Posts filed under 'Documentary/History'
9500 LIBERTY- Premise by Netflix. “Under pressure from anti-immigration groups, officials in Virginia’s Prince William County enact a controversial measure requiring police to step up their efforts to identify and detain suspected illegal aliens. Filmmakers Eric Byler and Annabel Park detail the turmoil that the new law stirs in the community, as well as the efforts of local citizens to resist what they regard as an unconstitutional assault on individual rights.” Very good early reviews.
12/8/11- A good documentary showing the hate that exists in our country and some of the ways people can make a difference. TRDB. Netflix.
Tags: Documentary/History
July 1st, 2010
OUT IN THE SILENCE- Premise by Netflix. “When filmmaker Joe Wilson runs an announcement of his wedding to another man in the newspaper of the conservative Pennsylvania town where he grew up, the resulting controversy enables him to examine the depth and fragility of his social bonds. By stepping outside of the traditional documentary frame, Wilson illuminates the challenges facing those who grow up “different” in rural America, and the courage that simple tolerance can sometimes require.” Very few reviews but they are all good. TRDB.
7/10- Very good documentary about the issues and the people involved. TRDB.
Tags: documentary
June 29th, 2010
GREAT DIRECTORS- Synopsis by Netflix. “New York-based businesswoman and filmmaker Angela Ismailos offers this collection of in-depth interviews with David Lynch, John Sayles, Catherine Breillat, Bernardo Bertolucci and six other internationally acclaimed film directors. Touching on everything from the creative process and the history of cinema to the necessity of balancing art and commerce, Ismailos’s interviews also include sit-downs with Liliana Cavani, Ken Loach and Agnès Varda.” Decent professional reviews and only fair audience reaction. TRDB.
Tags: documentary
June 27th, 2010
SOUTH OF THE BORDER- 2010. Premise by Netflix. “Eager to investigate how the U.S. media has depicted Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, director Oliver Stone journeys south to interview the man himself and speaks with several other South American presidents in the process. Among the distinguished subjects in Stone’s probing and controversial documentary are Bolivia’s Evo Morales, Brazil’s Lula da Silva, Argentina’s Nestor Kirchner and Cuba’s Raúl Castro.” Poor reviews.
11/10- This documentary is, of course, completely one-sided but it is the most thorough series of interviews with regional world leaders that I can remember and provides us with views that we do not see in our media. Definitely worth seeing. TRDB. Netflix Streaming.
Tags: documentary
June 18th, 2010
RESTREPO- Premise by Netflix. “Sebasatian Junger, author of The Perfect Storm, teamed with photographer Tim Hetherington to spend a year embedded with the Second Platoon in Afghanistan, documenting the hard work, fear and brotherhood that come with repelling a deadly enemy. Hunkered down with the soldiers in one of the region’s most strategic valleys, the filmmakers uncover the dark humor, sleepless surreality and constant anxiety of war in this Best Documentary winner at Sundance.” Very good early reviews.
7/10- Excellent documentary and clearly done by two men who won the confidence of their subjects. TRDB.
Tags: documentary
June 16th, 2010
DOUBLE TAKE- 2009. Premise by Netflix. “Filmmaker Johan Grimonprez explores the period of the Cold War and the effect of advertising and Hollywood on the American people in this innovative blend of documentary and fiction focusing on Alfred Hitchcock’s themes surrounding identity. Written by award-winning British novelist Tom McCarthy, the film considers the era’s prosperity and paranoia, its political and social events, and Hitchcock’s fondness for characters meeting their doubles.”
2/11- I was totally bored and turned it off. TRDB. Netflix.
Tags: Documentary/History
June 14th, 2010
STONEWALL UPRISING- 2010. Premise by Netflix. “Through eyewitness interviews and archival footage, documentary filmmakers Kate Davis and David Heilbroner recapture a pivotal moment in time that mobilized a generation of gay activists and marked the dawn of the modern Gay Rights Movement. Much like Rosa Parks’s symbolic refusal to move to the back of the bus, gay bar patrons’ refusal to comply with a police raid at Greenwich Village’s Stonewall Inn in 1969 would change the course of history.” I saw two reviews, one up, one down.
4/11- Generally good portrayal of a piece of history but I felt that after 45min I had seen it and then got bored and turned it off. TRDB. Netflix.
Tags: Documentary/History
June 13th, 2010
8: THE MORMON PROPOSITION- 2009. Premise by Netflix. “Filmmaker and ex-Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints member Reed Cowan examines that church’s nationwide efforts to prevent the legalization of gay marriage — including California’s Proposition 8, which was passed by voters in 2008. Confidential church documents, statements by high-ranking church officials and other sources detail 30 years of efforts to turn back gay rights, particularly by the Mormon-sponsored National Organization for Marriage.” Fairly good early reviews.
8/10- What more can I say– the film was well done and also addresses the many conflicts that families of gay people wrestled with on dual loyalties to their family and to the Church. TRDB. Netflix.
Tags: documentary
June 13th, 2010
JOAN RIVERS: A PIECE OF WORK- 2010. Premise by Netflix. “Documentarians Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg provide an uncompromising glimpse into the personal and professional life of comedian and red-carpet mainstay Joan Rivers, a woman clinging stubbornly and steadfastly to the pop-culture bandwagon. Stern and Sundberg — whose previous film, The Devil Came on Horseback, covered the Darfur genocide — take a no-less-intensive approach to their subject here, taking a hard look at fame’s bitter toll.” Fair reviews and good reviews in equal number.
12/10– Very good documentary about the diva, the ups and downs of her career and her need to continue and all costs. Definitely recommended. TRDB. Netflix.
Tags: documentary
June 8th, 2010
BURMA VJ- Premise by Netflix. “Filmmaker Anders Østergaard’s Oscar-nominated documentary profiles the courageous efforts of a renegade band of Burmese reporters who — in the face of a repressive regime and media censorship — refuse to be silenced. Calling themselves the Democratic Voice of Burma (aka the Burma VJs), these fierce “video warriors” place themselves in peril as they smuggle footage documenting their government’s abuses across the border — and to the world at large.” Great reviews.
6/10- Very good documentary about the photojournalists in Burma who, at great personal risk, attempt to expose the cruel military dictatorship to the rest of the world. TRDB.
Tags: Documentary/History
June 5th, 2010
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