★★★ Directed by: #TimothyGreenfieldSanders Starring: #ToniMorrison #AngelaDavis #OprahWinfrey #WalterMosley Film Review by: #HopeMadden Before Toni Morrison was old enough to understand the F-word her mother had her washing off the sidewalk, she understood the confrontational nature and the power of words. Timothy Greenfield-Sanders’s documentary Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am benefits from the Octogenarian Nobel and Pulitzer prize winner’s characteristically mesmerizing ruminations on her life. As she sits and recounts memories, moments and, most fascinating, glimpses of her writing inspirations, the documentary blossoms. Compared to the composed and thoughtful interview footage with the likes of Dick Cavett and others from across her career, Morrison’s interaction for Greenfield-Sanders’s camera has a playful quality. She charms when recounting her personal history: “When I got to Howard, I was loose,” she recalls happily. “I probably overdid it. I don’t regret it.” Her confidence when considering her life in publishing is awesome. “Navigating a white male world was not threatening. It wasn’t even interesting.” And when she speaks about her writing—just, wow: “My sovereignty and my authority as a racialized person had to be struck immediately with the very first book. The white world was peripheral if it existed at all.” It comes as no surprise that someone with such breathtaking mastery of the language would be as beguiling when speaking as she is in writing, and the veteran documentarian knows when to just turn the camera toward his subject and let it roll. Sure, some context has to be provided. We get biographical information. We see snippets of news shows, hear from famous fans (Oprah, Angela Davis, Sonia Sanchez, Walter Moseley—Toni Morrison has impressive fans). But honestly, this is when Greenfield-Sanders’s documentary gets away from him. Allowing the audience some background they may not have concerning Morrison’s struggle to be appreciated in her own time, or the bold and culturally imperative choices she made as an editor, or the global reaction to her novels feels necessary. It also feels superficial. Worse still, it feels like a cheat—like these were moments that could have been spent listening to Toni Morrison tell us something. Anything. This is particularly stinging when we’re finally allowed a sentence or two about how Beloved was inspired. Morrison tells of a vision that suggests there is something genuinely magical, something otherworldly, about her process. It’s a hint, but it’s impossible not to want more, not to feel as though we could have chucked all that gushing from fans, all those archival interviews, all those photos from Howard and just listen to Toni Morrison tell us a story.

★★★ Directed by: #TomHarper Written by: #NicoleTaylor Starring: #JessieBuckley #JulieWalters Film Review by: #MattWeiner “Three chords and the truth” is the driving spirit that runs throughout Wild Rose. It’s the reason aspiring country singer Rose-Lynn Harlan (Jessie Buckley) doesn’t just love the genre, she lives it. She has it tattooed on her arm, and her dream of Nashville superstardom buoys her otherwise dreary working-class life in Glasgow. It’s also an apt quote to hang the movie on. From the opening setup, you already know the notes and you know the progression. But darned if Buckley doesn’t still have something to say, and in a voice that can’t be ignored. Buckley (Taboo, Beast) animates every frame as Rose-Lynn, fresh from a year in jail for drug charges and defiant at anyone and anything that comes between her and the country fantasy world she has built her life around. This includes her long-suffering mother and two young children. Far more supportive is her new employer, the posh Susannah (Sophie Okonedo), who hears Rose-Lynn singing while cleaning her house and encourages her to send a recording to the BBC. Of course Susannah’s support comes at the expense of Rose-Lynn hiding pertinent background details, and it’s this central tension between following your dreams and making a life of what you already have that concerns most of the drama. But even if Rose-Lynn’s path is a familiar one, the movie (written by Nicole Taylor and directed by Tom Harper) still imbues her arc with touching consideration and naturalistic ups and downs. Thanks in large part to Buckley, who brings a gut-wrenching humanity to each inevitable screw-up, it’s a journey that is compelling and well-earned—no small feat for the kind of story where at least some cathartic triumph is the payoff we expect for all those bumps along the road. Wild Rose raises some truly thorny questions about the pursuit of art and the expectations surrounding that. While Rose-Lynn’s story arrives at an answer a bit too neatly, it’s no less catchy of a refrain. There’s a reason that Nashville sound churned out so many hits.

★★ Directed by: #MichaelDowse Written by: #TripperClancy Starring: #DaveBautista #KumailNanjiani Film Review by: #HopeMadden Dave Bautista and Kumail Nanjiani actually have more in common than you might think. Both are charming, funny, likable oddballs and both are outstanding on Twitter. That last bit is less meaningful as they team up in the bromance romp Stuber. Bautista plays Vic, a weirdly muscular LA cop. Nanjiani's Stu is an Uber driver. Vic has eye surgery the same day he gets a tip on a big drug deal going down. Unable to drive, he presses his Uber driver into involuntary service. Hijinks...oh the hijinks. The main problem with this movie is that it's idiotic. A handful of other actors, including Natalie Morales and Mira Sorvino, sleepwalk through the most rote buddy cop movie you've ever seen basically to create a backdrop for Nanjiani to make being the voice of reason sound so funny. He's basically playing Kumail Nanjiani, which is, of course, the role he was born to play. Bautista has a tougher row to hoe. He can't sell the physical comedy, which is the point of his giant, bumbling, near-blind-and-yet-still-driving-and-shooting-weapons character. Think Mr. Magoo meets Dirty Harry meets a bunch of steroids. Dude, that should be comedy gold, especially in the hands of director Michael Dowse, whose classic hockey comedy Goon understood the charm of the blundering, violent dumbass. Writer Tripper Clancy (that's a name!) doesn't help, as the only interesting ideas he has—the one he's hung his entire screenplay on—he stole outright from Deadpool. Hey! You know what was funny? Deadpool. It's too bad because both Nanjiani and Bautista deserve a lot better than this low-aiming and forgettable mess.

★★★ Directed by: #AlexandreAja Starring: #KayaScodelario #BarryPepper Written by: #MichaelRasmussen #ShawnRasmussen Film Review by: #GeorgeWolf Just when you thought it was safe to explore your Florida crawlspaces during a Category 5, here comes Crawl to remind us that while Sharknadoes put tongues in cheeks, Gatorcanes are looking to remove the whole head. Haley Keller (Kaya Scodelario) is a University of Florida swimmer (a Gator!), which comes in pretty handy when she ignores evacuation orders to look for the father that always challenged her to do better in the pool. Dave Keller (Barry Pepper) is lying injured in a soggy basement, and even before Haley finds him, she finds that they are not alone. Director Alexandre Aja (High Tension, Piranha 3D, The Hills Have Eyes remake) utilizes the confines of the flooding house to fine effect. Walls, pipes and tight corners create natural barriers between gator and bait, but as the water level keeps rising, Aja finds plenty of room for simmering tension and effective jump scares. Plus plenty of bloodletting. Oh, yes, people do get eaten. This survival tale doesn't worry too much about suspending disbelief. It just keeps the water rising, the obstacles mounting (Haley's "You gotta be fucking kidding me" speaks for all of us) and the visual effects nimble and nifty. Writers Michael and Shawn Rasmussen get a bit too enamored with the father/daughter estrangements and swim team parlance ("You're faster than they are! Swim!"), but Scodelario provides a capable anchor, giving Haley authentic layers of toughness and grit. Aja and the effects team do the rest, enough to make Crawl an often entertaining creature and bloody fun summer feature.

★★★★ Directed by: Luke Creely Written by: #LukeCreely, #JackCoco Starring: #PiaGraceMoon, #IngridTorelli Short Film Review by: #RachelPullen Things that you can’t ‘hear’: screaming in outer space, trees falling when you’re not around, high pitch frequency dog whistles, you know, all the good stuff. I often cut down trees in space, scream at them, then try to locate my alien space dog with a whistle. As well as the above, #filmmaker Luke Creely likes to think people can’t hear you scream inside the confines of a house. This may be true if you are in the middle of nowhere, not unlike a falling tree I guess, which is super convenient if you plan on doing a bunch of murders in your free time. I mean you could just watch Murder She Wrote, but different strokes different folks I guess. Short film They Can’t Hear You takes place in one bedroom, where a young woman lays tied to a bed at the mercy of someone else in the room [and not in the fun sexy way], someone we never actually see, apart from their little feet and terrible choice of footwear...Seriously the shoes, you will understand what I mean when you see them. She begs, pleads, screams for ages...to the point where even I hoped to not be able to hear her, but it’s the hallmark of a good #horror actress or ‘’scream queen’’ I guess, but little is gonna change the mind of our villain. To be fair, no one could change their mind on shoe choice so they don’t stand a chance when it comes to murder. This short movie draws from the age old horror rulebook: don’t reveal the evil too soon, not unlike John Carpenter did with Halloween, Michael is scary because he is faceless, in the first movie he has no motive, he just wants to kill, and that is where fear comes from....the unknown. Writer and director Creely delivers suspense direct to the screen, the unknown is the driving force and the ticking clock of the victim’s life builds us into a frenzy of ‘’what will happen’’, and to top it off there is zero motive, just the desire to kill, to take another human life, not unlike horror classics such as ‘’When a Stranger Calls’’ and ‘’ATM’’. Overall this is a fun little horror short but before we close and say good night let’s not think that I overlooked the most stimulating thing about this whole film...directed, produced and co-written by...Luke Creely. TRIPLE ...THREAT...for the win.

★★★ Directed by: #ScottDrucker #YuGu Starring:#ArthurChu #ElisaBlair Documentary Film Review by: #ChrisBuick Who is Arthur Chu? follows a man named…you guessed it…Arthur Chu, a young Asian-American who rose to a certain level of fame after becoming an 11 time champion on the US quiz show Jeopardy!, earning himself just shy of three hundred thousand dollars. Chu was known for the rather unorthodox and arguably controversial way in which he played the game, having worked out a system for winning and employing tactics that many fans deemed not in keeping with the traditions of the show. Thus, he was dubbed the “Jeopardy! Villain” and as the wins kept coming, so did a torrent of horrific online abuse regarding his race, appearance and other aspects of his life. Since gaining his somewhat unlikely celebrity status, Chu has tried to use his newfound public persona as a platform to drive positive social change and discussion around such topics as nerd culture and its problems with online bullying, sexism and racism, most notably concerning the #GamerGate controversy. While his strong opinions have gained him a substantial fanbase, they have also brought an onslaught of online abuse and throughout the film we get to see a selection of the actual tweets, which are deplorable, that Arthur has had to endure. We meet Arthur after Jeopardy! as he is on his way towards becoming a social commentator and Arthur Chu is an interesting subject to watch. He does not come across as the most likeable person, at times seeming arrogant, unapologetic or even self-righteous in his views. Despite his strong support for women’s rights, there are times when he seems neglectful of his supportive wife Elisa, herself suffering from fibromyalgia and struggling with aspirations of her own. Some of the hardest moments to watch are when Elisa is baring her soul to the camera, all the while Arthur sits glued to his Twitter feed. But this is a great move from #filmmakers Scott Drucker and Yu Gu. We are not asked to like Arthur, but rather understand why he is the way that he is. Raised by traditional Chinese parents, Arthur’s reluctance to adhere to the typical traditions of his heritage such as honour and politeness cause strains between Arthur and his family, and an extremely uncomfortable scene where Arthur meets his father for dinner is one of the most captivating and saddest moments of the film. The film tracks the number of twitter followers Arthur has at a given moment as a decent way of establishing a timeline of events, however there are issues with pace. Home video footage interspersed throughout show us Arthur’s early life but ultimately doesn’t add anything to the film, instead bringing down the overall tempo, but thankfully it is often able to pick itself back up Who is Arthur Chu? is an honest and frank look at the real person behind a public image and asks us to understand why they are who they are, while also shining a light on the darker side of social media and the effects abusive comments can have on the people they are directed at. Drucker and Gu have managed to make their uncompromising character engaging even if he is not altogether likeable in a film that raises many important issues that are in much need of discussion.

Directed by Anthony Maras and starring Dev Patel, Armie Hamer, and Nazanin Boniadi, Hotel Mumbai tells the harrowing story behind the victims of a 2008 terrorist attack and seige. In our movie review, we gave the film 4 stars and highlighted the particularly great performance from Dev Patel. He plays a character attempting to save as many people as he can from the baddies. In the Hotel Mumbai movie trailer, we get a glimpse of the tense and taught action from director #AnthonyMaras. The film itself is set to be released in UK cinemas and on Sky Cinema on the same day - September 27th, so keep your calendars free to catch a viewing in whichever format suits you. Judging by our Hotel Mumbai film review by movie critic Brandon Thomas, it may be worth seeking out on the big screen for the palpable tension and shocking yet matter of fact violence.

★★★ Directed by: #KyleNewacheck Written by: #JamesVanderbilt Starring: #AdamSandler, #JenniferAniston, #LukeEvans, #TerenceStamp, #GemmaArterton, #DavidWalliams, #DanyBoon, #JohnKani, #AdeelAkhtar Netflix Film Review by: #ChrisOlson Adam Sandler has acted in 74 movies. I bring this up because, love or hate the American actor, this guy has been a mainstay of popular cinema for freaking decades and is still carving a considerable space for himself in these troubled times for filmmakers. His latest appearance is in the #Netflix movie Murder Mystery, starring alongside Jennifer Aniston as a couple on a romantic European (delayed) honeymoon that turns into a game of Cluedo. Luke Evans plays a mysterious and wealthy guy named Charles Cavendish, who invites our couple onto his family yacht after bumping into Aniston in first class (she was there to steal ear plugs before heading back to pleb class). Charles isn't the only noticeable character in the family, as we get introduced to a gaggle of trust fund types, each with eccentric cliches. However, once the father of the family (Terence Stamp) gets offed on the yacht before he can sign his new will, Sandler attempts to use his police skills and Aniston's love of murder mysteries to solve the crime. It's campy, schlocky fun without a hint of pretentiousness. Yes it is banal and benign but the cast all seem to be having fun on a free holiday whilst turning in something a couple of steps elevated from amateur improv. The chemistry between Sandler and Aniston (back together for the first time since Just Go With It - I think, Sandler makes so many films) is terrific and their couple banter is on the toppest of forms when they are in the super serious situations. In particular when they are facing off against an Interpol agent (Dany Boon). A James Vanderbilt screenplay and directed by Kyle Newacheck (Workaholics), Murder Mystery knows the legacy with which it is tangling. Given the choice between watching this and another whodunnit like Kenneth Branagh's 2017 snore fest Murder on the Orient Express, I choose this Netflix original every time. So where does this rank among the plethora of output from the Happy Madison range? Probably somewhere around the Grown Ups level. It isn't Sandler's best work but by some distance not his worst. It is coherent and somewhat humourous whilst paying homage to the murder mysteries of the past. The archetypes are respectively ridiculed, the clichés are copiously copied, and the villainy is virtually cartoonish.

Filmmaker Interview by Chris Olson Previously the guitarist for The Boxer Rebellion, Todd Howe is about the release his first feature film, a documentary about another band Augustines. Having reviewed the documentary recently for UK Film Review, I was eager to catch up with him about his journey into filmmaking. What is your connection to the Augustines and William McCarthy? I was a huge fan of Pela back in 2008, having randomly come across their music when I was living in Berlin. William and I started communicating back in the Myspace era, and I'd actually contacted my agent in Germany who ended up booking Pela's first German tour. As the story goes, Billy broke his wrist or his ankle on stage in the US and they had to cancel. I honestly thought they would be the next band to break out of NYC, and they should have been, but back then I had no idea what was going on behind the scenes. When The Boxer Rebellion had our own success with 'Union' in the beginning of 2009, we ended up meeting in NYC at a pub and my friendship with William and Eric grew from there. I just happened to be in NYC a few times in August 2009, I caught up with William the week before James died and we kept in touch more often after that. When William and Eric had finished Rise Ye Sunken Ships they sent it to me. TBR were recording The Cold Still at the time and I'd just returned from Real World Studios for the weekend. I played it and it blew me away. My girlfriend at the time was working for a management company and ended up managing them for the first few years. She did a masterful job assembling a passionate team behind the scenes - champions who really believed in the band's music. I have a lot of fond memories of that time and it was a magnificent thing to both witness, and be a part of. For me, it was an obligation to my friends that their music deserved to be heard by a much wider audience. Taking Augustines on a few early tours with The Boxer Rebellion was my way of contributing to that. We've all been close friends now for over a decade and are bound by so many experiences. I will say this: I still don't think people realise how close Augustines came to never happening at all. The challenges, the struggles, the industry bullshit that I'd left out of the film was relentless for them. Why did you want to tell this story? The elements for a great documentary were all there - it was an incredibly compelling story, the band members would be more than able to hold and articulate themselves on camera. The music was amazing, their live shows even more so. My friendship and history with the guys made me the the right man for the job, but I'd also been through the ringer with the music industry and experienced that period I can only refer to as "the wilderness years". I still had to convince the band though. I spent the day making a concept trailer and sent it to them. They loved it and the next day we started making plans. So even though I'd never made a documentary before I felt I knew what constituted a good documentary, and I had my own benchmarks and standards. I just had to learn the process, accept I had no idea what I was doing, make mistakes, keep pushing and learn the craft. There was also the factor of this being my first creative project since leaving The Boxer Rebellion. I had a lot to prove to myself that I was capable. How difficult is it to get a movie like this made? What were the challenges? I don't know if I could tell the entire story but it is, without question, the most difficult thing I've ever done. The biggest issue was the length of time it has taken to make and the stress it put on me to deliver, but when a cut you've been working on for months comes back and the responses are luke warm, you simply can't release luke warm. Documentaries are expensive to make and I'm enormously thankful to the community who supported the film and waited patiently for four years. I made this film through some incredibly tough personal circumstances as well. I also had to put up with a producer I'd enlisted early on attempting to take over the film and push me out. That's only half the reason Chapel Song doesn't appear in the film by the way. These things feel like a huge kick in the guts at the time, but they are the experiences that ultimately teach you resilience. They also teach you to how to avoid dealing with fuckwits in life. As a musician yourself, what are the musical documentaries/biopics that have influenced you? I always watched a lot of docs, but I wasn't so much of a fan of music docs, even as a musician. I'd always felt the majority of music docs are too shortsighted and cater far too much for their immediate audience and I knew I would be selling the Augustines story short if I'd done that. The docs which resonated with me at the time were Senna, Finding Vivian Maier and The Last Days In Vietnam. If you analyze those films they each have incredibly strong human stories attached, which are explored and resolved. Jiro Dreams Of Sushi was another one. To understand what is at the core of the human being, what makes them so passionate that they dedicate their existence to their craft and to being the best - it's powerful stuff. Searching For Sugar Man had also won an Oscar and (the late) Malik Bendjelloul's creative process was inspirational to me, and he was just a regular guy who made a film, decided to edit it himself and won an Oscar. Where can people see your movie? The film will be out on iTunes, Amazon, Google Play and Vimeo On Demand August 2nd. What's next for you? I've been actively developing a docuseries for the last few months around a series of serial killings in California in the mid 80's. I really can't say more than that other than it's another incredible story which has flown under the radar for a long time. So the last few months has been balancing the release of RISE: The Story of Augustines and talking to victim's family members, investigators and journalists. Just yesterday I spoke with the man who was responsible for putting an enormous part of the case together. To hear his first hand account, one-on-one on a preliminary call like that is a real experience, it's an adrenalin rush. I'm looking forward to planning, researching, and writing multiple episodes and seeing where it all goes. What would you say if you were a dolphin? We're all fucked!

★★★★ Directed by: #DavidOReilly Written by: #DavidOReilly Starring: #DarraghOToole #AmyHughes #MarkLawrence #BrianCox Film Review by: #AnnieVincent Well, what a short film we have here! Winner of multiple film festival awards and nominated for a barrage of others, #KubrickbyCandlelight is #DavidOReilly’s homage to film director #StanleyKubrick. As a romantic short, it is engaging and amusing. As a tribute to Kubrick’s work for audiences who know his films well, it is a cornucopia of film trivia and will have you reminiscing over classics such as #FullMetalJacket, #EyesWideShut, #2001ASpaceOdyssey and #AClockworkOrange. That’s not to say that the film itself, in terms of content, is much like those specific films. Taking place on the set of Kubrick’s film #BarryLyndon, which he shot back in 1973, #KubrickbyCandlelight follows the brief romantic triangle between Irish extra Paul (O’Toole) and English Assistant Film Director Mary (Hughes). Like the characters of the Barry Lyndon film (which was based on the 18th Century novel by William Thackeray and is therefore quite different in style to Kubrick’s cult classics) Paul and Mary are social echelons apart. Using only his Irish charm, Paul manages to capture Mary’s attention, much to the frustration of Mark, another Assistant Director who wants Mary for himself. These three actors bring this charming romantic comedy on apace, with enough chemistry for all the smiles and chuckles you’d want from such a film. It’s a sweet nod to old romances - a worthy watch with all the production polish you could want and a great 70s soundtrack to boot. But if you know Kubrick’s films, look behind the performances of these three to the panoramic shots, pay attention to some of the sets and listen carefully to narrator Brian Cox, and you may well spot a number of the 90 references to Kubrick’s filmography which are clever, amusing, maybe even sentimental, but pleasing all the same. The only criticism I can offer is that if you don’t know Kubrick’s films, the ‘climax’ may seem a little confusing and the romantic comedy you’ve been watching may feel like it has rushed to an abrupt end. In that case though, get online and read a little about Stanley Kubrick and the filming of Barry Lyndon – it will be an interesting education at least.

★★★★★ Directed by: #PaulWade and #SimonWade Starring: #KellyAdams, #KaceyAinsworth, #PaulPutner, #AmerjitDeu Short Film Review by: #NathanialEker Perhaps the most British thing put to film since Blackadder, Huntington Gardens is a quick-witted scathe of the modern UK middle class, attacking the ferocity with which they tackle mundane problems. You’d think the gag of four middle aged idiots fighting over a car parking space might quickly wear thin. However, through a combination of razor-sharp writing, amusing, stereotyped performances, and a great filmic eye, Huntington Gardens is an enjoyably silly, low stakes affair that offers genuine belly laughs. At just under ten minutes, the short is perfectly paced to deliver its simple plot without overstaying its welcome. While the conclusion is ultimately predictable, it’s still a satisfying resolution appropriately foreshadowed throughout. The jokes are nearly all winners too, with highlights coming from high tension exchanges between Putner, Ainsworth and Deu, who are ready to snap at a moment’s notice. The dialogue between these characters is fast paced and bursting with satire, with certain lines seemingly ripped verbatim from the headlines of a tabloid newspaper. The insightful writing is complemented by a washed-out colour palette that exemplifies the pettiness of the suburban ‘war.’ The use of a more monochromatic colour scheme also adds a cutting realism, practically a trademark of the English sitcom. The tone is maintained throughout as directors Paul and Simon Wade carefully balance witty jokes alongside brutal commentary, holding a mirror to the inane squabbles of the average drone. The witticisms of the script are brought to life by a strong cast that bring a distinct personality to each character, whilst maintaining a uniform stupidity. Only the children are a bit one note, but that’s also sort of the point. A Black Mirror level of satire sees them glued to their screens for almost the entirety of the run time. In a parodical twist, the adults are characterised in a more childish manner than their juvenile counterparts; a strong creative decision. The acting from all four adults conveys a stylised realism that could feasibly place them in our reality; however, they’d be an unbearable level of ‘extra.’ The neighbour’s descent into Lord of the Flies levels of conflict is ably assisted by a military soundtrack, amplifying the laughs by emphasising their soldierly determination. As the climax reaches its apex, with all four players going full ‘Basil Fawlty,’ the score, not dissimilar to a WWII propaganda track only propels the enjoyment of guffawing at these utter buffoons. Though sparingly used, the trumpets and military drums are employed to full effect, pushing the comedy even further and (perhaps unintentionally) symbolising that these people are living with a mindset of a different time. The brilliant climax employs slow motion to fully explore the destruction, leading to hilarious close ups on facial expressions from the animated actors. This, combined with shots like the wine drinking Mrs. Morris contemplating through her prison-like window, or the ugly close ups reflecting the uglier personalities of Mr and Mrs. Rogers, match the clever script with just as clever camera work. Fun editing choices are also made, such as the quick cuts between the preparations for the voyage home, showing the shared plight for a parking space with a chuckle inducing vigour. Overall, Huntington Gardens is a comedic gem. Short and sweet, it knows exactly what it wants to do and it tells its short, silly story to near perfection. The script is well thought out, topical and pointedly satirical with a strong soundtrack that supports the tone. The theme of prejudice and pettiness is explored via the suburban ‘curtain twitchers,’ with all elements working in tandem. What is crafted is a witty caricature of middle-class Britain that is as funny as it is depressingly realistic.

★★★★ Directed by: Dave O’Leske Starring: Fred Beckey, Helmy Beckey, Vasiliki Dwyer, Jim Whittaker Indie Film Review by: Benjamin Schofield Ever heard of Fred Beckey? I sure hadn’t until I watched this, and now I love him. Dirtbag: The Legend of Fred Beckey tells the story of Fred Beckey, a legendary mountaineer that dedicated his life and being to climbing. The #documentary includes interviews with all sorts of other mountain climbers, family members, friends, girlfriends, acquaintances and of course Beckey himself, so you get a pretty solid account of the man’s life and achievements. Perhaps best of all is the footage of a 93-year-old Beckey (yes, ninety three), still braving these mountains and making you question just what your excuse is for living such a pathetic, unfulfilling existence. The film uses stacks and stacks of archive footage and photographs of Beckey’s old expeditions, as well as presenting some of the fascinating notes that he took during his travels. Cartoons string this footage together, giving the documentary a fun, carefree feel, which appropriately matches Beckey’s apparent fun and carefree philosophy, particularly during his early days, where he would drive all his climbing gear around in a pink thunderbird and pick up girls along the way. The cinematography and editing are fairly simple, cutting between talking heads and other footage, which does cause the film to feel a bit slow at times, particularly as some of the subject matter is somewhat repetitive (Beckey climbed a mountain real good, then he climbed another mountain real real good, then he climbed one not so good, then he climbed one real good). Of course, as with any documentary, it can only really be as interesting as its subject, and Fred Beckey is as great a subject as any. Watching a man that has dedicated his whole life to something, persisting through failure and achieving great success, not for fortune or fame, but merely for the love of craft, is nothing short of inspiring. And through it all, Beckey remains positive, charming and funny. Throughout the documentary, he repeatedly asks the crew why they’re filming; at one point he tells them to stop filming him just walking around because it should be a documentary about climbing. Of course, this couldn’t be further from the truth. The documentary is not about climbing at all, it is about Beckey; not just Beckey the climber but Beckey the man: his struggles, his accomplishments, his failures, his strengths, his vulnerabilities, his life. And what a life.