Lindsey Vonn: The Final Season

Lindsey Vonn: The Final Season is a documentary that profiles greatest female skier during her final season in the sport. She entered the season with a goal of 87 World Cup victories but because of injuries, she finished with 82. It’s nothing to complain about because Vonn currently holds the women’s record in skiing. One can only imagine that she would have finished with north of 90 victories if she didn’t miss much of the…

"Lindsey Vonn: The Final Season"

The Weight of Gold: The Olympics and Mental Health

The Weight of Gold is a documentary that seeks to explore Olympic athletes and what going for gold means for their mental health. When the film premiered in July 2020, it came at a time when we should have been watching athletes compete in Tokyo. However, the pandemic meant delaying the games until the following summer. The film brought mental health into the conversation just one year before the same subject would dominate the Summer…

"The Weight of Gold: The Olympics and Mental Health"

Listening to Kenny G – Toronto 2021

Penny Lane is back with her newest documentary, Listening to Kenny G, which goes into why he’s such a polarizing jazz musician. Lane interviews a number of jazz artists and critics in hopes of getting to the bottom of finding out why Kenny G is so polarizing. She makes sure we here from a wide variety of people. You either like him or don’t. And for some, he’s not representative of what real jazz is–sound…

"Listening to Kenny G – Toronto 2021"

Oslo: HBO Movie Keeps Close To Theatrical Roots

Oslo, the new film premiering on HBO and streaming on HBO Max, keeps close to its theatrical roots in revisiting the 1993 Oslo Peace Accords. Listen, I’m not going to inject my opinion into this film. We all know how things have and haven’t changed since the accords. The timing is certainly a coincidence. Production was announced in November and dated on the schedule at the end of April. This is not a case of…

"Oslo: HBO Movie Keeps Close To Theatrical Roots"

The Day Sports Stood Still And The Covid-19 Impact

The Day Sports Stood Still flashes back to a Wednesday night last March when every sports season effectively ended or was delayed. There are numerous people interviewed throughout this film. Chris Paul might be the main focus but everyone here has their own story to tell. Chris Paul was on the floor when the Oklahoma City Thunder took on the Utah Jazz. This was the first NBA game to come to a premature end during…

"The Day Sports Stood Still And The Covid-19 Impact"

Sundance 2021: Street Gang

Street Gang: How We Got To Sesame Street is a nostalgic look at the beginnings of one of the most iconic children’s TV program. It’s honestly surprising the Sesame Street story has not been told before as a documentary.  What we get in the film’s run time barely touches the surface.  I’m not saying that this is a bad thing because it certainly is not.  What I am saying is that there is so much…

"Sundance 2021: Street Gang"

The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart

The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart, directed by Frank Marshall, is a career-spanning documentary on the Gibb brothers. Over 1,000 songs. Twenty #1 hits. Barry Gibb appears in new revelatory interviews but Robin and Maurice Gibb only appear in archival footage.  The film makes great use of the archives including footage from recording sessions, concerts, television appearances, and home videos.  This is in addition to interviews with other musicians and record…

"The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart"

537 Votes Reminds You Why Every Vote Matters

What 537 Votes does is revisit the 2000 Election and in doing so, audiences get to relive the trauma that came with all the chads. Al Gore won Florida.  No, wait a minute, George W. Bush won Florida.  Well, I guess it means time for Gore to concede the election.  The dreaded words: TOO CLOSE TO CALL!  So much for Gore’s concession, we’re going to recount the ballots!  Gore brings in former Secretary of State…

"537 Votes Reminds You Why Every Vote Matters"

Bad Education Available On Blu-ray

Hugh Jackman turns in a career performance as a superintendent in Bad Education and the film is now available on Blu-ray. My original film review from the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival: Bad Education features a star-studded cast and tells the incredible true story about what transpired in a prestigious Long Island school district. When Hilltop Beacon reporter Rachel Bhargava (Geraldine Viswanathan) looks into some expense reports for an upcoming Roslyn School District project, she…

"Bad Education Available On Blu-ray"

Toronto 2020: David Byrne’s American Utopia

David Byrne’s American Utopia is an absolute joy to watch no matter how familiar you are with Byrne or the Talking Heads. Before I go any further with my review, please make sure to watch the concert film to the very end. Thanks to the joys of technology, it took three attempts to watch this concert film.  After crashing twice on Thursday morning, I decided to make another attempt in the evening.  Rather than continue…

"Toronto 2020: David Byrne’s American Utopia"