Robert Kennedy Movies
- 2008
- NR
This documentary takes a look at the manifestations of contemporary philosophy through interviews with various figures in the field, who examine these existential issues from the vantage point of lively public places, where everyday people demonstrate their views and values through the most clear and innocuous ways. Some of the guests featured in the film include Cornel West, Avital Ronell, and Peter Singer. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide
Nostalgia permeates this look at the Canadian pop-culture museum installed in a typical British Columbia bungalow by artist Douglas Coupland. Adapted from Coupland's best-selling series of similarly titled books and focusing on a typical Canadian home stripped and re-painted before being filled with a variety of such undeniably Canadian items as bilingual cereal boxes and Terry Fox memorabilia, the documentary also provides a springboard for Coupland to ponder Canada's national identity while focusing on the artist's relationship with his father and his country's ever-shifting relationship with their neighbor to the south -- the United States. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Adapted from a series of short stories by Canadian cult favorite Bruce La Bruce, this seriocomic coming-of-age story stars Andre Noble as Cliff, a teenager growing up in Toronto in the 1980s. While Cliff is aware of the fact he's gay and has a ravenous curiosity about sex, he hasn't been able to do much about it. However, on his 18h birthday, Cliff's free-thinking mother, Madge (Marnie McPhail), pours him a stiff drink, offers him a reefer, and politely but firmly tells him to go downtown and have some fun. Eager to lose his virginity, Cliff instead encounters Butch (Brendan Fehr), a good-looking guy in his early twenties who makes his living as a male prostitute. Cliff is infatuated with Butch from the first moment he sees him; however, while Butch appears fond of Cliff and strikes up a friendship with him, his career has forced him to develop a sense of emotional distance from others, and he isn't interested in sex with other men unless he's being paid for it. Cliff becomes a regular visitor to Butch's apartment and gets a crash course in the underbelly of the Toronto gay community, but one day Butch drafts Cliff into performing a sex act with him for a customer, leaving Cliff humiliated and heartbroken. Sugar also stars Sarah Polley and Maury Chaykin. Only the second feature film from respected theatrical director John Palmer, it was screened as part of the 2004 San Francisco Lesbian and Gay Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Documentary filmmaker Ron Mann joined Hollywood actor/hemp activist Woody Harrelson as the thespian traveled up the West Coast preaching the merits of natural, organic living, the result of which is Mann's 2003 film, Go Further. In 2001, Harrelson and a group of friends and other like-minded individuals hopped on bicycles -- accompanied by a psychedelically decorated bus converted to run on hemp-seed oil -- and thus created the SOL (Simple Organic Living) Tour. Along the way, the actor made many stops which ranged from speaking at college campuses to meeting up with 1960s counter-culture guru Ken Kesey (who died not long after). The SOL group encountered a number of people that also lead pro-ecological ways of life, as well as some other folks that were just as skeptical or hostile toward the neo-hippies. Go Further premiered at the 2003 South by Southwest Film Festival. ~ Ryan Shriver, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Woody Harrelson, Ken Kesey, (more)
Woody Harrelson narrates this documentary about the history of marijuana in 20th century America. Beginning with clips from educational films and exploitation pictures that show how marijuana can lead to crime, insanity, and harder drugs, Grass also documents the exploits of Harry Anslinger, who became America's first drug czar and waged a lifelong war against marijuana use in the United States. As the repressive environment of the 1930s and 1940s gave way to the beat era of the 1950s and the hippie uprisings of the 1960s, attitudes towards marijuana became more lenient, and several states relaxed their laws regarding the drug; but the election of Ronald Reagan, and his wife Nancy's famous "Just Say No" campaign, put many pro-pot activists back in the starting blocks. Director Ron Mann takes a decidedly pro-marijuana position in this film, though he does so with more humor than militance (the end credits note "No hippies were harmed in the making of this film"). ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Woody Harrelson
- 1994
This pseudo-documentary profiles Bruce, a fictional gay porn actor/and director. The film features some hard-core sexual activity that may be disturbing to some viewers. The "creator" of the documentary is the artistically affected Googie. Most of her scenes end in blackouts of Bruce, his former lovers, and his lesbian punkette buddies Wednesday & Jane Friday. There are also numerous clips of Bruce's porno films, with titles such as "I Am a Fugitive from a Gang Bang, and "My Hustler, My Self." Also included are clips from Googie's own attempt at experimental filmmaking, "Submit to My Finger." ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bruce LaBruce, Liza Lamonica, (more)
- 1993
- PG
This documentary shows the evolution of the 1960s dance craze called "the twist." Interviewed are several singers and musicians who contributed to the trend, notably Hank Ballard, Chubby Checker, and Joey Dee. Also shown are clips from TV shows showcasing the twist, such as American Bandstand, and films made to cash in on the fad, such as The T.A.M.I. Show, Go, Man, Go!, and Twist All Night. ~ Brian Gusse, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chubby Checker
Though aimed at those fastidious comic book collectors who spend exorbitant sums for old DC first editions (only to leave them unread and wrapped in plastic), Comic Book Confidential manages to convey the fanaticism and fun of this hobby to non-aficionados. Canadian director Ron Mann traces the history of the comic book industry, the idiotic purging of so-called violent comics in the 1950s, and the growth of the collectibles industry. Throughout the film, any comic book which does not meet Mann's exacting standards is trashed (Dell and Harvey, beware!) Among those interviewed are Marvel Comics mavens Stan Lee and Jack Kirby and EC mentors William M. Gaines and Will Elder. The underground "comix" movement is represented by Robert Crumb. Though he clearly loves comics, Ron Mann might have more successfully conveyed this with fewer clever camera angles. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lynda Barry, Robert Crumb, (more)
