7 years ago
documentary 10
“The Wolfpack”
The Wolfpack, Crystal Moselle's debut documentary film, opens with a shot of the New York City skyline at twilight as seen through a fence. Considering the subject of the film, the mostly shut-in Angulo family, this image grows heavy with significance as their...
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“Soaked in Bleach”
Was Kurt Cobain murdered? Twenty-one years since Cobain's death and there are passionate followers who protest that the Nirvana front man did not die by his own hand. Kurt Cobain's death was officially ruled suicide by the state police, but that hasn't been en...
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“Live From New York!”
A couple years back, I interviewed Bill Hader, who told me of a hilarious-sounding Alan Alda sketch he'd pitched for "Saturday Night Live," only to be shot down by executive producer Lorne Michaels with the query: "Why now?"
It's a question that could just as...
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“The Yes Men Are Revolting”
For over 15 years, activists Jacques Servin and Igor Vamos (aka Andy Bichlbaum and Mike Bonanno) have pulled multiple high-profile culture-jamming stunts as the Yes Men. The Yes Men Are Revolting, co-directed by Bichlbaum and Bonanno alongside Laura Nix, is th...
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How Documentaries and Fiction Films Can’t Handle The Truth
There are many, many hoary quotes one could pull out in regards to the malleability of history, most obviously the one about how it’s written by the winners. But we must acknowledge that the past isn’t an actual, tangible narrative—it’s only what we remember. ...
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“Shake the Dust”
We’ve come a long way from the b-boying, beatboxing, freestyle origins of hip hop in the South Bronx. Modern conceptions of hip hop favor 99 Problems over Fight(ing) the Power or Fuck(ing) tha Police. Not to say that there’s anything wrong with this evolution ...
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“Our Man in Tehran”
“It's not a movie, people's lives were really in danger!” With those words, Our Man in Tehran tips its hand at the outset, firmly positioning itself as a rebuttal to the most recent Hollywood adaptation of the Iran Hostage Crisis incident known as the Canadian...
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“I Am Big Bird: The Caroll Spinney Story”
On merit alone, I Am Big Bird: The Caroll Spinney Story is a profoundly moving documentary. But if you grew up with "Sesame Street" in the 70s and 80s, you may find yourself experiencing an extra, particularly overwhelming set of emotions. Through an endless a...
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Hot Docs 2015: Music Documentaries
Biographical films can be a tough nut to crack. On one hand, there’s the problem of trying to condense a topic of such scope into a feature-length format. More pressingly, there's the paradoxical notion that, while a day in the life can be the stuff of great l...
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“Iris”
It’s somewhat bittersweet that Albert Maysles’ Iris arrives in theaters just weeks after the much-lamented passing of the great documentarian, but as penultimate send-offs go, it’s a delight. (His final film, In Transit, just screened at the Tribeca Film Festi...
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