Tag Archives: documentaries

“Janis: Little Girl Blue”

Posted on January 17, 2016 by Paleo Retiree

Paleo Retiree writes: Even though my wife and I have watched a few other docs about Janis Joplin — many of the sources, interviewees and anecdotes here were awfully familiar to us — we still enjoyed this new one, directed by Amy … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies, Music, Performers | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Burning Burns

Posted on December 26, 2015 by Fabrizio del Wrongo

Fabrizio del Wrongo writes: Listening to Meryl Streep impersonate the persnickety, dying-quail voice of Eleanor Roosevelt in Ken Burns’ “The Roosevelts: An Intimate History,” you get the sense that this is the role she’s been waiting to play since she … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Movies | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Notes on “Always for Pleasure”

Posted on March 15, 2015 by Fabrizio del Wrongo

Fabrizio del Wrongo writes: This Les Blank documentary, focused on the Mardi Gras traditions of New Orleans, is a zesty and clamorous memento mori, but it’s also a vision of America (and life) that in its breadth, color, and immediacy … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies, Music | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Now Streaming on Netflix

Posted on November 19, 2014 by Blowhard, Esq.

Blowhard, Esq. writes: The documentary LOS ANGELES PLAYS ITSELF, which I wrote about here, is now available on Netflix Instant.

Posted in Architecture, Movies | Tagged , | Leave a comment

“The Human Scale” (2012)

Posted on October 27, 2014 by Blowhard, Esq.

Blowhard, Esq. writes: I thought this documentary, an introduction to the theory and work of Danish urbanist Jan Gehl, was OK. Gehl’s thesis, which hardly seems remarkable but goes to show the state we’re in, is that public spaces are more … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Movies | Tagged , , , | 11 Comments

Looking Back at the ’60s, 1: “The Fog of War”

Posted on October 13, 2014 by Paleo Retiree

Paleo Retiree writes: Bugged and annoyed by Errol Morris’s recent movie about Donald Rumsfeld (which Fabrizio dealt with thoroughly here), I just caught up with “The Fog of War,” Morris’ 2003 visit with Robert S. McNamara, the former Ford Motors “whiz kid” … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies, Politics and Economics | Tagged , , , , , | 13 Comments

“The 50 Year Argument” (2014)

Posted on October 1, 2014 by Blowhard, Esq.

Blowhard, Esq. writes: Co-directed by Scorsese and David Tedeschi, this is Scorsese’s second documentary chronicling the intellectual and cultural life of New York. Although I enjoyed Scorsese’s PUBLIC SPEAKING, a profile of Fran Leibowitz which I thought was a good evocation … Continue reading →

Posted in Books Publishing and Writing, Movies | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Docs About Movies 4: “Side By Side”

Posted on September 29, 2014 by Paleo Retiree

Paleo Retiree writes: Another in my series of looks at good documentaries-about-movies, a movie genre in its own right and one that strikes me as particularly healthy. Previous installments in this series are here, here and here. Today … Side by … Continue reading →

Posted in Computers, Movies, Personal reflections | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Docs About Movies 3: “Pablo”

Posted on September 22, 2014 by Paleo Retiree

Paleo Retiree writes: Episode three in my current series of writeups of documentaries-about-movies that I’ve enjoyed recently. Episode one concerned “Free Radicals“; episode two was about “Big Joy.” Today:

Posted in Commercial art, Movies | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Docs About Movies 2: “Big Joy”

Posted on September 16, 2014 by Paleo Retiree

Paleo Retiree writes: Welcome to installment two in my short series about documentaries about movies, a genre that I 1) currently happen to find very lively, and 2) watched a bunch of examples of recently. (Installment one is here.) Today:

Posted in Movies | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments