The race to create a viable vaccine for COVID-19 takes center-stage in the new HBO documentary, "How To Survive A Pandemic," a film that champions science and those that champion it.
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On the heels of the recent Lucy and Desi drama, "Being the Ricardos," a new documentary on the famous TV duo goes a bit deeper, and gives their fans a few more delightful hours of laughs, context and insights.
"Lucy and Desi" isn't what you would call a "hard-hitting" documentary, but more of a reverent celebration of their lives and legacies, and a must-see for any of the millions who fell in love with Lucy all those many years ago. In a perfect world, I would require all Americans to watch the provocative and profound documentary, "Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America." On the other hand, if the world was perfect, there would be no need to discuss or teach anything about racism because racism would not exist. Not now, not ever.
Sadly, this world - this country - is FAR from perfect, to state things mildly. But thank goodness there are men like Jeffery Robinson, a deputy legal director at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Harvard grad, who has dedicated his life to educating people on racial justice issues, and whose lectures provide the backbone of the new film, "Who We Are." This film details precisely why we must fight back against those opposed to teaching Americans - old and young - about the real history of our country in relation to slavery, oppression and white supremacy, and it does so in a way that embraces - not ridicules - those uneducated, unaware or defiant in their beliefs to the contrary. The perils of online dating are on full display in the compelling new Netflix documentary, "The Tinder Swindler," which very will might become the latest true-crime obsession on the popular streaming platform.
If you know the difference between a bear and a bull market, when to go YOLO with a stock or what a short squeeze is...the difference between having diamond or paper hands...or if you can identify a "smurf" from a "killer bee," then "Gamestop: Rise of the Players" may give you all the tendies you'd ever want.
For the rest of us "non-initiated" on the world of stock trading, "Gamestop: Rise of the Players" is a rapid-fire headache...a film that confuses more than it clarifies, and leaves you feeling even more intimidated that you exist in a world where - clearly - so many others have a better understanding of just how our economy works, or how the Gamestop phenomenon of 2021 could even happen...or what to make of it. Bill Cosby was more than just one of the most influential entertainers of all-time, he literally changed the landscape and paved the way for other African-Americans that followed him. Cosby also "allegedly" drugged, raped and/or sexually assaulted at least 60 women during all phases of his career, using his power and the wholesome persona he had created for himself to commit these horrible atrocities.
Both of the above sentences are true. And that is the paradoxical dilemma that is explored in the new four-part Showtime docu-series, "We Need To Talk About Cosby." How does one square these two "versions" of Cosby? Is it OK to champion Bill's professional career while simultaneously being appalled and shunning his personal life? These are questions facing not just the entire African-American community who grew up idolizing Cosby and the doors he had kicked down for his people, but for ALL people, as Bill Cosby had been one of the most beloved comedians and actors in the history of America. Yes, it's time we talk about Bill Cosby. There are fewer than 15 known paintings in existence today known to be painted by "The Master" himself, Leonard da Vinci. In the documentary, "The Lost Leonardo," the incredible story of a painting known as the "Salvator Mundi" (latin for "Savior of the World") is told...is this in fact a lost Da Vinci painting? Or is it one of the art world's greatest scams?
The new documentary film, "Enemies of the State," (available on 7/30 on VOD), has all the ingredients for a good true-crime story. There are secret agents, hackers, FBI and CIA cover-ups, stolen thumb drives with confidential government files on them and a seemingly normal American family caught up in the middle.
But what exactly is "Enemies of the State" trying to say? It paints a daunting picture of what the government does behind-the-scenes when faced with a supposed national security threat, but even as it ended, I wasn't exactly sure what I had just been told, or even what to believe based on what had just been presented to me. For those that thought that the recent Fyre Festival was a sham, wait until your memory is jogged about the disastrous Woodstock '99. All of its ugliness is brought to light in the stunning and captivating new HBO Max documentary, "Woodstock 99: Peace, Love and Rage."
The best documentaries don't come in with just a purpose, but with a question. Although "Meat Me Halfway" may be low-budget and without massive distribution, it arrives both purposefully and with a genuine interest - a thirst - for answers to the questions it's raising.
This food documentary doesn't try to shove anything down the viewer's throat (pun intended), and it thrives on how accessible it's guide, Brian Kateman, is, and how passionately he approaches the idea that maybe there is middle-ground when it comes to eating a healthier diet. Middle-ground, you say? That's not exactly where people tend to meet these days. Even the effort to do so feels refreshing. |
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February 2024
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