U Movie Reviews

Non-enthusiasts may wonder how a documentary on a single outmoded dance might hold a viewer's attention for an entire 78 minutes, but Twist is really about the birth of freestyle dancing. Director Ron Mann (Grass, Comic Book Confidential), who could probably make a fascinating documentary on fingernail clippings, creates a sense of fun by dividing his film into dance "lessons," using actual instruction tapes. He sprinkles each section with vintage clips, overwrought headlines from the '60s, and interviews with the songwriters, singers, and American Bandstand dancers who started the craze. "Twist" songwriter Hank Ballard's version of the dance was considered too risqué for TV, but when Chubby Checker "made it nice" on American Bandstand, the move swept the nation, leading to other steps like "The Monkey," "The Potato," and eventually the do-your-own-thing of today. All of this is recorded with plenty of music, dancing, and fond testimonials, making it as fun a documentary as you'll ever see. --Kimberly Heinrichs

Any fan of Richard Lester's A Hard Day's Night won't want to miss the documentary The Beatles: The First U.S. Visit by Albert and David Maysles. The Maysles brothers were given extraordinary access to the Beatles during their first trip to the U.S., in February 1964, for several concerts and their seminal first appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show. Like Hard Day's Night, which came out later that year, this film (also known as What's Happening! The Beatles in the U.S.A.) shows lots of spontaneous cheekiness with the press and fans; the Beatles' wide-eyed bemusement at the hysteria they caused; as much cutting up as a tiny hotel room allows; and even specific scenes--goofing off on a commuter train, mod dancing in a nightclub--that would later appear in Lester's film. The only thing missing is Paul's grandfather.

The performance segments alone are a must for fans. The three Ed Sullivan appearances show a great cross section of their hits at the time, including "All My Loving," "I Saw Her Standing There," a beautifully delivered "This Boy" by John Lennon, and a wobbly "I Saw Her Standing There" so out of tune George Harrison nearly cracks up as he listens to Lennon and Paul McCartney struggle for harmony. The blurry, badly mic'd footage of the concert at the Washington Coliseum shows the Beatles acting as their own roadies, setting up their instruments; the platform Ringo Starr drums on lurches ominously with each downbeat. It was a more innocent, exuberant time, to be sure, and this sweet documentary lets the Beatles phenomenon speak for itself. --Anne Hurley

George Romero's 1978 follow-up to his classic Night of the Living Dead is quite terrifying and gory (those zombies do like the taste of living flesh). But in its own way, it is just as comically satiric as the first film in its take on contemporary values. This time, we follow the fortunes of four people who lock themselves inside a shopping mall to get away from the marauding dead and who then immerse themselves in unabashed consumerism, taking what they want from an array of clothing and jewelry shops, making gourmet meals, etc. It is Romero's take on Louis XVI in the modern world: keep the starving masses at bay and crank up the insulated indulgence. Still, this is a horror film when all is said and done, and even some of Romero's best visual jokes (a Hare Krishna turned blue-skinned zombie) can make you sweat. The "Special Edition" DVD release has a widescreen presentation, theatrical trailer, and Dolby sound. --Tom Keogh

You don't need to know anything about hockey to be moved by this hourlong documentary about one of the greatest upsets in sports history: the United States' defeat of the vaunted Russian Olympic hockey team at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York. The film recounts the David vs. Goliath matchup between the Americans (essentially a group of college kids molded into a team by coach Herb Brooks, also the U.S. hockey coach in the 2002 Olympic games) and the Russians, professionals who had won four straight Olympic golds. The story is retold in interviews with the people who lived it, including Brooks and several of the American players, sportscaster Al Michaels (who uttered the title line as the game ended), and key Russian players. Do You Believe in Miracles? is a solid blend of sports and history that focuses on the human element in one of the great underdog victories of all time. --Marshall Fine