Documentary Rated PG
There is something unseemly in the movie’s choice to document the Beales at all.
Documentary Rated NR
“Even when the conspiracies are at their wackiest – yes, someone suggests watching The Shining backwards – the documentary remains genially intrigued.
For a documentary about a trophy wife whose dream of building the biggest mansion in the United States is derailed by the 2008 financial collapse, The Queen of Versailles is awfully empathetic. Perhaps that’s because the tragic flaw revealed in Jackie Siegel – the desire to obtain more than you can afford – is shared
"…a political act, of course, but that’s not the most interesting thing about it."
Any discussion of The Arbor has to begin with an explication of the hyper-meta format that’s been devised by director Clio Barnard. In revisiting the life and early death of British playwright Andrea Dunbar, Barnard recorded audio testimony from Dunbar’s adult children and other relatives, then had actors lip sync to the dialogue while performing
Documentary Rated PG-13
A documentary about a chimpanzee, in which the chimp is the only one to behave humanely. Director James Marsh was wise enough to know that it isn’t the story of Nim that is most compelling here, even if he was a chimp raised as a human child in the 1970s as part of a strange
"A cry of hope from communities of despair."
Director Richard Press gets amazing access to New York Times legend Bill Cunningham, whose on-the-street fashion photography captures style as it’s actually worn, yet Press’ documentary is too tentative to make that access pay off. Cunningham’s work is illuminated, but the man – 80 at the time of filming – remains a bit of a
"…equally intrigued by the prehistoric painters of yesteryear and those who study their work today."
"I believe Shadyac had a meaningful epiphany. I’m not sure it’s that meaningful for the rest of us."
