magnolia pictures – ALLIANCE OF WOMEN FILM JOURNALISTS

IT’S NEVER OVER, JEFF BUCKLEY – Review by Leslie Combemale

December 8, 2025December 14, 2025 Leslie Combemale aimee mann, amy berg, DISARMING FILMS, documentary, It's Never Over, Jeff Buckley, joan wasser, magnolia pictures, mary guibert, tim buckley, TOPIC STUDIOS

Amy Berg wraps the story of Jeff Buckley’s life around the women who loved him. It wouldn’t be a surprise to anyone who has ever listened to Buckley’s music that there are multiple women who, almost thirty years later, see him as the love of their lives. Berg creates a sort of love story, really, in that she features his mom Mary, and two of Buckley’s former lovers, Rebecca Moore and Joan Wasser. The film sheds light on why the musician became so beloved by music fans. He was magnetic and used his four octave range with such emotion and skill it’s no wonder he’s still in the cultural conversation nearly 30 years after his death.

Reviews

IT’S NEVER OVER, JEFF BUCKLEY – Review by Cortland Jacoby

July 29, 2025August 3, 2025 Cortland Jacoby aimee mann, amy berg, DISARMING FILMS, It's Never Over, Jeff Buckley, joan wasser, magnolia pictures, mary guibert, tim buckley, TOPIC STUDIOS

As with most musical geniuses who die young, there’s a layer of prophetic mystery to Jeff Buckley. Known for his searing vocals and moody lyrics, the singer-songwriter made one hit album before drowning tragically, at age 30, in Memphis’ Wolf River. Adding to his allure were his devilishly handsome good looks and his own complicated relationship to his folk singer father, Tim Buckley. In her new film, It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley, documentarian Amy Berg uncovers the true story behind the adored musician’s enigmatic persona and contemplates the sense of loss he’s left behind.

News

Amy Berg’s IT’S NEVER OVER, JEFF BUCKLEY releases in Dolby Atmos – Brandy McDonnell reports

July 23, 2025 Brandy McDonnell amy berg, DISARMING FILMS, It's Never Over, Jeff Buckley, magnolia pictures, the week in women, TOPIC STUDIOS, twiw

It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley, the latest documentary directed by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Amy Berg, will be released Aug. 8 in U.S. theaters, where it will be available in Dolby Atmos. The film, which had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year to rave reviews, covers the life of the rising young star with an otherworldly voice and boundary-pushing artistry, who left the 1990s music world reeling when he died suddenly, at age 30, after the release of his critically acclaimed debut album “Grace.”

Reviews

40 ACRES – Review by Lynn Venhaus

July 7, 2025July 7, 2025 Lynn Venhaus 40 Acres, Danielle Deadwyler, magnolia pictures, michael greyeyes, R. T. Thorne

Gritty and gripping, 40 Acres is set in a grim post-apocalyptic world where the battleground is a family farm. Those who have survived a famine and second Civil War are not fighting zombies, aliens or nuclear fallout, but other humans with self-preservation on their mind. At the onset, title cards tell us that a fungus pandemic killed 98% of the animal biosphere. That was 14 years earlier, thus sparked a food disaster, followed by a war two years later, then a global famine. The most precious commodity is farmland, where people can grow food. And people want it, at all costs.

Movie of the Week

MOVIE OF THE WEEK June 13, 2025: PRIME MINISTER

June 8, 2025June 8, 2025 Jennifer Merin betsy bozdech, Cate Marquis, Clarke Gayford, Jacinda Ardern, jennifer merin, leslie combemale, Lindsay Utz, loren king, magnolia pictures, Michelle Walshe, nell minow, new zealand, Prime Minister, sandie angulo chen, sherin nicole

Anyone who still thinks that women are too emotionally unstable to be effective leaders needs to do two things, stat: Take a look at the messy, high-drama bromance break-up currently dominating the news cycle and sit down to watch Prime Minister, Lindsay Utz and Michelle Walshe’s intimate, insightful documentary about former New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern. If that combo doesn’t leave you desperate to have a kind, competent woman in charge, nothing will.

Movie of the Week

MOVIE OF THE WEEK May 3, 2024: CATCHING FIRE: THE STORY OF ANITA PALLENBERG

April 28, 2024July 9, 2024 Jennifer Merin alexis bloom, anita pallenberg, betsy bozdech, biodoc, brian jones, Cate Marquis, documentary, jennifer merin, Keith Richards, leslie combemale, liz whittemore, loren king, magnolia pictures, mick jagger, motw, Movie of the Week, nell minow, nikki fowler, rolling stones, sandie angulo chen, sandro sursock, scarlett Johanson, sherin nicole, svetlana zill

Blending frank interviews with a treasure trove of archival images and their subject’s own words, filmmakers Alexis Bloom and Svetlana Zill paint an incredibly intimate portrait of a 1960s and ’70s icon in Catching Fire: The Story of Anita Pallenberg. As a model, actress, mother, muse, and more, Pallenberg lived a life that was turned up to 11 as she became an integral part of the group surrounding the Rolling Stones in their heyday but was never anything less than her own woman.

Interviews

Lisa Cortes on LITTLE RICHARD: I AM EVERYTHING, Cultural Appropriation and the Legacy of Genius – Nikki Fowler interviews

April 12, 2023April 12, 2023 Nikki Fowler Beatles, documentaries, lisa cortes, little richard i am everything, magnolia pictures, richard wayne penniman

Filmmaker Lisa Cortes’ brilliant biodoc Little Richard: I Am Everything, took years to make, but film is now on the fast track to public view — and to reminding music lovers about the legendary legacy of Richard Wayne Penniman, one of the music world’s most beloved pop culture icons. In her discussion with Nikki Fowler, Cortes shares her take on the life and career of Little Richard, the importance of memorializing one of the world’s most important and resonant creative geniuses, and the process of bringing his biodoc to the screen.

Reviews

LITTLE RICHARD: I AM EVERYTHING – Review by Nikki Fowler

April 10, 2023April 15, 2023 Nikki Fowler Beatles, documentaries, lisa cortes, little richard i am everything, magnolia pictures, richard wayne penniman

Credit documentary film producer/director Lisa Cortes with brilliantly comprehensive and entertaining biodoc about music maker and pop cultural icon Richard Wayne Penniman, otherwise known as Little Richard, who was rarely credited during his lifetime for the enormous influence he had on global artistry and and social trends. Throughout most of his lifetime, Richard was not compensated fairly for his work, nor was he presented with awards that recognized his impact on music and worldwide culture. But, Cortes’ beautifully tantalizing and magical biodoc and tribute film about his life, replete with wonderful archival footage of Richard on and off stage, is like a long-awaited huge bouquet of flowers for the master music maker. You do not want to miss Little Richard: I Am Everything.