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Review: The Fourth Kingdom: The Kingdom of Plastics

— by BEV QUESTAD —

Most films at DOC NYC are shown once, but “The Fourth Kingdom” is scheduled for two screenings. Why?

In the first minutes of this documentary cinema verité, it looks like we are in for a story about garbage in Mexico and the people who take care of it. But as the film progresses more and more layers of truth and mystery are uncovered, with one of them being that the film actually takes place in New York City. But the reason the film is winning awards and catching attention is that it documents the three great crises of our time.

(CONTINUED)


Review: On the Inside of a Military Dictatorship

— by RON WILKINSON — By the very nature of dictatorships and military regimes, documentaries about them are rare. This riveting film about the leadership, and humanitarian crisis, of Myanmar is a good example of the genre. Director Karen Stokkendal Poulsen works within strictly defined borders because to ask the wrong questions or to hammer […][...]


Review: Brooklyn Inshallah

— by BEV QUESTAD — A normal guy with a pastor’s collar is walking on a Brooklyn street in New York City. We hear him greet a passer-by, “Wa alaykumu as-salam. My name is Khader El-Yateem, a candidate for City Council.” How El-Yateem got to this sidewalk is actually more fascinating than his run for […][...]


Review: Cory in Brick City

— by BEV QUESTAD — “We are modern day freedom fighters. We are the people that have to somehow rescue what we claim to stand for,” says Cory Booker in prescient rhetoric back when he was mayor of Newark, New Jersey. Booker was elected mayor of Newark, New Jersey, in 2006 when gang warfare was […][...]


Review: Searching For Mr. Rugoff

— by RON WILKINSON — It is only right that the story of one of the pioneers of indie film theatres should premiere at this year’s DOC NYC. A city that claims more persons reflexively identified as “A piece of work” than anywhere else in the USA is, no doubt, proud to have this subject […][...]


Review: Sheep Hero (aka Schapenheld)

— by BEV QUESTAD — Soft, gorgeous, blue fog rests in a thin line on the meadow as the sun rises on a shepherd and his flock. He has slept the night in the field and greets the day praising his situation: “Openness, peace, space, freedom, my own choices, not someone else’s. That’s it. A […][...]


Review: In Bright Axiom

— by RON WILKINSON — You have been invited to an experience that requires only your rapt attention, and complete discretion. That means concentrate and do not tell anyone. The payoff is a combination of a Sherlock Holmes club and the Shriners, with free drinks. The venue is Latitude House, where you have latitude to […][...]


New movie releases for November 2019

November promises to be a great month in terms of movie releases. What we really love the most is that there are movie releases for everyone this month. In this post, we share some of the new movie releases of November 2019. Because we all have different tastes, we know you will love some and […][...]


Review: Mr. Toilet

— by BEV QUESTAD — “When you turn 007 upside down it spells LOO and it’s such a perfect opportunity not to be wasted,” declares Jack Sim, activist and social-environmental clown. The film’s title is embarrassing and silly, but if you thought something like cancer, heart disease, or the opioid crisis are the number one […][...]



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