Hot Docs 2013 Review: 12 O'CLOCK BOYS Is A Hell Of A Ride
It's no surprise to long term readers of my reviews that I'm kind of enamoured with David Simon's Baltimore. From Homicide: Life On The Streets, through The Corner and of course The Wire (still perhaps the best programme that has... More »
  

Hot Docs 2013 Review: AFTER TILLER Is Important, Vital Look at Late Term Abortion Doctor in US
On May 31, 2009, Doctor George Tiller was murdered while attending his regular Sunday church service. The doctor was one of a handful trained and willing to perform what are almost antiseptically referred to as "late term" abortions, the termination... More »
  

Hot Docs 2013 Review: MUSCLE SHOALS Is A Stunning, Soulful Achievement
It's a rare thing, the truly engaging music documentary. You have to have a number of things come together to make it more than just a series of clips from some music you feel palatable. The best films are those... More »
  

Hot Docs 2013 Review: THE EXPEDITION TO THE END OF THE WORLD Asks Big Questions in Wide Open Spaces
Specifically, the eponymous End of the World is a place: The northern shores of Greenland that have been inaccessible due to ice-locked waterways, which now, due to changing climes, are open for a mere few weeks a year to such... More »
  

Hot Docs 2013 Review: WE ALWAYS LIE TO STRANGERS
The title is a mouthful, but is a entirely appropriate and poetic link to the film's subject matter, the bizarre Vegas-in-the-Ozarks refuge that is Branson, Missouri.Nestled in the heart of hillbilly country, the town of 10,000 plays home to millions... More »
  

Hot Docs 2013 Review: TALES FROM THE ORGAN TRADE Is Wonderfully Nuanced
Far too often "issue" films play out as mere polemics, dogmatically reemphasizing a given point of view to a receptive audience. I often find these type of films dreary and intellectually barren, a lazy form of near propaganda that does... More »
  

Hot Docs 2013 Review: WILLIAM AND THE WINDMILL Subverts the Expected TEDtalk Narrative
What exactly is William and The Windmill about?  Is it the story of a resourceful and ingenious young Malawi boy who builds a windmill from available detritus using diagrams in a book so his parents have a way to... More »
  

Hot Docs 2013 Review: THE LIFE AND CRIMES OF DORIS PAYNE is Glamorous and Mundane
It takes a certain amount of chutzpah to walk into a jewelry store and pull a pure short-con swindle. Doris Payne, now in her early eighties, remains as wiry and razor sharp as she ever was, pulling one jewel... More »
  

Hot Docs 2013 Review: THE MANOR is the GODFATHER of Jewish Strip-Club Owning Family Films
About an hour West of Toronto lies Guelph, Ontario. It's a college town, known for its slightly hippie vibe, strong connection with all things agricultural, and a quaint downtown. Attractions include a local brewery and a nearby Antique Festival that's... More »
  

Review: THE PUNK SYNDROME
Pertti, Toni, Kari and Sami can really put on a great show. They are the members of very popular punk group in Finland, Pertti Kurikan Nimipäivät (Pertti Kurikka's Name Day). As Kari sings in his guttural voice about the greatness... More »
  

HotDocs 2012: PUSHWAGNER Review
An aging Norwegian pop artist, Hariton Pushwagner, is the subject of this larger-than-life documentary, directed by Even Benestad and August B. Hanssen. And it's a great doc about an eccentric artist, rivaling Crumb in its charm and scope.It is clear from the... More »
  

HotDocs 2012: LOVE STORY Review
An exceptionally tall girl in an orange dress with a piece of red-velvet cake on a plate and a lanky New Zealander with a video camera meet on the subway headed for Coney Island.  They chat.  They separate.  They meet... More »
  

HotDocs 2012: INDIE GAME: THE MOVIE Review
There is a lot of passion, soul baring, and white-knuckle anxiety on display in Lisanne Pajot and James Swirsky's documentary on the world of independent games and their micro-sized design teams.  Instead of hundreds of people working on all aspects of a top... More »
  

HotDocs 2012: FRANCOPHRENIA (or Don't Kill Me, I Know Where The Baby Is) Review
I will be brief, as to not waste too much of your time, as it would be doubly a crime for Francophrenia to kill the sum of my 70 minutes viewing the thing, another hour writing about it, and then... More »
  

HotDocs 2012 Review: THE FINAL MEMBER Pairs w/ MANHOOD for Mighty Eve of Penises
In one of the finer examples of the synergy caused by pairing two separate films together, the programming staff at Hotdocs made a wise move of presenting an evening of all things phallus. Manhood is a short doc from some... More »
  

HotDocs 2012: THE AMBASSADOR Review
Either Mads Brügger has balls the size of grapefruits or there is mondo chicanery going on in The Ambassador.  Well, it's a given that there is trickery happening, so the thing to figure out is who the trick is on: The... More »
  

HotDocs 2012 Review: CHARLES BRADLEY: SOUL OF AMERICA
The film starts with a 62 year-old man wearing a flowing cape and instantly recognizable wig, donning the disguise of a soul legend before taking the stage. He slinks into the dark Brooklyn divebar, ostensibly there to both celebrate a... More »
  

HotDocs 2012 Review: BEWARE OF MR. BAKER, As Drummer Still Packs a Wallop
If all Ginger Baker ever did musically was to beat the drums behind Jack Bruce and Eric Clapton during the heady two year sprint that was Cream, then Ginger Baker's role as rock-god may well have been solidified. If all... More »
  

HotDocs 2012 Review: THE IMPOSTER May Be the RASHOMON of (Post)Modern Documentaries
Everyone lies.It's a simple statement, but few take it to heart. Now, of course, I'm not lying, I'm telling you my story, my response to this film. But I may be lying to myself, and then to you, convincing myself... More »
  

HotDocs 2012: AI WEI WEI: NEVER SORRY Review
A common phrase on the internet, particularly in social media circles is "Pictures, or it didn't happen."  This certainly treads close enough to the general ethos of documentary film-making to make Ai Wei Wei:  Never Sorry about the most appropriate film to... More »
  
 
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