Mark Monroe Movies

Sound City Studios is a recording complex that opened in 1969 in Van Nuys, CA. While the studio looked utilitarian on the outside and was located in a less-than-glamorous part of Southern California, it boasted a state-of-the-art recording console designed by Rupert Neve, and the studio's acoustics gave music a big, powerful sound that was perfect for rock & roll. Beginning with Neil Young's After The Gold Rush in 1970, many of the biggest acts of the day came to Sound City to put their music on tape, and bands and performers such as Fleetwood Mac, Tom Petty, Elton John, Santana, Johnny Cash, and the Grateful Dead all cut albums there. In 1991, Nirvana came to Sound City to record their breakthrough album Nevermind, and the studio soon found a new clientele, with alternative rockers such as Nine Inch Nails, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Tool, and Rage Against the Machine booking time at the studio. But as digital technology became the industry standard by the end of the 1990s, Sound City's analog gear fell out of favor, and the owners sold off the trademark Neve recording console. That console was purchased by musician Dave Grohl, who recorded at Sound City with Nirvana and the Foo Fighters, and Grohl offers a look back at the studio's glory days in the documentary Sound City. Along with interviews with many of the artists and technicians who worked at Sound City, the film examines how the rise of digital recording technology has changed the music business, and impacted the way many musicians work. Sound City was Grohl's first project as a film director, and the documentary received its world premiere at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

This documentary examines the effect of Somali pirates on individuals and the global economy. ~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi

In 2002, as America was poised to go to war in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Pat Tillman, a defensive back with the Arizona Cardinals, joined the United States Army, believing he had a duty to serve in a time of need even though he had signed a lucrative deal to play professional football. Tillman served a tour of duty in Iraq and was on patrol in Afghanistan when, on April 22, 2004, he was killed during a reconnaissance mission near the border of Pakistan. When word spread about Tillman's death, the Army issued a press release declaring he'd been shot down while trying to heroically block the fire of a band of Taliban insurgents. While the Army's story painted a glowing picture of the fallen soldier and athlete, some of the details sounded suspect to Tillman's family, and in time they began asking questions. As it happens, Tillman's parents were outspoken in their opposition to the war in Iraq, and after he had seen what was happening firsthand, so was Tillman, who had been a sharp student with an interest in politics during his college years. In time, Tillman's parents demanded an investigation into their son's death, and the testimony of several witnesses revealed that Tillman wasn't felled during an act of heroism -- his death was the result of "friendly fire" by men from his own company, shooting indiscriminately at an unknown target. Filmmaker Amir Bar-Lev examines Pat Tillman's unusual life and times, the facts about his death, how and why the military created a cover story to hide the truth, and his family's battle to bring the real story into the open in the documentary The Tillman Story, which received its world premiere at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

In the 1960s, Richard O'Barry enjoyed a lucrative career as a specialized animal trainer; he captured the five dolphins that were used in the popular television series Flipper, and taught them the tricks and special commands they used on the show. Four decades later, O'Barry has renounced his former life as a trainer and become an animal rights activist, speaking out against the hunting of aquatic mammals and keeping them in captivity. O'Barry is not welcome in Taiji, a town along the Japanese coast where hunting dolphins is a major part of the local economy, but he and a group of activist filmmakers made their way into the city as well as the carefully guarded harbor in hopes of documenting the abuse of dolphins by fisherman and the poisoning of the waters that has taken a toll on the marine ecology. O'Barry and his colleagues captured some beautiful underwater footage as well as shocking images of how the town's fisherman have sullied the dolphins and their habitat, and director Louie Psihoyos has used this material as the basis for the documentary The Cove, which received its world premiere at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

While professional soccer is still struggling to find a firm foothold in the United States, in the 1970s the North American Soccer League marked the brave first attempt to introduce the game to American sports fans. While most teams had only limited success at best, one did manage to break through to genuine mainstream popularity -- the New York Cosmos. The brainchild of Steve Ross (a passionate soccer fan who was also a major executive at Warner Communications) and Ahmet Ertegun and Nesuhi Ertegun (the founders of Atlantic Records), the Cosmos got off to a rocky start in 1971 (no one was especially happy with the playing field at Randall's Island, and some rowdy fans were known to throw broken glass onto the grass), but things changed in 1975 when the world's most celebrated soccer star, the Brazilian champion Pele, signed with the Cosmos for a five-million-dollar payday. With the arrival of Pele, the Cosmos became a hit with both fans and the media, and the players became the toast of the town, earning their own private table at Studio 54. A number of other international soccer stars were soon lured to the Cosmos, including Franz Beckenbauer, Rodney Marsh, and Carlos Alberto, but with the turn of the decade, the team began losing favor with fans and folded in 1985. Once in a Lifetime: The Extraordinary Story of the New York Cosmos is a documentary by Paul Crowder and John Dower that looks at the team's remarkable history and includes interviews with many of the Cosmos' star players (with the notable exception of Pele, who declined to participate). ~ Mark Deming, Rovi