With the rise of COVID-19 shutting down indoor movie theaters, drive-ins saw something of a rebirth in 2020-21. It was the only option for entertainment for many people. A way to both go out and…
Documentary
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DocumentaryReviews
‘All the Beauty and the Bloodshed’: Nan Goldin’s Truth, Sacklers’ Lie
by James Y. Leeby James Y. LeeOne of the first notable visuals in Laura Poitras’s landmark documentary, All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, is an excerpt slideshow from Nan Goldin’s legendary photography collection, “The Ballad of Sexual Dependency” — as good a time…
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Between 1976 and 1980, young Manhattan photographer David Godlis documented the nightly goings-on at the Bowery’s legendary CBGB, “the undisputed birthplace of punk rock,” with a vividly distinctive style of night photography. Lewie and Noah…
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Night shift cleaners in Salt Lake City share their experiences and attitudes toward their essential work. Nick Kush: While You Were Sleeping is a gentle reminder of the necessary, but mostly unappreciated work that so…
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As the workday grinds to a halt, a gathering of street racers makes way for the backroads of Bakersfield to find catharsis. Nick Kush: So little is said throughout How to Breathe in Kern County,…
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DocumentaryReviews
‘Wojnarowicz: F**k You F*ggot F**ker’ – The Tragic Lives of David, Peter, and Tom
by Ingridjeby IngridjeBefore I saw this movie, I had no idea who David Wojnarowicz was. Its title was also a complete mystery to me. But then I saw the documentary, and I decided to do some background…
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DocumentaryReviews
‘F.T.A.’ – When Jane Fonda and Donald Sutherland Spoke Up
by Ingridjeby IngridjeI am, of course, familiar with Jane Fonda the actress. Indeed, I have admired her in dramas such as The China Syndrome and especially They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? Honestly, I even enjoyed her in…
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DocumentaryReviews
‘The Reason I Jump’: Seen Through the Eyes of a Critic and an Aspie
by Ingridjeby IngridjeLet’s start with a little bit of explanation. I guess that most of you are unfamiliar with the word “aspie”. It’s shorthand for Asperger’s Syndrome, which is a neurological disorder. Nowadays, Asperger’s is no longer…
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We normally attribute accusations of witchcraft to the Salem witch trials, or some other time in the distant past that was more conducive to such barbaric measures. Little do we realize that many innocent people…
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On February 13th, 2017, Kim Jong-nam, the half-brother of Kim Jong-un, was assassinated at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Malaysia after being attacked with the VX nerve agent, an extremely toxic chemical that has…
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On January 23rd, a time that already feels like many, many lifetimes ago, Wuhan, China went under lockdown as the Coronavirus ravaged the region. Healthcare workers were left to play a deadly game of catch-up,…
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DocumentaryReviews
‘J.R. “Bob” Dobbs and the Church of the SubGenius’ Is a Guide To a Fun Kind of Weird
by Brian Connorby Brian ConnorAmerica has always been a fertile ground for new movements and splinter groups. Heck, the Pilgrims were basically a church looking to — in the words of Bender Bending Rodriguez — start their own colony,…
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Streaming DocumentariesStreaming Reviews
‘The Social Dilemma’ Is Both Powerful and Forgettable
by Cammy Maddenby Cammy MaddenThe Social Dilemma is one of the latest Netflix Original documentaries to be released by the platform. In many ways, it feels like an unofficial prequel to The Great Hack, another anti-social media documentary by Netflix.…
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Retrospectives
Did ‘Catfish’ Open our Eyes to the Risks of Online Dating?
by Cammy Maddenby Cammy MaddenIt’s been 10 years since the release of Catfish. Since then, we’ve watched as society’s view of internet dating has flipped. At one time, finding a partner online was essentially considered a final resort for…
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DocumentaryReviews
Fantasia Film Festival 2020 Review: ‘Feels Good, Man’
by Sean Coatesby Sean CoatesBack in 2005, American cartoonist Matt Furie created the popular webcomic, Boy’s Club. A re-creation of his halcyon days with his college roommates, Boy’s Club was composed of deadpan comic vignettes of 4 anthropomorphic humanoid…
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Ode to Desolation shares the story of Jim Henterly, a naturalist, illustrator, and fire lookout as he contemplates the dwindling days of Fire Lookouts in North America. With the influence of technology and AI threatening…
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On the first day of October, 2017, tragedy struck in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was the final night of Route 91 Harvest, an outdoor country music festival. An estimated 22,000 people were in attendance. At…
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Streaming DocumentariesStreaming Reviews
Why ‘Becoming’ is a Bit Too Lighthearted
by Ingridjeby IngridjeIt’s been three and a half years since the Obamas left the political stage, and I still miss them. And guess what? I’m not even American! Still, I miss the ex-president, because of his intelligence,…
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When starting Sergio, I knew nothing about the movie or its main character. The name sounded sexy. In my imagination, I thought I was going to watch a thriller. On the poster, I saw a…
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DocumentaryReviews
‘Citizen K’ is an Urgent Document of Russian Discord and Putin’s Rise to Power
by Nick Kushby Nick KushIn the ashes of the Soviet Union, Russia was looking for a makeover, ditching socialism in exchange for capitalism. It was supposed to signify a rebirth of sorts, a turning of the page for a…
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DocumentaryReviews
‘Moonlight Sonata’ Uses Deafness To Discuss Many Relatable Afflictions
by Nick Kushby Nick KushAt this point, it’s a cliché to say how we take our most basic functions for granted. Hearing a loved one, having clarity of the mind, for instance. There’s also a reason why those kinds…
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Nature is continuously beguiling. From changing flora to shifting land formations, there’s always something beautiful to behold. Take water, for instance, which is always changing form and the landscape around it. In Aquarela, Viktor Kossakovsky’s…
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Streaming DocumentariesStreaming Reviews
Film Review – Life Overtakes Me (2019)
by Cammy Maddenby Cammy MaddenNetflix has been churning out documentary after documentary, and Life Overtakes Me is the latest. With a relatively short runtime of just 40 minutes, it follows several refugee families living in Sweden. Each of these…
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I’ll be honest, this documentary affected my deeply. Since this documentary has already made a huge cultural impact, I know I’m not the only one. Though I feel that my reasons are different than most.…
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DocumentaryReviews
Sundance Film Review – N. Scott Momaday: Words from a Bear (2019)
by Cammy Maddenby Cammy MaddenDo you see what happens when the imagination is super-imposed upon the historical event? It becomes a story… – N. Scott Momaday You should never judge a book by its cover. These are words we’re…
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Legendary film critic Roger Ebert once said, “…movies are like a machine that generates empathy.” That movies make us care about people and situations we may never have known about otherwise. This quote often comes…
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Peter Jackson is at the helm of this documentary that takes 100-year old black and white, silent film footage and restores it, enhances it, and colorizes it. These technological transformations help bring the footage to…