 Sony Pictures Classics, 2023. The lives, careers and decades-long friendship between legendary author Robert Caro and legendary editor Robert Gottlieb is examined in the deeply-engaging, warm-spirited documentary, "Turn Every Page."
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 Netflix, 2023. Forget what you think you know about Pamela Anderson.
In an intimate, revealing new Netflix documentary, "Pamela, A Love Story" (streaming as of Jan 31st), the blonde bombshell who dominated headlines and Playboy covers for much of the 90s and 00's, finally gets to share her version of her life in the spotlight. It's an empowering and tender portrait of a girl from humble beginnings, looking back at her tremendous journey into womanhood and then motherhood, through successes, failures and controversies, as she - now in her mid-50s - attempts to reclaim the narrative of her own life.  "Plane," Lionsgate, 2023. This weekend, the big theatrical release is "Plane," starring Gerard Butler and Mike Colter. Then available On Demand is the new documentary "My Father Muhammad Ali."
Read on for reviews of both new films!  Sidetilt Films, 2022. I'm not typically a fan of documentaries that include actors dramatizing the events of the film, but in the joyous "The PEZ Outlaw," the approach works just right.
 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.  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. |
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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 featured film critic appearing on WXYZ Channel 7 Action News in Detroit,
and appeared weekly on FOX-2 in Detroit from 2016-2020.
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