In Country (Attie and O’Hara, 2014)

Last updated on: April 19, 2015 at 4:45 pm By Andrew Spitznas

War reenactment…huh…yeah…what is it good for? “Possibly something,” is the reply emanating from this documentary tracking a group of Vietnam War reenactors in Oregon. Read more

Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief

Last updated on: April 19, 2015 at 1:19 pm By Kenneth R. Morefield

Christians may enjoy seeing a cult get exposed, but they should be wary of this documentaries none-too-hidden subtext. Read more

2015 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, Day 3: Outsider Art, Afghan Archeology, African Democracy, and the Black Panthers

Last updated on: April 12, 2015 at 12:51 am By Andrew Spitznas

My last day in Durham featured documentaries about artwork by institutionalized psychiatric patients, an imperiled archeology dig near Kabul, the battle to maintain democracy in Senegal, and a comprehensive history of the Black Panthers. Read more

2015 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, Day 2: Afghan Soldiers, Evel Knievel, and an Unconventional Marriage

Last updated on: April 13, 2015 at 9:03 pm By Andrew Spitznas

Today’s documentaries showed us brave filmmaking in Afghanistan, a flawed biography of a legendary American stuntman, and a daughter’s joyous, smile-inducing reflections on the marriage between her mother and transgender father. Read more

(Dis)honesty: The Truth About Lies (Melamede, 2015)

Last updated on: November 9, 2015 at 8:13 pm By Evan Cogswell

A famous G. K. Chesterton quote states, "Men do not differ much about what things they will call evils; they differ enormously about what evils they will call excusable." Read more

2015 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, Day 1: Lies, Tigers, and Mountains, Oh My!

Last updated on: April 10, 2015 at 12:37 am By Andrew Spitznas

Today’s trio of films featured a journey inside the deceiving mind, as well as adventures in the forests and mountains of South Asia. Read more

Revisiting Ben-Hur (1959) in Anticipation of a Remake

Last updated on: April 4, 2015 at 2:00 pm By Kenneth R. Morefield

I am skeptical about remaking Ben-Hur, but revisiting William Wyler's classic reminded me that it is far from a perfect movie. Read more

Red Army (Polsky, 2014)

Last updated on: March 29, 2015 at 4:18 pm By Andrew Spitznas

This briskly paced documentary about Soviet hockey excels both as a gripping personal story and a microcosmic portrait of life in the USSR. Read more

The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Him and Her (Benson, 2013)

Last updated on: March 29, 2015 at 1:39 pm By Kenneth R. Morefield

Eleanor Rigby's conceit—I'm tempted to say "gimmick"—is that it shows their two stories back to back rather than interweaving or cutting between them. Thus it becomes both a Rashomon story and a meditation on how we make and preserve memories. The films are designed to be played in either order, with one screening at TIFF flip-flopping to give us Her and Him. Read more

Second Chance Giveaway — Win The Battle of the Five Armies on Blu-Ray (CLOSED)

Last updated on: April 5, 2015 at 3:29 pm By Kenneth R. Morefield

Last week we gave away a free digital copy of The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies. Our sponsor has sweetened the deal by offering those who didn't win a second chance to win the movie, this time on Blu-Ray. Read more