AltWeeklies Wire
Werner Herzog's Riveting Death Row Docnew
Herzog's fervent fans surely rushed out to see Into the Abyss over the weekend, but for those who need coaxing, let me urge you to do the same in the limited time left for this title.
Filmmakers Annie Sundberg and Ricki Stern Review the First Part of Their Legacynew
Although their films have predominantly, and famously, dealt with pressing social issues and human drama, Stern and Sundberg do not necessarily see themselves as "issue-oriented" filmmakers.
Durham Artist Beverly McIver Lifts Curtain on Her Life in 'Raising Renee'new
Raising Renee follows Beverly McIver as she brings her sister Renee -- who developmentally is akin to a third grader -- into her home and her life as a painter and university professor just as her career is taking off.
Cocaine King Max Mermelstein Came Out of Hiding for a Screenwriternew
On the screen, superspliced interviews with two former smugglers tell the story of the cocaine avalanche that in the 1980s turned Miami into a bullet-riddled Little Medellín. Using budget special effects to augment footage of drug busts and murder scenes, Cocaine Cowboys isn't your typical documentary.
Miami New Times |
Gus Garcia-Roberts |
03-01-2010 |
Drugs
'Strongman': Like 'The Wrestler,' Only Realnew
Ten years in the making, Strongman both anticipates and follows The Wrestler: Stanley Pleskun is no longer young, keeps hoping for his luck to change, and ekes out a living as a scrap-metal dealer. (He inks the design on his costume with a Sharpie.)
Seattle Weekly |
Brian Miller |
01-11-2010 |
Reviews
'Died Young, Stayed Pretty': Grunge Artifacts, Suitable for Framingnew
Several local artists are featured in Eileen Yaghoobian's fan-ish documentary about rock-poster designers. In her film, she lets the artists speak for themselves — which is both a good and a bad thing.
Seattle Weekly |
Brian Miller |
01-11-2010 |
Reviews
A Legendary New Orleans Rock Club Stars in a Locally Produced Documentarynew
Before the members of the Grateful Dead were so famously arrested by New Orleans police on January 30, 1970, the band — along with Fleetwood Mac and The Flock — christened the opening night of The Warehouse, a bare-bones, 30,000-square-foot music venue on Tchoupitoulas Street.
Watch Wieden+Kennedy's Portland Music Documentarynew
Anytime you make a documentary on the Portland music scene, a few common topics are brought up. Portland is cheap. Portland has lots of basements. Portland is creative. And, of course, the biggie: it rains ALL THE TIME. But there are a lot of stories that haven’t been told.
Willamette Week |
Michael Mannheimer |
12-09-2009 |
Music
Ondi Timoner's Doc is a Timely and Cautionary Tale of a Life Lived Onlinenew
In the weeks leading up to the millennium, artist/businessman Josh Harris holed up over 100 artists in an underground bunker equipped with constantly running webcams. Timoner was hired to document the resulting madness.
Montreal Mirror |
Malcolm Fraser |
11-19-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Director Joe Berlinger Talks About 'Crude,' His New Documentarynew
"I wasn't necessarily sure there was a film. It was more like a humanitarian impulse, basically. So I'm as surprised as anyone that the film’s had the life that it’s had. Although, once I got deep into it, obviously I thought there was a feature-length film."
Baltimore City Paper |
Joe Tropea |
11-17-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Morgan Freeman Talks About 'Prom Night in Mississippi'new
Prom Night is Paul Saltzman's documentary about Freeman's 2008 efforts to integrate the high school prom in his hometown of Charleston. Black and white students had historically held separate events. Freeman proposed a single, integrated prom, which he would pay for himself.
NOW Magazine |
Norman Wilner |
11-16-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Matt Austin Sadowski Says John Hughes' Death Gives His Doc a Different Lifenew
Hughes' death at age 59 earlier this summer casts a pall over Don't You Forget About Me: A Tribute to John Hughes, which combines clips from Hughes' high school movies with contemporary interviews with the filmmaker's colleagues and boosters like Roger Ebert.
NOW Magazine |
Norman Wilner |
11-02-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
The Vignettes in 'Act of God' are a Random as Lightning Bolts Themselvesnew
Jennifer Baichwal skips from Canada to France to Mexico, never explaining who her subjects are or arguing why their near-death experiences should be linked. It's just a haphazard travelogue of terror, like 33 Short Films About Glenn Gould Being Struck by Lightning.
Seattle Weekly |
Brian Miller |
11-02-2009 |
Reviews
Michael Jackson's Genius is Brought Closer and Clarified in 'This Is It'new
Behind the tabloid image, Jackson's seen thinking, devising, improvising -- and performing masterfully. At age 50, Jackson was still a prodigy; possessed of protean talent and when in the company of collaborators he is inspired.
New York Press |
Armond White |
10-29-2009 |
Reviews
'Earth Days' Offers an Intriguing Look at the Green Movement's Originsnew
Along with the eye-opening archival footage and alarming facts, Earth Days is an honest appraisal of the U.S. environmental movement -- warts and all.
Metro Times |
Jeff Meyers |
10-27-2009 |
Reviews
