How They Got Over: Gospel Quartets and the Road to Rock & Roll DVD Review
By Kit O'Toole |
Rock & roll’s roots draw from numerous genres—blues, country, and rhythm and blues, to name a few. However, gospel remains ...
Read More SXSW 2022 Review: The Mojo Manifesto: The Life and Times of Mojo Nixon
By Darcy Staniforth |
If you were watching MTV in the late '80s, not only was Elvis everywhere thanks to Mojo Nixon, but so ...
Read More The Last Waltz Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: And All the People Were Singin’
By Gordon S. Miller |
After years playing together as the backing band for Ronnie Hawkins and then Bob Dylan, the quintent of Rick Danko ...
Read More Marionette Land DVD Review: What Happens When a Dream Is Realized, Then Deferred?
By Darcy Staniforth |
In his poem, "Harlem," Langston Hughes considers what happens to a dream deferred? But what happens when a dream is ...
Read More SXSW 2022 Review: Mickey: The Story of a Mouse
By David Wangberg |
As Walt Disney once said, “It all started with a mouse.” Now, that mouse, whose name you are probably spelling ...
Read More SXSW 2022 Review: In the Court of the Crimson King
By Kent Conrad |
I've seen King Crimson once in concert. It was at the Greek in Los Angeles in 2017, and I went ...
Read More SXSW 2022 Review: Tony Hawk: Until the Wheels Fall Off
By David Wangberg |
The opening minutes of Tony Hawk: Until the Wheels Fall Off captivate the viewer with footage of a present-day Hawk, ...
Read More SXSW 2022 Review: The Kids in the Hall: Comedy Punks Review
By Davy |
If you're a huge fan of the classic sketch comedy show The Kids of the Hall, you instantly recognize the ...
Read More SXSW 2022 Review: Mama Bears
By Darcy Staniforth |
When you grow up in the Christian faith, you are told that if you follow God, honor Jesus, and stay ...
Read More SXSW 2022 Review: Crows are White
By David Wangberg |
Traditions are hard to break, especially if a particular population has been practicing them for more than a century. And ...
Read More SXSW 2022 Review: Your Friend, Memphis
By Davy |
People with disabilities are too often ignored in documentaries, and that's a shame. You can learn a lot from them, ...
Read More SXSW 2022 Review: This Much I Know to Be True
By Darcy Staniforth |
Months ahead of its cinematic release in theaters, the SXSW audience had the opportunity to view the new music documentary ...
Read More 2022 Oscar-Nominated Documentary Short Films Review
By Darcy Staniforth |
ShortsTV presents the 17th annual Oscar Nominated Short Films theatrical releases. Spanning the categories of Live Action, Animation, and Documentary, the ...
Read More Poly Styrene: I Am a Cliché Movie Review: Her Trailblazing Music Career Is Only Part of the Story
By Jade Blackmore |
“I wasn’t ready to be the caretaker of Poly Styrene’s legacy. I just lost my Mum,” Celeste Bell says at ...
Read More Salt in My Soul Movie Review: What It Means to Search for Hope and Answers
By Darcy Staniforth |
Most of us don't consider our own mortality as children. But children who live with chronic diseases are forced to ...
Read More The Ultimate Richard Pryor Collection (Uncensored) 13-DVD Set Review: Earns the Ultimate Designation
By Gordon S. Miller |
The Ultimate Richard Pryor Collection (Uncensored) is a 13-disc set celebrating the iconic comedian's work in TV and film, ranging ...
Read More Live at Mister Kelly’s DVD Review: A History of Chicago Told Through a Nightclub
By Gordon S. Miller |
Director Theodore Bogosian's Live at Mister Kelly's tells the story of Mister Kelly's, a famous Chicago nightclub, which existed on ...
Read More World Series 2021 Collector’s Edition Blu-ray Review: Almost All the Highlights and Footage a Fan Could Ask For
By Todd Karella |
Growing up in a small town in the middle of nowhere, we didn’t have a local MLB team, and it ...
Read More Bob Spit: We Do Not Like People Movie Review: Punk is NOT Dead
By Kent Conrad |
Angeli is an apparently extremely famous cartoonist in Brazil. He has created several iconic characters that are, and combined shock ...
Read More Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain DVD Review: Not the Biopic That Some Might Think
By Darcy Staniforth |
I have had to sit for a while figuring out how to write about and review Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony ...
Read More Brian Wilson: Long Promised Road Movie Review: His Music, and His Life, Past and Present
By Rons Reviews |
The story of Brain Wilson and the Beach Boys has been told before in the form of documentaries and motion ...
Read More Karen Dalton: In My Own Time DVD Review: Sad Songs, Sad Life
By Kent Conrad |
Karen Dalton, as described by one of the participants in this documentary, was one of the few folk singers in ...
Read More Movie Review: Joy Ride (2021)
By Darcy Staniforth |
As a writer and a comedian, you never want to be hacky. And I certainly don't want to be hacky ...
Read More Becoming Cousteau Movie Review: From Exploration to Conservation
By Steve Geise |
Decades before David Attenborough became a household name in the U.S., Jacques-Yves Cousteau was the king of nature documentaries. Along ...
Read More On Broadway DVD Review: Start Spreading the News
By Steve Geise |
After an unprecedented 18-month shutdown caused by the pandemic, Broadway finally started reopening many shows last month. Oscar-nominated director Oren ...
Read More Apocalypse ’45 Blu-ray Review: A Brutal Look at the Harsh Realities of the War with Japan During World War II
By generaljabbo |
Over the years, there have been numerous documentaries and movies about World War II, but none of them quite like ...
Read More Boris Karloff: The Man Behind the Monster Movie Review: A Warm Love Letter
By Darcy Staniforth |
For many movie fans, Boris Karloff lumbered onto their screens as Frankenstein’s monster or as the Mummy. And for others ...
Read More The Village Detective: A Song Cycle Movie Review: Meditation on Ruined Film
By Kent Conrad |
Around 2016, an Icelandic fishing boat caught something unusual in their nets. The ship was a bottom trawler, which sends ...
Read More Bob Marley and The Wailers: The Capitol Session ’73 Review: A Glimpse at the Legend on the Cusp of Fame
By Jade Blackmore |
Bob Marley and The Wailers’ The Capitol Session ’73 was lost to history until researcher Martin Disney unearthed a three-minute clip ...
Read More Original Cast Album “Company” Criterion Collection: You Could Drive an Actor Crazy
By Gordon S. Miller |
Originating as a series of 11 one-act plays by George Furth, Company evolved into a musical with music and lyrics ...
Read More Hail to the Deadites Movie Review: Evil Dead’s Biggest Fans
By Kent Conrad |
Horror movie fanatics are a different breed. They've attached themselves to a genre, and usually one film or series in ...
Read More Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain Movie Review: A Wonderful Tribute, Albeit One Tinged with Sadness
By Gordon S. Miller |
Documentarian Morgan Neville has won an Academy Award and Grammy Award for 20 Feet from Stardom, has won and Emmy ...
Read More Punk the Capital Blu-ray Review: Building a Sound Movement
By Darcy Staniforth |
If you are a punk or a fan of punk and hardcore, you know the importance of Washington DC in the ...
Read More Tove Movie Review: Moomin Mama Makes Her Mark
By Steve Geise |
Tove Jansson rose to international fame thanks to her creation of the iconic Moomin characters. Although she passed away 20 ...
Read More Trances Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Beautiful Audiovisual Journey
By Darcy Staniforth |
During a four-month period, filmmaker Ahmed El-Maanouni followed the politically and peace-minded avant-pop band Nass El Ghiwane on their tour ...
Read More TV Review: The Sons of Sam: A Descent into Darkness
By Darcy Staniforth |
What happens when a man begins to investigate a case as a journalist, but then becomes so engrossed in the ...
Read More Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street Movie Review: And How Sesame Street Got to Us
By Darcy Staniforth |
November 1969 was the first time children across the country would hear the theme song to a new television show ...
Read More Tiny Tim: King for a Day Movie Review: A Poignant Look at the Quirky 1960s Star
By Jade Blackmore |
Wacky and somewhat unhinged reality TV (or YouTube) stars are common today, so common that we’re way past asking, “Is ...
Read More Clapboard Jungle Movie Review: A Brutally Involving Document
By Davy |
I don't have personal experience, but I've seen and heard enough to know that the film business can be a ...
Read More 2021 Oscar-nominated Documentary Short Films Review
By Darcy Staniforth |
On April 2, 2021, THE 2021 OSCAR NOMINATED SHORT FILMS will be available in over 200 screens across 50+ theatrical ...
Read More Sundance 2021 Review: Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)
By Gordon S. Miller |
During the summer of 1969, a remarkable music festival was held in New York that featured some of the world's ...
Read More Sundance 2021 Review: Playing with Sharks
By Gordon S. Miller |
Playing with Sharks tells the story of Valerie (Hayes) Taylor, an amazing marine/shark conservationist. Well known in her home country ...
Read More Sundance 2021 Review: Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go for It
By Gordon S. Miller |
Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go for It tells the fascinating story of the triumphs and tragedies ...
Read More The 2020 World Series Blu-ray Review: It’s Time for Dodgers Baseball
By Gordon S. Miller |
Major League Baseball presents The 2020 World Series, the official 85-minute documentary of the six-game series played between the Los ...
Read More Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Two Takes Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review
By Davy |
As a passionately dedicated lover of film, I really enjoy that not every film has to be a cliche, meaning ...
Read More Dear Santa (2020) Movie Review: A Lesson in Miracle
By Darcy Staniforth |
The United States Post Office has had quite a challenging year. Leadership changes, cutbacks, setbacks, and financial woes are just ...
Read More Crock of Gold: A Few Rounds with Shane MacGowan Movie Review
By Darcy Staniforth |
Do you listen to the Pogues? If your answer is "no" or "I'm not sure", as the holidays are upon ...
Read More Gordon Lightfoot: If You Could Read My Mind DVD Review: Something Very Special
By Gordon S. Miller |
Named after Canadian troubadour Gordon Lightfoot's 1970 breakout hit in the United States, Martha Kehoe and Joan Tosoni's biographical documentary ...
Read More Where She Lies Movie Review: ‘It Was a Different Time’
By Darcy Staniforth |
There is a point in the new documentary, Where She Lies, where one of the interviewees uses the phrase, “It was ...
Read More AFI Fest 2020 Review: My Psychedelic Love Story
By Gordon S. Miller |
(L-R): Timothy Leary and Joanna Harcourt-Smith in MY PSYCHEDELIC LOVE STORY. Photo Credit: Joanna Harcourt-Smith/Courtesy of SHOWTIME. My Psychedelic Love ...
Read More Totally Under Control Movie Review: Timely and Timeless
By Cinema Sentries |
Written by Ram Venkat Srikar The obligation while reviewing documentaries that has always challenged and fascinated me is to create ...
Read More Pizza, A Love Story Movie Review: A Loving Tribute to New Haven’s Tomato Pie
By Elizabeth Periale |
Pizza wasn't invented in New Haven. It was perfected there. That's the tagline to MVD Entertainment Group's Pizza, A Love Story, ...
Read More Happy Happy Joy Joy: The Ren & Stimpy Story Movie Review: Yes, Sir. I Do Like It
By Darcy Staniforth |
Do you know what rolls down stairs, alone or in pairs, and over your neighbor's dog? Do you know who ...
Read More Inmate #1: The Rise of Danny Trejo Movie Review: A Complex and Compelling Story
By Darcy Staniforth |
As a culture, we love all kinds of stories. Stories of people coming from nothing to achieve great success. Stories ...
Read More Athlete A Movie Review: Moving Documentation of an Immense Tragedy and a Gargantuan Triumph
By Cinema Sentries |
Written by Ram Venkat Srikar The greatest achievement of any great documentary is that it can actually change lives. Indirectly, ...
Read More Suzi Q Movie Review: Looks at the Groundbreaking Career of Rocker Suzi Quatro
By Jade Blackmore |
Australian director Liam Firmager spent four years working on Suzi Q, the definitive documentary of Detroit-born rock star Suzi Quatro, who rocketed ...
Read More The Booksellers DVD Review: Like a Good Book, You Won’t Want It to End
By Elizabeth Periale |
Calling all bibliophiles - The Booksellers is a documentary that you won't want to miss. And like a good book, you won't ...
Read More When We Were Kings Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Marvelous Time Capsule of Muhammad Ali in 1974
By Gordon S. Miller |
Leon Gast's When We Were Kings documents the "Rumble in the Jungle," the legendary boxing match between undefeated heavyweight champion George Foreman ...
Read More In Search of Dracula Blu-ray Review: A Bloody Good Documentary
By Elizabeth Periale |
In Search of Dracula, originally released in 1975, and directed by Calvin Floyd (Terror of Frankenstein, The Sleep of Death), has ...
Read More Circus of Books Movie Review: Love over Sexuality
By Cinema Sentries |
Written by Ram Venkat Srikar At the center of Rachel Mason & Kathryn Robson's Circus of Books is the bookstore run by ...
Read More Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band Movie Review
By Gordon S. Miller |
Even before learning that the film was based on Robbie Robertson's memoir Testimony, his name separate from “The Band” in ...
Read More Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice DVD Review: A Fantastic Appreciation
By Gordon S. Miller |
Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice is a biographical documentary that Ronstadt was involved with as she introduces the ...
Read More Antonio Gaudí Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Tone Poem of Gaudí, Barcelona, and Art
By Elizabeth Periale |
Antonio Gaudí, a film by Japanese director Hiroshi Teshigahara (1927-2001), is a tone poem of Gaudí, Barcelona, and art - ...
Read More Marcel Duchamp: The Art of the Possible Movie Review: What Would Modern Art Be Like Without Duchamp?
By Elizabeth Periale |
Available on iTunes and Amazon on March 10, 2020, comes a new documentary film from Electrolift Creative Productions, Marcel Duchamp: The ...
Read More 2020 Oscar-nominated Documentary Short Films Review
By Darcy Staniforth |
On January 29, ShortsTV will debut THE 2020 OSCAR NOMINATED SHORT FILMS at the IFC Center in New York City ...
Read More Water and Sugar: Carlo Di Palma – The Colours of Life DVD Review
By Davy |
Next to the director, the cinematographer is one of the most essential components to making great art. Cinematography can capture ...
Read More PSIFF 2020 Review: Free Color Replicates Its Master’s Art Form
By Cinema Sentries |
Written by Ram Venkat Srikar I've always wondered how individuals feel after reaching a peak of success in their respective ...
Read More Jackass: Complete Movie and TV Collection DVD Review: Not for the Faint of Heart
By Gordon S. Miller |
Tied to the release of Johnny Knoxville's Action Point, Paramount has released Jackass: Complete Movie and TV Collection, an 11-disc ...
Read More The Tragically Hip: A National Celebration Blu-ray Review: Armed with Will and Determination and Grace, Too
By Gordon S. Miller |
As I wrote in my review of the documentary The Tragically Hip: Long Time Running, "On May 24, 2016, it ...
Read More Dawson City: Frozen Time (2016) Blu-ray Review: Uncovering Cinematic Buried Treasures
By Kent Conrad |
In an industry that is lately obsessed with making films available in multiple different versions, both in medium of delivery ...
Read More The Tragically Hip: Long Time Running Blu-ray Review: Beating the Inevitability of Death Just a Little Bit
By Gordon S. Miller |
On May 24, 2016, it was announced that The Tragically Hip's lead singer Gord Downie had incurable brain cancer. In ...
Read More Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story Movie Review: A Beautiful Story of a Brilliant Mind
By Cinema Sentries |
Written by Kristen Lopez "Any girl can look glamourous. All she has to do is stand still and look stupid." ...
Read More Festival (1967) Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Better Than Woodstock
By Mat Brewster |
In the early part of the 20th Century, various folklorists, including John Lomax, wandered about the country documenting the songs ...
Read More Cameraperson Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: No Better Film Experience Last Year
By Davy |
When it comes to human honesty, there is no better genre of film stronger than the documentary. In a time ...
Read More Tell Them Who You Are Movie Review: A Captivating Documentary about Cinematographer Haskell Wexler and His Son
By Gordon S. Miller |
Tell Them Who You Are is a captivating documentary. It begins as a look at the life and career of ...
Read More The Unknown Known Movie Review: Rumsfeld’s Snowflakes
By Cinema Sentries |
Written by the Canadian Cinephile Filmmaker Errol Morris has said of his interview with former U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald ...
Read More Tim’s Vermeer Movie Review: Art Isn’t Easy
By Adam Blair |
We're well into the age of instant images; anyone with a smartphone is, or can be, a photographer and/or videographer. ...
Read More Surviving Progress DVD Review: How to Temper a Double-Edged Sword
By Mark Buckingham |
Surviving Progress takes a look at the advancements human beings have made over the last few thousand years, what our ...
Read More Trek Nation Movie Review: The Search for Dad
By Rons Reviews |
In attempt to find out more about the father he lost at 17 and the science-fiction empire he built, Rod ...
Read More Resurrect Dead: The Mystery of the Toynbee Tiles Movie Review: An Intriguing Documentary about a Decades-Long Mystery
By Darcy Staniforth |
I love documentaries! Or should I say I love good documentaries. However, the more I watch, I feel like the ...
Read More Jimi Plays Berkeley DVD Review: Flawed but Fascinating
By Cinema Sentries |
Written by Greg Barbrick The newly re-mastered film Jimi Plays Berkeley (1971) is an incredible document of its time. Back ...
Read More LAFF 2012 Review: A Band Called Death Rises from Obscurity
By Jade Blackmore |
While attending the Joey Ramone Birthday Bash in 2009, I noticed the headlining band was called Death. That doesn’t make ...
Read More Joffrey: Mavericks of American Dance Movie Review: The Politics of Dance from the Ground Up
By Michelle Prather |
Joffrey: Mavericks of American Dance does what ballet so often fails to do: it draws laymen into a world perceived ...
Read More Surviving Progress Movie Review: A Wake-Up Call About the Progress Trap
By Cinema Sentries |
Written by Mary K. Williams “We tend to delude ourselves that these changes always result in improvements from the human ...
Read More SXSW 2012 Review: Paul Williams Still Alive
By Cinema Sentries |
Written by Leo Sopicki “We usually save this surprise for after the movie”, explained director Stephen Kessler. Kessler, who was ...
Read More SXSW 2012 Review: Paul Williams Still Alive
By Cinema Sentries |
Written by Leo Sopicki “We usually save this surprise for after the movie”, explained director Stephen Kessler. Kessler, who was ...
Read More Queen: Days of Our Lives DVD Review: They Made the Rockin’ World Go Round
By Cinema Sentries |
Written by Greg Barbrick As good a documentary as Queen: Days Of Our Lives is, it is also a bit ...
Read More The Doors: Mr. Mojo Risin’: The Story of L.A. Woman DVD Review: A Look at One of Their Most Enduring Works
By generaljabbo |
By the end of 1970, The Doors were done as a live act. Jim Morrison still had the legal ramifications ...
Read More The Pruitt-Igoe Myth Movie Review: An Absolutely Fascinating Documentary
By Cinema Sentries |
Written by Max Naylor You don’t normally go into a documentary as a blank slate, a sincerely pure vessel. It ...
Read More The Captains DVD Review: William Shatner Logs Interviews with Peers
By Rons Reviews |
William Shatner has written and directed this compilation of interviews and brief glimpses into the lives of the six actors, ...
Read More Senna Movie Review: See It Now, Because Everyone Will Be Talking About It
By Will McKinley |
One thing I learned early in life: it's okay for boys to cry, as long as the tears are shed ...
Read More Electric Daisy Carnival Experience Movie Review: Experience It…If You Can Find It
By Steve Geise |
America’s largest dance music festival has been under fire for the last year after massive fallout from the 2010 edition ...
Read More Ladies & Gentlemen…The Rolling Stones DVD Review: A Great Introduction to the Band
By generaljabbo |
The year 1972 was a pivotal one for The Rolling Stones. They spent the summer as tax exiles in France, ...
Read More Elvis on Tour DVD Review: Presley Goes out on a High Note in his Final Film
By generaljabbo |
In 1972, Elvis Presley was still riding high from the commercial and critical rebirth that started with the ’68 Comeback ...
Read More Elvis: That’s The Way It Is (Special Edition) DVD Review: It’s Good to be the King
By generaljabbo |
Elvis Presley was riding a major wave of success in 1970. Free of his movie obligations of the 1960s, Presley ...
Read More Shine A Light DVD Review: The Rolling Stones and Martin Scorsese Deliver Satisfaction
By Gordon S. Miller |
Longevity in the arts can be a double-edge sword. Artists no doubt appreciate having long careers in the endeavors they ...
Read More 4192: The Crowning of the Hit King DVD Review: A Solid Hit But Not a Home Run
By Rons Reviews |
This 90-minute documentary on the career of Pete Rose, which was released on February 22, 2011 by Rivercoast Films, is ...
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