I guess you could call Jeannette Maier a lucky Madam, as unlike Deborah Jeanne Palfrey the so called DC Madam, for when the FBI raided her New Orleans Brothel in 2005 she just lost her livelihood but not her life. In this fascinating documentary on the life of the media-dubbed ‘Canal Street Madam’ what comes shining through is the very … Continue reading
Asides from the endless slew of instant celebrities that Reality TV tries to force upon us, there is now an onslaught from the Internet when videos go viral. This movie is about one such star, and trust me I use the word ‘star’ very reluctantly. Chris Crocker was/is an outrageously gay teenager living in the backwoods of … Continue reading
Richard Trank’s 2007 profile on Simon Wiesenthal opens with a clip of a very young Barbara Walters repeating the same question on every journalist lips at the time ‘isn’t it time to forget?’ She’s asking this of Holocaust survivor Wiesenthal the intrepid hunter of Nazi War Criminals who would never ever give up his quest … Continue reading
At the beginning of this documentary on his life Jiro, a Japanese octogenarian chef, lectures that you must fall in love with your job. And in fact this is the tale of an extraordinary love affair between him and his endless quest of making the finest sushi ever. From his small unassuming basement restaurant ‘Sukiyabashi … Continue reading
I got totally swept away with this stunning uplifting movie about the genius who is the celebrated Chinese artist and political activist. Filmmaker Alison Klayman’s debut feature documentary chronicled his life for 3 years starting with his role as a Consultant to Herzog the architects as they constructed the ‘Birds Nest’ Olympic Stadium, and then he immediately infuriated the … Continue reading