Recent TV Reviews

Tuesday, December 2 2008

Explorer: Marijuana Nation

By Cynthia Fuchs

Marijuana Nation is interested in what makes pot so "desired by so many."

Monday, December 1 2008

Dirty Driving: Thundercars in Indiana

By Cynthia Fuchs

Dirty Driving: Thundercars in Indiana, a subtle, provocative documentary that premiered last month on HBO, observes the complicated relationship between racers and the car industry.

Tuesday, November 25 2008

Frontline: The Hugo Chávez Show

By Cynthia Fuchs

The television show that propels, shapes, and delivers Hugo Chávez remains odd and provocative.

Independent Lens: The Atom Smashers

By Cynthia Fuchs

Science, in a previous version of the United States, was part of daily, popular culture, a subject and career considered respectable, even admirable.

Monday, November 24 2008

The Rape of Europa

By Cynthia Fuchs

The film contrasts remarkable footage of the Fuhrer leading tours of museums with images of the devastation his troops wrought.

Friday, November 21 2008

24: Redemption

By Cynthia Fuchs

In Africa, where children are forced to soldier, Jack realizes, every day is full of terror -- not just the 24-hour spates he's used to confronting.

Thursday, November 20 2008

50 Cent: The Money and the Power

By Cynthia Fuchs

Alternately disconcerting and trainwreck-fascinating, 50 Cent's entry into reality programming is a mix of The Apprentice and ego trip's The (White) Rapper Show.

Wednesday, November 19 2008

Homeless Youth Television

By Todd R. Ramlow

The front page of HYTV lays out a series of linked pages for "programs" that spoof recent high-profile/major network reality fare. It's a rather clever conceit.

Tuesday, November 18 2008

Independent Lens: March Point

By Cynthia Fuchs

March Point concentrates on the boys' way out, that is, the movie as a way to tell their story.

Thursday, November 13 2008

Independent Lens: Lioness

By Cynthia Fuchs

Lioness, Meg McLagan and Daria Sommers' understated, affecting documentary on women in combat in Iraq, shows how they operate in a "grey zone," not quite legal, but following orders.

Tuesday, November 11 2008

Body of War: The True Story of an Anti-War Hero

By Cynthia Fuchs

In making "people like Tomas" visible, Body of War makes its most effective argument: wars cost more than we can know.

Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story

By Cynthia Fuchs

Of the many historic changes signaled by Barack Obama's election, the defeat of divide-and-conquer politicking is among the most profound -- even if this demise is temporary.

Thursday, November 6 2008

Independent Lens: Knee Deep

By Cynthia Fuchs

Knee Deep is actually less interested in the details of who shot Janette Osborne than in the multiple stories that emerged from the crime.

Tuesday, November 4 2008

The F Word

By Cynthia Fuchs

It so happens that Jed Weintrob's The F Word is airing on IFC this morning, the very morning that the U.S. Supreme Court is hearing FCC v. Fox Television Stations, the "fleeting expletives" case.

Friday, October 31 2008

The Simpsons: Treehouse of Horror XIX

By Marisa LaScala

The way The Simpsons not only apes, but also twists familiar cultural touchstones shows reveals again that it's still smarter than all other parodists.