By Gregory Crofton The filmmakers followed Adam Sorensen, a U.S. Marine, for six years to document his adjustment to life as a civilian, a move forced by a bomb blast he survived in Afghanistan in 2010. At first he seemed…
Once it Gets Warmed Up, ‘The Seven Five’ plays like a Hollywood drama
By Gregory Crofton Director Tiller Russell (Operation Odessa, Cockfight, Chicago Fire) knows a great story when he finds one, and “The Seventy Five” (2014) is certainly that. It stars an unapologetically corrupt cop named Michael Dowd, someone who can be…
New Film on Leonard Cohen is Rich, Nuanced But Comes With Few ‘Words of Love’
By Gregory Crofton Leonard Cohen, the beloved poet and troubadour from Montreal, surely was a narcissist, but name a great artist who doesn’t carry at least a touch of self obsession? More interesting was Cohen’s struggle with depression, his heavy…
Early Days Madonna Doc Hits the Right Note
By Gregory Crofton Director Guy Guido is an unabashed fan of this American icon and it shows in his film, an engaging mix of documentary and drama that reveals what went on with the young, vulnerable Madonna before she became…
‘AMAZING GRACE’ is Raw and Electric, Reveals the Power of Aretha Franklin’s Gospel
By Gregory Crofton “AMAZING GRACE” likely ranks as the most complicated documentary ever made. Directed by the late, great Sydney Pollack, it was filmed over two nights in Los Angeles’ New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in 1972. But it wasn’t…
‘Lambert & Stamp’: A Must-See Doc for True Fans of ‘The Who’
This two-hour film about the origins of The Who can be abrasive, relentless, almost difficult to get through. But it’s also very rich and somewhat innovative, kind of like the band it’s documenting. Pete Townshend was a young art student…