Category Archives: Documentary

I Used To Go Here review — Diverting dramedy goes back to college

January 10, 2021 flawintheiris

Written and Directed by Kris Rey | 80 min | On Demand Is 35 years old too young for a midlife crisis? To be fair, maybe what Kate Conklin (Gillian Jacobs) is going through is a different kind of crisis. The Chicago native just had her first novel published, called Seasons Passed, but it's not…Read More

The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend A Broken Heart review

December 31, 2020 flawintheiris

Directed by Frank Marshall | Written by Mark Monroe | 111 min | Crave Plus An entertaining and insightful doc on the lives and careers of the brothers Gibb — Barry, Maurice, and Robin, as well as younger brother Andy, who had a solo career and performed with his brothers. The Aussie pop stars are…Read More

Mayor review — A street-level perspective of the Palestinian-Israeli problem

December 7, 2020 flawintheiris

Directed by David Osit | 89 min | Screen at Carbon Arc Cinema until December 17 American filmmaker Osit's film is a tragicomic look at municipal politics in the West Bank town of Ramallah, through the work of its mayor — Musa Hadid, a Christian, who we meet at the start of his second term…Read More

The New Corporation: The Unfortunately Necessary Sequel review

November 13, 2020 flawintheiris

Directed by Jennifer Abbott and Joel Bakan | 105 min | In Cinemas This documentary screened at the FIN International Film Festival and the Lunenburg Doc Fest and is now in cinemas. This is my festival review, slightly edited. The Corporation (2003) was a left-leaning, eye-opening documentary that explored the idea of corporations having all…Read More

Oliver Sacks: His Own Life review — Empathy and patients

November 10, 2020 flawintheiris

Directed by Ric Burns | 114 min When an individual rises to the top of their field, writes a lot of books and even has a movie made from one of them, it's hard to imagine it wasn't somehow preordained. Wasn't this renowned figure always there, fully formed? Their brilliance must have made it all…Read More

I Am Greta review — Portrait of the Swedish climate crisis activist

October 16, 2020 flawintheiris

Directed by Nathan Grossman | Story editing by Olof Berglind, based on an idea by Peter Modestij | 98 min | Crave Plus Greta Thunberg says she doesn't want to be one of those people who says one thing and does something else. She sees enough of that in the politicians who claim to care…Read More

Rare Bird Alert review — Birdwatching doc a lot of feathery fun

October 3, 2020 flawintheiris

Directed by Michael Melski | 43 min | CBC Gem Nova Scotia filmmaker Michael Melski returns to the documentary form after the creepfest The Child Remains with this look at hardcore birders across Canada and into the United States. It's an enthusiastic exploration and endorsement of birdwatching through its most eager purveyors, reminding us some of…Read More

#LDF2020 Review — iHuman

September 28, 2020 flawintheiris

Directed by Tonje Hessen Schei | 99 min This is a very bleak look at our possible fate given the rapid development of artificial intelligence. This documentary travels the planet, speaking to scientists and researchers on a future that could be amazing — AI could solve a lot of our problems — but, according to…Read More

#LDF2020 Review — The New Corporation: The Unfortunately Necessary Sequel

September 26, 2020 flawintheiris

The Lunenburg Doc Fest is underway — all online, of course — and I'll be posting about what I see with the hashtag #LDF2020. Directed by Jennifer Abbott and Joel Bakan | 105 min The Corporation (2003) was an left-leaning, eye-opening documentary that explored the idea of corporations having all the rights of the individual.…Read More

#FIN2020 Doc Reviews: No Ordinary Man, There’s No Place Like This Place, Anyplace, Jimmy Carter: Rock and Roll President

September 22, 2020 flawintheiris

No Ordinary Man In their documentary investigation into the late jazz musician Billy Tipton, Aisling Chin-Yee and Chase Joynt have brought a strikingly compassionate examination of what it means to be trans. The film examines the legacy of jazz musician Billy Tipton — he was someone who hid his biological gender. The film also explores…Read More