Category Archives: Documentary

You Don’t Nomi review — Showgirls doc an alternative take on bomb

June 24, 2020 flawintheiris

Directed by Jeffrey McHale | 92 min | On Demand I love the idea of a documentary that reassesses unloved, underappreciated, or cult films, and it's undeniable a cult has grown (if ironically) around Dutch director Paul Verhoeven and screenwriter Joe Esterhaus' famously sleazy disaster, Showgirls. While it's fascinating to look back at 1995, when…Read More

The Booksellers review — For lovers of the printed word

June 22, 2020 flawintheiris

Directed by DW Young | 99 min | At the Carbon Arc Cinema website until July 2 This is a cerebral and very fun documentary about books and those who live through them, especially those in New York. If you choose to take the journey, you'll start at the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair,…Read More

2040 review — “An exercise in fact-based dreaming”

June 7, 2020 flawintheiris

Directed by Damon Gameau | 91 min | On Demand Decentralized power grids with independent solar-source energy. Self driving electric cars. Diverse, multi-species grazing crops. Marine permaculture. Educating girls. These are some of the ideas Australian filmmaker Damon Gameau learns about as he looks for solutions — that already exist — to rescue the world…Read More

The Woman Who Loves Giraffes review — wildlife, social justice documentary

May 26, 2020 flawintheiris

Directed by Alison Reid | 83 min | on Crave, and available through June 4 as a virtual screening at Carbon Arc Cinema What's surprising about this delightful documentary is its split focus: it both celebrates Canadian giraffe expert Dr Anne Innes Dagg for her passion and accomplishments as a giraffe researcher, and takes a…Read More

The Painter and The Thief review — Documentary explores unlikely connections

May 24, 2020 flawintheiris

Directed by Benjamin Ree | 102 min | On Demand A hypnotic film, one where the making-of, behind-the-scenes extras might be as fascinating as the documentary. Barbora Kysilkova is the Czech-born painter, now living with a Norwegian fellow in Oslo. Two of her photo-realistic works are lifted from an exhibition, and when one of the…Read More

Beastie Boys Story review — They don’t front on that

April 29, 2020 flawintheiris

Directed by Spike Jonze | Written by Jonze, Adam Horovitz and Mike Diamond | 119 min | Apple TV A rangy and rambling documentary staged by Jonze, a longtime fan/friend of the Beastie Boys, shot at the Kings Theatre in Brooklyn earlier this month. It's a mix of storytelling and docu-footage, with the two surviving…Read More

National Canadian Film Day 2020

April 22, 2020 flawintheiris

This week I received a press release from Elevation Pictures that reported "Canadian film distribution companies have joined efforts to highlight some incredible Canadian films for audiences to enjoy from the comfort of their own home" This is all to celebrate National Canadian Film Day on Wednesday, April 22. It continues: "Elevation Pictures, eOne, LevelFILM,…Read More

Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and the Band review — Ain’t that a lot of love

April 8, 2020 flawintheiris

Directed by Daniel Roher | 100 min | Crave You know these guys. This is the story of Robbie Robertson, Canadian songwriter and guitarist, and The Band, with which he'll always be associated. It's a lovely film, and includes fascinating interviews and a lot of terrific music. While it reminds us that the five men…Read More

Carbon Arc Cinema Winter 2020 Review

March 30, 2020 flawintheiris

The winter season at Carbon Arc started on February 7 with the Best Commercials of 2019, which was followed by the usual selection of quality international films and documentaries. Regular readers of this blog will know I'm a volunteer and programmer at the cinema. But just as the fall season was interrupted in places by…Read More

There’s Something In The Water review — A history of environmental racism revealed

March 27, 2020 flawintheiris

Directed by Ellen Page and Ian Daniel | 73 min | Netflix Screenings around here sold out in seconds flat, so the interest in this province is high, but I wonder how this film might be received across Canada and elsewhere. If Page's bravery in coming out inside the glare of Hollywood, and her Gaycation…Read More