Disney, owner of everything, has just announced the streaming service it essentially bought Fox to create--and it will include everything ever. The amount of content Disney will have on offer is staggering and brings the fight straight to N...
The Travel Channel is snapping up our horror icons one-by-one and enlisting them for spooky documentary shows, and oh how I wish I still had cable. What package do you even need to get the Travel Channel? Probably an expensive one. Followin...
I feel incredibly fortunate to have been able to attend a select theatrical screening of the Israeli film Trip of Compassion, both from a psychological point of view and as a critic attempting to make objective sense of the deep humanitaria...
America’s national pastime was in a tight spot in the late nineties. Coming off a strike during the 1994-95 season, attendance and viewership were low and Major League Baseball was concerned. Then, like a couple of caped avengers swoo...
Here comes a chasing-the-trend twofer! Discovery Channel chief David Zaslav has announced that the documentary programing network will be launching its own streaming service (of course) and that they've teamed with the BBC to bring its Natu...
Johnny Cash’s impact on music is undeniable. With his stern voice and lyrics reflecting blue-collar life, Cash found a way to blend folk into country, country into pop, and pop into rock. The man felt as comfortable singing in&nb...
The 40th president of the United States, Ronald Reagan, a one-time actor of some repute, died on June 5, 2004. Not surprisingly, the event dominated the news cycle for some days afterward. It also cut short a story that out of Granby, ...
At some point in our lives, we’ve aspired to be our heroes. I can’t tell you how many times while playing backyard baseball I’d turn my hat backward and take a long, swooping swing a la Ken Griffey Jr. But no matter how ma...
Some people’s mothers are made for TV, might be the takeaway from Casey Pinkston and Luke Dick’s docu-dramedy Red Dog. Much like the infamous Twitter feed-turned-books-turned-Shatner-sitcom Shit My Dad Says proved...
There’s a moment when you first see a work of art that you consider the individual behind it: how did they even conceive of this project, let alone execute it? What was their inspiration? What was their thought process, by Jove! Somet...
Who Let the Dogs Out is an hour-long documentary, and yet it feels just as powerful as any longer counterpart. Well, powerful isn't the right word. There's nothing powerful about one man's obsessive dive into the history of one-hit-won...
I’ve spoken highly of all the films I’ve been fortunate enough to see over the course of the last five days at SXSW, and The River and the Wall was definitely among them. It has -- repeat, has -- to be seen on the big scre...
For Sama is the story of the Syrian uprising and civil war, told through the point of view of Waad al Kateab. Her motivation for making the film is her daughter, Sama — a beautiful wide-eyed girl who has been born at such a tumultuo...
Woodsrider, a documentary from Uncork’d Entertainment bills itself as a “season of adventure and self-discovery.” This is true, in so far as I, through the self-discovery of watching have learned to another degree, more or...
“If I talk about it, it gets better” That’s what Conrad Roy III said about his social anxiety. Speaking to his computer in a self-prescribed therapy session, Roy laid his feelings bare. At the age of 18, he had deep suicid...
I was in the wrong damn theater. Despite having checked with the SXSW volunteer at the door I was in the wrong theater. The realization hit me the moment they started introducing the film. Dramatic and powerful didn't sound like words you'd...
Filmed over the course of nine years in Yellow Knife, Canada, Salvage is a straight forward presentation of a difficult documentary, which is something, considering its runtime is under an hour. Director Amy Elliott was motivated ...
Welcome one and all to Flixist's new end of the year awards program, the Golden Cages! With Hollywood becoming increasingly out of touch with what the people like, we at Flixist have taken it upon ourselves to deliver the fair, balance...
The Sundance Film Festival can bring so many things. So many feelings, so many lessons, and so much knowledge. The knowledge part is most prevalent in the deep slate of documentaries the festival offers each year. Many of the greatest docum...
Capernaum made me think that we’re so privileged in the West: there are so many cultures in the world that haven’t had the safety and security -- on a national, local and personal level -- that many of us have experienced. ...
The Fyre Festival was billed as a massive luxury music fest, sort of like Coachella for even bigger trust fund jerks. Organized by Billy McFarland and Ja Rule, attendees were promised white sands, crystalline waters, extravagant accommodati...
Undoubtedly there have been a whole host of brilliant films in 2018 - and several completely terrible ones which I wish I could scratch out of my memory forever yet continue to haunt my dreams. I'm looking at you, Wonder Wheel (more li...
Coinciding with the centenary of the Great War, I think it’s safe to say that this documentary is a once in a lifetime achievement, and Peter Jackson does not disappoint. The result of hundreds of hours of research in conjunction wi...
A few months back, my friend and I went to see a collection of war footage accompanied live by a BBC musician, and I don’t exaggerate: the effect was magical. With dynamic sound effects and voiceovers, the images were brought to lif...
It’s been a great year for climbing films. Where The Dawn Wall left off, with climbing megastars Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson free climbing the previously unclimbed route of El Capitan in Yosemite, Free Solo c...
"One Man's Historical, 102 Year Journey and a Legacy of Mental Health" The incredible true story of Bill Coors the Coors Brewery titan comes to life in the new documentary, Bill Coors: The Will To Live. After recently celebrating his incre...
If I didn't have a strong view of whales before, I do now. A Whale of a Tale is a documentary feature representing the controversy surrounding Japanese whaling traditions in the small, rural town of Taiji, and it gave me a lot of confl...
LeBron James is a generational talent, one that portends heated Twitter debates revolving around The Greatest of All Time. There's no denying his skill and talent, and he's been consistently great since the early stages of his career. Now a...
“Entrepreneur” only begins to describe the life and career of Robert “Bobbito” Garcia. At 50 years old, he’s experienced stints at jobs that people strive for most of their working lives. His life and work ex...
National Geographic is putting out a documentary show, in which famed thespian Jeff Goldblum learns the complex nature of seemingly ordinary things in our every day life. This is a show that none of us said we needed out loud, yet all of ou...
I watch maybe one documentary a year. Most often the only ones that grip me are explorations of extreme people. Films like Finders Keepers and Shut up Little Man are standouts, showing just how strange and repulsive human behavior can be. T...
One of the world’s biggest athletes just got done carrying his team into the NBA finals for his eighth (8!) straight finals appearance against one of the most dominant teams in the long history of the NBA. With the season at an end, L...
Nearly a year after the failed Fyre Festival experiment, Hulu has announced they will be releasing a docuseries surrounding the event and its continuing fallout. The promise of world renown acts combined with the beauty of the Exumas was ...
One night in 1993 Lorena Bobbitt's husband came home, raped her, then went to sleep. In the ultimate act of defiant revenge, Lorena grabbed a knife and--while he was still asleep--cut off his manhood. As if that wasn't enough, she got in he...
If The Wolf of Wall Street taught us anything, it's that wanting to get everything in the world plus everything else is really healthy, and we need to look up to the people who destroy others in order to achieve these goals. Or at least tha...
A documentary about teenagers using Instagram is probably not at the top of your must-see films list, even if you yourself are a teenager. Disclaimer: I am not a teenager. However, I do use Instagram. Almost entirely to take pictures of wha...
Before outlining the merits of The Dawn Wall, of which there are many, I urge you to pursue seeing this on the big screen. Yosemite is of in itself an experience more real and immersive than most. Viewing two men attempt to climb its 3,000 ...
I'm not sure you can understate what Mr. Rogers meant for generations of children. The man was prolific not just in educating, but in understanding children and the power of the growing medium that was television. The new documentary Won't ...
When I sat down to watch Ramen Heads, based on the trailer and synopsis, I was anticipating a documentary on a famous ramen chef and his technique and philosophy akin to Jiro Dreams of Sushi. What I got was...half that. It mostly focus...
In many ways a two-man collaboration between filmmaker Jeremy Workman and subject Matt Green, The World Before Your Feet is an understated documentary that details Green's efforts to walk every street in New York City's five boroughs. ...
