Resisterhood

Posted on December 30, 2025 at 8:48 pm

B +

Lowest Recommended Age:	Middle School
MPAA Rating:	NR
Profanity:	None
Alcohol/ Drugs:	None
Violence/ Scariness:	Protests, arrests, references shootings, natural disasters,
Diversity Issues:	A theme of the movie

The award-winning documentary “Resisterhood” is about some of the most controversial moments of Donald Trump’s first term as President and the groundswell of protest in response. Since it was released in 2020, as he was defeated by Joe Biden, it is well worth another look in light of increased controversy and division.

Director Cheryl Jacobs Crim begins the film with a collection of clips from the 2016 campaign, like his imitation of a reporter’s disability and his urging of violence against protesters to highlight/remind us of Trump’s thuggishness and cruelty. Those moments are stark and unsettling in showing us how far we have fallen from what six years ago seemed like the floor of politics. And how alert and vibrant Trump was compared to the man who falls asleep during meetings and tries to cover up the bruises on his hand.

After that opening, the focus is on the response of the voters to initiatives like child separation at the border, eliminating the rights of GLBTQIA individuals, the appointment of Justice Kavanaugh despite claims of sexual abuse, rollback of environmental protection. Crim introduces us to five thoughtful “resisters,” and the determination, integrity, and commitment to helping others in each story is warm, engaging, and inspiring.

Steely but radiant and warm-hearted Margaret Johnson Morrison is identified as an historian/educator. She tells us that the first time she participated in a protest it was on the march from Selma to Montgomery led by the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King. And one way and another, she has been standing up for justice ever since. “That is why I have continued to participate where I could, to change what is wrong to what is right.”

Joanna Lohman was on the Washington Spirits soccer team as this film was being made. She felt that soccer was what she was born to do, but she loved talking to the fans, especially the young girls who wore her jersey to games and admired her “jo-hawk” haircut. She happened to be injured at the beginning of the season, which gave her time to think about using her time and her platform to speak out on the issues she cared most about, respect, equality and inclusion for the GLBTIA community.

Mimi Hassanein (community volunteer) came to the United States from Egypt and has been a US citizen since 1971. Even before she learned to speak English, she reached out to her community by sharing what she could: bringing baklava to her children’s school. She wears a hijab, but take it off when she is in the car. By the time we see that, it is wrenching, because we know how good hearted she is, and she has shown us how she has embraced the American idea of civic involvement. “Learning about my civic duty really empowered me to really learn about the beautiful system we have here.” She explains that she feels she has to do that to be safe, because strangers make comments like accusing her of being in ISIS. As the movie goes on, she decides to run for office.

For Illinois Democratic Congressman Luis Gutierrez and his wife, originally from Puerto Rico, the Trump policies on immigration and his response to the devastation of Hurricane Maria. He describes his journey of questioning the prejudices he was taught as a child. “My heart and my soul is so much cleaner today than it was.” And Dr. Jean Gearon is proud to carry on the tradition of her great-grandmother, a leader of the fight for women to get the vote. She is a psychologist, but she makes it clear at an early meeting that the gathering is not a support group; it is about education, outreach and action.

The film is punctuated with the large demonstrations with people protesting policies on climate, guns, immigration, and the confirmation of Supreme Court justice Kavanaugh. We also get a brief glimpse of the alt-right protest in Charlottesville, shouting “Jews will not replace us!” and another protest of that protest. Crim deftly brings the stories together, giving us time with each of her main characters in the context of the developments of the 2017-2020 era. Some of the film’s most powerful and moving scenes are the family members who are all inspired to continue the tradition of speaking out for others. Morrison’s great-nephew says, “She made it sure that her voice was heard. And if she can do this, I can do this.” Hassanein’s granddaughter knocks on doors to talk to voters and the whole family comes over on election night. And Gearon’s daughter accompanies her to the Belmont–Paul Women’s Equality National Monument, a historic house and museum of the U.S. women’s suffrage and equal rights movements, so see her great-great-grandmother’s pictures. They remind us that it is not about a particular politician or policy, it is about always looking forward. As Morrison says, “That is why I have continued to participate where I could, to change what is wrong to what is right.”

Parents should know that this movie covers many political controversies, some involving violence, bigotry, or reproductive rights. A survivor of the Parkland school shooting speaks at a protest. There are references to sexual assault.

Family discussion: Which of the issues in the movie is the most important to you? What kind of protest is most effective?

If you like this, try: “Ratified,” about Virginia’s becoming the final state to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment

CCA Documentary Awards 2025: Perfect Neighbor, Orwell; 2+2=5 and More

Posted on November 10, 2025 at 2:21 pm

It is an honor to serve on the Critics Choice Association Documentary Committee and I am delighted to announce this year’s awardees.

WINNERS OF THE TENTH ANNUAL CRITICS CHOICE DOCUMENTARY AWARDS

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
The Perfect Neighbor (Netflix)

BEST DIRECTOR
Geeta Gandbhir – The Perfect Neighbor (Netflix)

BEST FIRST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
My Mom Jayne: A Film by Mariska Hargitay (HBO Max)

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Toby Strong, Doug Anderson (Underwater Photography) – Ocean with David Attenborough (National Geographic)

BEST EDITING
Viridiana Lieberman – The Perfect Neighbor (Netflix)

BEST SCORE
Alexei Aigui – Orwell: 2+2=5 (Neon)

BEST NARRATION
Orwell: 2+2=5 (Neon)
Written by George Orwell, Adapted by Raoul Peck
Performed by Damian Lewis

BEST ARCHIVAL DOCUMENTARY
The Perfect Neighbor (Netflix)

BEST HISTORICAL DOCUMENTARY (TIE)
The American Revolution (PBS)
Hurricane Katrina: Race Against Time (National Geographic)

BEST BIOGRAPHICAL DOCUMENTARY
Mr. Scorsese (Apple TV)

BEST MUSIC DOCUMENTARY (TIE)
Becoming Led Zeppelin (Sony Pictures Classics)
Sly Lives! (aka The Burden of Black Genius) (Hulu, Onyx Collective)

BEST POLITICAL DOCUMENTARY
The Alabama Solution (HBO Max)

BEST SCIENCE/NATURE DOCUMENTARY
Ocean with David Attenborough (National Geographic)

BEST SPORTS DOCUMENTARY
America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders (Netflix)

BEST TRUE CRIME DOCUMENTARY
The Perfect Neighbor (Netflix)

BEST SHORT DOCUMENTARY
Saving Superman (Switchboard)

BEST LIMITED DOCUMENTARY SERIES
Mr. Scorsese (Apple TV)

BEST ONGOING DOCUMENTARY SERIES
30 for 30 (ESPN Films)

About the Critics Choice Association (CCA)

The Critics Choice Association is the largest critics organization in the United States and Canada, representing more than 500 media critics and entertainment journalists. It was established in 2019 with the formal merger of the Broadcast Film Critics Association and the Broadcast Television Journalists Association, recognizing the intersection between film, television, and streaming content.

To stream the ceremony and learn more about the Critics Choice Documentary Awards, visit CriticsChoice.com. The list of nominees and winners will also be available on the site.

All artwork (including nominee and winner laurels) can be found HERE.

Social Media handles:
X: @criticschoice

Related Tags:

Documentary

Satisfied

Posted on November 3, 2025 at 4:39 pm

B +

Lowest Recommended Age:	High School
MPAA Rating:	Rated PG-13
Profanity:	Mild language
Alcohol/ Drugs:	None
Violence/ Scariness:	Discussion of miscarriages and fertility issues, scenes in hospital
Diversity Issues:	A theme of the movie
Date Released to DVD:	November 4, 2025

The “Hamilton” song “Satisfied” is sung by a character who is not at all satisfied. The sister she loves is marrying a man she loves, a man who himself, in the words of the song, is never satisfied. She sings,

A toast to the groom, to the bride
From your sister who is always by your side
To your union and the hope that you provide
May you always be satisfied
And I know she’ll be happy as his bride
And I know he will never be satisfied
I will never be satisfied.

The character who sings that song is Anjelica Schuyler, originated in the workshop as the show was developed, its off-Broadway premiere, and then when it was transferred to Broadway, by Renée Elise Goldsberry. This documentary is her story, about the two transcendent goals of her life: to be a mother, and to have a career as a performer, and the way they collided.

The history of documentaries, going back to the earliest days, is of a filmmaker on one side of the camera and the story on the other, whether it includes archival clips, fly-on-the-wall footage as the story develops, or talking head experts or witnesses. This film presents a different approach that reflects the evolution in storytelling as individuals bypass intermediaries and tell their own stories in the most unfiltered and direct way possible (and usually in vertical mode, filmed on a phone).

“Satisfied” is raw, intimate, and immediate because much of what we see is moments when Goldsberry filmed herself, not necessarily intended to show anyone else but just as a way to process what she is experiencing.

We see her heartbreaking difficulties in trying to have a child, including five miscarriages. We see the overwhelming joy of delivering a healthy baby boy, Benjamin, and then adopting a baby girl, Brielle. Their scenes together are everything we hope for a family. She and her husband adore each other and adore their children and the children love each other and their parents. One of the film’s sweetest moments is a brief home movie when Brielle, still a toddler, wants to go to school like her big brother, even though she is not quite sure what that means. So he puts a backpack on her and one on himself and tells her they are going to school even though it’s just the front door of their apartment. She is so proud and happy and he is so loving.

Goldsberry also provides narration for archival footage, telling us how she met her husband (in church) and did not tell him at first that she was a perfumer. She explains that a performer is two people; the aspiring one who is constantly anxious about getting cast and the successful one who is constantly pulled in a million directions, leaving her husband to hold her purse. That husband, Alexis Johnson, is completely on board with both elements. In another of the film’s highlights, he stands in their kitchen, tearing up as he tells us about how moved he is by her performances.

It was just after they brought Brielle home, when Goldsberry was planning to take some time off, that she was asked to audition for the workshop of “Hamilton.” Initially, she was going to say no, in part because workshop performers often help develop the material and then are passed over for bigger names when the production is launched. But she heard the songs and could not resist. We hear her worry about whether she will get cast when the show opens off-Broadway, and then we see what happens when it moves to Broadway and becomes a phenomenon. Every dream come true has some additional stress. She is nominated for a Tony award but that just means even more time away from her family as part of that process is bringing her story to the attention of the public.

The archival footage of her high school performances is endearing — and impressive. And there’s a lovely scene where she visits the high school drama teacher who cast her as Nellie in “South Pacific,” a play about a white woman dealing her her “carefully taught” prejudice.

She is a star. And yet, as she shows us, that doesn’t mean a cab driver won’t bypass her to pick up the white theater-goers who just gave her a standing ovation. And, as she also shows us, she has the same wrenching conflicts between work and family faced by every parent.

We hear from colleagues including Lin-Manuel Miranda and Oscar-winner Ariana DeBose and we see and hear some of Goldsberry’s thrilling performances. But what makes this film special is its private moments. This kind of honesty’s a gift, especially in a world of augmented reality. We should be grateful to Goldsberry for sharing her struggle as well as her talent and triumphs.

Parents should know that this movie deals with fertility challenges, including miscarriages, family stress, mental health, and racism.

Family discussion: How did Goldsberry decide what to prioritize? What was the most difficult decision? What made her decide to film herself and then to share those very personal moments?

If you like this, try: Goldsberry’s performances in “Hamilton,” “Girls 5Eva” and “The House with a Clock in Its Walls” — and watch the Tony Awards! It’s the best awards show on TV.

Are We Good?

Posted on October 2, 2025 at 3:00 pm

Lowest Recommended Age:	High School
MPAA Rating:	Not rated
Profanity:	Very strong language
Alcohol/ Drugs:	References to smoking, and alcohol and drug abuse
Violence/ Scariness:	Sad offscreen death, dementia of a parent
Diversity Issues:	None
Date Released to Theaters:	October 3, 2025

Marc Maron is not going to live happily ever after. As we saw recently in the documentary “Anxiety Club,” about the connection between stand-up comedy and anxiety, Maron would not feel like himself if he was happy. He is not quite sure why other people are happy, or want to be. Not being happy has worked out well for him. In its own way, that may be his kind of happiness. What he says is, “I’m clearly dealing with grief and sadness by overcompensating with anger and funny.” And that gives him some sense of satisfaction.

“Are We Good?” is a documentary about Maron as he is in a transitional moment. He is still mourning the loss of the person he loved most, the one who made him feel the most seen and safe. That was writer/director Lynn Shelton, and the archival footage of them together is heart-wrenchingly moving, her radiant pleasure in his presence, and a glimpse of him as, yes, happy, somewhere under the defaults of the perpetual dissatisfactions that underly observational humor. If you have not seen Shelton’s “Sword of Trust” movie seek it out. The storyline gets loopy, but Maron is superb and so, in a brief appearance as Maron’s character’s ex, is Shelton.

Maron tells us he always wanted to do comedy, and we see clips from him in the early years. with long hair, a period where he tells us he was smoking, drinking, and doing drugs. David Cross says he was one of the few who liked Maron in those days.

He “didn’t draw” back then, meaning that he could get on TV talk shows but it did not translate to success in clubs. And so, with no particular goal in mind, he set up a recording “studio” in his garage and began the podcast that if he had any hopes of making commercially successful he would probably not have called WTF.

His timing may have been accidental, but it was perfect. And the kind of close observation that underlay his comedy made him an attentive, perceptive, insightful, and empathetic interviewer. Everyone anyone might want to hear came to his garage, comedians like Robin Williams, writers and directors and producers like Lorne Michaels, Quentin Tarrantino, Mel Brooks, and Mike Judge, musicians and singers like Keith Richards, Bruce Springsteen, and Mavis Staples, actors like Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio, and national figures like Barack Obama. And, of course, Lynn Shelton, before they were a couple, and you can feel the spark between them as they discover it in each other.

In the documentary, Maron appears before an audience with a pad of paper on his lap. They and we can see him creating on the spot, not just jokes, not just his set, but as he admits, even his persona. He is still grieving the loss of Lynn Shelton, and he is also, in the movie’s most touching scenes, dealing with his father’s dementia. He is also coping with the end of WTF. He has spent more time as an actor (recently in the AppleTV+ series “Stick”), though says he is always inclined to turn down offers.

The film will be of most interest to Maron fans, though even fans may prefer his comedy specials and acting appearances. But seeing someone whose inclination is to maintain distance between his thoughts and feelings grapple with loss shows us what even comedy cannot.

Parents should know that this film includes very strong language and references to drinking, smoking, drug use, a parent with dementia, and a sad death.

Family discussion: How can comedy help to process grief? How does what Marc Maron observes around him show up in his act?

If you like this, try: “Anxiety Club,” “Stick,” “WTF,” and Maron’s comedy specials

Air Force Elite: Thunderbirds

Posted on May 22, 2025 at 8:11 pm

B +

Lowest Recommended Age:	Middle School
MPAA Rating:	Not rated
Profanity:	None
Alcohol/ Drugs:	Brief alcohol
Violence/ Scariness:	Real-life danger and references to sad deaths
Diversity Issues:	None
Date Released to Theaters:	May 23, 2025

The Thunderbirds of the Air Force are the elite display team pilots who give demonstrations around the country to inspire Americans with a show of extraordinary courage and skill. This documentary, with producers that include Barack and Michelle Obama, is like Glenn Powell’s “The Blue Angels,” about the Navy’s elite flying group. It takes us inside the training that leads up to the annual tour of 62 shows across the country, with “flying acrobatics” and are “meant to look nearly impossible.” The signs on the doors they walk through to the airstrip say “Fly Like Champions” and “Blind Trust,” the first a goal, the second the foundational principle of the team, because they fly in such tight formation that the slightest error from one of them puts all of them at risk. As we see in the film, there have been a number of crashes and many Thunderbirds pilots have died.

The pilots serve for two years, and each year half are new. So we begin with the arrival of three pilots joining the team. They are there because of their outstanding skills, but they have to unlearn as well as learn. The experience of the Tom Cruise in “Top Gun” types trained for combat or those “Right Stuff” types trained for testing new equipment are not exactly transferable and some are completely opposite. Combat pilots have two goals, to hit the target and stay alive. Thunderbirds literally are told to “divorce yourself from your usual survival instincts” because the maneuvers they perform are designed to keep them “micro-seconds from a life-threatening situation.” We see the impact of G-force acrobatics that make a 200-pound pilot into a 2000-pounder, making it impossible for oxygen to reach the head, so they pass out.

And we see that these pilots find all of that “frickin’ awesome.” One points to the number 5 painted on the side of the plane. It is upside down, because that way it will appear right-side up during the demonstration.

We spend much of the time with the boss, number one, called Astro (like the Blue Angels and the Top Guns, they have call signs — my favorite was the flight surgeon, who goes by Angry). His dream from his earliest childhood was to be an astronaut, and his parents proudly show us his grade school drawings. But when the Thunderbirds were in need, after a 2018 crash, they needed someone to make some changes, and his unique skills as a graduate of both combat and test flight training made him the ideal candidate. His wife says that she checked the mortality numbers for the Thunderbirds; ten percent. But the commitment to “service over self” meant they both understood that was where he needed to be.

We see one pilot struggle with his position and the way the others support him. And we see that the unquestioned dedication to “service over self” is as important to them as their constant training and striving for perfection.

We also see the support they get from the maintenance crews, every bit as devoted to excellence as the pilots. Their first demonstration at the Daytona races, is not perfect. They are supposed to appear on “brave,” the last word of the National Anthem. They’re off by seconds, but to them it feels like months. Astro’s reaction: “We have something to work on.”

The better we understand what goes into the maneuvers, the more we appreciate the skills that make it possible for them to fly in such tight formations, wings almost touching, each relying on the others to stay stable.

The cinematography is stunning, with special thanks to Arial Coordinator (and stunt pilot) Kevin LaRossa II, also the genius behind the air footage of “Top Gun: Maverick,” “The Blue Angels,” “The Avengers,” any many more. The air maneuvers are dazzling. But it is the hearts, integrity, and courage of the Thunderbirds that are unforgettable.

Parents should know that this film includes references to airplane fatalities.

Family discussion: What made Astro decide to withdraw from the astronaut program? Do you agree with his decision? Go to one of the air shows and stay after to talk to the pilots.

If you like this, try: “The Blue Angels” and the “Top Gun” movies