Silver Dollar Road, the latest documentary from Oscar nominatee Raoul Peck (I Am Not Your Negro), sets out to make an example of the Reels’ family. Currently residing in Adams Creek, North Carolina on valuable property sought out by developers, members of the Reels family recount the harassment and drawn out legal battle that they’ve experienced trying to keep their ownership and generational ties to their land.
The discussion about which older movies wouldn’t be made today because of current sociocultural identities and relations is occasionally debated, but chats about which contemporary movies couldn’t be made “back then” are not discussed enough. I’m grateful for D. Smith’s Kokomo City, a revealing documentary that belongs in the latter exchange, because of its progressive existence. It challenges transgressive opinions and uses the medium to address, and bring awareness to, important issues of personal representation…
By: Trevor Chartrand Many B-Movie enthusiasts are likely familiar with the squib-bursting insanity of Who Killed Captain Alex?, the Ugandan action movie with a violent – and loud – viral trailer on YouTube. Shot in an impoverished slum, the film is creative with its budget, which reportedly was less than $200. The movie is absurdly violent. It’s goofy, it’s strange, and it looks and sounds terrible. But, Captain Alex is also a film with a…
In anticipation of the home release of the Canadian doc July Talk: Love Lives Here, Wylie Writes’ Trevor Chartrand and Jolie Featherstone both reviewed the movie. Did they like it? Do they agree with each other? Check out their takes!
Liz Unna’s documentary Making Time bounces between subjects who all share a career in watchmaking, and have an overall obsession with time itself. Being a horologist has put life into perspective for these meticulous people, and has issued a number of self-reflections and epiphanies. This collective fascination is the frequency Unna invests all of her storytelling confidence in. Unfortunately, Making Time lacks personal touches as well as a coherency between the doc’s interviewees.
By: Jolie Featherstone Becky Hutner’s urgent Fashion Reimagined is an important report, rendered through masterful storytelling. Formally hired to edit docs (Revolution, Being Canadian), it’s near impossible to believe that Fashion Reimagined is Hutner’s feature-length documentary directorial debut.
By: Danyal Somani Squaring The Circle (The Story of Hipgnosis) is a documentary about the creation of Hipgnosis, a UK company that has created iconic album covers, such as Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side Of The Moon, AC/DC’s Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap, and Led Zeppelin’s Houses Of The Holy.
I was having trouble figuring out how to review Insanity because it’s such a personal project. It’s less of a conventional documentary and more of an outlet for filmmaker Wendy Hill-Tout (Marlene) and her family to decompress and reflect on James Bruce Hill-Tout, Wendy’s missing and homeless Schizophrenic brother.
Lisa Cortés’ Little Richard: I Am Everything is a perfect documentary for people with an interest in the legendary musician. It’s a thorough breakdown that guides unfamiliar movie goers (like myself) through Little Richard’s life and career, and it sports plenty of exciting concert footage and entertaining interviews that would make any loyal fan giddy.
