Ricki Stern Movies

Major-league baseball pitchers usually throw fastballs, curveballs, and off-speed pitches. A few brave souls, however, have made a career out of throwing the knuckleball. The pitch entails lobbing the baseball in such a way that it doesn't rotate, and therefore moves in a manner that's impossible to predict. The filmmakers follow Tim Wakefield and R.A. Dickey, the only two knuckleball pitchers in the majors during the 2011 season, as they attempt to stay in the big leagues while relying on this unorthodox weapon. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

The filmmakers who rattled viewers with The Devil Came on Horseback and The Trials of Daniel Hunt return to explore outspoken author Naomi Wolf's controversial claim that America has begun a frightening descent into dictatorship with this documentary that takes its title from the incendiary novel of the same name. Is American democracy, as we know it under attack? By examining the chilling parallels between the current state of our nation and the ascent of dictators and fascism in other once-free societies, Wolf urges viewers to open their eyes to the horrors that could lie ahead. From the increased use of paramilitary groups to the construction of secret prisons and the targeted suspension of the rule of law, the warning signs are all there for people to wake up and finally take notice. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

In 1984, Deborah Sykes, a copy editor at a newspaper in Winston-Salem, NC, was on her way to work when she was attacked by a man who raped and killed her. Three men were identified by the police as likely suspects -- Sammy Mitchell, Johnny Gray, and Darryl Hunt -- but it didn't take long for investigators to single out Hunt as the man who committed the brutal crime. Coverage of the case in the Winston-Salem Sentinel, the paper Sykes worked for, fueled public outrage and many called for swift justice against Hunt. However, Hunt stubbornly declared his innocence, and even declined an opportunity for a plea bargain agreement because he was determined to prove he did not commit the crime. Hunt was found guilty and given a life sentence, but civil rights advocates believed he had been railroaded, especially given the racial tension the trial generated in this Southern community -- Sykes was white and Hunt was black, while the jury that delivered the verdict was nearly all white and some of the most damning testimony, later to be found to be inaccurate, was given by a man with ties to the Ku Klux Klan. A second trial in 1989 also resulted in a guilty verdict, but in 1994 DNA testing proved that Hunt was not the man who committed the crime. However, no North Carolina court was willing to accept this new evidence, and it wasn't until 2004 that Hunt was finally exonerated and released. Filmmakers Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg began following the Darryl Hunt case in 1994, and ten years of research and interviews went into the making of The Trials of Darryl Hunt, a documentary following his long and painful road to eventual justice. Produced for the premium cable network HBO, The Trials of Darryl Hunt was screened to enthusiastic reviews at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi