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Chris Reed’s AFI DOCS 2017 Top Five

June 28, 2017

Film Review: “The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster” Takes on Frankenstein
By Adam Vaughn
June 8, 2023
The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster (Bomani J. Story, 2023) 3 out of 4 stars. In his feature debut, director Bomani J. Story brings us a unique vision of Mary Shelley’s classic Frankenstein. The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster not only brings one of literature’s most terrifying creatures to life, but also manages to freshen the story from the unique perspective of an inner-city high-school student named Vicaria (Laya DeLeon Hayes, ... >>
Film Review: “Squaring the Circle (The Story of Hipgnosis)” Captures a Specific Moment in Music History
By Robin C. Farrell
June 7, 2023
Squaring the Circle (The Story of Hipgnosis) (Anton Corbijn, 2022) 3 out of 4 stars. The music industry, like many of those associated with the arts, is an ever-changing one. Each generation brings new voices and perspectives, new technology and styles, and thus has a resulting impact on the world around it. Squaring the Circle (The Story of Hipgnosis) delves into a particular point in music history: the pre-punk rock era in which some of the ... >>
Film Review: “Hollywood Dreams & Nightmares: The Robert Englund Story” Adequately Tells Its Tale
By Adam Vaughn
June 5, 2023
Hollywood Dreams & Nightmares: The Robert Englund Story (Christopher Griffiths/Gary Smart, 2023) 2½ out of 4 stars. After almost 50 years of performances in his acting career, Robert Englund inevitably deserved a documentary biopic. Everyone’s favorite nightmare slasher gets to relate his Hollywood experiences and how his career led to playing the role of Freddy Krueger in A Nightmare on Elm Street. Directors Christopher Griffiths and Gary ... >>
Film Review: “STILL: A Michael J. Fox Movie” Offers Delightful Homage
By Christopher Llewellyn Reed
May 12, 2023
STILL: A Michael J. Fox Movie (Davis Guggenheim, 2023) 3½ out of 4 stars. Filmmaker Davis Guggenheim has made many fine documentaries, including the 2006 Oscar-winning An Inconvenient Truth, a justly celebrated examination of the perils of climate change, featuring former Vice President Al Gore. Despite those credentials, he also directed the 2010 Waiting for Superman, a movie which committed the egregious sin of blaming the problems plaguing ... >>
Film Review: “Anxious Nation” Offers Fine Cinematic Therapy
By Christopher Llewellyn Reed
May 5, 2023
Anxious Nation (Laura Morton/Vanessa Roth, 2022) 3 out of 4 stars. In the new documentary Anxious Nation, directors Laura Morton (a best-selling author making her feature-film debut) and Vanessa Roth (Mary J Blige’s My Life) explore the many different ways in which children and young adults suffer from anxiety in our modern world. Morton is herself a partial subject, since her daughter, Sevey, is one such teenager. But the movie covers a ... >>