 Utopia, 2022. He was the greatest power pitcher of his - or arguably any - era. Now, for one night-only, a documentary about the life and legacy of Hall-of-Famer, Nolan Ryan, can be seen on the big screen.
"Facing Nolan" is a compelling, loving film that tells the story of one of the best and most intimidating pitchers baseball has ever seen. It's a must-see for any baseball fan, and even for the casual fan, it's a deeply rewarding biography centered on ambition, family, faith and love...about a young man who made the American Dream his reality. In theaters for one-night only, Tuesday, May 24th (check local theaters here), you can catch "Facing Nolan." Like his 108-mile-per-hour fastball (according to legend), don't let this one blow past you.
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 IFC Films, 2022. The true crime documentary, "Hold Your Fire," will be available in theaters and on VOD starting May 20th, 2022, and it's a compelling, worthwhile film.
 Skeptoid Media, 2022. Do you ever wonder where some of your favorite TV shows get their "professional" talking-heads? Or why certain "experts" or "doctors" would put their reputations on the line for seemingly bizarre claims?
The new documentary "Science Friction" (now available on TUBI and Amazon Prime Video) pulls back the curtain on some of the common practices of TV shows from "Ancient Aliens" to "Oprah," and how willing participants are often times misrepresented, or used out-of-context against their intended purposes.  Cargo Film Releasing/Montrose Films, 2022. In today's world of politicized media and 24-hour news cycles, the Flint Water Crisis doesn't just seem like yesterday's news, but ancient history. But for the people of Flint, this humanitarian disaster, this government-created atrocity, is not just still ongoing, but has in fact affected the lives of a generation of Flint children and residents.
There have been a handful of documentaries about the Flint Water Crisis over the past several years, but none of them quite as cohesive or quite as VITAL as Anthony Baxter's "Flint: Who Can You Trust?" The filmmaker approaches the topic from a brilliantly effective angle, not only spelling out the timeline and explaining the situation in easy-to-understand ways, but also giving the viewers a taste of the confusion and and chaos that the Flint residents have and are still experiencing today. Who can you trust? As it turns out, nobody, on either side of the political spectrum.  HBO/HBO Max, 2022. 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.
 Amazon Studios, 2022. 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.  Sony Pictures Classics, 2022. 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.  Netflix, 2022. 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.
 Neon, 2022. 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.  Showtime, 2022. 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. |
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tom santilli movie reviews
Tom Santilli is a professional film critic, TV personality, host and
the Executive Producer of Movie Show Plus.
He also is the film critic for WXYZ Channel 7 Action News in Detroit,
and appeared weekly on FOX-2 in Detroit from 2016-2020.
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