The biggest takeaway from Barbara Kopple’s electrifying doc Miss Sharon Jones! is Jones’ incredible energy and willpower. It’s marvellous to watch the soulful musician allow music to possess her, and it’s even more astonishing considering Jones’ exhaustive struggle with pancreatic cancer.
I’m catching Life, Animated far into its successful theatrical run, and after it was a hit on the festival circuit (placing sixth on the audience favourites list at Hot Docs, winning an award at the Sundance Film Festival for Roger Ross Williams’ direction and also being nominated for the prestigious Grand Jury Prize). I’m thankful to have seen the documentary, and I’m elated to pay the recommendation forward to anyone who hasn’t yet watched this…
I’m going to be honest: VAXXED: From Cover-Up to Catastrophe is a film I debated reviewing. You can’t necessarily critique Andrew Wakefield’s exposé on vaccines and their potential Autistic influence without chiming in with personal opinions. As far as grading the actual filmmaking, it’s obvious that Wakefield is concerned more about facts than shot composition.
The Blackout Experiments could be that “next big thing” for horror folks who avidly discuss the genre. Not only does it offer envelope-pushing originality, it also shows an underbelly that is generally out-of-bounds for a mainstream crowd. Some outsiders may find the doc’s humiliating and semi-exploitive nature to be too intense, but they won’t be able to take their eyes off the screen.
As the saying goes, “too many cooks spoil the broth”. In the world of cinema, movie goers tend to hear horror stories about intrusive producers, stubborn filmmakers, and critical test audiences all trying to collaborate in order to make the perfection. In the case of Vitaly Mansky’s doc Under the Sun, the North Korean government are the ones overseeing the production, and it couldn’t have worked out any better.
Producer/writer Michael Sparaga has seemingly laid low since 2011’s Servitude, but he’s been very busy working on The Missing Ingredient: What is the Recipe for Success? – a documentary that has the filmmaker testing the waters in another culinary scene. This time, Sparaga hits the director’s chair for this duel story of creative minds within the food industry.
From cocky waiters in Servitude to sophisticated restauranteurs in his latest project The Missing Ingredient: What is the Recipe for Success?, you would think Michael Sparaga is determined to cover every aspect of the food and hospitality industry. At this point, I wouldn’t be surprised if Sparaga’s next movie was about napkin origami.
I approach this review with an unenthused sigh, knowing that my opinions on The Music of Strangers: Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble will sound pompous, crusty, and blasé.
A new documentary titled Out of Print will undoubtably excite movie goers who are regulars at Los Angeles’ New Beverly Cinema, as well as cinephiles in general. Filmmaker (and long-time New Bev employee) Julia Marchese has basically created a glossy love letter to the precious repertory cinema known for its ingenious programming and its eclectic clientele (including support from high-profile filmmakers).
After losing both of her parents to cancer, Megan Murphy decided to express her grief by flying to Ireland and travelling across 14 of its counties on her family’s revered Peugeot bicycle.