VIMooZ

In his first film, Neil Barsky chronicles the life of New York City’s 105th Mayor Ed Koch, known for asking his constituents “How am I doing?”  The documentary explores just how he was doing back then and gives a peak into his roller coaster like relationship with the city. Koch served three terms from 1978 to 1989, when the city was near bankruptcy and crime was on the rise. 

Opening with a look into his 1977 election, the film highlights the issues Koch faced after taking office such as; the 1980 transit strike, push-back from the gay community regarding the AIDS epidemic, his housing initiative, a corruption scandal and conflict with African Americans admist the Yusef Hawkins murder in 1989. 

by Cecily Witcher

Django Unchained is a shootem-up-bang-bang western-style movie that strives hard to convey the feeling of being in the 1800’s during the period when slavery was the law of the land in some parts of the USA. The film is set in the South where a slave, Django, (played by Jamie Foxx) ends up partnering with Dr.King Schultz, a white German bounty hunter (played by Christoph Waltz.) Shultz is looking for the Brittle Brothers as they have a huge bounty on their head and are wanted “Dead or Alive.” Django promises Schultz that he will lead him to the brothers if he will help him find his wife, a German-speaking slave named Broomhilda (played by Kerry Washington) from whom he was separated during a slave trade.

by Francesca McCaffery

There are some really nice doc films at IDA’s continuing DocuWeeks Festival (in New York and Los Angeles) this week…Here were a few genuine stand-outs:

In Ricky on Leacock, director Jane Weiner shares with us nearly forty years of friendship and footage on the creator of cinéma vérité, the legendary filmmaker Richard Leacock. Ricky is one of those great artist depictions which allow the viewer to feel and create their own assumptions and thoughts about both the upbringing and family background of the subject, but this absence works wonderfully here: We witness what an elegant, generous spirit really was, and through wonderful interviews and clips from the likes of D.A. Pennebaker, Robert Drew, Ed Pincus, Jonas Mekas, Dušan Makavejev, and others, we see what an astounding influence Leacock had on certainly not only cinema and how it was conceived for the new generation, but television, TV journalism and live news.

Always searching to make the camera and sound equipment as unobtrusive and invisible as possible, one only wonders how much work the man could have created in the wholly digital age. “My life has been about cooking and making film, and it’s been wonderful,” Leacock joyfully intones at the end of the film. Who could ask for anything more, from an artist or the truly great and inspiring film about his still important legacy? A must-see doc this season- one that will really lift both your heart and soul.

Falling Overnight- opening today in NYC at Cinema Village West

Review written by Francesca McCaffery

Directed by Conrad Jackson, Falling Overnight is those rarest of indie gems- genuinely heart-felt and a pleasure to watch. Young photographer Chloe (Emilia Zoryan) and skinny, appealing Elliot (Parker Croft) meet uber- cute in a café in LA, the audience having learned only moments before that he is scheduling a rather profound surgery for the very next day, without the help or support of any noticeable friends, or family, around him. We are immediately drawn in…

Elliot is young, but one of those rare early 20-somethings- he appears to be completely financially independent, somewhat of an internet start-up wunderkind who wisely cashed out early. Not one to dwell, or feel sorry for himself,  Elliot spontaneously decides to go to Chloe’s art show, where she has casually invited him along. After an awkward start, with Chloe having to actively let him know, more than once, that she is in fact interested in hanging out with him, their big evening begins…

By Francesca McCaffery Two new wonderful documentaries are opening this weekend- Lee Hirsch’s Bully– which is a heart-breaking, take-no-prisoners hard look at the insidious problem of bullying in American middle and high school classrooms, and The Island President, which is an extraordinary portrait of recently ousted Maldivian President Nasheed, and his great fight to combat global warming (Which is literally sinking his splendid Maldive Islands.) Both are two of the most thought-provoking documentaries you will […]

By Francesca McCaffery The Kid with a Bike (Le Gamin au vélo) is the latest film from Belgian filmmaking brothers Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, who both wrote and directed. It stars Cécile de France, and the astonishing young newcomer- Thomas Doret. Thomas plays Cyril, a young boy who has been abandoned to a children’s home by his father, and can’t quite seem to accept this fact. He also keeps insisting that he needs to find […]

  By Francesca McCaffery “The Salt of Life” is a charming film by Italian actor and filmmaker Gianni Di Gregorio, who plays an aging man trying to come to grips with the fact that he feels like a “discarded engine on the side of the road.” Treated like with condescension by his wife, dealing with a petulant and spoiled daughter, and with an aging mother who treats him like a servant. Gianni (also the character […]

by Francesca McCaffery The new documentary “Last Days Here” (opening today March 2nd at the IFC Center in NYC) directed by Don Argott and Demian Fenton, had so much crazy subtext going on, it could be a few tiny little films in itself: The film focuses on “underground heavy metal legend” Bobby Liebling, the singer- songwriter-guitarist for the ‘70s metal band Pentagram. According to some rabid fans, Pentagram was the best metal band from that […]

by Francesca McCaffery There has rarely been such a non-formulaic and genuinely touching portrayal of a soldier returning home as Liza Johnson’s “Return,” starring the phenomenal Linda Cardelinni (“E.R.”) and always terrific Michael Shannon, opening today in limited release. To say a movie is independent film at is finest doesn’t even translate any longer, of course, but if it still does in any vernacular, this tiny, perfectly on-point little film is exactly it. Cardelinni plays […]