These are the best films, books, and documentaries that I have read, listened to, and watched in 2016. I haven’t been able to review everything on the list. Where I do have a review, you can read the full review by selecting the link. Best Nonfiction Film’s of 2016 Sully – Directed by Clint Eastwood, […]
Am I the only one who didn’t get Arrival?
November 24, 2016 By 1 Comment
The reviews for this film have been phenomenal. Best film of the year! Magical! A masterpiece! Thought provoking? My reaction – WTF? Now I know this film is based on a book, and I have not read the book. I’m sure that the book explains things better than this film. But as a standalone film, […]
The DMV scam
May 10, 2016 By 22 Comments
I admit it. I was scammed. I am a fairly savvy Internet user. People are trying to scam me all day long with emails, blog comments, Facebook ads, etc. I can usually spot them right away and send them to the garbage bin. Yet I let myself be scammed. So here’s how the scam works. […]
Review of Collision Course
March 20, 2016 By 1 Comment
Review of Collision Course by Alvin Moscow Rating **** The appeal of disaster stories lies in the details of the how and why but also in learning about the people who are affected. Who was at fault? What steps could have been taken to avert tragedy? What were the consequences? Alvin Moscow attempts to answer […]
Best of Everything Nonfiction 2015
December 31, 2015 By Leave a Comment
Here is my list of the best nonfiction books, films, and documentaries that I have read or seen in 2015. Books In The Kingdom of Ice by Hampton Sides Dead Wake by Erick Larson Missoula by John Krakauer Getting Life by Michael Morton The Wright Brothers by David McCullough Dateline Purgatory by Kathy Cruz Just Mercy […]
A Wrongful Conviction in the Making
September 14, 2015 By 1 Comment
This is a story unlike any other that I’ve come across. If you type in the search phrase “wrongful convictions” in the search box on this site, you will see the numerous cases of wrongful convictions that I have covered. Some of the wrongfully convicted are freed. Some are still in prison (see the story […]
A month of tragic anniversaries
May 2, 2015 By Leave a Comment
Who doesn’t love the month of May? Warm weather. Blossoming flowers. Golf. But May also has the distinction of being the month where a number of historical tragedies have occurred. I’ll start with the ditching of ALM Flight 980. The plane shown in this post was involved in a tragic accident exactly forty-five years ago […]
Oscars’ lack of respect for documentary films continues
February 23, 2015 By Leave a Comment
After the 2012 Oscars I wrote about my frustrations with the lack of support given to documentary films in the post Documentary films get little love from Oscars and others. So here we are now three years later and nothing has changed. Once again the documentary features awards were treated like a lessor award. No […]
Justin Ross Harris already tried and convicted by media
July 3, 2014 By 5 Comments
This site is full of stories about wrongful convictions. I’m usually writing about cases after people have been found innocent. Now we have the case of Justin Ross Harris who has been accused of intentionally leaving his child in the back of his car with the intent of killing the child. That’s the case that […]
Neighbors and the dumbing down of America
May 22, 2014 By Leave a Comment
Review of Neighbors written by Andrew J. Cohen and Brendan O’Brien, directed by Nicholas Stoller Rating * (actually zero but then you wouldn’t be able to see it) This site is dedicated to works of nonfiction of which this movie is definitely not. But I had the misfortune of seeing this movie and wanted to […]
Ryan Ferguson: Free at last
November 12, 2013 By 1 Comment
I first wrote about Ryan Ferguson in the post Injustice in plain sight. When a local judge in Columbia decided to not vacate Ryan’s sentence after the two eyewitnesses who put him there recanted their testimony, I got personally involved and called the Attorney General’s office. Ryan’s story is a perfect example of how wrongful […]
July 2013 view from the cockpit
July 17, 2013 By Leave a Comment
My book and documentary project have consumed my time for contributing to this blog. I am too busy to even read anything not related to my project. I have been watching the occasional documentary, some of which I have reviewed. I’ve also been flying more. I took this image coming back to St. Louis on the […]
The real story behind the George Zimmerman trial
June 30, 2013 By 1 Comment
Like everyone else I’ve been following the second degree murder trial of George Zimmerman. I’ve watched the talking-head attorneys try to defend what’s going on in Florida. How it’s up to the jury to decide. What’s missing is the fact that this trial should never have taken place in the first place. The evidence for […]
How to Kraft a great commercial
March 27, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Regular visitors to this blog know that I have a dumbest commercials list. But just as there are plenty of bad commercials, there are also some really good ones. This one from Kraft is a classic. It’s funny. It’s original. This is one of those commercials people talk about afterwards — Have you seen that […]
And the Oscar goes to – The Impossible
February 2, 2013 By 1 Comment
Review of The Impossible Directed by Juan Antonio Bayona Written by Sergio Sanchez Story by Maria Belon Rating ***** It’s not often when a title can so succinctly sum up what a story is about. The title of this film refers to many impossibilities: the fact that the entire family survived, the fact that they were […]
