NEWS OF THE WORLD is a somber and sober tale of post-Civil War Texas with few surprises as it wends its way through the mythos of the Old West, unfolding as it does as a metaphor. Or is it an allegory? Perhaps a microcosm of the world’s ills, both then and now? All those elements… Read More »
J.R. ‘BOB’ DOBBS AND THE CHURCH OF THE SUBGENIUS
Though J.R. ‘BOB’ DOBBS AND THE CHURCH OF THE SUBGENIUS throws in that now infamous quote from L. Ron Hubbard, the one about how the real money is in starting a religion not writing science fiction, this (mostly) playful, always thoughtful documentary is an unusual cautionary tale, but not for the usual reasons. Yes, it’s… Read More »
BOYS STATE
As some of us still ponder the results of the presidential election of 2016, and view the approach of the 2020 election with trepidation, there is no more timely nor illuminating film than Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss’ cinema verité documentary, BOY’S STATE.
TRIAL BY FIRE — Ed Zwick Interview
Click here to listen to the interview. A film like TRIAL BY FIRE provokes a host of questions about the justice system and the ethics of capital punishment. When I spoke with Ed Zwick on April 15, 2019, those inevitably came up as we discussed adapting the true story of Cameron Todd Willingham’s murder conviction, and… Read More »
Eddie Rosenstein Celebrates the FREEDOM TO MARRY
When I spoke to Eddie Rosenstein by phone on June 22, 2016, the first thing I wanted him to discuss was how important it was to remember the decades-long struggle for marriage equality. We went on to talk about his personal connection to one his subjects, Evan Wolfson, of the Freedom to Marry Coalition, and… Read More »
THE BLIND SIDE
THE BLIND SIDE takes what in lesser hands would have been a prime example of the hopelessly hackneyed and saccharine sub-genre of holiday feel-good flick, sports division, and, instead, makes of this uplifting true story a refreshingly sober film that brings good and surprisingly wholesome good cheer. The true story is of how Michael Oher… Read More »
HELL HOUSE – DVD
HELL HOUSE is one of the scariest documentaries you will ever see. In it, fundamentalists with what they consider to be the purest of motives, put on a Halloween house in which scenarios are staged depicting violence that is intensely disturbing both emotionally and graphically. Its all meant to convert the unsaved by demonstrating a… Read More »
Herzog, Werner — INTO THE ABYSS
Ordinarily I edit out the the sound of a phone ringing during an interview, but there was something about the way Werner Herzog responded to it when it happened during our talk on November 5, 2011, that it seemed wrong not to include it. The film we were discussing was his documentary, INTO THE ABYSS,… Read More »
Richard Linklater Would Like You To Meet BERNIE
Richard Linklater makes films that are as varied as they are piquantly challenging. With BERNIE, based on a true story, he considers a good and universally beloved man who does a bad thing to a spiteful and universally despised woman. When I spoke to him on April 20, 2012, the whole idea of justice and… Read More »
George Ratliff Guides Us Through HELL HOUSE
George Ratliff’s documentary, HELL HOUSE, chronicles the building of a Halloween house that doesn’t purvey ghouls, werewolves, or vampires. Instead, this brainchild of the sincere folks of Trinity Church in Texas use the concept of a Halloween fright fest to convert the unsaved to their brand of fundamentalism. A fundamentalism in which abortion, raves, and Harry Potter are presented as… Read More »