Nick McKinney Movies
- 2008
This documentary series from IFC reads between the lines when it comes to the news. Each episode takes a humorous, infuriating, and always unflinching look at the various influences at work behind the media, providing skewed perspectives that many Americans never question. The series uncovers motivations like ratings, corporate string pulling, and political influence, and also examines the consequences of biased and unprofessional news reporting, testing how it changes people's opinions, and discovering how frighteningly successful news agencies can be at pushing through a decidedly unjournalistic agenda. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gideon Yago
The first season of Michael Moore's television show The Awful Truth consists of 12 episodes and is a sound introduction for those unfamiliar with Moore's guerilla style of social-conscience filmmaking. After his original show, TV Nation, was canceled by NBC, Moore moved to Bravo, a more accommodating network that would allow him to proceed with his ideas. Each episode of The Awful Truth is 30 minutes long, opening with a monologue by Moore and leading to a journalistic exposé of some social wrong typically perpetrated by a large corporation. Much like he did in his documentaries Roger & Me and The Big One, Moore often ambushes his targets, surprising them and forcing them to speak candidly. This candor helps produce the scathing edge that has made Moore's projects so popular. Among the highlights of the 12 episodes are Moore and crew busting a giant health insurance company that tries to avoid paying for an organ transplant to save a man's life, confronting homophobic and hate-spewing Rev. Fred Phelps in a pink RV christened the "Sodomobile," and sending an Awful Truth mascot chicken into Disney World to expose the deplorable working conditions of the employees in costume. Some people may be turned off by Moore's leftist politics and his labor-friendly attitude, but most will not be able to deny his sincere efforts to hold corporate crooks responsible for their actions. The DVD version of The Awful Truth contains a biography of Michael Moore and several amusing outtakes from the filming of the show. ~ Ed Atkinson, All Movie Guide
- 1998
Peter Lynch directed this Canadian docudrama about events after the Canadian government authorized Laplander Andrew Bahr to feed starving Inuit in 1929 by herding several thousand reindeer from Alaska to the McKenzie River region. The project turned into a logistical nightmare, with six years spent on the 1500-mile trek. The film combines archival footage with staged sequences. Shown at the 1998 Vancouver Film Festival and the Toronto Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Colm Feore, David Hemblen, (more)
- 1994
- NR
The highly acclaimed and famously eccentric classical pianist Glenn Gould is the subject of this idiosyncratic film portrait. As the title suggests, Gould's life is explored through a series of thirty-two self-contained but interrelated vignettes, a structure inspired by Bach's "Goldberg Variations," the compositions that were the basis for one of Gould's most famous recordings. Fictional recreations, many starring an excellent Colm Feore as Gould, follow the musician from his precocious childhood to his early death at the age of fifty. Juicy biographical details like a surprising early retirement from public performance and an addiction to prescription drugs are featured prominently, but equal attention is paid to Gould's challenging theoretical ideas. Director Francois Girard refuses to provide easy explanations for the pianist's quirks, instead using his unconventional structure to provide great insight while suggesting the real Gould remains essentially unknowable. Especially interesting is the film's mix of dramatization and documentary, as it juxtaposes its fictional recreations with actual interviews with Gould's friends and associates. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Colm Feore, Gale Garnett, (more)
