Category Archives: Releases

Coming to DVD and VOD today, Tuesday, November 3: THE LAST SEASON

Sara Dosa’s look at a surrogate family formed by mushroom foragers premiered at San Francisco in 2014. It has also screened at New Orleans, Hot Docs, Mountainfilm Telluride, Rooftop Films, Big Sky, Sebastopol Doc, United Nations Association, and the Seattle Asian American fest, among others. In addition to its DVD release, the doc now comes to VOD via iTunes.

I previously wrote about the film here.

Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, November 3: DO I SOUND GAY?

David Thorpe’s investigation into gender and self-expression premiered at Toronto last year. Screenings followed at DOC NYC, Santa Barbara, RiverRun, Montclair, Dallas, Sydney Mardi Gras, IFF Boston, Nashville, Seattle, New Orleans’ Filmorama, Provincetown, Frameline, and BFI Flare.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, November 3: A LEGO BRICKUMENTARY

Daniel Junge and Kief Davidson’s exploration of the iconic construction toys debuted at Tribeca last year. It also screened at Seattle, CPH:DOX, TIFF Kids, and Comic-Con, among others.

Junge and Davidson offer an unabashed celebration of all things LEGO in this fast-paced but somewhat overstuffed survey. Tackling a decidedly lighter subject than their past work, the directors have come under fire from critics complaining that this work is no more than a glorified commercial for the product. This assessment, I think, misses the point that the film is, in many ways, for fans of the toy, by fans of the toy – the AFOL, or Adult Fans of LEGO, in the subcultural vernacular. Within that context, it makes total sense that Junge and Davidson are basically sharing stories of cool stuff that people are doing with the toy, and that’s a perfectly valid, and often entertaining, approach to take here. Viewers seeking a criticism of corporate brands or capitalism likely would best be served elsewhere – this film is not trying to expose the ills of the world or enact social change. Fans of the ubiquitous toy will find much to marvel at, from an inside look at the LEGO creative process involving both the brand’s designers and creative fans; to the expansion of the brand to elaborate fan films and conventions; to the use of the toy in therapy for kids with autism. The directors have assembled a creative, fun presentation, hosted by an animated LEGO figure voiced by Jason Bateman, and even if his jokes are often groan-inducing, they set the appropriate buoyant tone for the proceedings.

Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, November 3: ONE CUT, ONE LIFE

Lucia Small and Ed Pincus’ meditation on friendship and death bowed at Full Frame last year. Other screenings included IFF Boston, Woods Hole, Torino, and the New York Film Festival.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to HBO tonight, Monday, November 2: THE DIPLOMAT

David Holbrooke’s tribute to his ambassador father debuted att Tribeca this Spring. Screenings followed at San Francisco, Traverse City, Sarajevo, AFI Docs, Telluride Mountainfilm, and Jerusalem, among others.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to theatres today, Friday, October 30: MAKING ROUNDS

Muffie Meyer’s immersive look at a cardiac care unit makes its debut today at NYC’s Cinema Village. Meyer, of course, is best known as one of the directors/editors of the iconic GREY GARDENS.

Set within Mount Sinai, Meyer’s film focuses on cardiologists Herschel Sklaroff and Valentin Fuster as they lead a group of young doctors and medical students in a good, old-fashioned round of bedside visits, a practice viewers soon learn is growing increasingly rare as doctors instead rely on technological advancements in testing for diagnostic assessment. Drs Sklaroff and Fuster demonstrate, however, that a few minutes spent establishing an empathetic connection with people who are frihtened to death, and, critically, actually listening to their experience of symptoms, yields dramatic results. Patients who have experienced frustration time and time again during past visits are discovered to have been misdiagnosed and finally receive treatment that helps their quality of life. Meyer’s film is strongest when she accompanies the physicians to the bedsides, putting the viewer in the shoes of the eager medical students learning from these acclaimed mentors. It’s less effective in a couple of brief, more conventional, interview sequences which feel tacked on. Regardless, the film’s simple yet important premise – that doctors shouldn’t lose sight of the patient as they try to treat their symptoms – is on the whole conveyed quite well.