The Contestant (2023)

In 1998, Japanese comedian Tomoaki Hamatsu (better known as Nasubi) took part in a televised challenge requiring him to live alone in a small apartment, isolated and cut off from society, with no clothes or food, subsiding only on winnings earned through magazine mail-in sweepstakes, with the goal of amassing 1 million Yen worth of prizes. Having viewed the original footage from Susunu! Denpa Shōnen for myself, I can confirm it's even more gonzo than you can imagine. It's an early example of extreme reality TV exploitation, exploring all the morality and grey areas contained within, although I like to see it more as an enormous triumph of raw determination and a celebration of the human spirit. Honestly, I'm not living too far off from this right now.

3½ bags of rice out of 5

Jeff Ross: Take a Banana for the Ride (2026)

Jeff Ross, the "Roastmaster General," tells the story of his life in this one-man show performed live on Broadway. And boy is it a tough one, filled with death, tragedy, cancer and alopecia. The one true throughline is pain, but Ross is able to weave the humor masterfully through the tragedy, resulting in laughs and tears in equal measure, and makes himself vulnerable to the audience before turning the stage on them. This is a masterclass in empathy and selflessness and looking for the "good" in everything, even when it doesn't seem to exist.

3½ bruised bananas out of 5

Are We Good? (2025)

A portrait on Marc Maron, a neurotic, embittered comedian who deals with the loss of his partner, filmmaker Lynn Shelton, during the pandemic. Maron has always had a dark, sardonic disposition when he bares his soul on stage, but here he struggles to make light out of his grief. He comes off disagreeable and cantankerous most of the time, which makes him hard to stomach, yet is completely understandable given the circumstances, and honestly makes him feel more relatable than other personalities who have nothing original to say.

3 litter boxes out of 5

Brats (2024)

Being a child of the '80s, I found myself really invested in this documentary. It's a fly on the wall journey, following actor Andrew McCarthy attempting to reunite with his old colleagues after thirty-some years. It opens up about their uncomfortable relationship with the term "brat pack" (coined in 1985 as a play on "rat pack") which stigmatized many of their careers (although Rob Lowe and Demi Moore escaped relatively unscathed). As an outsider who missed that phenomenon by a few years, I never looked down on the brat pack label. In fact, I purposely sought out all of those films. And after having watched this, I want to go back and see them all again. The 1980s are like comfort food to me. I kind of wish it had been a reunion for all of them, rather than just Andrew's story, but there is some catharsis in following that personal journey. Sad that Molly Ringwald declined and Judd Nelson didn't end up being a part of it, since he seemed to be the one who was most affected by it in older interviews.

3 scathing articles out of 5

Pamela, A Love Story (2023)

First of all, I'm glad that this documentary "went there." It doesn't really shy away from any of the ugly parts of her life and embraces all the embarrassing details. I was also surprised how much nudity they included, since you figure at some point her sons would watch it (I was very relieved that they seem to have turned out well, despite all the shit they went through). That being said, with how raw and open she is about everything that happened to her, it's still shocking to me how a sex tape effectively ruined Pamela's life and career, yet became a stepping stone for the likes of Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian. I feel like that's the most fucked up thing; that she never really got her due or was able to build and control her own image (similar to Marilyn Monroe, I suppose). I was actually very moved and proud of her for headlining Broadway as part of her "redemption arc." It's inspiring how she pulled herself together and still seems keen on working in the arts. She definitely needs more opportunities to keep her busy and stop her from regressing into more empty marriages.

3 centerfolds out of 5

Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie (2023)

Michael J. Fox was dealt a bad hand. Diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 1991, he kept his condition to himself for almost a decade, when he became a public advocate and eventually created his own foundation for Parkinson's research in 2000. And the poor guy has been hanging in there ever since.

I put this off for awhile, but it's a really great doc. It doesn't shy away from the harsh realities of his condition, but treats it with empathy, kindness, humanity and dignity. It's also really fucking funny. I guess you have to have a strong sense of humor in order to survive that kind of tragic day-to-day struggle.

The way they combined old film/TV footage and outtakes in order to tell the story of his life was brilliantly put together. I've been a fan since Family Ties and the Back to the Future films, so there was a lot of history there. I feel so bad for the man, because you can still see the same light shining from behind his eyes; he simply can't control his movements. And all those falls and breaks and pins inside him...it's just heartbreaking to fathom. Selfishly, all I can think about is how much my life would be improved if I had a partner like Tracy in it. Despite all the bullshit he's had to endure and everything he's suffered for the past 30+ years, he's still pretty lucky to have someone like that by his side.

3½ takes out of 5

Val (2021)

Throughout the course of his life, Val Kilmer shot hundreds of hours of home movies and personal footage, spanning 40 years. After being diagnosed with throat cancer in 2015, these archives were uncovered and assembled into a documentary told through his own words and narrated by his son, Jack Kilmer.

A promising young man with a playful persona, Val was a misunderstood artist typecast in a number of roles who lived life to the fullest while struggling to find his voice. It's a raw and intimate and deeply reflective journey ultimately ending in tragedy, but there is great power in having a voice and being able to tell one's own story, even when ironically it has been cruelly taken away. 

3 top guns out of 5

Chris Hemsworth: A Road Trip to Remember (2025)

After being diagnosed with early-stage Alzheimer's, Chris takes his dad Craig Hemsworth on a trip down memory lane through the Northern Territory of Australia as a bonding exercise and an effort to recapture the past, since it's been proven that reminiscence therapy can slow down cognitive decline. The subject matter in itself makes this inherently sad, even as it celebrates a life, while Chris confronts his own genetic predisposition towards the disease. Although it can all feel so fruitless at times, there is also the cynicism that this type of experience can only come about through a publicly funded project. 

3 Crocodile Hunters out of 5

Stiller & Meara: Nothing is Lost (2025)

Ben Stiller directs this film as a touching tribute to his showbiz parents who performed together as a double act for decades. While going through their personal belongings in preparation of selling their home, it becomes about Ben and his sister's story as much as it is about their parents, told through home movies, audio recordings and letters left behind. It's a deeply affecting and often uncomfortable look at growing up amidst fame and professional embitterments, told through the uniquely skewed perspective of being an actor. It's very much a family affair that soon becomes a healing project and a way of connecting with his own kids, who grew up with similar experiences.

3 contained emotions out of 5

John Candy: I Like Me (2025)

A portrait on the late actor who starred in 43 films in his 43 short years. Still remembered fondly by fans and all who knew him, he was larger than life, but known for his kind heart and gentle nature. If you're looking for dirt, you won't find it here. No one has nary a bad word to say about him. His only demons were the ones he was battling in silence. A lot of his story is told in his own words, as well as through his SCTV castmates, and especially his collaboration with John Hughes. He resists being typecast as the fat man, while seeming very secure in who he is, which remains relevant 30 years after his death. Like John Belushi or Chris Farley, he appears to live on with each new generation.

3 smiles through the pain out of 5

Note: Hearing Catherine O'Hara give John's eulogy hits doubly hard now. R.I.P.

Marty, Life is Short (2026)

Comic actor Martin Short has led a life lined with many failures, punctuated by death and tragedy, but in the process managed to find his own voice. Filled with madcap energy, and ever the life of the party, his efforts might come off as exhausting, but his sensibilities are always funny. His greatest success was with his wife Nancy, whom he shared 36 years with before her life was cruelly curtailed. Lawrence Kasdan's documentary explores the behind the scenes through home movies and celebrity interviews, who all praise the man behind the persona, previously a one-note joke, but now more in demand than ever.

3 insults out of 5

Steve! (Martin): A Documentary in 2 Pieces (2024)

"Do you ever get sad because you're not as happy as you think you should be?"

Steve Martin has always been an enigmatic figure to me, even though I've been watching his movies ever since he turned grey. Fascinating to see how his rocky childhood, Disney upbringing (working at a magic shop) and 15 years of stand-up helped hone him into the wild and crazy guy he would become. And yeah, even the banjos stretch back that far. This doc contains a lot of rare footage and newly filmed interviews, and even a couple of candid moments of raw emotion. The first half covers his upbringing up until his "retirement" from stand-up in 1980, while the rest encapsulates the breadth of his film career all the way to his successful stage show with Martin Short. It's a good overview a life well-lived; recommended for fans and comedy nerds alike.

3½ arrows through the head out of 5

I'm Chevy Chase and You're Not (2025)

An impartial look at the comedic actor known for playing bumbling, arrogant characters with his trademark acerbic wit, from his beginnings with National Lampoon to his meteoric rise on Saturday Night Live; and the flourishing film career at the height of his popularity, before his perceived fall from grace. 

I've always liked Chevy Chase. Even when the world says you shouldn't like 'this person' because of 'this, that or the other.' Honestly, I relate more to the outcasts than anything. Once you get past his thorny exterior, you realize he's full of contradictory layers; thin-skinned and sensitive to criticism, but just wants to be loved. Even when he rubs people the wrong way, there's a self-awareness of coping and pain behind his eyes. This doc features him, warts and all. My only complaint is that it feels like it merely scratches the surface.

3 pratfalls out of 5

Lorne (2026)

Lorne Michaels, the maverick behind Saturday Night Live for the past five decades, is given his own spotlight here, where he is as cagey, elusive and stoic as ever, including to his own friends and co-workers. This doc attempts to penetrate the mystique that surrounds this aura with a cheeky narrative approach that guesses at half-truths, along with some candid footage of the man behind the curtain at Studio 8H, where he ushered in an era of counter-cultural voices and leaves behind an enormous legacy of comedic talent. Yet, at the end of the day, we still don't know much more than when we started. 

2½ Dr. Evil impressions out of 5

The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist (2026)

What is A.I.? That's the first question the film poses and I was already lost from there because nobody seems to agree on anything. Interviews with leading experts in the field are juxtaposed with the story of a guy whose wife has recently become pregnant and is worried about the world their children will inherit. Predictably, it's filled with lots of doom and gloom and fearmongering, but it's a complex, multifaceted issue. Told in three parts—the pessimists, the optimists, and the realists—there is also a fourth part to the story: the people getting rich off this technology, which is really all it boils down to. Like the Space Race 2.0, it's a rush to whoever can get to the finish line first. The scary part is that this technology exists in the hands of everyone, so it can be exploited for their own gain depending on their moral values, which is where the true evil lies. At a certain point, I find myself on the side of the robots.

Part of the problem with this doc is that technology moves so quickly that a lot of this information already feels obsolete. Before long, it becomes clear that none of these so-called "experts" know what the fuck they're talking about. It's all endless speculation. There are good and bad outcomes, but nobody knows for sure what will happen. No one can predict the future, not even A.I. 

In short, this movie stressed me the fuck out. I did not feel assured by the end.

2½ Arthur C. Clarke predictions out of 5