Dolphin Doc The Cove a Real Thrill

Morgan Spurlock helms documentary on advertising

(NEWSER) - Morgan Spurlock, the guy behind Super Size Me, calls his latest documentary—an exploration of our ad-obsessed culture—The Greatest Movie Ever Sold. And critics seem to agree:

• Spurlock “has this habit of making documentaries that come hidden in the Trojan horse of silly and then stab at your conscience,” writes Peter Travers in Rolling Stone . “As ever, he makes you laugh till it hurts.”

Dolphins were herded but then set free

(NEWSER) - Dolphin conservationists seem to have won the day in Japan—the annual slaughter of wild dolphins, depicted in the Academy Award-winning documentary The Cove, did not take place as expected. An official in the town of Taiji said dolphins were herded into the cove as usual but then set free this morning, save for a few that were kept for aquariums, the AP reports. He did not explain why. Conservation group Sea Shepherd has been monitoring the cove this week and urging people to visit Taiji in order to protest the dolphin cull. More»

Documentary follows four infants in four countries

(NEWSER) - Critics are generally won over by Babies, a documentary that follows four infants' first years in San Francisco, Mongolia, Tokyo, and Namibia. Some samples:

• Wesley Morris, Boston Globe : "As an advertisement for the wonders of figuring out how to be alive, the movie is an engaging proposition."
• Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times : "The 'awww' without the 'shock' definitely makes Babies a very huggable movie experience, just not a primer on parenthood."

Cove's defiant director plans to hand out DVDs

(NEWSER) - US commanders wary of offending the Japanese have canceled screenings of Oscar-winning documentary The Cove, but that won't silence its message, its director tells the AP . Louie Psihoyos says he plans to hand out DVDs of the movie, which shows the gruesome annual dolphin hunt in a Japanese town, at the Air Force base near Tokyo that canceled a screening. More»

'This Is It' wears crown as 'Paranormal Activity' heads for $100M

(NEWSER) - This Is It lived up to its name at the weekend box office, raking in $21.3 million domestically and $101 million internationally. The Michael Jackson documentary's strong showing prompted distributor Sony to extend its original 2-week run by 3 weeks, through Thanksgiving weekend, reports Variety . The sleeper sensation Paranormal Activity racked up $16.5 million and is headed for a total haul of $100 million, according to the Hollywood Reporter . More»