Rss

  • linkedin

Archives for : Susan Kamyab Stephens

Fourth Annual Critics’ Choice Documentary Award Winners

Fourth Annual Critics’ Choice Documentary Award Winners Revealed

Apollo 11 Named Best Documentary Feature

Peter Jackson (They Shall Not Grow Old) Ties with Julia Reichert and Steven Bognar (American Factory) for Best Director 

Apollo 11 Takes Home Five Awards
 

(Brooklyn, NY – November 10, 2019) – The Critics Choice Association (CCA) announced the winners of the fourth annual Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards tonight at a gala event, hosted by HGTV’s Property Brothers Jonathan Scott at BRIC in Brooklyn.

Apollo 11 took home the evening’s most prestigious award for Best Documentary Feature as well as Best Editing for Todd Douglas Miller, Best Score for Matt Morton, Best Archival Documentary, and Best Science/Nature Documentary.

There was a tie for Best Director between Peter Jackson for They Shall Not Grow Old, and Julia Reichert and Steven Bognar for American FactoryThey Shall Not Grow Old also brought home the award for Most Innovative Documentary. American Factory also won the award for Best Political Documentary.

“Once again, we are thrilled to celebrate and support the vibrant and groundbreaking work of these talented documentarians. We are proud that our yearly gala event has become an informed and valuable way for people to find the best films out there and for the work of these filmmakers to find their audiences,” said CCA CEO Joey Berlin. “It was a great night of lauding the greats in the documentary field as well as some outstanding newcomers.” 

At the ceremony a special new honor, The D A Pennebaker Award, was  presented to legendary documentarian Frederick Wiseman. The award, formerly known as the Critics’ Choice Lifetime Achievement Award, is named for prior winner D A Pennebaker, who passed away last summer. It was presented by filmmaker Chris Hegedus, Pennebaker’s long-time collaborator and widow.

Acclaimed filmmaker Michael Apted was presented with The Landmark Award, an honor bestowed upon him for his extraordinary and unparalleled achievement with the Up series, which has just added 63 Up, distributed by BritBox,to this historic work. The award was presented by Michael Moore, who was honored with the Critics’ Choice Lifetime Achievement Award last year.

Presenters at the star-studded event included Jim Gaffigan (The Pale Tourist Comedy Tour), Zooey Deschanel, Rose McGowan (Citizen Rose), Dr. Ruth Westheimer, Wyatt Cenac (Wyatt Cenac’s Problem Areas), Lou Diamond Phillips, Gloria Reuben (Mr. Robot), Erich Bergen (Madam Secretary), Nicole J. Butler and Reggie Currelley (She Shed State Farm commercial), Aasif Mandvi (The Daily Show), Ryan Serhant (Million Dollar Listing New York), and Amir Arison (The Blacklist).

The award for Best Cinematography went to John Chester for The Biggest Little Farm.

Best Narration went to Bruce Springsteen for Western Stars.

Honeyland took home the award for Best First Documentary Feature for directors Tamara Kotevska an Ljubomir Stefanov.

The award for Best Biographical Documentary went to Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am.

The Best Music Documentary award went to Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice.

Maiden won the Best Sports Documentary award.

The Best Short Documentary Award was given to Period. End of Sentence.

This year’s honorees for Most Compelling Living Subject of a Documentary are Dr. Amani Ballor (The Cave), David Crosby (David Crosby: Remember My Name), Tracy Edwards (Maiden), Imelda Marcos (The Kingmaker), Hatidze Muratova (Honeyland), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Amy Vilela, Cori Bush, and Paula Jean Swearengin (Knock Down the House), Linda Ronstadt (Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice), and Dr. Ruth Westheimer (Ask Dr. Ruth).

Last year, the Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards introduced the Catalyst Sponsorship, a program for industry leaders to support the event. The 2019 sponsors include National Geographic Documentary Films, Netflix and Showtime Documentary Films..

About CRITICS’ CHOICE DOCUMENTARY AWARDS
The fourth annual awards ceremony took place Sunday, November 10, 2019 at BRIC in Brooklyn, New York. The Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards was again produced by Bob Bain Productions. 

About CRITICS’ CHOICE AWARDS
The Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards are an off-shoot of The Critics’ Choice Awards, which are bestowed annually by CCA to honor the finest in cinematic and television achievement. Historically, the Critics’ Choice Awards are the most accurate predictor of the Academy Award nominations.

The CW Television Network will again partner with CCA as the exclusive broadcast home for the 25th annual Critics’ Choice Awards, honoring the finest achievements in both movies and television as part of a three-hour special on The CW on January 12, 2020. For more information, visit: www.CriticsChoice.com

Movie Interview: Thomasin McKenzie talks “Jojo Rabbit”

“Jojo Rabbit” is one of the best films of the year. I was thrilled to sit down with one of the stars, Thomasin McKenzie (Elsa) to discuss how adults should teach children to be kind to others, how she likes to pass the time and we play a fun rapid fire game!

“Jojo Rabbit” opens in theaters November 1.

Share

Movie Review: “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil” & “Dolemite is My Name”

In “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil” Aurora get engaged to Prince Philip and Maleficent (Angelina Jolie) isn’t happy. And in “Dolemite is My Name” Rudy Ray Moore (Eddie Murphy) wants to be on the big screen and make a movie, but has no clue how to go about it. Check out my full review of both these films in the video below!

“Maleficent: Mistress of Evil” in theaters October 18 & “Dolemite is My Name” is available on Netflix October 25.

Share

4th Annual Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards Nominations

The Critics Choice Association (CCA) has announced the nominees for the fourth annual Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards (CCDA). The winners will be presented their awards at a gala event, hosted by Property Brothers’ Jonathan Scott, on Sunday, November 10, at BRIC in Brooklyn, New York.

The Critics Choice Association will once again be honoring the finest achievements in documentaries released in theaters, on TV and on major digital platforms, as determined by the voting of qualified CCA members.

Leaving Neverland

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

American Factory (Netflix)

Apollo 11 (Neon)

The Biggest Little Farm (Neon)

The Cave (National Geographic)

Honeyland (Neon)

The Kingmaker (Showtime)

Knock Down the House (Netflix)

Leaving Neverland (HBO)

Maiden (Sony Pictures Classics)

One Child Nation (Amazon Studios)

They Shall Not Grow Old (Warner Bros.)

The Cave

BEST DIRECTOR

Waad Al-Kateab and Edward Watts, For Sama (PBS)

Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert, American Factory (Netflix)

John Chester, The Biggest Little Farm (Neon)

Feras Fayyad, The Cave (National Geographic)

Peter Jackson, They Shall Not Grow Old (Warner Bros.)

Todd Douglas Miller, Apollo 11 (Neon)

Nanfu Wang and Jialing Zhang, One Child Nation (Amazon Studios)

Aquarela

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Ben Bernhard and Viktor Kossakovsky, Aquarela (Sony Pictures Classics)

John Chester, The Biggest Little Farm (Neon)

Fejmi Daut and Samir Ljuma, Honeyland (Neon)

Nicholas de Pencier, Anthropocene: The Human Epoch (Kino Lorber)

Muhammed Khair Al Shami, Ammar Suleiman, and Mohammad Eyad, The Cave (National Geographic)

Richard Ladkani, Sea of Shadows (National Geographic)

One Child Nation

BEST EDITING

Georg Michael Fischer and Verena Schönauer, Sea of Shadows (National Geographic)

Todd Douglas Miller, Apollo 11 (Neon)

Jabez Olssen, They Shall Not Grow Old (Warner Bros.)

Amy Overbeck, The Biggest Little Farm (Neon)

Lindsay Utz, American Factory (Netflix)

Nanfu Wang, One Child Nation (Amazon Studios)

Sea of Shadows

BEST SCORE

Jeff Beal, The Biggest Little Farm (Neon)

Matthew Herbert, The Cave (National Geographic)

Matt Morton, Apollo 11 (Neon)

Plan 9, They Shall Not Grow Old (Warner Bros.)

H. Scott Salinas, Sea of Shadows (National Geographic)

Eicca Toppinen, Aquarela (Sony Pictures Classics)

The Elephant Queen

BEST NARRATION

Anthropocene: The Human Epoch (Kino Lorber)

   Alicia Vikander, narrator
   Jennifer Baichwal, writer

The Biggest Little Farm (Neon)
   John Chester and Molly Chester, narrators
   John Chester, writer

The Edge of Democracy (Netflix)

   Petra Costa, narrator
   Petra Costa, Carol Pires, David Barker and Moara Passoni, writers

The Elephant Queen (Apple)

   Chiwetel Ejiofor, narrator

   Mark Deeble, writer

For Sama (PBS)

   Waad Al-Kateab, narrator

   Waad Al-Kateab, writer

Joseph Pulitzer: Voice of the People (First Run)

   Adam Driver, narrator

   Oren Rudavsky and Bob Seidman, writers

One Child Nation (Amazon Studios)

   Nanfu Wang, narrator

   Nanfu Wang, writer

Western Stars (Warner Bros.)

   Bruce Springsteen, narrator
   Bruce Springsteen, writer

Love, Antosha

BEST FIRST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

Midge Costin, Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound (Matson Films)

A.J. Eaton, David Crosby: Remember My Name (Sony Pictures Classics)

Pamela B. Green, Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché (Kino Lorber/Zeitgeist Films)

Tamara Kotevska and Ljubomir Stefanov, Honeyland (Neon)

Richard Miron, For the Birds (Dogwoof)

Garret Price, Love, Antosha (Lurker Films)

Apollo 11

BEST ARCHIVAL DOCUMENTARY

Amazing Grace (Neon)

Apollo 11 (Neon)

Maiden (Sony Pictures Classics)

Mike Wallace is Here (Magnolia)

Pavarotti (CBS Films)

Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese (Netflix)

They Shall Not Grow Old (Warner Bros.)

What’s My Name: Muhammad Ali (HBO)

BEST BIOGRAPHICAL DOCUMENTARY

The Kingmaker

David Crosby: Remember My Name (Sony Pictures Classics)

The Kingmaker (Showtime)

Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice (Greenwich)

Love, Antosha (Lurker Films)

Mike Wallace is Here (Magnolia)

Pavarotti (CBS Films)

Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am (Magnolia)

David Crosby: Remember My Name

BEST MUSIC DOCUMENTARY

Amazing Grace (Neon)

David Crosby: Remember My Name (Sony Pictures Classics)

Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice (Greenwich)

Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool (Abramorama)

Pavarotti (CBS Films)

Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese (Netflix)

Western Stars (Warner Bros.)

Knock Down the House

BEST POLITICAL DOCUMENTARY

American Factory (Netflix)

The Edge of Democracy (Netflix)

Hail Satan? (Magnolia)

The Kingmaker (Showtime)

Knock Down the House (Netflix)

One Child Nation (Amazon Studios)

The Biggest Little Farm

BEST SCIENCE/NATURE DOCUMENTARY

Anthropocene: The Human Epoch (Kino Lorber)

Apollo 11 (Neon)

Aquarela (Sony Pictures Classic) 

The Biggest Little Farm (Neon)

The Elephant Queen (Apple)

Honeyland (Neon)

Penguins (Disney)

Sea of Shadows (National Geographic)

Bethany Hamilton: Unstoppable

BEST SPORTS DOCUMENTARY

Bethany Hamilton: Unstoppable (Entertainment Studios)

Diego Maradona (HBO)

Maiden (Sony Pictures Classics)

Rodman: For Better or Worse (ESPN)

The Spy Behind Home Plate (Ciesla Foundation)

What’s My Name: Muhammad Ali (HBO)

Screwball

MOST INNOVATIVE DOCUMENTARY

Aquarela (Sony Pictures Classics)

Cold Case Hammarskjöld (Magnolia)

Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese (Netflix)

Screwball (Greenwich)

Serendipity (Cohen Media)

They Shall Not Grow Old (Warner Bros.)

The Chapel at the Border

BEST SHORT DOCUMENTARY

The Chapel at the Border (Atlantic Documentaries)

   (Director and Producer: Jeremy Raff)

Death Row Doctor (The New York Times Op-Docs)

   (Director: Lauren Knapp)

In the Absence (Field of Vision)

   (Director: Yi Seung-Jun. Producer: Gary Byung-Seok Kam)

Lost World
   (Director and Producer: Kalyanee Mam. Producers: Adam Loften and Emmanuel Vaughan-Lee)

Mack Wrestles (ESPN)

   (Directors and Producers: Taylor Hess and Erin Sanger. Producers: Erin Leyden and Gentry Kirby)

Period. End of Sentence. (Netflix)

   (Director: Rayka Zehtabchi. Producers: Melissa Berton, Garrett K. Schiff and Lisa Taback)

The Polaroid Job (The New York Times Op-Docs)

   (Director: Mike Plante)

Sam and the Plant Next Door (The Guardian)

   (Director and Producer: Ömer Sami)

The Unconditional
   (Director and Producer: Dave Adams. Producers: Adam Soltis, Renee Woodruff Adams, Josie Swantek Heitz, and Chris Tuss)

The Waiting Room (The Guardian)

   (Director and Producer: Victoria Mapplebeck)

Honeyland

MOST COMPELLING LIVING SUBJECTS OF A DOCUMENTARY

Dr. Amani Ballor – The Cave (National Geographic)

David Crosby – David Crosby: Remember My Name (Sony Pictures Classics)

Tracy Edwards – Maiden (Sony Pictures Classics)

Imelda Marcos – The Kingmaker (Showtime)

Hatidze Muratova – Honeyland (Neon)

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Amy Vilela, Cori Bush, and Paula Jean Swearengin – Knock Down the House (Netflix)

Linda Ronstadt – Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice (Greenwich)

Dr. Ruth Westheimer – Ask Dr. Ruth (Hulu)

Amazon’s Treasure Truck makes a Stop in Dallas!

AMAZON’S TREASURE TRUCK HITS THE ROAD FOR MULTI-CITY ELECTRIC BEAUTY POP-UP TOUR, PAMPERING GUESTS WITH STOP IN DALLAS

WHO: Amazon Treasure Truck Pop-Up Beauty Experience hosted in collaboration with Aveeno, Bed Head, Butter London, Gillette, L’Oréal Paris, Maybelline New York, Neutrogena, Pantene, Philips Norelco, and Venus.

WHAT: Amazon’s Treasure Truck experience hits the road once again for a multi-city Electric Beauty Pop-Up Tour, providing consumers with a day of pampering and so much more. Kicking off on Saturday, Sept. 21, the Beauty Pop-Up Tour will travel from New York to Chicago on Saturday, Sept. 28, then to Dallas on Saturday, Oct. 5, and culminate in Los Angeles on Saturday, Oct. 12, bringing with it an exciting and interactive beauty-themed experience. The pop-up will feature hands-on demonstrations and product samples from leading brands such as Aveeno, Bed Head, Butter London, Gillette, L’Oréal Paris, Maybelline New York, Neutrogena, Pantene, Philips Norelco, and Venus.

Beauty-product-lovers can experience the following in Dallas on Saturday, Oct. 5:

  • Hand Masks Hosted by Aveeno
  • Volumizer Styling Hosted by Bead Head
  • 10-Minute Manicure Hosted by Butter London
  • Makeup Application Bar Hosted by L’Oréal and Maybelline
  • Skin360 Skin Scans Hosted by Neutrogena
  • Braid Bar Hosted by Pantene
  • Beard Trims Hosted by Norelco

WHEN: Saturday, Oct. 5, 11:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. CT

WHERE: Fashion Industry Gallery

1807 Ross Ave #167

Dallas, TX 75201

DETAILS: Amazon’s Treasure Truck is a unique rolling, immersive shopping experience with top-tier products. To find out when Treasure Truck will be out in your city, you can sign up for text message notifications at amazon.com/treasuretruck. You can also follow Treasure Truck on social media @treasuretruck.

Interview: Alisha Wainwright & Jason Ritter talk “Raising Dion”

Jason Ritter, Alisha Wainwright, & Ja’Siah Young star in “Raising Dion”

Dion is an eight year old boy who has just discovered he has super powers. His mother, Nicole (Alisha Wainwright), is a widowed single mom who’s learning how to best raise her son and protect him from a mysterious villain. “Raising Dion” is a thrilling, family sci-fi/drama premiering on Netflix October 4. Alisha Wainwright and Jason Ritter join Susan Stephens to talk about the show.

Share

Fantastic Fest Reviews: “The True Adventures of Wolfboy” & “Homewrecker”

Martin Krejci’s “The True Adventures of Wolfboy”

The True Adventures of Wolf Boy

“The Adventures of Wolfboy features an all-star cast including Jaeden Martell, Chris Messina, and Chloe Sevigny. The film is about Paul (Martell), a young boy with Hypertrichosis – a disease that causes him to have hair all over him, making him look like a wolf. Paul is bullied and feels alone in this world, even though he has a supportive and loving father (Messina) who only wants to make Paul happy.

On Paul’s 13th birthday, he receives a mysterious gift from his estranged mother. He sneaks out of the house on a journey to find her, and hopes she has an explanation for his condition. In an attempt to make money, he stops at the local circus. He ends up gaining an enemy in Mr. Silk (John Turturro). While on the run, Paul eventually makes some new friends, including Aristiana (Sophie Giannamore). This adventure quickly turns into a wild ride.

The film is far from original, and it’s a pretty basic story. Luckily, there are one or two surprises in there that make up for its predictability. And even though the premise is familiar, “The True Adventures of Wolfboy” finds a sweet way to portray the message of self-acceptance.

Side note: This film’s soundtrack was the best of the fest!

Rating: 3.5/5

Zach Gayne’s “Homewrecker”

Homewrecker

Lifetime should pick up this movie right way. It is basically made for TV gold.

“Homewrecker” follows Michelle (Alex Essoe), a young woman who has clearly been stalked by a slightly older and unhinged Linda (Precious Chong). After a “chance encounter” at a cafe, Linda persuades Michelle to stop by her house for a business opportunity. What was supposed to be a quick visit, turns into a nightmare.

There are a lot of problems with this movie. The editing is questionable. Mainly the bath bomb transitions that throw off the flow of the film. The script is hardly original or good, and everyone besides the two leads are weak actors. At the same time, there’s a lot to like!

Essoe is a terrific actress; quite possibly too good for this movie. Chong does a fantastic job at playing a deranged stranger whose blank stares are enough to freak anyone out. It’s actually these two who make the film a pleasure. Watching these two go from one extreme to another is a lot of fun. Bouncing from a friendship, to jealousy, to hate, to sympathizing with one another, and the emotions go on.

This is honestly a ridiculous film and an avoidable situation. But somehow, Essoe and Chong make it work. So much so, that I didn’t want their madness to end. If you like the typical Lifetime movie formula, then you’ll enjoy the hell out of “Homewrecker”.

Rating: 3/5

Fantastic Fest Reviews: “First Love”, “The Golden Glove”, & “Butt Boy”

Takashi Miike’s “First Love”

First Love

Leo (Masataka Kubota) is a young boxer who lacks almost any kind of emotion, even when he wins a match. But when he discovers he doesn’t have much time left to live; an unexpected chain of events happens that involve drugs, the Yakuza, corrupt cops, and Monica- a female escort who is need of a hero. It’s a hell of night to say the least.

I’ll admit, this was my first Miike film and I was told this one was tame in comparison to his other movies like “Audition” and “13 Assassins”. However, “tame” isn’t the word I would use to describe this movie. It’s an action packed bone crushing, head cutting, blood fest!

Not only was I entertained by the graphic violence, but the screenplay is hilarious. The film is very self-aware of how comical this chaotic situation has gotten. It’s John Wick meets Guy Ritchie in Japan! I highly recommend this one.

Rating: 4/5

Faith Akin’s “The Golden Glove”

The Golden Glove

Oh man this movie was gross! I just have to start by saying, it’s been a while since a film made me physically gag, and I’m still not certain if that’s a good or bad thing. I guess I can say “The Golden Glove” is affective.

“The Golden Glove is about Fritz Honka (Jonas Dassler), the serial killer who murdered four elderly prostitutes in Germany during the 1970’s. Fritz isn’t the most appealing man to look at. He lives like a slob, and his murders are gruesome. There are many reasons why this film will have your stomachs churning. Beginning with the opening scene. Let’s just say it sets the tone perfectly for what you’re about to endure for the next two hours.

The film has already received a lot of backlash for being too vile, and unnecessarily disgusting. Though Honka’s actions are vile, how else would you have a film about this psychotic murder portrayed?

“The Golden Glove” will not be everyone’s cup of tea. It’s an unforgettable one and done for myself. I can’t say I enjoyed watching this film, but I’m pretty sure my reactions throughout the movie were probably what the filmmaker was going for. So in that sense, I can respect this movie.

Rating: 3/5

Tyler Cornack’s “Butt Boy”

Butt Boy

Yes, the title of the film “Butt Boy” insinuates what you’re probably thinking. This film is about a man, Chip (Tyler Cornack), who goes in for his first prostate examine and discovers he likes it more than he expected. Suddenly a little boy has gone missing, and the connection between the two instances will have you dumbfounded.

I hate to say that I was so disappointed in this film. The premise and the beginning had me sucked in, but the second half of the film went straight to shit (pun intended). The acting is mediocre. And though the plot is unique, it’s far too ridiculous to even enjoy.

With the right mind set, “Butt Boy” could appeal to a particular audience. Remind yourself that this is more of a sci-fi comedy, and maybe you’ll gain some entertainment value.

Rating: 2/5

Fantastic Fest Movie Review: Opening Night Film – “Jojo Rabbit”

Share

The very unique director/writer/actor, Taika Waititi (Thor: Ragnarok) brings us this delightful, bittersweet comedy about a Hitler loving boy who learns discriminating against others who are unlike you isn’t as cool as the Nazi’s made it to be. Check out my full video review!

“Jojo Rabbit” opens in theater October 18.

A Night of Reel Hope – “The Princess Bride” Benefitting HopeKids

THE PRINCESS BRIDE will be shown at Alamo Drafthouse Las Colinas on Sept. 26 along with dinner and drinks benefitting HopeKidsNorth Texas! 

HopeKids allow families who have a child with a life-threatening illness to escape the struggles for a moment and reconnect and recharge. Whether it’s the family screenings that Alamo Drafthouse hosts for HopeKids families each month, tickets to concerts, sporting events or a trip to the museum or the Stockyards, the list of partners they work with is impressive and helps to provide more than 300 events each year.

Click the link to purchase tickets and more information! https://www.hopekids.org/reelhope/