Mikaela Beardsley Movies
- 2008
Filmmaker Eric Daniel Metzgar highlights the importance of sincere news gathering in enabling democratic nations to function with this documentary profile of Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times reporter Nicholas D. Kristof. Having previously succeeded in bringing international attention to the crisis in Darfur, Kristof travels to the Congo in the summer of 2007 to shed some much needed light on the suffering and poverty besieging the troubled African republic. In the process, Metzger is afforded the opportunity to reflect on the evolution of such stories, from reaching the public, to effecting change, and ultimately paving the way toward a humanitarian response. Metzgar recognizes that journalism is undergoing a massive change thanks in large to opinionated blogs and mindless infotainment, and with Reporter, he defends the future of ideas by emphasizing the importance of thorough, serious-minded, objective journalism in affecting change and promoting analytical thought. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- 2007
- Add Val Lewton: The Man in the Shadows to QueueAdd Val Lewton: The Man in the Shadows to top of Queue
While his name was known to only the most obsessive film fans during the course of his career, Val Lewton produced a handful of low-budget horror movies in the 1940's that had a revolutionary impact on the genre. Working within a special production unit at RKO Pictures, Lewton's films were mood pieces that created an atmosphere of anxiety rather than aiming for blunt shocks, and used shadowy camerawork and careful pacing to infer more than the audience actually saw. Several of Lewton's productions became minor hits, most notably Cat People, and a number of others (including Isle Of The Dead, I Walked With A Zombie, Curse Of The Cat People, The Seventh Victim and The Body Snatchers) are cult favorites to this day. Lewton also discovered a number of directors who would become major players later on, including Robert Wise, Mark Robson and Jacques Tourneur, but Lewton's efforts to move on to bigger budget projects fared poorly, and poor health claimed his life in 1951, six years after his last picture for RKO. Film critic and archivist Kent Jones traces the story of Val Lewton's life and career while paying homage to the films that made his name in the documentary Val Lewton: Man In The Shadows, which features highlights from Lewton's best films while sharing the memories of those who knew and worked with him. Originally produced for the Turner Classic Movies cable network, Val Lewton: Man In the Shadows is narrated by filmmaker and lifelong film fan Martin Scorsese. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Roger Corman, Glenn Gabbard, (more)
- 2007
British singer-songwriter James Blunt - a soft-voiced, introspective, folksy crooner who couples a distinctive rock edge with a melancholic aura - burst onto the music scene in 2005 after an infamous four-year military stint that found him leading a NATO tank squadron and helping to liberate the United Nations protectorate of Kosovo. Then, in September 2006, after seven years away from the Balkans, the musician with a year of superstardom under his belt flew back to the troubled capital city of Pristina to revisit old haunts. Documentarian Steven Cantor records that voyage, in which Blunt's initial Albanian interpreters accompany him. As Blunt journeys from one familiar town to another - towns he helped guard as a soldier - Cantor intercuts home video footage of Kosovo shot by Blunt in 1999 with contemporary footage, for a telling glimpse of the sociological changes that the country has undergone over a seven-year period. What emerges is a portrait of a country dramatically improved by NATO intervention, but still chafing from the scars of recent wounds thanks to the atrocities perpetrated there. Blount then delivers a haunting live performance before an enthusiastic crowd of NATO troops still stationed in Pristina - and the immediate, deeply personal connection between the musician and the audience is palpable. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Blunt
- 2007
- Add I Am an Animal: The Story of Ingrid Newkirk and PETA to QueueAdd I Am an Animal: The Story of Ingrid Newkirk and PETA to top of Queue
This 70 minute HBO documentary profiles animal rights leader Ingrid Newkirk, founder of activist group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). Though interviews with Newkirk, as well as with her peers at PETA, the film explores how the animal rights advocate came to believe so strongly in the humane treatment of all creatures. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ingrid Newkirk
- 2003
Part of The Blues documentary film series on PBS, Feel Like Going Home is directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Peter Guralnick. This installment looks at the roots of the music in the Mississippi Delta and in the traditions of Africa. Modern blues guitarist Corey Harris travels to Senatobia, MS, and talks with legendary fife player Othar Turner on his front porch. Harris then travels to Mali, West Africa, and talks with artists like Ali Farka Toure, Habib Koité, and Salif Keita. Other featured performers include Taj Mahal, Willie King, and Keb' Mo'. Archival footage features Son House, John Lee Hooker, and Leadbelly. This feature-length documentary was originally broadcast by PBS on September 28, 2003. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Corey Harris, Samantha Carr, (more)
Anti-abortion extremists who encourage the harassment of clinic employees -- and in some cases violence and murder against the doctors -- go under the microscope in this documentary produced for the premium cable network HBO. Interview subjects include Neal Horsley, who created the outlawed Internet site "The Nuremberg Files," which posted the names and home addresses of doctors believed to perform abortions; Paul Hill, who is currently serving time in a Florida prison after killing employees of an abortion clinic in Pensacola; and Rob Lokey, a self-described leader of this movement. Directors Marc Levin and Daphne Pinkerson also interview a number of pro-choice activists, who explain their struggle to protect a woman's right to a safe and legal abortion from the likes of Lokey and his followers. Soldiers in the Army of God was screened at the 2000 Toronto Film Festival as part of its documentary series "Real to Real." ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
