Alex Gibney has proven himself an able and engaging documentarian, bringing to light with films such as TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE, ENRON: THE SMARTEST GUYS IN THE ROOM, and most recently THE ARMSTRONG LIE, the hubris, self-deception, and other foibles of human nature that allow people to commit crimes without ever quite admitting to… Read More »
THE OVERNIGHTERS — Jesse Moss
Jesse Moss didn’t go to North Dakota to make a film about the homeless problem that the oil boom brought with it. But when he heard about Pastor Jay Reinke’s program to house people who migrated to his small town of Williston, ND in search of work, he knew he’d found a story he wanted… Read More »
LEGION
LEGION is an incoherent flick positing, amid all the apocalyptic mayhem, that the Almighty is out of touch with His/Her inner Deity. It may be a juicy mystery that passeth all understanding to make theologians quiver with the delight of unraveling it, but as a premise for a movie, it’s incoherent. That it also attempts… Read More »
LEVITY
Ed Solomon wrote the scripts for MEN IN BLACK and BILL AND TED’S EXCELLENT ADVENTURE. He’s not the guy from whom you’d expect a serious, thoughtful, even intriguing script that wrestles with the theological and philosophical questions of redemption. And yet, with LEVITY, his directorial debut, that’s just what he’s done. The protagonist is Manual, with… Read More »
EYES OF TAMMY FAYE, THE
Well, there is just no getting around it. Tammy Faye Bakker Messner’s name recognition is off the charts. And the one thing that everyone knows for sure about her are those eyelashes. Long, thick, seemingly prehensile, they frame eyes that have wept more than everyone on your block combined, and for more TV cameras than… Read More »
LATTER DAYS
Oh no, it’s another film about a religious good boy moving to the big bad city and discovering that he’s gay. I know, it sounds awful in that we’ve seen this a gazillion times sense, but LATTER DAYS is a cut above the rest for its gentle message about finding the strength to see other… Read More »
SAVED!
What would Jesus do? That’s the theological conundrum at the heart of SAVED!, a smart, sharp, and ultimately compassionate consideration of just that question. And before anyone jumps to any conclusions, consider the biblical injunction to judge not lest ye be judged. Open your mind, the way many people in this film just won’t, and… Read More »
THE LIZARD (Marmoulak)
God works in mysterious ways, or so goes the premise in the piquant comedy, THE LIZARD, a film that makes me seriously wonder if Frank Capra is alive and well and working in Iran. Our hero is Reza (Parviz Parastui in a wonderfully deadpan performance), a petty thief known as The Lizard. It’s a nickname… Read More »
JONESTOWN: THE LIFE AND DEATH OF THE PEOPLE’S TEMPLE
It seems odd that there hasn’t been a film made about what happened in Jonestown in 1978 since the early 80s, the events of that time put such a scar on the national psyche. Whatever the reason for that, Stanley Nelson’s JONESTOWN: THE LIFE AND DEATH OF THE PEOPLE’S TEMPLE more than makes up for… Read More »
The PROTAGONIST of Jessica Yu
Jessica Yu’s mind works in unconventional ways, hence her documentary, PROTAGONIST, which starts with the works of Euripides and ends up considering human nature in all its dazzling complexity. When I talked with her on November 29, 2007, the conversation took on why puppets are so potent, tracking down an ex-terrorist, and the gender differences… Read More »