The controversial former Secretary of Defense sits down for a candid one-on-one interview in The Unknown Known. The administration of President George W. Bush will forever conjure up images of three main players: Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. Rumsfeld has a history in politics dating back to the Dwight Eisenhower […]
It’s a testament to Broadway legend Elaine Stritch’s resiliency and longevity that someone she adored, James Gandolfini, has passed on and she still sings his praises and keeps chugging along. It’s impossible to have any interest in theater or the classic shows of the New York City theater scene and not know of Stritch or […]
I’ve been a big Penn & Teller fan since I first caught them on TV and went to see them during their frequent stops in Philadelphia with their tours. I think they’re resigned themselves to be lumped in with other magic acts at this point, but for many years, they resisted any kind of classification […]
A rich inventor sets out to prove a curious theory about a Dutch artist’s most famous works in Tim’s Vermeer. Tim Jenison is definitely someone fascinated by process. As a technical expert with an eye for graphics, Tim conceived and created some of the most successful graphic tools in the computer industry. Along the way, […]
A group of real-life climbers reach the top of K2 only to realize the most difficult part of their journey lies ahead in The Summit. In August of 2008, 18 climbers realized a dream by reaching the summit of one of the deadliest mountains in the world — K2. However, it’s the treacherous descent where most fatalities occur. This […]
A new documentary called Blackfish takes an in-depth look at the world of killer whales in captivity. Most everyone I know has been to SeaWorld at one time or another. It’s nearly impossible for them to come away from it without feeling drawn to the killer whales and other marine animals they encounter. It’s in our nature […]
Backup singers are often overlooked in rock music. You’ve heard their work on records or live, but unless they get to vocalize a little more than normal in a song, they blend into the background. Because of the early influence of Motown and the blues in rock music, many of these background singers were black […]
A popular classic rock song’s lyrics rhetorically ask, “War. What is it good for?” It answers that by stating, “Absolutely nothing.” Well, one thing it seems to help is the documentary film industry. That’s certainly the case with Dirty Wars — a film from The Nation reporter Jeremy Scahill. Scahill is no stranger to war or […]
Like many people, I first heard about WikiLeaks when they released classified documents about U.S. operations in Iraq and Afghanistan in 2010. In the midst of the hullabaloo, two men became prominent for their activities. WikiLeaks founder/spokesman Julian Assange defended the release of the material, and Bradley Manning later emerged as the U.S. Army source of the documents […]
When I was a kid, I loved magic and avidly studied any tricks and books that I could get my hands on. My only performances were for occasional, patient family members after dinner and my mother’s friend from down the street after church on Sundays. I’m not sure how he did it, but my father […]
Immigration is one of the hottest topics in politics in America today, and it will only gain prominence as Congress does nothing to address it and we enter another presidential election cycle. People are divided about this issue along racial, political and economic lines; it’s as important to some people as abortion. A documentary about […]
The cause of Latino-based American immigration is the focus of a new documentary based on the book from award-winning journalist Juan González entitled Harvest of Empire. Harvest of Empire comes along at an incredibly opportune time just as the United States government wrestles with the latest round of immigration reform. This documentary examines the root causes […]