B+ show business documentary Directed by Marilyn Agrelo I was born too early to experience Sesame Street as a child, but I enjoyed the show with my son in the late 1980s and early 1990s. So, I was delighted to watch this documentary about the show. Marilyn Agrelo's Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street is … Continue reading Street Gang for kids
Category: Reviews
Stray: Dogs run free
C+ animal documentary Directed by Elizabeth Lo Don't expect a happy documentary about the wonderful relationship between people and our four-footed best friends. This documentary is about something far less enjoyable: How wild dogs manage in urban areas without a human to give them food and shelter. That's a good subject for a doc, but … Continue reading Stray: Dogs run free
The People vs. Agent Orange
B political documentary Directed by Alan Adelson and Kate Taverna Don't worry, the pictures of children with horrible birth defects are few in this very message-heavy documentary. This story doesn't need such images to boil your blood - what people say into the camera does the work without them. During the Vietnam war, the American … Continue reading The People vs. Agent Orange
Test Pattern is not about TV
A- Drama Written and directed by Shatara Michelle Ford Test Pattern is not about old-fashioned television. It's about date rape, and how that affects everyone involved - except, perhaps, the rapist. This is the second film I've seen in the last few weeks about date rape. I liked Test Pattern and Promising Young Woman very … Continue reading Test Pattern is not about TV
Show Me What You Got – especially down below
B- Romantic drama Written by Svetlana Cvetko and David Scott Smith Directed by Svetlana Cvetko It's hard to watch this film without thinking about François Truffaut's 1962 masterpiece Jules and Jim. Both movies are about two men, very close friends, and the woman they both love. She also loves both of them. The men are … Continue reading Show Me What You Got – especially down below
The Mimic can’t copy a good movie
C- Comedy Written and directed by Thomas F. Mazziotti Red Square Pictures advertises this new movie as a comedy. That kind of makes sense. It's not realistic enough to be a drama. It has no suspense or thrills. Jaunty background music reminds you to laugh. And although it is "Based on a true story," it's … Continue reading The Mimic can’t copy a good movie
Bringing life to M.C. Escher
A Documentary Directed by Robin Lutz The big shock in Robin Lutz's documentary, M.C. ESCHER: Journey to Infinity, comes early. The creator of so many mind-bending woodcuts didn't consider himself an artist. When rock star Graham Nash told the creator of all those mind-bending images that he was an artist, Escher refused the label and … Continue reading Bringing life to M.C. Escher
Through the Night: Daycare around the clock
B Documentarydirected by Loira Limbal The new documentary called Through the Night is not about young people partying until dawn. Instead, it's about very young people, as in children, and the adults who are paid to take care of them. The film has an important point to make, but that's overpowered by the sheer joy … Continue reading Through the Night: Daycare around the clock
Crock of Gold: When punk went Irish
B+ Music documentary Directed by Julien Temple If you're not familiar with The Pogues, you have a treat to discover. For some 27 years (not including five inactive ones), this Irish band melded punk rock, traditional music, and deeply-felt left-wing politics. But film director Julien Temple doesn't seem to really care about the Pogues. His … Continue reading Crock of Gold: When punk went Irish
The Last Vermeer: Hunting Nazis as escapist entertainment
B+ Historical mystery Written by James Mcgee, Mark Fergus, & Hawk Ostby, from the book The Man Who Made Vermeers by Jonathan Lopez Directed by Dan Friedkin Art, fame, and Nazis make a potent mix in this story set in the Netherlands immediately after the fall of the Third Reich. The new government is publicly … Continue reading The Last Vermeer: Hunting Nazis as escapist entertainment
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