This year over 13 million kids will be subjected to bullying in one form or another. The problem has increased in magnitude with the advent of social media, allowing kids to attack one another from behind a keyboard or phone. Lee Hirsch tackles the hot button issue in his new documentary, Bully. It follows...
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I’m a Bob Marley fan, but I wasn’t ready for a two-and-a-half-hour documentary on the guy. I liked director Kevin MacDonald’s other stuff, particularly The Last King of Scotland and Life in a Day, but, again, two-and-a-half hours. And while the time doesn’t fly by, it does hold your interest. There’s the standard talking...
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This extraordinary documentary by German filmmaker Wim Wenders (justly nominated for an Academy Award) on the choreographer Pina Bausch, his countryman, near-contemporary and fellow visionary, was a long time in coming. An artistic collaboration had been planned for some time but in an instance of epic bad timing, Bausch died just two days before...
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While it’s possible you’ve never heard of Fishbone, chances are at least one of your favorite bands have. This African American band that formed in a South Central L.A. junior high school in 1979 could easily be classified as punk, funk, ska or a number of other things. The band lacks the ease of...
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Take one look at Bob Forrest and it becomes obvious that this guy has a story. His shaggy hair, thick rimmed glasses, pitted skin and twinkle in his eye show a man with an individuality, kindness and passion that can only come from an acquired wisdom. He’s the type of guy I dream of...
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Comic-Con Episode Four: A Fan’s Hope Directed by Morgan Spurlock Written by Morgan Spurlock, Joss Whedon, Jeremy Chilnook Starring Skip Harvey, Eric Henson, Chuck Rozanski, James Darling, Se Young Kang Fantastic Fest 2011 featured Morgan Spurlock’s new documentary Comic-Con Episode Four: A Fan’s Hope as one of its closing night films. It seems like...
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Not just for those of us who treasure The New York Times, nor for you others who loathe it, but for anyone who cares about the existence of the free press and its role in a democratic world, Page One: Inside the New York Times, is a must-see. Unless you’ve been drifting at sea for...
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My initial feeling upon leaving Project Nim was something akin to Werner Herzog’s closing monologue in Grizzly Man—I felt nothing for the animal. While others looked into Nim’s eyes and saw flickers of humanity, depth, tenderness, all I could see was its cold instinct. Every hug was punctuated by either a vicious bite or...
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The Last Mountain of the title refers to Coal River Mountain, an area in West Virginia being mined by the Massey Energy company. Massey has a long history of violations, as the villagers below are quick to point out—creating lakes of toxic goo that threaten to pollute the waterways of West Virginia and other...
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Conan O’Brien Can’t Stop follows the comedian on his Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television Tour (that’s a mouthful to type), better known as the thing Conan O’Brien did after the NBC fiasco that left him without a television show. He’s bitter, but the film doesn’t dwell on the controversy; instead its aim...
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