Documentary – Brett Garten, Movie Extraordinare

“Tony”

By Brett_G on September 24, 2026September 20, 2026

8.1

Ever since “The Holdovers,” I will see anything Dominic Sessa is in. He really embodies the essence of Anthony Bourdain within the pages of “Kitchen Confidential,” scars and all. I really didn’t remember how much entitlement he overcame on the journey to enlightenment. Antonio Banderas also surprises as a mentor figure in “chef,” emitting fatherly energy to the max in every frame he graces with his presence. Hell, even Stavros is likeable in this! Enjoy the tunes, reminisce on summers gone by, and remember why we all loved the humanity underpinning every episode of “Parts Unknown”…

Blockbuster Documentary

“Michael”

By Brett_G on June 18, 2026June 16, 2026

7.5

Ugh… this is everything wrong with biopics. Nothing new, and an runtime fit for a miniseries. I loved every bit of the music, and it has its moments, but this one ultimately falls flat in that it plays it safe at every turn, blending into its genre in a way that should be offensive to fans of the king of pop. The man deserves a much more interesting biopic!

Blockbuster Documentary

“Elvis Presley In Concert”

By Brett_G on March 9, 2026February 27, 2026

7.5

Exactly what you expect – a heartfelt, carefully crafted homage to the man, the myth, the legend… The behind the scenes scenes were my favorite, seeing the more human side of Elvis. Him goofing around with the band was hilarious. There was a reason he was the king…

Documentary

“Becoming Led Zeppelin”

By Brett_G on February 9, 2025February 9, 2025

7.1

They’re not lying, it stops once they hit their stride… which I found to be an odd choice. Nonetheless, this documentary includes some really sweet moments with the members of the band reminiscing and seeing/hearing some things for the first time since living the moments. The music is of course amazing, but the story seemed to just kind of stop. It’s solid, but I’d still rather watch one of their concert films or listen to one of their soundboard bootlegs.

Documentary Drama Suspense/Thriller

“September 5”

By Brett_G on February 7, 2025February 8, 2025

8.1

In a word – haunting.

The ethical dilemmas at play, the best and worst of humanity on display… chilling. Even knowing the end result, I found myself on the edge of my seat the entire runtime. I can’t imagine being in this situation and having to make some of these calls, let alone being this embedded in the horrifying action. So many things we’ve become numb to are brought to the forefront and you are forced to confront a lot during this tight hour and a half. Extremely well done period piece on one of the most “wait, what?” stories in sports history. “Oh yeah, it wasn’t just Mark Spitz setting the medal record that year!”