Money is power, but it is also the root of evil. As inhabitants of a Judeo-Christian capitalist society, this is a paradox that we all often find ourselves wrestling with: the idea that money is a malevolent force that we must seek out at the same time if we wish to coexist with others. Sometimes, this paradox stops existing in the background and slaps us in the face. Money Machine is an attempt at just…
Just as a thoughtful retirement video or an in memoriam can do, Avi Belkin’s well produced outside-the-box doc Mike Wallace Is Here encapsulates its subject’s career and tells a personal story through archival footage.
Nobody Speak: Trials of the Free Press is a balanced documentary about what has inspired the current state of journalism.
By: Trevor Jeffery Truth is a factually interesting docudrama, with the unfortunate side effect of also being a huge downer – how can you chippily walk away from a film if its thesis is essentially “modern journalism is dead”? It’s 2004, just months before the American Presidential election, and Mary Mapes (Cate Blanchett) has got a story. And as a producer for CBS’s documentary/news series 60 Minutes, she’s got a platform. She’s uncovered that there…
By: Addison Wylie The nightlife throbs in Nightcrawler. When the streets are sparse and the air is humid, there’s an electricity in the air. Lou Bloom is a lonely guy who lives off of it. We don’t know much about Jake Gyllenhaal’s lonely Lou. By the end credits, we still don’t know a heck of a lot about him – it’s exactly the point. The film’s title very much fits Bloom’s personality as someone who…
By: Addison Wylie After Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy’s slow success, a sequel has been in high demand from its cult community. What that crowd – as well as the film’s cast and crew – didn’t realize is that capturing that same lightning in a bottle is easier said than done. Director/co-writer Adam McKay returns with the film’s original Channel 4 news team (Paul Rudd, David Koechner, Steve Carell, with Will Ferrell leading the…