1
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40 Years a Prisoner (2020)
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Pat Mullen
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Director Tommy Oliver unpacks the legacy of systemic racism's impact on one family in 40 Year a Prisoner.
EDIT
Posted Jan 14, 2021
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2
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The Dissident (2020)
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Courtney Small
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In unravelling the complicated political ball of yarn that surrounded Khashoggi's death, Fogel ensures one walks away aware of who was truly pulling the deadly strings.
EDIT
Posted Jan 7, 2021
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3
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The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart (2020)
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Jason Gorber
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The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend A Broken Heart is a specific yet universal tale that excels amid a sea of formulaic contemporaries, delivering a poignant, profound examination of some of the most enduring songs from the era.
EDIT
Posted Dec 30, 2020
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4
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Elvis: That's the Way It Is (1970)
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Pat Mullen
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While it might not hold the same place in the canon as fellow 1970 rockumentaries Woodstock and Gimme Shelter ...or the earlier Monterey Pop!, it's nevertheless a worthy precursor to the unstoppable stream of movies about performers in their element.
EDIT
Posted Dec 3, 2020
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5
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Sing Me a Song (2019)
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Pat Mullen
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Balmès delivers a rich character study that asks how traditional ways can live alongside contemporary conveniences.
EDIT
Posted Dec 3, 2020
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6
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Baby God (2020)
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Pat Mullen
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No doc this year quite has a jaw-on-the-floor ick factor like Baby God does.
EDIT
Posted Dec 2, 2020
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7
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A
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Zappa (2020)
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Jason Gorber
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A challenging story of a challenging man told sympathetically and with frankness.
EDIT
Posted Nov 26, 2020
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8
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Shawn Mendes: In Wonder (2020)
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Pat Mullen
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There's a certain wholesomeness to the film that's equally corny and refreshing.
EDIT
Posted Nov 21, 2020
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9
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Bare (2020)
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Pat Mullen
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The film strips bare notions of masculinity, gender, and sexuality, creating something altogether new and exciting.
EDIT
Posted Nov 17, 2020
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10
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The Last Out (2020)
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Pat Mullen
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The Last Out is an invigorating and eye-opening portrait of the pursuit of a dream.
EDIT
Posted Nov 12, 2020
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11
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()
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Pat Mullen
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It's a fiery feminist essay about equality and labour-a fitting mark for Reichert to leave in a career devoted to giving voice to women and unions alike.
EDIT
Posted Nov 12, 2020
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12
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Jimmy Carter: Rock & Roll President (2020)
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Pat Mullen
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The doc provides a stirring portrait of the decency and humility that used to define the Oval Office.
EDIT
Posted Nov 3, 2020
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13
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Herb Alpert Is... (2020)
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Pat Mullen
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Herb Alpert is...formulaic?
EDIT
Posted Oct 22, 2020
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14
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Epicentro (2020)
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Pat Mullen
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If one can't find utopia on the sunny beaches of Cuba, one might not find it elsewhere.
EDIT
Posted Oct 21, 2020
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15
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There's No Place Like This Place, Anyplace (2020)
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Pat Mullen
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This story should touch every Torontonian, and perhaps every resident of a thriving metropolis who worries about how much longer they can hang on to their home.
EDIT
Posted Oct 21, 2020
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16
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If It Were Love (2020)
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Pat Mullen
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What once happened in dark halls as part of an underground subculture is now out on the stage, in the open, and celebrated to the rhythm of its own beat.
EDIT
Posted Oct 21, 2020
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17
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()
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Pat Mullen
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There are simply too many tangents, asides, fragments, and shards.
EDIT
Posted Oct 21, 2020
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18
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Totally Under Control (2020)
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Pat Mullen
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I usually refer to a Gibney film as an "info dump" in the pejorative sense, but it's a compliment this time.
EDIT
Posted Oct 21, 2020
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19
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Bruce Springsteen's Letter to You (2020)
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Pat Mullen
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Letter to You is old school rock 'n' roll, pure and simple, and there is something bittersweet to the nostalgia factor that underscores the recordings.
EDIT
Posted Oct 21, 2020
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20
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I Am Greta (2020)
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Pat Mullen
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Thunberg's skeptics will find confirmation bias through the superficial portrait that finds itself enamored with the young star.
EDIT
Posted Sep 18, 2020
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21
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Fireball: Visitors From Darker Worlds (2020)
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Pat Mullen
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Herzog's curiosity shows no signs of fading with his latest feature.
EDIT
Posted Sep 17, 2020
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22
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The Truffle Hunters (2020)
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Pat Mullen
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The Truffle Hunters reminds audiences to slow down and savour the fine things in life.
EDIT
Posted Sep 17, 2020
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23
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Notturno (2020)
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Pat Mullen
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Notturno is observational cinema at in its most provocative and poetic form. A film doesn't need any words when the images are so strong.
EDIT
Posted Sep 14, 2020
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24
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No Ordinary Man (2020)
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Pat Mullen
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Ironically, No Ordinary Man straightens out the past by queering Tipton's story.
EDIT
Posted Sep 12, 2020
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25
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The Boy from Medellín (2020)
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Pat Mullen
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The intent to do good and honour the larger picture is present, but it doesn't go all in and is a near-miss as a result.
EDIT
Posted Sep 12, 2020
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26
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Nomadland (2020)
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Pat Mullen
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Great acting is often about reacting and the reaction shots of Frances McDormand are the secret ingredient to Nomadland.
EDIT
Posted Sep 12, 2020
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27
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A
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David Byrne's American Utopia (2020)
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Jason Gorber
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The end result is an ecstatic documentation of Byrne's vision, captured with elegance and efficiency by Lee and his team. The film joins a rarefied pantheon of great musical performance films
EDIT
Posted Sep 10, 2020
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28
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The Golden Girl (2019)
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Pat Mullen
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Răducan doesn't account for the delay in her fight and the film lacks a sense of urgency when the outcome feels inevitable.
EDIT
Posted Sep 1, 2020
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29
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Driven to Abstraction (2019)
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Pat Mullen
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The key difference between Driven to Abstraction and Made You Look is experiential. Price informs, but Avrich informs and entertains. Given near-identical material, one can't overlook the extra spark with which Made You Look recounts the tale.
EDIT
Posted Aug 25, 2020
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30
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Morgana (2019)
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Courtney Small
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Morgana is an empowering and touching film that confidently asserts that female sexuality does not come with an expiry date.
EDIT
Posted Aug 20, 2020
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31
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Clapboard Jungle: Surviving the Independent Film Business (2020)
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Pat Mullen
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Clapboard Jungle might benefit from some of the advice that McConnell gleans from the experts, or perhaps from equivalents in the non-fiction field.
EDIT
Posted Aug 19, 2020
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32
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Boys State (2020)
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Pat Mullen
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Its immersive yet intimate scope considers the state of the nation by observing perspectives from all facets of the political spectrum.
EDIT
Posted Aug 6, 2020
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33
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Denise Ho: Becoming the Song (2020)
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Pat Mullen
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Ho's courageous plight offers a stirring reminder that singular voices add up to a powerful chorus.
EDIT
Posted Aug 6, 2020
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34
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The Fight (2020)
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Pat Mullen
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Many documentaries capture the times under the Trump administration, but few films so accurately convey the exasperating insanity of keeping up with it.
EDIT
Posted Aug 6, 2020
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35
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Creem: America's Only Rock 'n' Roll Magazine (2019)
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Pat Mullen
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Audiences expecting a larger probing of the state of publishing won't find it here, but Crawford crafts a freewheeling essay on one outlet's role in shaping the social history of popular music.
EDIT
Posted Aug 6, 2020
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36
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Ai Weiwei: Yours Truly (2019)
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Pat Mullen
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The art that Yours Truly documents is provocative, inspiring, and essential. However, Haines is not a filmmaker and her limitations show.
EDIT
Posted Aug 6, 2020
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37
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Father Soldier Son (2020)
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Pat Mullen
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This longitudinal study of the effects of war on American families is a valuable portrait of the nation's troubled decade.
EDIT
Posted Jul 21, 2020
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38
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Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets (2020)
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Pat Mullen
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The Rosses create something akin to the parable of the Ship of Theseus for documentary: if one takes a documentary and replaces each element with a piece of fiction, is it still a documentary?
EDIT
Posted Jul 21, 2020
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39
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White Riot (2019)
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Courtney Small
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Shah's film crackles with a raucous energy. Weaving together music, politics, animation and history, White Riot carries a punk infused swagger that is infectious.
EDIT
Posted Jul 14, 2020
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40
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Ella Fitzgerald: Just One of Those Things (2019)
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Pat Mullen
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Perhaps the significance of the film is its articulation of the everyday challenges of finding success while being Black in America.
EDIT
Posted Jun 29, 2020
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41
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Stage: The Culinary Internship (2019)
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Pat Mullen
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In the same way that such high-end eateries provide scrumptious morsels, one doesn't leave Stage feeling full, but rather with a broadened palette of curiosity.
EDIT
Posted Jun 18, 2020
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42
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A
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Two Gods (2020)
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Jason Gorber
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We are blessed with both the craft and the documentation of sublime empathy that Ali brings to the film
EDIT
Posted Jun 18, 2020
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43
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Stateless (2020)
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Pat Mullen
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The director suggests that change begins on individual levels working from the ground up. The interconnected storylines of Stateless illustrate this point remarkably.
EDIT
Posted Jun 6, 2020
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44
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Shoot to Marry (2020)
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Pat Mullen
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In a post-#MeToo environment, one has to read the room.
EDIT
Posted Jun 5, 2020
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45
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2040 (2019)
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Pat Mullen
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The effect is admittedly as annoying as it is insightful, but the optimism of Gameau's approach is undeniably refreshing.
EDIT
Posted Jun 4, 2020
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46
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()
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Pat Mullen
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This poignant elegy for human connection reminds one of a distant past in which one could approach a stranger on the street, rather than scurry away from them during this prolonged period of social distancing.
EDIT
Posted May 30, 2020
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47
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Stray (2021)
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Pat Mullen
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Stray, like Kedi, is a provocative essay about how we treat our fellow animals, human and non-human alike.
EDIT
Posted May 30, 2020
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48
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Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood (2017)
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Pat Mullen
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Tyrnauer avoids making Bowers' narrative one of tabloid trash, but the subject's way of presenting his material is too problematic to endorse.
EDIT
Posted May 28, 2020
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49
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A Secret Love (2020)
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Pat Mullen
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A Secret Love is a refreshingly intimate and sweet romance. Bolan's film is also a welcome celebration of marriage equality that is hard fought and well deserved.
EDIT
Posted May 21, 2020
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50
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They Call Me Dr. Miami (2020)
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Pat Mullen
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The film is fascinating to watch as a window into the "Miami culture" that inspires waves of people to flock to the beach and display their bodies in the middle of a pandemic.
EDIT
Posted May 16, 2020
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