“Apollo 11” Looks Back on a Day When the World Came Together To Watch and Cheer
MARCH 29, 2019 When you call a film a beautiful documentary, certain images immediately come to mind. A butterfly landing on the edge of a leaf, a tiger prowling…
documentary
“Free Solo” — Climbing the Cliff Face of Yosemite’s El Capitan Without a Rope? Sure, Why Not?
NOVEMBER 5, 2018 OK, I’ll admit it. Over the past few years, I’ve developed a deep-set fear of heights. I mean a shrinking-of-your-nether-regions fear of heights. So when “Free Solo,” a…
“Tea With the Dames” — The Funniest Film So Far This Year Is…A Documentary?
OCTOBER 29, 2018 The idea couldn’t be simpler. Seat four women of a certain age at a table, and pour the tea, then listen to them spill it. These…
“Three Identical Strangers” — What Happens After the Film’s Happy Beginning Turns Dark and Very Disturbing
AUGUST 31, 2018 If there’s been one encouraging development at the box-office this summer, it has been the unexpected success of feature documentaries. It’s been years since a non-concert…
“Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood” Definitely Tells All and Names Names
JULY 31, 2018 One of the most welcome surprises of the summer box-office season has been the unexpected resurgence of feature documentaries. Two upbeat celebrity profiles — “RBG,” a…
“Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” — A Moving Testament to the Power of Kindness
JULY 9, 2018 I never really knew a whole lot about Fred Rogers. Of course, I had heard of him and saw most of the parodies (particularly Eddie Murphy’s…
The Notorious “RBG” Gets Her Own Hit Documentary
MAY 17, 2018 The national box office returns got severely shaken up this weekend. It seems that a small documentary smashed into the national Top 10, just behind “Black…
The Civil Rights Struggle As Told Through the Voice of James Baldwin in the Bracing “I Am Not Your Negro”
FEBRUARY 15, 2017 I envy any moviegoer who sees writer James Baldwin on screen for the very first time. The esteemed writer had a presence when speaking before a…
“The Eagle Huntress” — It’s Beautiful To Look At, But Where’s the Drama?
DECEMBER 6, 2016 Who would have thought that one of the hottest documentaries of the year would center on a Mongolian teenage girl who wants to break into the…
“Weiner” — A Fascinating Portrait of a Political Sociopath
MAY 26, 2016 “Weiner” is a fascinating documentary that is at once compelling, appalling and cringe-inducing, as it captures the self-immolation of a man who is both a born…
