Uncategorized

How They Got Over: Gospel Quartets and the Road to Rock & Roll DVD Review

By Kit O'Toole | May 2, 2022

Rock & roll’s roots draw from numerous genres—blues, country, and rhythm and blues, to name a few. However, gospel remains ...

SXSW 2022 Review: The Mojo Manifesto: The Life and Times of Mojo Nixon

By Darcy Staniforth | Apr 28, 2022

If you were watching MTV in the late '80s, not only was Elvis everywhere thanks to Mojo Nixon, but so ...

The Last Waltz Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: And All the People Were Singin’

By Gordon S. Miller | Apr 12, 2022

After years playing together as the backing band for Ronnie Hawkins and then Bob Dylan, the quintent of Rick Danko ...

Marionette Land DVD Review: What Happens When a Dream Is Realized, Then Deferred?

By Darcy Staniforth | Mar 31, 2022

In his poem, "Harlem," Langston Hughes considers what happens to a dream deferred? But what happens when a dream is ...

SXSW 2022 Review: Mickey: The Story of a Mouse

By David Wangberg | Mar 23, 2022

As Walt Disney once said, “It all started with a mouse.” Now, that mouse, whose name you are probably spelling ...

SXSW 2022 Review: In the Court of the Crimson King

By Kent Conrad | Mar 19, 2022

I've seen King Crimson once in concert. It was at the Greek in Los Angeles in 2017, and I went ...

SXSW 2022 Review: Tony Hawk: Until the Wheels Fall Off

By David Wangberg | Mar 19, 2022

The opening minutes of Tony Hawk: Until the Wheels Fall Off captivate the viewer with footage of a present-day Hawk, ...

SXSW 2022 Review: The Kids in the Hall: Comedy Punks Review

By Davy | Mar 18, 2022

If you're a huge fan of the classic sketch comedy show The Kids of the Hall, you instantly recognize the ...

SXSW 2022 Review: Mama Bears

By Darcy Staniforth | Mar 16, 2022

When you grow up in the Christian faith, you are told that if you follow God, honor Jesus, and stay ...

SXSW 2022 Review: Crows are White

By David Wangberg | Mar 13, 2022

Traditions are hard to break, especially if a particular population has been practicing them for more than a century. And ...

SXSW 2022 Review: Your Friend, Memphis

By Davy | Mar 12, 2022

People with disabilities are too often ignored in documentaries, and that's a shame. You can learn a lot from them, ...

SXSW 2022 Review: This Much I Know to Be True

By Darcy Staniforth | Mar 12, 2022

Months ahead of its cinematic release in theaters, the SXSW audience had the opportunity to view the new music documentary ...

2022 Oscar-Nominated Documentary Short Films Review

By Darcy Staniforth | Feb 24, 2022

ShortsTV presents the 17th annual Oscar Nominated Short Films theatrical releases. Spanning the categories of Live Action, Animation, and Documentary, the ...

Poly Styrene: I Am a Cliché Movie Review: Her Trailblazing Music Career Is Only Part of the Story

By Jade Blackmore | Feb 2, 2022

“I wasn’t ready to be the caretaker of Poly Styrene’s legacy. I just lost my Mum,” Celeste Bell says at ...

Salt in My Soul Movie Review: What It Means to Search for Hope and Answers

By Darcy Staniforth | Jan 29, 2022

Most of us don't consider our own mortality as children. But children who live with chronic diseases are forced to ...

The Ultimate Richard Pryor Collection (Uncensored) 13-DVD Set Review: Earns the Ultimate Designation

By Gordon S. Miller | Jan 26, 2022

The Ultimate Richard Pryor Collection (Uncensored) is a 13-disc set celebrating the iconic comedian's work in TV and film, ranging ...

Live at Mister Kelly’s DVD Review: A History of Chicago Told Through a Nightclub

By Gordon S. Miller | Jan 3, 2022

Director Theodore Bogosian's Live at Mister Kelly's tells the story of Mister Kelly's, a famous Chicago nightclub, which existed on ...

World Series 2021 Collector’s Edition Blu-ray Review: Almost All the Highlights and Footage a Fan Could Ask For

By Todd Karella | Dec 16, 2021

Growing up in a small town in the middle of nowhere, we didn’t have a local MLB team, and it ...

Bob Spit: We Do Not Like People Movie Review: Punk is NOT Dead

By Kent Conrad | Dec 15, 2021

Angeli is an apparently extremely famous cartoonist in Brazil. He has created several iconic characters that are, and combined shock ...

Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain DVD Review: Not the Biopic That Some Might Think

By Darcy Staniforth | Dec 8, 2021

I have had to sit for a while figuring out how to write about and review Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony ...

Brian Wilson: Long Promised Road Movie Review: His Music, and His Life, Past and Present

By Rons Reviews | Nov 17, 2021

The story of Brain Wilson and the Beach Boys has been told before in the form of documentaries and motion ...

Karen Dalton: In My Own Time DVD Review: Sad Songs, Sad Life

By Kent Conrad | Nov 11, 2021

Karen Dalton, as described by one of the participants in this documentary, was one of the few folk singers in ...

Movie Review: Joy Ride (2021)

By Darcy Staniforth | Oct 29, 2021

As a writer and a comedian, you never want to be hacky. And I certainly don't want to be hacky ...

Becoming Cousteau Movie Review: From Exploration to Conservation

By Steve Geise | Oct 22, 2021

Decades before David Attenborough became a household name in the U.S., Jacques-Yves Cousteau was the king of nature documentaries. Along ...

On Broadway DVD Review: Start Spreading the News

By Steve Geise | Oct 11, 2021

After an unprecedented 18-month shutdown caused by the pandemic, Broadway finally started reopening many shows last month. Oscar-nominated director Oren ...

Apocalypse ’45 Blu-ray Review: A Brutal Look at the Harsh Realities of the War with Japan During World War II

By generaljabbo | Sep 23, 2021

Over the years, there have been numerous documentaries and movies about World War II, but none of them quite like ...

Boris Karloff: The Man Behind the Monster Movie Review: A Warm Love Letter

By Darcy Staniforth | Sep 17, 2021

For many movie fans, Boris Karloff lumbered onto their screens as Frankenstein’s monster or as the Mummy. And for others ...

The Village Detective: A Song Cycle Movie Review: Meditation on Ruined Film

By Kent Conrad | Sep 17, 2021

Around 2016, an Icelandic fishing boat caught something unusual in their nets. The ship was a bottom trawler, which sends ...

Bob Marley and The Wailers: The Capitol Session ’73 Review: A Glimpse at the Legend on the Cusp of Fame

By Jade Blackmore | Sep 4, 2021

Bob Marley and The Wailers’ The Capitol Session ’73 was lost to history until researcher Martin Disney unearthed a three-minute clip ...

Original Cast Album “Company” Criterion Collection: You Could Drive an Actor Crazy

By Gordon S. Miller | Aug 30, 2021

Originating as a series of 11 one-act plays by George Furth, Company evolved into a musical with music and lyrics ...

Hail to the Deadites Movie Review: Evil Dead’s Biggest Fans

By Kent Conrad | Jul 23, 2021

Horror movie fanatics are a different breed. They've attached themselves to a genre, and usually one film or series in ...

Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain Movie Review: A Wonderful Tribute, Albeit One Tinged with Sadness

By Gordon S. Miller | Jul 17, 2021

Documentarian Morgan Neville has won an Academy Award and Grammy Award for 20 Feet from Stardom, has won and Emmy ...

Punk the Capital Blu-ray Review: Building a Sound Movement

By Darcy Staniforth | Jul 11, 2021

If you are a punk or a fan of punk and hardcore, you know the importance of Washington DC in the ...

Tove Movie Review: Moomin Mama Makes Her Mark

By Steve Geise | Jun 3, 2021

Tove Jansson rose to international fame thanks to her creation of the iconic Moomin characters. Although she passed away 20 ...

Trances Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Beautiful Audiovisual Journey

By Darcy Staniforth | May 26, 2021

During a four-month period, filmmaker Ahmed El-Maanouni followed the politically and peace-minded avant-pop band Nass El Ghiwane on their tour ...

TV Review: The Sons of Sam: A Descent into Darkness

By Darcy Staniforth | May 5, 2021

What happens when a man begins to investigate a case as a journalist, but then becomes so engrossed in the ...

Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street Movie Review: And How Sesame Street Got to Us

By Darcy Staniforth | Apr 23, 2021

November 1969 was the first time children across the country would hear the theme song to a new television show ...

Tiny Tim: King for a Day Movie Review: A Poignant Look at the Quirky 1960s Star

By Jade Blackmore | Apr 22, 2021

Wacky and somewhat unhinged reality TV (or YouTube) stars are common today, so common that we’re way past asking, “Is ...

Clapboard Jungle Movie Review: A Brutally Involving Document

By Davy | Apr 18, 2021

I don't have personal experience, but I've seen and heard enough to know that the film business can be a ...

2021 Oscar-nominated Documentary Short Films Review

By Darcy Staniforth | Apr 1, 2021

On April 2, 2021, THE 2021 OSCAR NOMINATED SHORT FILMS will be available in over 200 screens across 50+ theatrical ...

Sundance 2021 Review: Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)

By Gordon S. Miller | Feb 3, 2021

During the summer of 1969, a remarkable music festival was held in New York that featured some of the world's ...

Sundance 2021 Review: Playing with Sharks

By Gordon S. Miller | Feb 1, 2021

Playing with Sharks tells the story of Valerie (Hayes) Taylor, an amazing marine/shark conservationist. Well known in her home country ...

Sundance 2021 Review: Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go for It

By Gordon S. Miller | Jan 30, 2021

Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go for It tells the fascinating story of the triumphs and tragedies ...

The 2020 World Series Blu-ray Review: It’s Time for Dodgers Baseball

By Gordon S. Miller | Dec 18, 2020

Major League Baseball presents The 2020 World Series, the official 85-minute documentary of the six-game series played between the Los ...

Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Two Takes Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review

By Davy | Dec 16, 2020

As a passionately dedicated lover of film, I really enjoy that not every film has to be a cliche, meaning ...

Dear Santa (2020) Movie Review: A Lesson in Miracle

By Darcy Staniforth | Dec 6, 2020

The United States Post Office has had quite a challenging year. Leadership changes, cutbacks, setbacks, and financial woes are just ...

Crock of Gold: A Few Rounds with Shane MacGowan Movie Review

By Darcy Staniforth | Dec 4, 2020

Do you listen to the Pogues? If your answer is "no" or "I'm not sure", as the holidays are upon ...

Gordon Lightfoot: If You Could Read My Mind DVD Review: Something Very Special

By Gordon S. Miller | Nov 16, 2020

Named after Canadian troubadour Gordon Lightfoot's 1970 breakout hit in the United States, Martha Kehoe and Joan Tosoni's biographical documentary ...

Where She Lies Movie Review: ‘It Was a Different Time’

By Darcy Staniforth | Nov 10, 2020

There is a point in the new documentary, Where She Lies, where one of the interviewees uses the phrase, “It was ...

AFI Fest 2020 Review: My Psychedelic Love Story

By Gordon S. Miller | Oct 23, 2020

(L-R): Timothy Leary and Joanna Harcourt-Smith in MY PSYCHEDELIC LOVE STORY. Photo Credit: Joanna Harcourt-Smith/Courtesy of SHOWTIME. My Psychedelic Love ...

Totally Under Control Movie Review: Timely and Timeless

By Cinema Sentries | Oct 11, 2020

Written by Ram Venkat Srikar The obligation while reviewing documentaries that has always challenged and fascinated me is to create ...

Pizza, A Love Story Movie Review: A Loving Tribute to New Haven’s Tomato Pie

By Elizabeth Periale | Sep 9, 2020

Pizza wasn't invented in New Haven. It was perfected there. That's the tagline to MVD Entertainment Group's Pizza, A Love Story, ...

Happy Happy Joy Joy: The Ren & Stimpy Story Movie Review: Yes, Sir. I Do Like It

By Darcy Staniforth | Aug 14, 2020

Do you know what rolls down stairs, alone or in pairs, and over your neighbor's dog? Do you know who ...

Inmate #1: The Rise of Danny Trejo Movie Review: A Complex and Compelling Story

By Darcy Staniforth | Jul 7, 2020

As a culture, we love all kinds of stories. Stories of people coming from nothing to achieve great success. Stories ...

Athlete A Movie Review: Moving Documentation of an Immense Tragedy and a Gargantuan Triumph

By Cinema Sentries | Jun 27, 2020

Written by Ram Venkat Srikar The greatest achievement of any great documentary is that it can actually change lives. Indirectly, ...

Suzi Q Movie Review: Looks at the Groundbreaking Career of Rocker Suzi Quatro

By Jade Blackmore | Jun 26, 2020

Australian director Liam Firmager spent four years working on Suzi Q, the definitive documentary of Detroit-born rock star Suzi Quatro, who rocketed ...

The Booksellers DVD Review: Like a Good Book, You Won’t Want It to End

By Elizabeth Periale | Jun 12, 2020

Calling all bibliophiles - The Booksellers is a documentary that you won't want to miss. And like a good book, you won't ...

When We Were Kings Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Marvelous Time Capsule of Muhammad Ali in 1974

By Gordon S. Miller | May 30, 2020

Leon Gast's When We Were Kings documents the "Rumble in the Jungle," the legendary boxing match between undefeated heavyweight champion George Foreman ...

In Search of Dracula Blu-ray Review: A Bloody Good Documentary

By Elizabeth Periale | May 21, 2020

In Search of Dracula, originally released in 1975, and directed by Calvin Floyd (Terror of Frankenstein, The Sleep of Death), has ...

Circus of Books Movie Review: Love over Sexuality

By Cinema Sentries | Apr 21, 2020

Written by Ram Venkat Srikar At the center of Rachel Mason & Kathryn Robson's Circus of Books is the bookstore run by ...

Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band Movie Review

By Gordon S. Miller | Apr 19, 2020

Even before learning that the film was based on Robbie Robertson's memoir Testimony, his name separate from “The Band” in ...

Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice DVD Review: A Fantastic Appreciation

By Gordon S. Miller | Mar 25, 2020

Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice is a biographical documentary that Ronstadt was involved with as she introduces the ...

Antonio Gaudí Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Tone Poem of Gaudí, Barcelona, and Art

By Elizabeth Periale | Mar 5, 2020

Antonio Gaudí, a film by Japanese director Hiroshi Teshigahara (1927-2001), is a tone poem of Gaudí, Barcelona, and art - ...

Marcel Duchamp: The Art of the Possible Movie Review: What Would Modern Art Be Like Without Duchamp?

By Elizabeth Periale | Mar 3, 2020

Available on iTunes and Amazon on March 10, 2020, comes a new documentary film from Electrolift Creative Productions, Marcel Duchamp: The ...

By Darcy Staniforth | Jan 29, 2020

On January 29, ShortsTV will debut THE 2020 OSCAR NOMINATED SHORT FILMS at the IFC Center in New York City ...

Water and Sugar: Carlo Di Palma – The Colours of Life DVD Review

By Davy | Jan 16, 2020

Next to the director, the cinematographer is one of the most essential components to making great art. Cinematography can capture ...

PSIFF 2020 Review: Free Color Replicates Its Master’s Art Form

By Cinema Sentries | Jan 4, 2020

Written by Ram Venkat Srikar I've always wondered how individuals feel after reaching a peak of success in their respective ...

Jackass: Complete Movie and TV Collection DVD Review: Not for the Faint of Heart

By Gordon S. Miller | Jun 6, 2018

Tied to the release of Johnny Knoxville's Action Point, Paramount has released Jackass: Complete Movie and TV Collection, an 11-disc ...

The Tragically Hip: A National Celebration Blu-ray Review: Armed with Will and Determination and Grace, Too

By Gordon S. Miller | Jan 14, 2018

As I wrote in my review of the documentary The Tragically Hip: Long Time Running, "On May 24, 2016, it ...

Dawson City: Frozen Time (2016) Blu-ray Review: Uncovering Cinematic Buried Treasures

By Kent Conrad | Dec 7, 2017

In an industry that is lately obsessed with making films available in multiple different versions, both in medium of delivery ...

The Tragically Hip: Long Time Running Blu-ray Review: Beating the Inevitability of Death Just a Little Bit

By Gordon S. Miller | Dec 1, 2017

On May 24, 2016, it was announced that The Tragically Hip's lead singer Gord Downie had incurable brain cancer. In ...

Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story Movie Review: A Beautiful Story of a Brilliant Mind

By Cinema Sentries | Nov 24, 2017

Written by Kristen Lopez "Any girl can look glamourous. All she has to do is stand still and look stupid." ...

Festival (1967) Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Better Than Woodstock

By Mat Brewster | Oct 24, 2017

In the early part of the 20th Century, various folklorists, including John Lomax, wandered about the country documenting the songs ...

Cameraperson Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: No Better Film Experience Last Year

By Davy | Feb 11, 2017

When it comes to human honesty, there is no better genre of film stronger than the documentary. In a time ...

Tell Them Who You Are Movie Review: A Captivating Documentary about Cinematographer Haskell Wexler and His Son

By Gordon S. Miller | Dec 27, 2015

Tell Them Who You Are is a captivating documentary. It begins as a look at the life and career of ...

The Unknown Known Movie Review: Rumsfeld’s Snowflakes

By Cinema Sentries | Jun 30, 2014

Written by the Canadian Cinephile Filmmaker Errol Morris has said of his interview with former U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald ...

Tim’s Vermeer Movie Review: Art Isn’t Easy

By Adam Blair | Dec 14, 2013

We're well into the age of instant images; anyone with a smartphone is, or can be, a photographer and/or videographer. ...

Surviving Progress DVD Review: How to Temper a Double-Edged Sword

By Mark Buckingham | Sep 29, 2012

Surviving Progress takes a look at the advancements human beings have made over the last few thousand years, what our ...

Trek Nation Movie Review: The Search for Dad

By Rons Reviews | Aug 23, 2012

In attempt to find out more about the father he lost at 17 and the science-fiction empire he built, Rod ...

Resurrect Dead: The Mystery of the Toynbee Tiles Movie Review: An Intriguing Documentary about a Decades-Long Mystery

By Darcy Staniforth | Jul 14, 2012

I love documentaries! Or should I say I love good documentaries. However, the more I watch, I feel like the ...

Jimi Plays Berkeley DVD Review: Flawed but Fascinating

By Cinema Sentries | Jul 12, 2012

Written by Greg Barbrick The newly re-mastered film Jimi Plays Berkeley (1971) is an incredible document of its time. Back ...

LAFF 2012 Review: A Band Called Death Rises from Obscurity

By Jade Blackmore | Jul 7, 2012

While attending the Joey Ramone Birthday Bash in 2009, I noticed the headlining band was called Death. That doesn’t make ...

Joffrey: Mavericks of American Dance Movie Review: The Politics of Dance from the Ground Up

By Michelle Prather | Apr 26, 2012

Joffrey: Mavericks of American Dance does what ballet so often fails to do: it draws laymen into a world perceived ...

Surviving Progress Movie Review: A Wake-Up Call About the Progress Trap

By Cinema Sentries | Apr 10, 2012

Written by Mary K. Williams “We tend to delude ourselves that these changes always result in improvements from the human ...

By Cinema Sentries | Mar 26, 2012

Written by Leo Sopicki “We usually save this surprise for after the movie”, explained director Stephen Kessler. Kessler, who was ...

SXSW 2012 Review: Paul Williams Still Alive

By Cinema Sentries | Mar 26, 2012

Written by Leo Sopicki “We usually save this surprise for after the movie”, explained director Stephen Kessler. Kessler, who was ...

Queen: Days of Our Lives DVD Review: They Made the Rockin’ World Go Round

By Cinema Sentries | Jan 28, 2012

Written by Greg Barbrick As good a documentary as Queen: Days Of Our Lives is, it is also a bit ...

The Doors: Mr. Mojo Risin’: The Story of L.A. Woman DVD Review: A Look at One of Their Most Enduring Works

By generaljabbo | Jan 26, 2012

By the end of 1970, The Doors were done as a live act. Jim Morrison still had the legal ramifications ...

The Pruitt-Igoe Myth Movie Review: An Absolutely Fascinating Documentary

By Cinema Sentries | Jan 20, 2012

Written by Max Naylor You don’t normally go into a documentary as a blank slate, a sincerely pure vessel. It ...

The Captains DVD Review: William Shatner Logs Interviews with Peers

By Rons Reviews | Oct 28, 2011

William Shatner has written and directed this compilation of interviews and brief glimpses into the lives of the six actors, ...

Senna Movie Review: See It Now, Because Everyone Will Be Talking About It

By Will McKinley | Aug 19, 2011

One thing I learned early in life: it's okay for boys to cry, as long as the tears are shed ...

Electric Daisy Carnival Experience Movie Review: Experience It…If You Can Find It

By Steve Geise | Aug 3, 2011

America’s largest dance music festival has been under fire for the last year after massive fallout from the 2010 edition ...

Ladies & Gentlemen…The Rolling Stones DVD Review: A Great Introduction to the Band

By generaljabbo | Apr 14, 2011

The year 1972 was a pivotal one for The Rolling Stones. They spent the summer as tax exiles in France, ...

Elvis on Tour DVD Review: Presley Goes out on a High Note in his Final Film

By generaljabbo | Apr 14, 2011

In 1972, Elvis Presley was still riding high from the commercial and critical rebirth that started with the ’68 Comeback ...

Elvis: That’s The Way It Is (Special Edition) DVD Review: It’s Good to be the King

By generaljabbo | Apr 14, 2011

Elvis Presley was riding a major wave of success in 1970. Free of his movie obligations of the 1960s, Presley ...

Shine A Light DVD Review: The Rolling Stones and Martin Scorsese Deliver Satisfaction

By Gordon S. Miller | Apr 13, 2011

Longevity in the arts can be a double-edge sword. Artists no doubt appreciate having long careers in the endeavors they ...

4192: The Crowning of the Hit King DVD Review: A Solid Hit But Not a Home Run

By Rons Reviews | Mar 4, 2011

This 90-minute documentary on the career of Pete Rose, which was released on February 22, 2011 by Rivercoast Films, is ...