Oscar Nominees — Documentary [Feature]
I've seen all of the nominees this year, thanks to attending the AFI DOCS and Full Frame festivals and Netflix. If you're filling out your Oscar ballot, here are my…
AFI DOCS 2014 (Days 3&4)
The last two days of the festival I spent in AFI's Silver Spring theaters. All the films were shown in both the downtown DC venues and at the AFI home…
AFI DOCS 2014 (Days 1&2)
As Arty Chick, I am a great lover of the documentary genre and this year's AFI DOCS in Washington, DC sated my docu-hunger quite well. As with any festival, there…
The Act of Killing
Joshua Oppenheimer’s Oscar nominated The Act of Killing has got to be one of the most unsettling documentaries ever made. In it, men who murdered thousands (some estimates are 1…
20 Feet From Stardom
20 Feet From Stardom is one of those documentaries that’s just plain fun, and interesting to watch - for the music and the story. It’s not quite as good as…
Venus and Serena
The poster and the trailer for this documentary promise to reveal "the truth behind the legends". That's a bit of a stretch, but the film does offer an interesting, if…
(My) Tales from the Warner Bros. Lot
Sometimes a film finds its value – or added value - in the memories it stirs. Such is the case with a new documentary commemorating Warner Bros.’ 90th Anniversary. It’s…
Marley
Of course a documentary about Bob Marley would be released on 4/20 and if you don’t get why, this might not be the movie for you. That’s a joke actually…
Dumbstruck
Dumbstruck is an okay documentary that suffers from poor execution of a good premise. If you’re into dummies, then by all means, check it out. But if ventriloquists creep you…
Pom Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold
Oscar-nominated filmmaker Morgan Spurlock (Super Size Me) is selling out! Well – sort of. His latest documentary is entirely bankrolled by advertising and product placement. But that’s okay, because the…
I Am
I Am is one of those documentaries that means well, but bored me to tears. Seriously. Way more than Al Gore’s dry, yet mysteriously compelling Inconvenient Truth powerpoint presentation. I…
Restrepo
In 2007, journalist/filmmakers Sebastian Junger and Tim Hetherington spent 15 months on assignment for Vanity Fair, embedded with the Second Platoon, B Company, 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment of the…
Gasland
Fracking! That is what Gasland is all about. If you haven't heard of fracking, you'll know more than you could imagine after watching this frightening documentary. It all begins when…
Waiting for “Superman”
Sorry, kids, Superman aint comin’. So it’s up to us mere mortals to try and save America’s very flawed – if not completely broken- public education system. That’s the take-home…
Babies
“Oh how cute!” That’s what I found myself saying out loud in the theater throughout the documentary Babies. (I’d apologize to those sitting around me if they weren’t all doing…