By: Addison Wylie A tiny gem entering the mainstream circuit is Dogs on the Inside. The documentary features rescued dogs and prison inmates who look after them. Massachusetts’ Don’t Throw Us Away program gives both inmates and mistreated pups a second chance, as man and animal identify with each other. In other words: good luck trying to frown towards this film. Dogs on the Inside is a heartwarming documentary, showing the audience just how easy…
By: Addison Wylie The Backward Class is yet another documentary where an intrepid filmmaker tracks students through semesters as they prepare for life-defining exams. After knock outs such as Fame High and I Learn America and the derivative dud School of Babel, this is a day-in-the-life structure that has firmly rooted itself in the documentary genre. It’s up to the filmmaker to have their topic inspire the audience. And, that’s exactly what The Backward Class…
By: Addison Wylie The 50 Year Argument documents the persuasive, opinionated history of the highly regarded publication The New York Review of Books. The film chronicles the exclusive timeline decently, although the doc’s pacing and organization feels like it keeps us in our seats for fifty years. In the early 60’s, during the New York printers strike, The New York Review of Books found its footing as a magazine that didn’t feel tethered by opposing…
By: Gesilayefa Azorbo Last Days in Vietnam, directed by Rory Kennedy, is a gripping look back at the massive, often unsanctioned evacuations of South Vietnamese citizens and Americans in Vietnam that were undertaken in the chaotic final days of the Vietnam War. This is a story told through meticulously researched archival footage and interviews with key players in the US and Vietnamese military and state departments – including Henry Kissinger himself – as well as…
By: Addison Wylie It’s unlikely that a life story doesn’t strike a chord with anyone. Nicholas “Nicky” Vreeland’s contributions to Buddhism have moved many, and it’s easy to see why. His fascination and skill with photography (along with his overall pure intentions) made waves, and helped the Tibetan monk become more in touch with his new Buddist lifestyle. But, some life stories are lucky enough to sustain a feature length film and others are more…
By: Addison Wylie Anthony Powell was finding it impossible explaining to others what Antarctic life is really like. For someone who has spent extended time in the chilly climate, it was truly a daunting task trying to find the right words to describe the torrential winds and the degree of cabin fever. Over the next ten years, Powell has made it his quest to create the ultimate tell-all about Antarctica. He built equipment that could…
By: Addison Wylie For those looking for a seasonal flick, Getting to the Nutcracker may hit the spot. Serene Meshel-Dillman’s documentary about the conception of The Nutcracker at Los Angeles’ Marat Daukayev School of Ballet is a eloquent film. If you’re a theatre enthusiast and are already humming Tchaikovsky, Getting to the Nutcracker will have you grinning throughout its entirety. Dillman documents each phase as best as possible leading up to the big show (which…
By: Gesilayefa Azorbo The first question Point and Shoot director Marshall Curry asks his subject off-camera is, “So how did a guy from Baltimore end up fighting in the Libyan revolution?” This is likely the question on the minds of every audience member who sits down to watch this film. And, it’s this question that the film itself repeatedly returns to examine through a mix of personal interviews and exposition via first-person video footage shot over…
By: Addison Wylie Emptying the Skies finds itself in a scenario where the message is greater than the film its wrapped up in. Douglas and Roger Kass have strewn together interviews and clips from conspicuous raids and tense confrontations to make an eye-opening film chronicling the ever-growing problem of bird poaching in southern Europe. The kindheartedness and tenacity of CABS (which stands for: Committee Against Bird Slaughter) is seen throughout, and their hearts remain open…
By: Addison Wylie I began watching Propganda not knowing of its satirical backbone, and my head nearly exploded. I’m glad I stopped the film to get caught up on Slavko Martinov’s faux-doc for it may have rendered me utterly speechless. My regret after reading the press release was turning the film back on to finish it. It takes a lunatic to make a “movie” as blunt, sarcastic, and grim as this one. That madman is Martinov,…