Over the last couple weeks I’ve heard a lot of people exclaim what a horrible year it has been. I admit that I’ve grumbled a bit myself. However, I won’t do so anymore. Gleason has a way of putting things into perspective. This extraordinary documentary debuted earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival. In a perfect […]
documentary
He is Not Your Guru: A Review of I am Not Your Guru
Last week Netflix debuted a new documentary on self-help guru Tony Robbins titled I am Not Your Guru. I have never paid much attention to Tony Robbins. But he’s nonetheless been a ubiquitous presence in the pop culture backdrop, so I was intrigued to take a closer look at the man. The setting is an annual conference […]
A Review of OJ: Made in America
It was June, 1994 and I was taking summer courses at the University of Regina when I walked into the dorm lounge and saw everybody crowding around a television set watching aerial footage of a white Ford Bronco driving on the highway. “What’s going on?” I asked. One of the guys briefly turned and replied: […]
The Act of Killing: A Review
Pull the annals of the twentieth century off the shelf and you will find them dripping with the blood of countless victims of genocide. While Steven Pinker may be right that world history is progressively becoming less violent and more civil, that is little comfort to the victims of Hitler’s concentration camps, Cambodia’s killing fields, […]
Making a Murderer: A Review
Imagine being convicted for a crime you didn’t commit, the horrid crime of a violent assault and attempted rape. And then imagine going to prison for 18 years for that crime. And then imagine that you are finally exonerated of the crime after DNA establishes your innocence. And then further evidence comes to light that […]
35. Kevin Miller on The Chicken Manure Incident
“Hospitality.” The word is derived from a Latin root denoting friendliness to guests. It is the making of space for the stranger, the warm welcome of the outsider. The call to hospitality is at the very center of the Christian life. Indeed, it is so important to Christian ethics that Jesus points to the demonstration of […]
The meek shall find their audience
Documentaries typically don’t get center stage at the Oscars. But this year a truly worthy film won the title. “Searching for Sugar Man” tells the story of psychadelic folk rock singer Sixto Rodriguez. Never heard of him? You’re not the only one. His first album “Cold Fact” (1970) sunk beneath the waves without a trace, […]
The Wonderful Moments of 9/11
Every generation has “Where were you when this happened?” events. I still remember where I was when I heard about the Challenger disaster and the death of Princess Diana. In the latter case I had returned to the house with my girlfriend when my mother came to the top of the stairs and told us […]
Hellbound is comin’ to town
Today (Friday, October 19, 2012) Kevin Miller’s documentary “Hellbound?” opens for one week in several cities across Canada’s verdant prairie including Edmonton, Calgary, Saskatoon, Regina and Winnipeg. (For more information on theatres and showtimes click here: http://www.hellboundthemovie.com/canada-openings-for-this-friday/) Even better, tomorrow Kevin Miller (the esteemed director himself) will be coming to Edmonton and attending the 7 PM screening at the […]
Can you ever have too many war documentaries?
The other day I watched the Academy Award nominated 2011 documentary “Hell and Back Again”. The film was directed by Danfung Dennis and follows a soldier in Afghanistan who is severely wounded in battle and then has to reintegrate to civilian life. Dennis does an amazing job of capturing incredible and shocking footage from his […]
What is it like to be Elmo?
You’re a philosophical thinker. And like most people you’ve stayed up at night wondering what must it be like to be that most beloved of Sesame Street puppets? Well here is your answer. “Being Elmo” is a 2011 documentary that follows the career of Kevin Clash. Kevin started out life like many of us by […]
On Bullies
I wasn’t bullied growing up. I had too big a personality to become a victim. (I did get beat up a few times, one time by a pack of headbangers in a city park, but that doesn’t count as bullying.) Nor was I an active bully of others. I was, in the terminology of Barbara […]
