|
|
67%
|
One Track Heart: The Story of Krishna Das (2013) |
"
Jeremy Frindel's workmanlike docu proceeds in a matter-of-fact manner that neither ignores nor belabors the inspirational aspect of its story."
—
Variety
Posted May 15, 2013
|
|
|
60%
|
Released (2013) |
"
This change-affirming docu's minimalist lack of polish or stylistic affect almost becomes a plus, its stark, bare-bones presentation somehow befitting the tales of abuse and incarceration so baldly proclaimed within."
—
Variety
Posted May 15, 2013
|
|
|
70%
|
Becoming Traviata (2013) |
"
A treat for fans of opera, the performing arts and documentaries about process."
—
Variety
Posted May 15, 2013
|
|
|
48%
|
Scatter My Ashes At Bergdorf's (2013) |
"
Jumps skittishly from subject to subject, disjointed and repetitive for all but dyed-in-the-wool fashionistas."
—
Variety
Posted May 6, 2013
|
|
—
|
——
|
111 Girls () |
—
Variety
Posted May 2, 2013
|
|
|
——
|
War on Whistleblowers: Free Press and the National Security State (2013) |
"
Robert Greenwald's docu paints a sobering picture of a national security state."
—
Variety
Posted Apr 18, 2013
|
|
|
90%
|
Deceptive Practice: The Mysteries and Mentors of Ricky Jay (2013) |
"
Well structured and dynamically edited, Deceptive Practice: The Mysteries and Mentors of Ricky Jay relies on the famed magician himself to wax autobiographical with his usual charm, humor and panache."
—
Variety
Posted Apr 17, 2013
|
|
|
60%
|
American Meat (2013) |
"
A low-key, fairly evenhanded look at industrial vs. organic methods of raising livestock."
—
Variety
Posted Apr 12, 2013
|
|
|
50%
|
Bert Stern: Original Madman (2013) |
"
While Bert Stern: Original Madman mines its subject's work for a steady stream of striking visuals, his self-narration proves to be of little interest, offering little variation on a single theme: his love/lust for women."
—
Variety
Posted Apr 5, 2013
|
|
|
77%
|
André Gregory: Before and After Dinner (2013) |
"
Cindy Kleine pays tribute to her famed theater-director hubby in Andre Gregory: Before and After Dinner, with thoroughly delightful results."
—
Variety
Posted Apr 2, 2013
|
|
|
30%
|
Gut Renovation (2013) |
"
Rather than invoking sympathy or shared outrage, the filmmaker creates a kind of complicity with her audience, particularly as she explores the depressingly similar, sterile apartments of the high-rises steadily surrounding her."
—
Variety
Posted Mar 14, 2013
|
|
|
40%
|
The Other Side of the Ice (2013) |
"
The dramatic goings-on... lack dynamism. The seascapes, however, continually astound."
—
Variety
Posted Mar 14, 2013
|
|
|
71%
|
Greedy Lying Bastards (2013) |
"
The film's effectiveness largely stems from the flat-out lameness of the opposition arguments, the lack of scientific credentials of those making them, and the self-interest of their corporate bosses."
—
Variety
Posted Mar 8, 2013
|
|
|
60%
|
Rubberneck (2013) |
"
Karpovsky's pic seldom surprises, its strengths lying in a leisurely journey toward a clearly predestined denouement."
—
Variety
Posted Feb 25, 2013
|
|
|
46%
|
Mumia: Long Distance Revolutionary (2013) |
"
Vittoria avoids discussing the crime for which Abu-Jamal spent 29 years in solitary confinement on death row, instead tracing the path of a brilliant journalist whose message cannot be silenced."
—
Variety
Posted Feb 1, 2013
|
|
|
——
|
Life? or Theatre? () |
"
Frans Weisz's fascinating docu juxtaposes wildly disparate texts and textures, including Salomon's haunting artwork and excerpts from Weisz's own 1980 biopic, "Charlotte.""
—
Variety
Posted Feb 1, 2013
|
|
|
——
|
ReVision (2012) |
"
With dispassionate precision, Scheffner's quietly shocking docu, evoking German ghosts of Gypsy genocide, confronts global questions of illegal immigration."
—
Variety
Posted Feb 1, 2013
|
|
|
——
|
A.K.A. Doc Pomus () |
"
Thrusts a forgotten pioneer back into the limelight while illuminating a part of rock history."
—
Variety
Posted Feb 1, 2013
|
|
—
|
91%
|
The Aggressives (2004) |
—
Variety
Posted Jan 22, 2013
|
|
—
|
88%
|
Dixie Chicks: Shut Up and Sing (2006) |
—
Variety
Posted Jan 22, 2013
|
|
—
|
——
|
Nancy, Please (2013) |
—
Variety
Posted Jan 22, 2013
|
|
—
|
18%
|
$upercapitalist (2012) |
—
Variety
Posted Jan 22, 2013
|
|
—
|
52%
|
Grassroots (2012) |
—
Variety
Posted Jan 22, 2013
|
|
—
|
——
|
My Life As Abraham Lincoln (2012) |
—
Variety
Posted Jan 22, 2013
|
|
|
100%
|
Birders: The Central Park Effect (2013) |
"
Birders vividly captures the distinctive colors and markings of a vast number of bird species and the equally individualized personalities of those watching them within the confines of Central Park."
—
Variety
Posted Jan 16, 2013
|
|
|
83%
|
Uprising (2013) |
"
The docu's relatively uninflected tone rarely participates in either the excitement or irony it chronicles."
—
Variety
Posted Jan 9, 2013
|
|
|
57%
|
High Tech, Low Life (2013) |
"
High Tech, Low Life ostensibly examines censorship of the Internet and news media in China. But the pic is driven less by its subject matter than by its two very different and utterly fascinating bloggers."
—
Variety
Posted Jan 9, 2013
|
|
|
98%
|
56 Up (2013) |
"
[The film will be] of interest to faithful followers and easily accessible to newcomers."
—
Variety
Posted Jan 2, 2013
|
|
|
100%
|
My Brooklyn (2013) |
"
Striking a fine balance between personal journal and political expose, Kelly Anderson's docu examines the unnatural causes of changes wrought in Brooklyn neighborhoods due to gentrification."
—
Variety
Posted Jan 2, 2013
|
|
|
69%
|
Not Fade Away (2012) |
"
Not Fade Away injects the past with the nervous energy and exciting uncertainty of the present, devoid of nostalgia or biopic baggage, and infused with all the wicked wit that characterized Chase's The Sopranos."
—
Variety
Posted Dec 17, 2012
|
|
|
33%
|
American Empire (2012) |
"
Clear and concise, with insightful, impassioned interviewees and well-chosen epithets from statesmen past and present, it cogently analyzes looming catastrophes, with wistful stabs at possible solutions."
—
Variety
Posted Dec 12, 2012
|
|
|
42%
|
Let Fury Have The Hour (2012) |
"
A curiously warm-and-fuzzy hindsight interpretation of artistic aggression, delivered by the artists themselves."
—
Variety
Posted Dec 12, 2012
|
|
|
80%
|
Wagner & Me (2012) |
"
Even those impervious to Wagner's music will find it difficult to resist Fry's charm."
—
Variety
Posted Dec 6, 2012
|
|
|
50%
|
What A Man (2012) |
"
A by-the-numbers romantic comedy."
—
Variety
Posted Dec 3, 2012
|
|
|
33%
|
Certainty (2012) |
"
A couple attends a Pre-Cana retreat to test the Certainty of their commitment in Peter Askin's none-too-subtle Catholic cautionary tale."
—
Variety
Posted Nov 30, 2012
|
|
|
29%
|
Ex-Girlfriends (2012) |
"
Connolly and Carpenter both strongly impress in their complementary roles, all the more believable for being seen largely through Graham's eyes."
—
Variety
Posted Nov 29, 2012
|
|
|
67%
|
Parked (2012) |
"
This engaging character study functions best as a two-hander: The male leads build a wholly believable, offbeat co-dependency, while their interactions with others tend toward the more generic."
—
Variety
Posted Nov 28, 2012
|
|
|
100%
|
Ningen Johatsu (A Man Vanishes) (1967) |
"
The explosively provocative film progressively and aggressively blurs distinctions between documentary and fiction."
—
Variety
Posted Nov 19, 2012
|
|
|
86%
|
Who Bombed Judi Bari? (2012) |
"
The film, produced by Cherney, makes a clear and cogent case (later upheld by a court verdict) that police and FBI falsified evidence in order to discredit Bari's cause."
—
Variety
Posted Nov 19, 2012
|
|
|
80%
|
Vampira And Me () |
"
R.H. Greene's docu succeeds admirably thanks to the charismatic oncamera presence of a 74-year-old Nurmi in an extended 1997 interview."
—
Variety
Posted Nov 19, 2012
|
|
|
9%
|
Festival of Lights (2012) |
"
Somewhere in her switch from documaking to fiction filmmaking, Shundell Prasad seems to have lost touch with clarity."
—
Variety
Posted Nov 8, 2012
|
|
|
84%
|
The Flat (2012) |
"
This fascinating docu should easily attract crossover auds, and merits arthouse exposure."
—
Variety
Posted Nov 1, 2012
|
|
|
100%
|
The Rolling Stones: Charlie Is My Darling - Ireland 1965 () |
"
The kinetically shot concert footage captures the volatile dynamic between performers and audience, as Mick Jagger's provocative posturing is followed by fans storming the stage."
—
Variety
Posted Oct 24, 2012
|
|
|
70%
|
Sexy Baby (2012) |
"
Unevenly structured, the segments differ greatly in length and relevance."
—
Variety
Posted Oct 22, 2012
|
|
|
36%
|
Yogawoman (2012) |
"
One could, however, wish that this endless encomium played less like a PowerPoint sales pitch, illustrated with clip-art imagery, scored with generic music and narrated in mellifluous tones by Annette Bening."
—
Variety
Posted Oct 19, 2012
|
|
|
——
|
Unmasked Judeophobia (2012) |
"
Whatever clarity can be gained by the film's analysis of endemic Islamic hatred of Jews is fatally compromised by equally irrational, overreaching claims."
—
Variety
Posted Oct 19, 2012
|
|
|
100%
|
Question One (2012) |
"
Nowadays, when the very notion of impartiality seems quixotic at best, few issue-driven docus even pay lip service to the other side. Fox and Nubile's observational fly-on-the-wall approach proves relatively objective."
—
Variety
Posted Oct 19, 2012
|
|
|
53%
|
Simon and the Oaks (2012) |
"
Though it retains the narrative complexity of the Swedish bestseller on which it's based, WWII saga Simon and the Oaks never creates an emotional or intellectual throughline of its own."
—
Variety
Posted Oct 11, 2012
|
|
|
58%
|
Bel Borba Aqui (2012) |
"
The docu ties itself too tightly to its subject, mimicking forms and rhythms it never fully makes its own."
—
Variety
Posted Oct 3, 2012
|
|
|
83%
|
Barfi! (2012) |
"
Hopping nimbly among three distinct timeframes, helmer Basu deconstructs the film's sentimental thrust to stress his hero's in-the-moment ingenuity."
—
Variety
Posted Sep 27, 2012
|
78%
36%
100%
85%
45%
40%
