Life, Animated
Director: Roger Ross Williams
Writer: Ron Suskind (based on his book)
Distributor: A&E IndieFilms and Motto Pictures
Rated PG | 89 Minutes
Release Date: July 1, 2016

Any doubt that Disney animated films transform children’s lives for the better need only watch Life, Animated, a superb new documentary that tracks the childhood and young adulthood of Owen Suskind, a young man with autism.

Owen uses these movies – among them Aladdin, The Little Mermaid, and Peter Pan – to not only learn to discover his metaphorical voice, but also his literal one. Life, Animated proves that the meaning of a life should not be evaluated by anyone but the person himself or herself. And, for Owen, it came alive in living color via The Walt Disney Company.

A new theatrical trailer has been released for a Dungeons & Dragons documentary titled The Dwarvenaut.

The documentary follows artist and Dungeons & Dragons fanatic Stefan Pokorny, who seeks to bring his most ambitious ideas to life. Doing this included taking to the crowdfunding site Kickstarter, where Pokorny was able to raise an unbelievable $6.4 million.

You can read much more about the movie and check out the trailer below.

Creem Magazine, the premier source for all things rock and roll in its real guttural sense, and which became a sort of underground bible for the true outcasts (fans and musicians alike) in the 1970s, is the focus of an upcoming documentary, Boy Howdy! The Story of CREEM Magazine, which is currently making the rounds on Kickstarter for fundraising.

You can read more about Creem and watch the Kickstarter pitch video below.

Following a strong 2015 slate, The Walt Disney Studios continues its eclectic lineup of original productions, branding via Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar, and Disney, and a few remakes. 2016 should once again demonstrate Disney’s prominence in the film business, though Universal is experiencing a creative and critical resurgence to some degree. What Disney holds in its favor is consistency (in quality, generally) and accessibility (familiarity with properties). Consumers know (almost) precisely what they receive in buying a ticket to a Disney movie – even if Disney now has its hands in Lucasfilm and Marvel films.

Here is a preview of 2016 films from The Walt Disney Studios.

Scorpions – Forever and a Day
Featuring the Scorpions
Blu-ray | DVD
Directed by Katja Von Garnier
Cleopatra
Release Date: November 27, 2015

Like any long-running rock band, there comes a time when the group must decide how long they should keep it going. Are they too old for this? Should they go out while they’re still ahead?

German heavy metal band Scorpions, who’ve been in action for over 50 years, had to make that decision in recent years, which led to a farewell world tour that lasted three years. Scorpions – Forever and a Day, an authorized documentary from director Katja Von Garnier, gives the history of the band while also documenting their farewell tour, a lengthy outing that proved that the Teutonic titans are, in fact, not ready to pack it all in.

The documentary tells the 50-year story of the Scorpions with rare footage and old photos, along with interviews with past and present band members and crew, and others, all interspersed with live concert clips.