Documentary
‘Katrina: Come Hell and High Water’ Review – Familiar, But Sobering and Powerful
Apparently, documentaries about Hurricane Katrina are like buses – you wait ages for one to come along, and then you get two pretty much at...
‘Devo’ Review – A Breezy Celebration Of Counter-Cultural Weirdness
I wasn’t remotely familiar with the new wave band Devo before sitting down to watch Chris Smith’s Netflix documentary about the Akron, Ohio collective’s ‘80s...
‘America’s Team: The Gambler and His Cowboys’ Review – ‘The Last Dance’ 2.0
As far as subject-approved, rather curtained docuseries go, America’s Team: The Gambler and His Cowboys is closer to something like WWE: Unreal than anything else....
‘Stolen: Heist of the Century’ Review – A Slick Behind-the-Scenes Of A Notorious Heist
In crime circles, one has to imagine that a diamond heist, from within Antwerp’s famous Diamond District no less, constitutes something of a final boss....
Even As An English Guy, I Loved ‘SEC Football: Any Given Saturday’
You could write what I know about American Football — even calling it football makes me wince — on the back of a postcard, but...
‘WWE: Unreal’ Is Built On A Fundamentally Bad Idea
There’s a concept in professional wrestling – or “sports entertainment”, whatever you prefer – known as “kayfabe”. In simple terms, it’s the idea of keeping...
‘Conversations with a Killer: The Son of Sam Tapes’ Cleverly Reworks An Effective Formula
The problem with David Berkowitz, aka the “.44 Caliber Killer” and, eventually, “The Son of Sam”, is that in a true crime streaming context, he...
‘Trainwreck: Storm Area 51’ Is the Final Boss Of Netflix’s Documentary Series
Trainwreck: Storm Area 51 is essentially the final boss of Netflix’s uber-successful voyeuristic documentary series. It builds on several of the themes touched on by previous...
‘Critical: Between Life and Death’ – Netflix’s Medical Docuseries Provides a Raw Glimpse into Major Trauma Units
Critical: Between Life and Death is a fly-on-the-wall documentary series that follows the UK’s major trauma units, from intensive rehabilitation to life-or-death surgery. It’s a...
Netflix’s ‘Hitmakers’ Reflects the Manufactured Age of the Music Industry
There was a time, and there still are purists today, when musicians were judged for not writing their songs, especially in rap and hip-hop, with...
‘Trainwreck: P.I. Moms’ Tells A Story So Wild It Could Only Be True
Trainwreck: P.I. Moms tells the kind of wacky true story that, if it were the plot of a movie or TV show, you’d write it off...
Three Part Netflix Documentary Makes You Wonder How Amy Lynn Bradley Is Still Missing
Amy Bradley Is Missing is undoubtedly a true crime title that leaps out – even if, ironically, it falls short of capturing the true essence...
‘Apocalypse in the Tropics’ Is A Can’t-Miss Account of the Fall of Liberal Democracy
At the risk of repeating myself, there is, I think, an argument to be made in favour of streaming services being the most viable delivery...
‘Trainwreck: Balloon Boy’ Is A Fascinating Documentary That Takes Multiple Fun Turns
Just when it seemed like Trainwreck had reached its lowest ebb with a thoroughly uninteresting instalment, along comes Balloon Boy. This story of an apparent...
‘One Night in Idaho: The College Murders’ Review – A Brilliant True Crime Series Without the Need for Sensationalism
You won’t want to miss this one. After watching the true crime documentary One Night in Idaho: The College Murders, I need an emotional-support coffee....
‘Trainwreck: The Real Project X’ Is An Impressive Example Of How To Make A Wild Party Painfully Boring
Netflix’s run of recent Trainwreck specials has been a mixed bag, wavering wildly in tone to the extent that it’s often unclear whether you’re supposed...
‘Attack on London: Hunting the 7/7 Bombers’ Review – Serious, Mature Documentary Filmmaking
Over the years, Netflix has earned a deserved reputation for sensationalism. You need only have a quick browse through the true-crime thumbnails to see some...
‘Trainwreck: The Cult of American Apparel’ Review – A Story Of Spiralling Narcissism That Saves Its Horrors For the End
You never quite know where you stand with these Trainwreck documentaries. You’ve got the ones that are explicitly about very serious events, like a deadly...
‘Shark Whisperer’ Review – Jaw(s)-Dropping Visuals Obscure A Muddled Point
There will always be a market, one presumes, for people who get dangerously close to apex predators. It’s a hook that has entertained viewers forever,...
‘Trainwreck: Poop Cruise’ Review – A Luxury Liner Turns Into A Floating Latrine, And In Hindsight You Can See the Funny Side
Netflix’s spate of serious documentaries in 2025 haven’t provided much opportunity for humour, which makes Trainwreck: Poop Cruise something of a relief. You can laugh...