“THE HOUSE I LIVE IN”: An Over-Long, Musing Episode of Frontline
By Gregory Crofton Eugene Jarecki’s “THE HOUSE I LIVE IN” has a similar feel to his brilliant “WHY WE FIGHT,” a 2005 documentary about the rise of America’s military industrial complex. But that feeling doesn’t arrive until you’re about three-quarters…
Inside the Making of Dr. Strangelove
A look at the making of Stanley Kubrick’s “Dr. Strangelove,” a film that examines the issue of nuclear war.
THE OATH: Part Two of Laura Poitras’ Portrait of a Post 9/11 World
In light of the fact that last week documentary filmmaker Laura Poitras risked documenting Edward Snowden, the 29-year-old who revealed himself to be the NSA surveillance whistle-blower, I decided I needed to watch one of her films. I found “THE…
‘STORIES WE TELL’: Disappointing, Blame the Heralding Critics
By Gregory Crofton I don’t blame the director Sarah Polley. She surely worked hard to make “STORIES WE TELL,” an innovative documentary, in order to honor and get to know her mother, a woman who died from cancer when Sarah…
Showtime’s Richard Pryor Doc Forgets the Comedy and Humanity
I laughed hard at the start of “RICHARD PRYOR: OMIT THE LOGIC.” But as the documentary got rolling it turned into more of a tabloid take on the comedian’s harrowing life — one packed with drugs, alcohol and numerous marriages…