Documentary Archives

‘Love to Love You, Donna Summer’ is Frustratingly Unfocused (Review)

26May

By Matt ShiverdeckerNo Comments

Features, Film, Reviews

‘Love to Love You, Donna Summer’ is Frustratingly Unfocused (Review)

When Donna Summer went into the studio with Giorgio Moroder in 1974 to record "Love to Love You Baby," she could have never known how much her life would change. The song, first released overseas in the summer of 1975, became one of the most successful and notorious of the disco era. Filled with Summer's orgasmic moaning, the full 16-minute version of the song became a dance floor filler in nightclubs around the world. It marked a shift in Summer's career and she went on to become the "Queen of Disco." Oscar and Emmy-winning director Roger Ross Williams and Summer's daughter Brooklyn Sudano collaborate on this new HBO documentary about her life and career. It's inherently watchable, occasionally fascinating, and frustratingly unfocused. The Verdict There has been a r...

Catch the 13th Annual DOC NYC Festival Virtually

23Nov

By Matt ShiverdeckerNo Comments

Events, Features, Film

Catch the 13th Annual DOC NYC Festival Virtually

DOC NYC has wrapped up its 13th year of in-person screenings, but the virtual edition is running now through Sunday, November 27. For just $125, you can buy an online film pass that will give you access to over 90 feature films and 100 shorts, easily streaming to anybody in the United States. Don't think you can make it through that many movies? No worries! Individual screenings are $12 or you can buy a 5-ticket pack for $45 and a 10-ticket pack for $80. Last year, I opted for a 5-ticket pack, but this year I knew I had more time on my hands and went for the 10-ticket package myself. What to Watch Here are some of the highlights of my viewing over the last week that I recommend you check out: Queen of the Deuce - Chelly Wilson's life from being a young Jew escaping ...

‘Louis Armstrong’s Black & Blues’ is Remarkable Portrait of Jazz Legend (Review)

18Nov

By Matt ShiverdeckerNo Comments

Features, Film, Reviews

‘Louis Armstrong’s Black & Blues’ is Remarkable Portrait of Jazz Legend (Review)

Louis Armstrong was one of the founding fathers of jazz, rising to great prominence despite the obstacles of early fame during segregation. Wayne Shorter narrates this revealing new documentary from Sacha Jenkins ('Bitchin': The Sound and Fury of Rick James'). Nas also adds his voice to narrate sequences as Armstrong. Louis Armstrong in 'Louis Armstrong’s Black & Blues,' now streaming on Apple TV+. Louis Armstrong's life and career is traced back to his early days in New Orleans and follows him to Chicago and, ultimately, New York. The film illustrates how fame did not protect Armstrong from prevalent racism. Armstrong discusses playing sold out shows for white audiences but not being allowed to come in through the main entrance. Fellow New Orleans musician Wynton Marsal...

Dive in to ‘George Carlin’s American Dream’ on HBO (Review)

24May

By Matt ShiverdeckerNo Comments

Features, Film, Reviews

Dive in to ‘George Carlin’s American Dream’ on HBO (Review)

'George Carlin's American Dream' is a new HBO docuseries from directors Judd Apatow and Michael Bonfiglio that chronicles the life and career of one of the greatest comedians of all time. Split into two parts and totalling nearly 4 hours, it pays loving tribute to a comedy legend. He was a man who evolved from a very safe mainstream comedy career in the early 1960s into a controversial comic with prophetic routines. It's fascinating that material he performed decades ago regarding abortion rights have gone viral again in 2022. That's how observant and ahead of the curve he was. https://youtu.be/M-bLf4F0PM4 Breaking Down the Life of a Comedy Legend Apatow and Bonfiglio dissect his life more or less in chronological order. Carlin was interested in comedy and becoming a D...

‘The Andy Warhol Diaries’ Come to Life on Netflix (Review)

8Mar

By Matt ShiverdeckerNo Comments

Features, Film, Reviews

‘The Andy Warhol Diaries’ Come to Life on Netflix (Review)

The promotional tagline for 'The Andy Warhol Diaries' is "the art you know, the artist you don't." Director Andrew Rossi ('Page One: Inside the New York Times') and executive producer Ryan Murphy bring us a six-part docuseries that takes Warhol's own diaries and brings them to life using his own voice. Unlike Morgan Neville who generated controversy last year with the 'Roadrunner' release when it was revealed that his team had used artificial intelligence to manipulate Anthony Bourdain's voice to perfectly narrate the documentary, this project had the full approval of the Warhol Foundation to use a similar technology. Rossi recently told Entertainment Weekly, “To fully appreciate the radical vulnerability that Andy shares in the Diaries, I felt that we needed to hear the words ...

Sundance 2022: ‘Nothing Compares’ (Review)

25Jan

By Matt ShiverdeckerNo Comments

Features, Film, Reviews

Sundance 2022: ‘Nothing Compares’ (Review)

In her documentary feature debut, Irish director Kathryn Ferguson pays tribute to an artist who changed her life. 'Nothing Compares' could have easily been a docuseries and gone into greater depth on the career of Sinead O' Connor, but it focuses mostly on the key years of 1987-1992 when O'Connor experienced an meteoric rise and fall. As O'Connor burst onto the international music scene in 1987 with her ferocious album "The Lion and the Cobra," it was clear that she was a force to be reckoned with. She had already recorded and scrapped the first attempt at making the record, starting over to get things right. The songs on it were the culmination of young life already fraught with internal struggles, doubts, and demons. O'Connor turned it into a surprise hit, with multiple ch...

How to Virtually Attend the Sundance Film Festival 2022

19Jan

By Matt ShiverdeckerNo Comments

Events, Features, Film

How to Virtually Attend the Sundance Film Festival 2022

Despite a plan that included a full in-person event in Park City, Utah, this year, the Sundance Film Festival 2022 has made the push to go fully virtual in response to rising cases of the Omicron variant. The festival begins tomorrow and will run from January 20-30 online. How can you attend one of the biggest film festivals from the comfort of home? We've got a quick rundown of everything you need to know. Tickets: The full festival package has sold out, but there are still plenty of ways to take part in the action. Single Film Tickets for the Sundance Film Festival 2022 are being sold for $20 each. If you choose a Premiere screening to watch, you must stream it during the specified window of time (generally a three hour span). If you choose anything marked as Seco...

The Life and Tragic Death of Adrienne Shelly Examined in New HBO Documentary (Review)

1Dec

By Matt ShiverdeckerNo Comments

Film, Reviews

The Life and Tragic Death of Adrienne Shelly Examined in New HBO Documentary (Review)

There was a moment in the early 90s when it looked like actress Adrienne Shelly would become one of the biggest stars in Hollywood. She burst onto the scene with extraordinary leading roles in two independent films by Hal Hartley. 1989's "The Unbelievable Truth" and 1990's "Trust" were wildly unique and quirky comedies that became minor hits on the arthouse circuit and ended up finding larger audiences thanks to home video. As an actor, she was struggling by the late 90s to be cast in the kinds of movies she was really passionate, so she started to make her own. A 1997 feature called "Sudden Manhattan" is nearly impossible to track down these days, but she made a much bigger splash with what turned out to be her final film. Shelly wrote and directed the 2007 feature "Waitre...

The Life and Career of Julia Child is Chronicled in Tasty New Documentary (Review)

26Nov

By Matt ShiverdeckerNo Comments

Film, Reviews

The Life and Career of Julia Child is Chronicled in Tasty New Documentary (Review)

It's surprising that it has taken so long for a documentary about legendary chef Julia Child to surface. I live in a household where the 2009 film "Julie & Julia" is pure and frequent comfort viewing, so checking this out was a requirement. Filmmakers Betsy West and Julie Cohen earned an Oscar nomination for their film "RBG" and their latest look at a pioneering woman was snapped up quickly by CNN Films and Sony Pictures Classics. Unlike it's subject, this film certainly doesn't break any new ground, but it's a loving and enthusiastic chronicle of a woman who changed the conversation around home cooking in America for decades. Her husband Paul worked for the State Department and was assigned to live in Paris. After having a meal at La Couronne, Child's life was forever chan...

‘Whirlybird’ Offers Intensely Personal Look at L.A. History (Review)

3Aug

By Matt ShiverdeckerNo Comments

Film, Reviews

‘Whirlybird’ Offers Intensely Personal Look at L.A. History (Review)

It's difficult now to imagine a time before the 24-hour news cycle. Breaking news and remote coverage are part of our everyday lives, whether we like it or not. There was a married couple in Los Angeles who were at the forefront of the shift in news coverage starting in the mid-80s. Robert Tur and his then-wife Marika Gerrard launched Los Angeles News Service as stringers. They would literally chase police scanners and drive around the city looking to be the first video crew on the scene to film footage to sell to local news stations. Frustrated with how hard it was to cover the city by automobile, they bought a helicopter and really upped their game. By flying over the city, they were able to more quickly capture news as it happened and proved to be so indispensable that they...