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Tag: focus features

Edgar Wright’s Fandom Pays Off in “The Sparks Brothers” (Review)
Film, Music, Reviews

Edgar Wright’s Fandom Pays Off in “The Sparks Brothers” (Review)

First things first: you don't need to be familiar with the band Sparks to have a great time with Edgar Wright's fantastic new documentary. Before watching it, the extent of my musical knowledge about them came from enjoying their 1983 single "Cool Places," a duet with Jane Wiedlin of the Go-Go's. Hell, I didn't even know they were brothers or from America. https://youtu.be/WNKIba_yZJo Ron and Russell Mael have been making music together since the late 1960s and have bounced around to so many different record labels over the decades, but never found much chart success here in the U.S. They have been decidedly more successful in Europe, although still experienced a wide range of highs and lows when it has come to critical reception and sales. British filmmaker Edgar Wright (...
Tribeca 2021: “Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain” (Review)
Film, Reviews

Tribeca 2021: “Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain” (Review)

Anthony Bourdain rose to fame after his bestselling book "Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly" was released in 2000. By that point, he had already spent over two decades working in restaurants all over New York City. As a celebrity chef he was reluctant, but it did open the door to opportunities he previously could have only dreamed of. News of his death by suicide in early June of 2018 was simply shocking and still hard to fathom. No matter how famous or how rich you become, addiction and depression can feel insurmountable. Director Morgan Neville ("20 Feet From Stardom," "Won't You Be My Neighbor?") never had a chance to meet Bourdain. When this project was conceived, the one thing that made it simultaneously easy and overwhelming to tackle was the fac...