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Being Mary Tyler Moore
(2023)
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Bill Brioux
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Viewers who only know Moore from her toothy smile on The Dick Van Dyke Show or as Mr. Grant’s associate producer should find Being Mary Tyler Moore to be revelatory. This is a very recommended look at one of TV’s greatest stars.
Posted May 25, 2023
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Reggie
(2023)
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Bill Brioux
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Reggie does touch on the racism Jackson faced entering the major leagues in the late ‘60s. His tale, however, has a far happier ending than Becker’s.
Posted May 01, 2023
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If These Walls Could Sing
(2022)
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Bill Brioux
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Some of us can never get enough Fab Four but even if you’re not a big Beatles fan, I recommend If These Walls Could Sing.
Posted Jan 12, 2023
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4/5
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Sammy Davis, Jr.: I've Gotta Be Me
(2017)
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Bill Brioux
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This briskly entertaining look at the life of Sammy Davis, Jr. (1925 – 1990), is a portrait of a brilliant entertainer who tapped across the front lines of America’s racial divide.
Posted Nov 05, 2022
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Viewer Direction Advised
(2018)
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Bill Brioux
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Awkward moments are actually where this documentary grows beyond the level of an extended home movie.
Posted Nov 05, 2022
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Still Laugh-in: The Stars Celebrate
(2019)
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Bill Brioux
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Offensive and abysmal, and, as Edith Anne used to say, “That’s the truth. PFFFFT.”
Posted Nov 05, 2022
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El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie
(2019)
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Bill Brioux
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A fun ride. A showcase for Aaron Paul.
Posted Oct 28, 2022
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A Kandahar Away
(2019)
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Bill Brioux
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A story about one immigrant family that should resonate with many Canadians old and new.
Posted Oct 28, 2022
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The Laundromat
(2019)
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Bill Brioux
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It's like Where's Waldo sporting all the other [famous] people in this film... it's all fun, it works.
Posted Oct 22, 2022
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The Irishman
(2019)
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Bill Brioux
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Scorsese’s maturity and range as a storyteller is sure handed throughout. There isn’t a single misplaced camera angle, or, despite the film’s long length, a throwaway take.
Posted Oct 18, 2022
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4/5
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Woodstock: Three Days That Defined a Generation
(2019)
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Bill Brioux
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... For one golden summer at least, there really was a beautiful truce in America. A generation united under a freaky rendition of “The Star Spangled Banner” and got by with a little help from their friends.
Posted Oct 18, 2022
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Deadwood: The Movie
(2019)
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Bill Brioux
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This is the Deadwood for anyone who might have been scared of Deadwood before.
Posted Oct 18, 2022
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Showbiz Kids
(2020)
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Bill Brioux
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Not all the stories in “Showbiz Kids” are as black and white as Leave it to Beaver.
Posted Oct 12, 2022
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Gordon Lightfoot: If You Could Read My Mind
(2019)
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Bill Brioux
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An intimate and emotional examination of the artist’s profound relationship to his music and his Canadian roots.
Posted Oct 11, 2022
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Class Action Park
(2020)
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Bill Brioux
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Visitors went because it was dangerous, proudly showing off scars the next day at school. That those were the lucky ones is swept a little too quickly under the astroturf throughout the documentary.
Posted Oct 11, 2022
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My Generation
(2017)
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Bill Brioux
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It was more than the flowering of a music scene, it was a cultural sea-change... a younger generation overwhelmed their elders and defied their conventions.
Posted Oct 11, 2022
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The Go-Go's
(2020)
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Bill Brioux
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Intercut with archival footage from the punk days and those MTV videos, as well as concert footage, the approach adds to the drama.
Posted Oct 11, 2022
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Belushi
(2020)
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Bill Brioux
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What I couldn’t get enough of, and there’s a lot of it, is the animation.
Posted Oct 11, 2022
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Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band
(2019)
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Bill Brioux
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[A] powerful rock 'n' roll documentary...
Posted Oct 11, 2022
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The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart
(2020)
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Bill Brioux
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Brings it all back and then some. By the end you’ll need another Kimberly-Clark product — Kleenex.
Posted Oct 11, 2022
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Yearly Departed
(2020)
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Bill Brioux
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A stand-up comedy approach to the year from hell, delivered by a cast of funny women from a funeral parlor setting.
Posted Oct 11, 2022
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Jimmy Carter: Rock & Roll President
(2020)
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Bill Brioux
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... Heartening and toe-tappin’ look at America’s 39th president.
Posted Oct 11, 2022
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Death to 2020
(2020)
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Bill Brioux
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.... Deadpan, cynical, wickedly funny look at the year from Hell.
Posted Oct 11, 2022
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One Night in Miami
(2020)
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Bill Brioux
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“One Night in Miami” is certainly timely and welcome. It is also one reason why it arrives with high expectations. That it takes four such dynamic, historical leaders and puts them together in one room should have led to more fireworks.
Posted Oct 11, 2022
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Tina
(2021)
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Bill Brioux
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A kinetic documentary that can’t quite keep up with or contain her seems somehow appropriate.
Posted Oct 05, 2022
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Maggie Simpson in The Force Awakens From Its Nap
(2021)
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Bill Brioux
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It is also 100 per cent The Simpsons with nothing but cheek shown to the Disney overlords.
Posted Oct 04, 2022
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Friends: The Reunion
(2021)
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Bill Brioux
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If you were a big fan of the original series... these two hours won’t seem long enough.
Posted Oct 04, 2022
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Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)
(2021)
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Bill Brioux
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Thank God somebody filmed it and the footage survived long enough for this doc to emerge in time to help celebrate the end of isolation.
Posted Sep 20, 2022
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The One and Only Dick Gregory
(2021)
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Bill Brioux
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Dave Chappelle, Chris Rock, Kevin Hart, Wanda Sykes, W. Kamau Bell and others give Gregory his due while the clips provide a fresh and gritty perspective on the Civil Rights movement of the ‘60s.
Posted Sep 20, 2022
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Who Are You, Charlie Brown?
(2021)
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Bill Brioux
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A fuzzy blanket of goodness for Peanuts fans.
Posted Sep 20, 2022
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Oscar Peterson: Black + White
(2020)
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Bill Brioux
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The other important voice in the work is Peterson’s widow, Kelly Peterson... Their meeting and subsequent togetherness is the love story that brings harmony to this true life tale.
Posted Sep 07, 2022
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Attica
(2021)
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Bill Brioux
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This is an unblinking look at the upstate 1971 New York massacre...
Posted Aug 30, 2022
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Being the Ricardos
(2021)
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Bill Brioux
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[Sorkin] jacks up the jeopardy on a slapstick comedy that was teeming with backstage drama.
Posted Aug 30, 2022
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Lucy and Desi
(2022)
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Bill Brioux
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Viewers who already cherish the Lucy-Desi legacy will find this doc goes down tasty like Vitameatavegimin. For others, Poehler delivers a sweet, entertaining and well-documented way into television’s most enduring love story.
Posted Aug 30, 2022
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Norm Macdonald: Nothing Special
(2022)
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Bill Brioux
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It is a gift that may not be for everybody, but you’d be hard-pressed to find more heart in another 90 minutes of television.
Posted Jun 03, 2022
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Catwalk: Tales From The Cat Show Circuit
(2018)
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Bill Brioux
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Well edited and told without judgement, this tale has an ending that should leave cat fanciers purring.
Posted Apr 02, 2018
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The Rocky Horror Picture Show: Let's Do the Time Warp Again
(2016)
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Bill Brioux
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My feeling is Fox could not go far enough with this tale of sweet transvestites from transsexual Transylvania - it might have worked better on HBO or Netflix.
Posted Oct 19, 2016
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Mary Tyler Moore: A Celebration
(2015)
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Bill Brioux
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I have to agree with many critics who already pointed out that it was pretty much a rehash of things we'd heard and seen before, right down to the dated clips used throughout of Moore telling her own story.
Posted Oct 14, 2015
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