Tag: Documentary

REVIEW: Camino a Roma (2020 – Documentary)

Release Poster – Netflix

The following is a review of Road to Roma (Orig. Title: Camino a Roma) — Directed by Andrés Clariond Rangel & Gabriel Nuncio.

Andrés Clariond Rangel and Gabriel Nuncio’s Road to Roma is a making of-documentary about Alfonso Cuarón’s Oscar-winning Netflix film Roma. This documentary is available on Netflix right now, but it will also be available on the upcoming Criterion Collection release of the Netflix film. Therefore, one could argue that this is really just a glorified special feature, but since the documentary has a runtime of 73 minutes, I think, it deserves to be treated as its own thing and be reviewed, just like I reviewed Anthony Wonke’s The Director and the Jedi. Continue reading “REVIEW: Camino a Roma (2020 – Documentary)” →

REVIEW: Apollo 11 (2019 – Documentary)

Theatrical Release Poster – NEON / Universal Pictures

The following is a review of Apollo 11 — A documentary directed and edited by Todd Douglas Miller.

Todd Douglas Miller’s Apollo 11 is, as you have probably already gathered from the title, a documentary about the 1969 Apollo 11 mission, which ultimately culminated in the spaceflight landing two men on the moon for the very first time in our history. It is arguably mankind’s greatest achievement, and the iconic words from Neil Armstrong are imprinted on the minds of every adult alive. In 2018, one of the year’s very best films, Damien Chazelle’s First Man, studied Armstrong’s private life and the sacrifice that he, his family, and many Americans made to reach the lunar surface. This year, Todd Douglas Miller has made a documentary that isn’t just an outstanding companion piece, but also one of the decade’s finest documentaries. Continue reading “REVIEW: Apollo 11 (2019 – Documentary)” →

REVIEW: Cold Case Hammarskjöld (2019 – Documentary)

Theatrical Release Poster – Magnolia Pictures / Camera Film

The following is a review of Cold Case Hammarskjöld — Directed by Mads Brügger.

In Mads Brügger’s Cold Case Hammarskjöld, a Danish filmmaker and journalist teams up with Göran Björkdahl from Sweden who has inherited a particular obsession from his father. Björkdahl is obsessed with the mysterious death of Dag Hammarskjöld, the UN General Secretary who died in a plane crash in Northern Rhodesia in 1961. Together, Brügger and Björkdahl hope to uncover what exactly happened to Hammarskjöld by investigating the theory that he was murdered. But, in doing so, Brügger and Björkdahl come upon a complex conspiracy theory about a mysterious paramilitary organization, the so-called South African Institute for Maritime Research (SAIMR), with sinister plans for the continent. Continue reading “REVIEW: Cold Case Hammarskjöld (2019 – Documentary)” →

REVIEW: Game of Thrones: The Last Watch (2019 – Documentary)

Release Poster – HBO

The following is a short review of Game of Thrones: The Last Watch — Directed by Jeanie Finlay.

Jeanie Finlay’s Game of Thrones: The Last Watch is a feature-length documentary released on HBO a week after the series finale of Game of Thrones aired. Though it does show us the last scenes that several pivotal actors appeared in, the documentary is less interested in the cast and creators than you may have thought. Game of Thrones: The Last Watch is, on the other hand, really a documentary about the unsung heroes of the show. These include production designers, extras, and even those who operated the food truck next to the set. Continue reading “REVIEW: Game of Thrones: The Last Watch (2019 – Documentary)” →

REVIEW: God of War: Raising Kratos (2019 – Documentary)

Release Poster – Sony PlayStation

The following is a short review of God of War: Raising Kratos — Directed by Brandon Akiaten.

Brandon Akiaten’s God of War: Raising Kratos is a documentary about the making of the 2018 version of God of War, which is arguably one of the best games of the decade. Dubbed a masterpiece by plenty of video game critics and netting a 94 Metacritic-score, God of War was a critical hit and, later, a fan-favorite. It won new fans and it pleased old ones, and it made the developing studio into a reinvigorated and much more cherished studio than it had ever been before. But the journey to get there was arduous as revealed by Akiaten’s feature-length documentary, which has been released on YouTube by Sony PlayStation. Continue reading “REVIEW: God of War: Raising Kratos (2019 – Documentary)” →

REVIEW: At the Heart of Gold: Inside the USA Gymnastics Scandal (2019 – Documentary)

Release Poster – HBO

The following is a short review of the HBO documentary At the Heart of Gold: Inside the USA Gymnastics Scandal — Directed by Erin Lee Carr.

From the mid-to-late-1990s to the mid-2010s, Dr. Larry Nassar — a husband, and father of three children — worked for USA Gymnastics and Michigan State University as a national team doctor and physician respectively. Nassar was, to many, seen as the nice guy in a sport populated by inhumane coaches. Nassar was, even by victims in this documentary, described as a confidante and friend.

What parents did not realize — and what gymnasts blocked out — was that Nassar was a serial abuser who used his position of power to abuse young women for decades until he was sentenced to between 40 and 175 years in prison in 2018. At the Heart of Gold — Erin Lee Carr’s latest HBO documentary — explores the institutional abuse that allowed for Nassar to exist, and it presents damning and heart-wrenching victim interviews. Continue reading “REVIEW: At the Heart of Gold: Inside the USA Gymnastics Scandal (2019 – Documentary)” →

REVIEW: The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley (2019 – Documentary)

Release Poster – HBO

The following is a review of The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley — Directed by Alex Gibney.

In 2019, we’ve already been given multiple tantalizing tales of young entrepreneurs revealed to be con artists, phoneys, or fraudsters. Call them what you will, but, with the two documentaries about the catastrophic ‘Fyre festival’ and now this documentary about a wannabe-disruptor and con artist in the biomedical industry, I find myself thinking about the loopholes these young people jumped through and how investors were fooled into making them frontmen, leaders, and innovators. In the case of The Inventor, it is not so much about incompetence but more about deception and how investors were deceived into propping up a transfixing, deep-voiced, and intense Stanford drop-out with delusions of grandeur, even as she spouted out incredibly vague descriptions of her grand idea. Continue reading “REVIEW: The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley (2019 – Documentary)” →

REVIEW: Antoine Griezmann: The Making of a Legend (2019 – Documentary)

Release Poster – Netflix

The following is a quick review of Antoine Griezmann: The Making of a Legend — Directed by Alex Dell & Damien Piscarel.

The Making of a Legend is a French one-hour Netflix documentary about a famous French football player named Antoine Griezmann, who, in recent years, has become one of the frontmen for the French national team and a world-class player in Spain. In this documentary, Alex Dell and Damien Piscarel tell you the story of how Griezmann went from being a dismissed French talent to becoming a star player for the French national team that won the World Cup last year. Continue reading “REVIEW: Antoine Griezmann: The Making of a Legend (2019 – Documentary)” →

REVIEW: Waiting for the Punchline (2019 – Documentary)

Poster – Rooster Teeth

The following is a short review of the RT Doc ‘Waiting for the Punchline‘ — Directed by Mat Hames.

Nick Scarpino is a co-founder of the San Francisco-based online entertainment company Kinda Funny. Before he began appearing on-camera during podcasts for Kinda Funny, he was most comfortable behind the scenes as a producer. Having found an audience and a sufficient amount of confidence, Scarpino, in early 2017, revealed to the other members of Kinda Funny that he wanted to try stand-up comedy. This documentary, Mat Hames’ Waiting for the Punchline, details his experience as a San Francisco stand-up who desperately wants a chance to do comedy on the stage of a notable San Francisco comedy club. Continue reading “REVIEW: Waiting for the Punchline (2019 – Documentary)” →

REVIEW: Leaving Neverland (2019 – Documentary)

Release Poster – HBO

The following is a review of Leaving Neverland — Directed by Dan Reed.

The saying goes that where there’s smoke, there’s fire. When it comes to the case of Michael Jackson and everything surrounding him there’s been more smoke than you can safely breathe in. Indeed, Leaving Neverland-director Dan Reed and his film’s subjects would allege that Michael Jackson has been blowing smoke most of his adult life about what exactly goes on inside Jackson’s bedroom or his Neverland-ranch. Continue reading “REVIEW: Leaving Neverland (2019 – Documentary)” →