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DOCS-A-POPPIN' 10.31.08 | "Dear Zachary," "Monks," The Matador" & "The First Basket"

[Mark Rabinowitz] Four docs opened in New York City this week, Kurt Kuenne's "Dear Zachary," Dietmar Post and Lucia Palacios' "Monks: "The Transatlantic Feedback," Stephen Higgins and Nina Gilden Seavey's "The Matador" and David Vyorst's "The First Basket."


Of the four docs opening this week ("The First Basket" opened on Wednesday, the 29th) "Dear Zachary" is receiving the most attention, due to both its long festival play before release and of course, its gripping subject matter. The film's getting strong reviews as well, picking up a 73 on Metacritic.com and a whopping 100% positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. In The Village Voice, Martin Tsai writes: "A true-crime story so gripping, devastating, and ultimately unforgettable that it easily trumps any thriller Hollywood has to offer this year."

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DOCS-A-POPPIN' 10.24.08 | Zidane, Haring, Gay Marriage, Soviets, Israelis & Palestinians and a Plane Crash!

[Mark Rabinowitz] No fewer than six docs opened in New York this week, five of them today and one, "Stranded: I've Come From a Plane That Crashed on the Mountains" on Wednesday the 22nd. I'm tempted to lower that to 5 and 4, but the New York Times decided to review Amos Gitai's "News From Home/News From House" even though it's screening as part of a Museum of Modern Art exhibition and not in a "traditional" theatrical release. But really, who am I to argue with the Old Gray Lady?

First on my list, if for no other reason than because I think it's a fantastic film is Douglas Gordon and Philippe Parreno's "Zidane: A Twenty-First Century Portrait" which received a very unfair (IMHO) 53%, on Rotten Tomatoes and hasn't been ranked yet by Metacritic.com.

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DOCS-A-POPPIN' 10.17.08 | "Frontrunners," "Bigfoot," "Who Does She Think She Is" & "Morning Light"

[Mark Rabinowitz] Four films open this week, one of them on Wednesday, three of them today and 75% of them seem to be getting generally positive reviews, with Mark Monroe's Disney release "Morning Light" the odd one out. Only two of the films were even included on Metacritic.com as of this posting. Let's get to 'em, shall we?

First up is Caroline Suh's Oscilloscope release "Frontrunners" which opened on Wednesday to generally favorable reviews. It's managed an 80% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 67 on Metacritic.com. I really enjoyed this film and it has a seriously rocking soundtrack, featuring the likes of Of Montreal, The Oranges Band, Mogwai and The M's, among others.
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DOCS-A-POPPIN' 9.12.08 | "Flow" & "Moving Midway"

[Mark Rabinowitz] Two acclaimed docs are opening this weekend and, like most theatrically released documentaries these days, will gradually expand to cities around the country in the coming weeks and hopefully, months. Oscilloscope's "Flow: For Love of Water" by Irena Salina kicks off in NY and LA today with a series of special guests and panel discussions in both cities. The film's doing decetly with critics so far, rating 77% positive on Rotten Tomatoes and a 65 on Meta Critic. indieWIRE ran a review of "Flow" earlier this week.
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The other NY/LA opening this weekend is Godfrey Cheshire's "Moving Midway," a First Run Features release. This one's faring significantly better with the crix sites so far, rating an 86% and a 78, respectively. Like "Flow," "Moving Midway" will be expanding playdates over the coming weeks.
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On an expansion note, Magnolia's "Man on Wire" expands to 94 screens today (+2) and is expected to top $2,000,000 over the weekend.
photo ©Lissa Gotwals



DOCS-A-POPPIN' 8.22.08 | National Debt, Hurricane Katrina, Civil Rights and Richard Serra

[Peter Knegt] Mark's off to Denver, so I'm gonna do my best to fill in re: this weekend's doc offerings. Debuting on 18 screens, the highest profile release is certainly Patrick Creadon's national debt expose, "I.O.U.S.A.." The film is managing decent reviews, with a 69 on Metacritic and an 83% on Rotten Tomatoes. Some critics in particular were all over it, like Roger Ebert, who said that the film "accomplishes an amazing thing" in that it "explains the national debt, the foreign trade deficit, the decrease in personal savings, how the prime interest rate works, and the weakness of our leaders." SF Gate ran a non-critical piece on the film, looking into its interesting evolution.

Another freshman doc this is weekend is Tia Lessin and Carl Deal's Sundance winner "Trouble the Water." Opening at the IFC Center and ImageNation at The Faison Firehouse Theater in New York and the Regal Westpark 8 and Sunset 5 in the Los Angeles area, the film is garnering expected praise. It has a 78 on Metacritic and an 93% on Rotten Tomatoes. indieWIRE reviewed the film earlier this week, nothing that "Water" is "full of revealing moments and painfully experienced truths."

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DOCS-A-POPPIN' 8.15.08 | Lindsay Anderson, Albert Wagner, Anita O'Day and a Hit Man

[Mark Rabinowitz] After a string of rather high profile doc releases, this week is relatively quiet but that doesn't mean it's short on quality. It does, however, mean that there's little or no mass critical response for me to link to. "Never Apologize: A Personal Visit With Lindsay Anderson" is Mike Kaplan's film of Malcolm McDowell's one man performance and it gets some good word from Jeannette Catsoulis at the New York Times, calling McDowell "thoroughly engaging" and while I haven't seen the film, I now want to. It opens today at the Walter Reade Theater in New York.

Nathan Lee is short and to the point in his review of Thomas G. Miller's "One Bad Cat: The Reverend Albert Wagner Story," writing that the film "brings fresh light to the artist profile not only through his choice of subject, but also by his direct confrontation with the discomforting nature of Mr. Wagner's work...."
Again, a doc I shamefully missed on the festival circuit that I wish I'd seen. It opens today at the IFC Center in New York.

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DOCS-A-POPPIN' 8.8.08 | Losers, Monks & A Rocker

[Mark Rabinowitz] Amid all the hue and cry about diminishing theatrical opportunities for docs (and I have been doing some of the hueing and crying) it seems that filmmakers and distributors large(ish) and small are still clamoring for screen space with three docs opening this week in New York City and two more next week.

The film garnering the most attention in the press is Aaron Rose and Justin Leonard's "Beautiful Losers" (Sidetrack Films), which opens today at the IFC Center. The film's currently rated a 55 on Metacritic and a 60% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Also opening today is Makoto Sasa's "Fire Under the Snow," about Tibetan monk Palden Gyatso, who was tortured in Chinese prisons and upon his release after 33 years protested the Beijing Olympics through hunger strike. The Olympics start today. Nice timing! As this film is part of NYC Docuweek, there's no Metacritic or Rotten Tomatoes ratings on this film and oddly, no New York Times review, but they did run a feature on the film on July 6th.

Rounding out the week's offerings is Wednesday's opening, Steven Sebring's Palm Pictures release "Patti Smith: Dream of Life," which is screening at Film Forum (66, 61%).

In expansion news, Magnolia release "Man on Wire" is on many more screens this week while "The Order of Myths" opens at the Nuart in Los Angeles. I'm sure Paramount Vantage's "American Teen" is opening wider, but I can't tell you where because their website doesn't have that info.



DOCS-A-POPPIN' 8.1.08 | America x2; Teen And Myth Expand, Wire Crix Pics Up

[Mark Rabinowitz] A couple of films with "America" in their titles opened today to somewhat less than positive critical response. Yesterday I quoted a negative reverse shot review of Darryl Roberts' "America the Beautiful" and today Dorothy Fadiman's "Stealing America: Vote By Vote" doesn't fare much better. The film's not rated on Metacritic, but received a tepid 50% on Rotten Tomatoes, wtth the New York Times' Nathan Lee calling it "shoddy and dull." I'll be seeing it this weekend, so I'll let you know what I think. Both films are opening today in New York City.

Roberts' film, however, splits the critics, picking up a paltry 39 on Metacritic but a robust 73% on Tomatoes. To give you an idea of the split, The New York Times Jeanette Catsoulis calls the film "Clueless, directionless and altogether pointless," while Roger Ebert writes that the film "carries a persuasive message, and is all the more effective because of the level tone that Roberts adopts."

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DOCS-A-POPPIN' 7.25.08 | Teen; Wire; Myths & CSNY

[Mark Rabinowitz] NOTE: As Docsider grows, we'll be experimenting with features (both regular and occasional) and design. Feel free to let us know what you think about the blog by emailing us at editors AT docsider DOT com

On occasion in NYC, three highly touted films all open on the same weekend, creating somewhat of a glut of quality non-fiction films. As documentary fans, it's your duty to have a non-fiction smorgasbord, I think. (And in that other post of his that I mentioned, AJ Schnack concurs.) Last year the "glut" release patters didn't bode well and considering how hard it is for docs to get any play at all, I am not holding my breath this week either but if we don't champion our own, who will? With all the Sturm und Drang in the doc world these days, we can use the help. If we go and see these films in theaters in NYC and then tell our friends and relatives around the country to do the same, maybe...just maybe some of these noteworthy films will break out. It's a lot like voting. If you don't vote, you lose your right to complain. If you don't see these films and tell others to seem them...well, you get my point.

"American Teen" (61 metacritic, 68% Rotten Tomatoes) dir. Nanette Burstein, Paramount Vantage, Opening at: Sunshine theater-NYC and the Hollywood and Sherman Oaks Arclight Cinemas in the LA area. Awards: Sundance 2008 documentary directing award.

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"American Teen" & "Seventeen": What Are Your Thoughts?

[Mark Rabinowitz] Over on indieWIRE's interview with "American Teen" director Nanette Burstein, the comments are more about Jeff Kreines and Joel DeMott’s 1982 verite doc "Seventeen" than they are about Burstein's film. I suspect this will change once the latter hits screens tomorrow, but for now, the earlier film's getting some notice and I'll admit, I've never seen it. However, after reading the comments on indieWIRE and finding this piece (warning: Spoilers!) from SF 360 back in August of '06, I am anxious to see both films!

What do you think? For those of you who have seen both, what are the differences? Similarities? Are they both valid? If not, why not?



Loooooouuuuuuuu! Reed To Do Q&A At Film Forum

[Mark Rabinowitz] The Legendary Lou Reed will do a Q&A at Film Forum in New York City on Monday, July 28th, following the 8:15pm show of Julian Schnabel's film "Lou Reed's Berlin." The film's been getting terrific reviews and topped the Dox Office this past weekend.

Get yer tickets here!



Opening Today: Lou Reed's Berlin; Many More Top-Notch Docs In Release

[Mark Rabinowitz]Well, it's a pretty thin weekend at the box office for new releases this week, with only Julian Schnabel's Lou Reed's Berlin opening in two theaters. The film's getting pretty favorable reviews, averaging a 76 on Metacritic.com and a 75 on Rotten Tomatoes and David Hudson does a nice job summarizing critical response over at Green Cine Daily.

But what about me! What do I think? I confess to not having seen it. To be honest, as a live act, Lou Reed bores me to death. Don't get me wrong, I love a lot of the guy's music but live? Pass. That said, I might have to give this one a look see, as some of these write ups make me think I might just like it!

While there aren't any other docs opening this week, there are certainly some exceptional films in theaters this weekend, most notably (for me, anyway) are Wener Herzog's exquisitely beautiful Encounters at the End of the World (ThinkFilm, 81 & a whopping 94!) and Guy Maddin's doc-fantasy hybrid, IFC Films release My Winnipeg (85 and 96, my Rabbi Report review, here). Both are beautiful and meditative, but in completely different ways and both are absolute must-sees. I've seen the Maddin twice and plan on multiple viewings of Encounters, as well.

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