettling, But Familiar, Portrait Of American Extremism [SXSW Review]
Since August of last year, the so-called alt-right has become an unavoidable tumor on the American conscience. In the wake of the Charlottesville protests, where Heather Heyer was killed by a white supremacist who drove his car into a group of counter-protesters, coverage of, and conversation about, the alt-right has grown tenfold. Profiles of theContinueContinue reading “‘Alt-Right: Age of Rage’ Is An Unsettling, But Familiar, Portrait Of American Extremism [SXSW Review]”
Netflix Doc ‘Wild Wild Country’ Is A Wild, Unnerving Journey Into An ’80s Oregon Utopia [Review]
In the years since “Serial” and “Making a Murderer,” the limited series true-crime documentary has been booming. “O.J. Made in America” won an Oscar, “The Vietnam War” built a new narrative of America’s ugliest war, and “American Vandals” skewered the whole genre in a delightful comedic send up. But despite the deluge, people still seemContinueContinue reading “Netflix Doc ‘Wild Wild Country’ Is A Wild, Unnerving Journey Into An ’80s Oregon Utopia [Review]”
‘The World Before Your Feet’ Is A Delightful Stroll Through The Pleasures Of Walking [SXSW Review]
Matt Green seems to get asked a lot what he does for work. The answer, which he repeats well over a dozen times in the new documentary “The World Before Your Feet,” is “nothing.” Not because he can’t, isn’t qualified, or is independently wealthy (though it often feels that way), but because he just doesn’t. ThisContinueContinue reading “‘The World Before Your Feet’ Is A Delightful Stroll Through The Pleasures Of Walking [SXSW Review]”
Netflix Doc ‘Take Your Pills’ Is A Dizzying But Thoughtful Look At The Adderall Generation [SXSW Review]
For a few years now, headlines around the world have made note of the Most Medicated Generation, the millennials who have been prescribed pills for everything from behavioral issues to depression and anxiety. By some estimates, nearly 25 percent of university-aged kids are on some form of prescription drug — a sharp uptick from any previousContinueContinue reading “Netflix Doc ‘Take Your Pills’ Is A Dizzying But Thoughtful Look At The Adderall Generation [SXSW Review]”
Documentary ‘Cuban Food Stories’ Plays Like An Extended Travel Network Show [Berlin Review]
Cuba, in many ways, has long been a place of lore. An isolated Caribbean island that has been systematically secluded by its ideological foe to the north, Cuba has often been cast as a victim of circumstance, a child caught in a petty argument between petulant parents. But such narratives remove agency, such stories makeContinueContinue reading “Documentary ‘Cuban Food Stories’ Plays Like An Extended Travel Network Show [Berlin Review]”
‘306 Hollywood’ Is An Experimental, Tender Exercise In Coping [Sundance Review]
Anyone who has lost a loved one knows that in the weeks and months that follow, after the most intense spasms of grief have subsided, that the question of how exactly to remember that person remains. It’s a tremendous question that has no universal answer, that everybody and every family must find for themselves. AndContinueContinue reading “‘306 Hollywood’ Is An Experimental, Tender Exercise In Coping [Sundance Review]”
‘Loveling’ Is A Tender Family Drama Of Great Highs & Awkward Lows [Sundance Review]
Inevitably, families fall apart. Not all of them out of malice or spite, but more because of time and growth. At the very core of raising a family is the idea that someday you will watch your children leave you, and this, of course, will upend the very thing you have been trying to holdContinueContinue reading “‘Loveling’ Is A Tender Family Drama Of Great Highs & Awkward Lows [Sundance Review]”
‘This Is Home’ Is A Harrowing Take On Refugee Life In America [Sundance Review]
In the year since the cultural shift ignited by the 2016 election, there have already been a handful of films that have taken on the ongoing war in Syria and the refugee crisis it has sparked. (Two of them — “City of Ghosts” and “Last Men In Aleppo” — made our list of the best docsContinueContinue reading “‘This Is Home’ Is A Harrowing Take On Refugee Life In America [Sundance Review]”
Gary Joshua Garrison 