Questlove’s debut film as a director is a success, defined as much by its outrage as its joy. Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, drummer of the legendary hip-hop band the Roots, besides his many other talents, is a music historian and professional DJ. Thompson deftly puts…
He’s Rick James, bitch, and there’s a great new documentary about him by Sacha Jenkins fittingly titled BITCHIN’: The Sound and Fury of Rick James, which delves into the wild, complicated life of the innovative and influential musician who coined the term “punk-funk” to…
Brian Wilson, the singer-songwriter who was the main creative force behind the Beach Boys for the better part of the 1960s, is legendary for being the genius behind such pop masterworks as the single “Good Vibrations” and the album Pet Sounds. He famously, thrillingly…
by Christopher Bourne Film
Like a Rolling Stone: The Life & Times of Ben Fong-Torres | Suzanne Joe Kai
Ben Fong-Torres, the celebrated music journalist profiled in Suzanne Joe Kai’s documentary Like a Rolling Stone: The Life & Times of Ben Fong-Torres, has a personal website whose tagline reads, “Almost Famous Since 1969.” This, of course, references Cameron Crowe’s 2000 film Almost Famous,…
At the end of The Kids, Eddie Martin’s where-are-they-now documentary tracing the fortunes of the street kids featured in the hedonistic 1995 teen movie spectacle Kids, a closing title card tells us that director Larry Clark and screenwriter Harmony Korine declined to participate. This…
Spike Lee’s 1991 Jungle Fever, a work with a title and subject matter seemingly designed to court — indeed, demand — controversy, is at its core a study of extreme contrasts. While Lee has been accused of a great many things during his four-decade…
Don’t call it a comeback. Even though it was described in the press as such, the May 29, 1984 release of Tina Turner’s album Private Dancer wasn’t really a comeback, as the artist herself recalls in Tina, Dan Lindsay and T.J. Martin’s recent documentary…
In the opening scene of the music video for “What Have You Done for Me Lately,” the first single released from Janet Jackson’s 1986 blockbuster album Control, Jackson sits at a diner table with her choreographer Paula Abdul, who in a few years would…
“Here is my music. It is all I have to tell you how I feel. Know that your love keeps my love strong.” This message from Stevie Wonder to his listeners was embossed in braille on the cover of the original LP pressings of…
The Columnist successfully balances a line between the satirical and sobering, and delivers some nice genre play in the process. Ivo Van Aart’s darkly comic horror film The Columnist fits solidly within the well-worn genre of serial killer/slasher flick. However, Van Aart and screenwriter Daan…
