“Big River Man” Review

Editor’s note: The following is a review from a Critical Writing and Reviewing student at the University of Missouri.

Martin Strel, the four-time world record holder in endurance swimming, is standing on a street corner in California, all 200-plus pounds of Slovenian glory bulging out over a straining Speedo. He tells passers by about his next endeavor, swimming the entire Amazon River, and he’s met with crazy stares and disbelief. But Martin doesn’t seem to notice. He’s done this twice before – once down the Yangtze and again down the Mississippi – so why not the Amazon next? To him it only seems natural. To us, he’s crazy. But it’s clear from the start that Martin isn’t ordinary…even if he doesn’t seem to recognize it.

“Rise Up” Review

Editor’s note: The following is a review from a Critical Writing and Reviewing student at the University of Missouri.

Documentaries give the viewer a unique opportunity to take an in depth view at an issue or event. This was certainly the case with Rise Up a documentary chronicling the lives and burgeoning careers of three musicians in Jamaica over the course of a few years.

“Sergio” Review

Editor’s note: The following is a review from a Critical Writing and Reviewing student at the University of Missouri.

As far as bio-documentaries go, Sergio is a new twist to an old format. Its heroic quality leaves the audience enveloped in the emotion the film projects. It has everything a film should offer: suspense, love, raw emotion, even a little bit of humor and scandal, not to mention a main character with movie-star looks. With all of these characteristics meticulously and perfectly combined, it’s easy to forget that it’s nonfiction. Director Greg Barker (Ghosts of Rwanda) takes chances and eschews the predictability most documentaries possess in his film about former U.N. worker Sergio Vieira de Mello.

“Forgetting Dad” Review

Editor’s note: The following is a review from a Critical Writing and Reviewing student at the University of Missouri.

You’re 46 years old. You’re driving, and you get rear-ended. Three days later, you can’t remember who you are, your family, or even where you are. “Forgetting Dad” narrates this true-life tale of Richard Minnich through his son, film director Rick Minnich, and the turmoil his amnesia has brought to his family. But things aren’t all what they seem.