Directed by William Gazecki Produced and Written by Susan and Lloyd Ecker Released by Menemsha Films USA. 96 min. Not rated The Outrageous Sophie Tucker takes a breezy, mostly chronological tour through the on- and off-stage life of the singular entertainer, whose singing career extended from the birth of vaudeville to the rise of television. […]
Directed by Joshua Oppenheimer Produced by Signe Byrge Sorensen Released by Drafthouse Films/Participant Media Indonesian and Javanese, with English subtitles 103 min. Rated PG-13 If you happened to have seen The Act of Killing when it was released two years ago (and subsequently earned an Oscar nomination, which it should’ve won) or on Netflix, you […]
Written and Directed by David Thorpe Produced by Howard Gertler and Thorpe Released by Sundance Selects USA. 77 min. Not rated Some documentaries are very serious because they want you to consider their subject matter seriously—sometimes very, very seriously. These somber films want you to consider things through the lens of “history,” and they offer […]
Directed by Les Blank Produced by Denny Cordell, Leon Russell, and Blank Released by Janus Films USA. 90 min. Not rated With Leon Russell, J.J. Cale, George Jones, Willie Nelson, Eric Andersen, Johnny Gimble, and Willis Alan Ramsey Les Blank’s A Poem Is a Naked Person is a beautifully restored 1974 rock ‘n’ roll time […]
Directed by Sean Baker Produced by Marcus Cox, Karrie Cox, Darren Dean, Shih-Ching Tsou Written by Baker and Chris Bergoch Released by Magnolia Pictures USA. 87 min. Rated R With Kitana Kiki Rodriguez, Mya Taylor, James Ransone, Karren Karagulian, Mickey O’Hagan and Alla Tumanian Writer/director Sean Baker has made wonderful indie films that are sparkling […]
Directed by Matthew Heineman Produced by Heineman and Tom Yellin Released by the Orchard English and Spanish with English subtitles USA/Mexico. 100 min. Not Rated Organized vigilantes have arisen on both sides of the U.S./Mexico border out of frustration with what they see as inadequate government response to the violent cartels terrorizing farmers and ranchers […]
Directed by Debra Granik Produced by Anne Rosellini Released by Still Rolling Productions English and Spanish with English subtitles USA. 98 min. Not rated Stray Dog is a surprisingly touching road trip through the heart of America on a Harley-Davidson, where people in double-wides help each other as they struggle to get through posttraumatic stress […]
Among the nearly three dozen films I saw at Cannes, the one that had the strongest emotional hook was, without question, Asif Kapadia’s in-depth biodoc of the late singer Amy Winehouse. Granted, the tender and trenchant Amy has an added resonance for fans and also for the melancholic question (one of many) that lingers afterward: […]
Directed by Shawn Rech and Brandon Kimber Produced by Rech and Andrew Hale Released by Sundance Selects USA. 93 min. Not rated A death row prisoner walks free from jail in a surprise exoneration nearly 48 hours before his scheduled execution. New evidence proving his innocence has come to light thanks to a university journalism […]