Saving My Tomorrow

Saving My Tomorrow debuts with a two-part family special on the tonight at 9:00 followed by a series beginning on Earth Day (April 22^nd). A unique partnership between HBO and the American Museum of Natural History, the documentary celebrates nature and provides heartfelt tips for protecting the earth. A mix of science, animation, and music, the film features readings by Alan Cumming, Tina Fey, Jeffrey Wright and musical performances from Lennon & Maisy, Jason Mraz, Willie Nelson, and more.

For more info about this & the full schedule, click here & check out the trailer below.  Tune in tonight at 9:00, watch a rerun, check it out on HBO Go or OnDemand.

Regarding Susan Sontag

Regarding Susan Sontag premieres tonight at 9:00 on HBO.  It's an inside look into the complex literary, political, and feminist icon Susan Sontag. The documentary chronicles the life of the passionate and gracefully outspoken Sontag, looking into the contrast between her fiercely protected private life and larger-than-life public persona. The film features a rich collection of archival materials, as well as accounts from friends, family, colleagues and lovers, including authors Stephen Koch and Fran Leibowitz, sister Judith Sontag Cohen and lover Harriet Sohmers Zwerling.

Check out the trailer for it below, click here for more information & if you can't catch the premiere grab a rerun, head over to HBO Go or tune into it OnDemand.  

Banksy Does New York premieres tonight

Tonight at 9:00 on HBO it's the premiere of Banksy Does New York, an exhilarating user-generated chronicle of the street artist’s October 2013 residency in New York City. Directed by Chris Moukarbel, the documentary captures the excitement and madness of the residency, using crowd-sourced footage that New Yorkers posted online while tracking the street artist and his creations.

Watch it at 9:00 or DVR it for later or catch a rerun or tomorrow On Demand and if you can't wait, it's already available on HBO Go!  Click here for more & check out the trailer below.

The Last Patrol

Tonight at 9:00 it's the newest release from HBO Docs, The Last Patrol the last film in Oscar^® -nominated Sebastian Junger’s trilogy on war. The film follows four men linked by combat – Junger and combat veterans Brendan O’Byrne & Dave Roels, and acclaimed Spanish photojournalist Guillermo Cervera – as they walk along railroad lines from D.C. to Philadelphia, to the Allegheny Mountains and Pittsburgh, to honor a fallen peer. The film chronicles their journey as they get to know America again after a decade of war, and discuss why combat is so difficult to give up.  Check out the trailer below and tune in tonight at 9:00 or DVR it or grab a rerun and if you still miss it you can watch it on HBO Go starting today & OnDemand tomorrow.  Click here for more.

Mr. Dynamite: The Rise of James Brown

Tonight at 9:00 on HBO it's the premiere of Mr. Dynamite: The Rise of James Brown, from producer Mick Jagger and Oscar^® winning director Alex Gibney. With a unique cooperation with the Brown Estate, the documentary chronicles the musical ascension of ‘the Godfather of Soul’, detailing how the influential self-made man made an impact with his music and social activism. The film includes rare and previously unseen photographs and videos, archived excerpts from James Brown himself, and interviews with historical and musical icons including Mick Jagger, Rev. Al Sharpton, Chuck D. of Public Enemy, and Questlove.  

Tune in tonight at 9:00, catch a rerun at Midnight, OnDemand starting Tuesday and HBO Go starting tonight.  For more info, full schedule & extras, click here.  In the meantime, check out the trailer below.

Private Violence, premieres on HBO tonight

Tonight, premiering at 9:00 on HBO it's Private Violence – a timely documentary being presented during Domestic Violence Awareness Month, highlighting the complex realities of domestic abuse. The film examines the problematic issue of domestic abuse through the stories of two courageous women – victim turned survivor, Deanna, and her advocate and domestic abuse survivor, Kit Gruelle.

Check out the trailer below, tune in tonight at 9:00 or click here for rerun times & more information about the documentary.  You can also watch OnDemand & on HBO Go soon!!

Are You the One? is back tonight

Tonight at 7:30 on Nick it's the series premiere of Max & Shred.  Up at 8:00 on Nicktoons, The Legend of Korra is back and on CW it's the 2nd season premiere of The Originals.

Up at 9:00 on SyFy it's the original telefilm Dead Still, Food moves Mystery Diners to a new time slot and on CW it's a special Supernatural.  HBO premieres Hunted: The War Against Gays in Russia, Benn Steele’s shocking investigation of the growing hostility towards the gay community in modern Russia – where only 1% of the LGBT population openly, examines the recent anti-gay amendment to a “propaganda” law that has triggered a rising number of assaults on gay men and women. Matt Bomer (Emmy^® nominee for HBO’s “The Normal Heart”) narrates the film.  For a trailer & to read my review of this documentary click here.

On MTV at 10:00 it's the 2nd season premiere of Are You the One?, Discovery has the 1st season finale of Highway to Sell, FYI has the series premiere of House vs. House and on Food, Restaurant Impossible moves to a new time slot.  Up at 11:00 on MTV it's a special Are You the One? : Aftermatch.

Hunted: The War Against Gays in Russia

I recently watched Hunted: The War Against Gays in Russia and let me tell you that I am just amazed at how scary things are there.  As someone who fully supports gay rights I have to say that the gay community has it really good here...in comparison that is.  In Russia there are groups who actually hunt gays for sport & it’s not exactly frowned upon.  Even though homosexuality was legalized over 20 years ago….yes I said legalized, it is currently believed that only 1% of homosexuals live openly in Russia.  Gay people are targeted by the state & hunted by vigilantes.  There are numerous vigilante organizations there & we get to see inside & learn some about them & there is one group who has decided to hand out soap & ropes in bags at a gay film festival suggesting that the people kill themselves to cleanse the world of their kind. Later they call in a bomb threat to break up the festival.

15 years ago homosexuality was removed from the list of mental illnesses in Russia but most people still believe gays need to be treated for their mental & physical disease. It really boggles my mind that so many people think that being gay is no different than being a pedophile or murderer, like they are mentally unstable & need to be fixed.  All over Russia they use pedophile & homosexual interchangeably…people are so against homosexuality because they believe gay people all to be ruining their children because they are all pedophiles as well.  I knew things in Russia were “rough” but this is extremely disturbing & just plain fucked up! 

The vigilante group entraps gay men to hunt & then they video tape the beatings & tortures that they do & upload the videos to the internet & tons of people go & watch them like we do puppy videos & Jimmy Fallon clips.  The authorities turn a blind eye to the videos on the internet & use laws against gay propaganda to make it OK…they also use the laws to make it easier to arrest gays & protestors.

During an “interview” of a gay man by one of the vigilante groups I was amused to see that in the apartment of the vigilante man he has a poster of Michael Jackson hanging on the wall…not sure if it’s a pro or anti poster but if it’s pro they are even more disturbed than I thought considering they claim all of these men are pedophiles.

The thing I learned most by watching this documentary is that there’s pretty much a gay holocaust going on in Russia & most people there don’t really mind. Kids from same sex couples can be taken away & turned over to the state if a law that’s stalled at the moment ends up passing.  I feel sooesn’t  bad for anyone suffering because of who they are and for anyone who lives somewhere that dallow them the freedom to fall in love.  When so many nations have taken leaps forward it’s hard to understand how other places just seem to keep running backward and ignoring the strides that I thought the world had made for human rights. 

Don’t miss this one, tune in tomorrow, Monday, October 6 at 9:00 & watch the trailer below.

The 50 Year Argument premieres on HBO tonight

Tonight at 9:00 from HBO Docs it's The 50 Year Argument, an inside look at The New York Review of Books Directed by Martin Scorsese and longtime collaborator David Tedeschi. The documentary profiles the provocative and influential publication along with charismatic founding editor, Robert Silvers through rare archival material, interviews and portraits and iconic excerpts.  Tune in tonight at 9:00 or catch a rerun, DVR it, watch it OnDemand & on HBO Go soon too.  Check out the trailer below & click here for more info.

Terror at the Mall

Tonight on HBO at 9:00 it's the premiere of the documentary Terror At The Mall which chronicles the events of September 21, 2013, when members of a Somali Islamist group stormed the Westgate Mall in Kenya, ultimately claiming responsibility for 67 deaths and hundreds injured. The harrowing and carefully edited footage from 100+ security cameras as well as first-person recollections of survivors and rescuers recalls the horror of the attack while shining light on the courage and resilience of ordinary citizens in the face of tragedy.  See below for the trailer & tune in tonight at 9:00, catch a rerun or watch it OnDemand or on HBO Go...just be sure you don't miss it! To find additional air times & more about the documentary click here.

A God Job: Stories of the FDNY

Tonight on HBO don't miss the premiere of A Good Job: Stories of the FDNY which was directed and produced by Liz Garbus (HBO’s Emmy®-nominated “Bobby Fischer Against the World”) and produced by actor and former New York City firefighter Steve Buscemi (Boardwalk Empire). The film explores what it’s like to work in one of the most demanding and innovative fire departments in the world – from camaraderie and the bonds formed around firehouse kitchen tables, the cumulative effect of trauma, both physical and mental, and the stories – the good, the bad and the exciting.

Tune in tonight at 9:00 on HBO, catch a rerun or watch it OnDemand starting tomorrow.  Next month you can also catch it on HBO Go but for now, check out the trailer below.

Captivated: The Trials of Pamela Smart

Captivated: The Trials of Pamela Smart premiers tonight on HBO at 9pm. The riveting documentary takes a new look at a story everyone thought they knew and examines how one woman’s trial became a nation’s entertainment as the first fully televised court case.

An Official Selection of the 2014 Sundance Film Festival, the film explores how the media’s coverage of the story may have influenced the trial and sentencing of Pamela Smart, a New Hampshire woman who at 22 years old was accused of plotting the 1990 murder of her husband. Directed by Jeremiah Zagar, the film features courtroom footage and interviews with prosecuting and defending attorneys, journalists, Smart’s friends and acquaintances as well as an intimate new interview with Pamela Smart herself.

If you miss it you can catch it OnDemand tonight, check your local listings for reruns & starting 10/7 you can also see it on HBO Go.

Nixon by Nixon premieres tonight

HBO’s next documentary in their summer series is Nixon By Nixon: In His Own Words – premiering tonight at 9pm is a revealing profile of the former president. He resigned 40 years ago but his tapes will last forever. Be sure to tune-in on Monday and tweet along with @HBODocs!  

Directed by Peter Kunhardt, the film explores the complex facets of Richard Nixon through thousands of hours of recently declassified audiotapes recorded in the White House. The tapes capture Nixon’s blunt and candid observations on the Vietnam War, the Pentagon Papers leak and his Supreme Court appointments, as well as his thoughts on women, people of color, Jews and the media.

Check out the trailer below & make sure you tune in tonight at 9:00 or at Midnight or during other rerun times during the week.  It will also be available OnDemand starting tomorrow & on HBO Go beginning in October.

Love Child premieres on HBO tonight

Tune in to HBO tonight at 9:00 for the newest installment from HBO Docs! Love Child  explores the obsessive culture of online gaming through a story that became international news in 2010 when a couple was tried in South Korea for the negligent death of their infant daughter due to their internet addiction. Director Valerie Veatch skillfully weaves a tale of personal tragedy together with social commentary, shining a light on how new technology can have unforeseen dire consequences.

The film was an official selection of the 2014 Sundance Film Festival, and is executive produced by John Legere (CEO of T-Mobile).  Check out the trailer below, tune in tonight at 9:00 or for any of the reruns offered or you can check it out on HBO Go.

The Newburgh Sting

The next documentary from HBO Doc is The Newburgh Sting. Explore the rarely told story of the FBI’s involvement in the homegrown terror case of the “Newburgh Four”. Featuring never before seen FBI footage, insights from Muslim leaders, high-level Washington insiders and intimate family interviews, the film examines how four street criminals with no history of violence were drawn by a Pakistani FBI informant into a carefully orchestrated plot for destruction.

Directed by Kate Davis and David Heilbroner (HBO’s Emmy®-winning “Jockey”), this startling documentary offers new insights into surveillance in a post-9/11 world.  It premieres tonight at 9:00 with reruns airing all week & you can catch it on HBO Go too so don't miss it!!  See below for the trailer.

Dangerous Acts Starring the Unstable Elements of Belarus

HBO’s most recent documentary, Dangerous Acts Starring the Unstable Elements of Belarus premiered Monday, 7/7.  The documentary is comprised of smuggled footage and uncensored interviews, this enlightening documentary gives audiences a front-row seat to the Belarus Free Theater – a performance art resistance movement against Europe’s last remaining dictatorship.

Director Madeleine Sackler goes behind the scenes with the internationally acclaimed underground troupe of courageous performers who refuse to remain silent in a country choked by censorship and repression. After premiering at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival, the must-see film continues to shed light on the liberties often taken for granted – including free speech and right to artistic freedom.

I know I'm a little behind on this one so if you haven't yet seen it be sure to check out HBO Go or HBO On Demand or tune in for one of these reruns airing this week!

Wed - 4:15p - HBO East

Wed - 7:15p - HBO West

Thur - 11:15a - HBO2 East

Thur - 2:15p - HBO2 West

Fri - 4:40a - HBO2 East

Fri - 7:40a - HBO2 West

Sat - 10:30a - HBO East

Sat - 10:30a - HBO Latino East

For more information check out the website here & see below for the trailer.

112 Weddings

Acclaimed documentary filmmaker Doug Block (51 Birch Street, The Kids Grow Up), has supported his career with a side business of videotaping weddings. After filming more than a hundred weddings, he decided to track down some of the more memorable couples to see how their marriages have turned out – yielding funny, insightful and deeply moving results. By juxtaposing present-day reality with wedding-day flashbacks, Block explores themes of love, commitment and life after the big day.

For the past two decades, filmmaker Block has helped support his documentary work by shooting the occasional wedding. Known for his intimate, fly-on-the-wall style, he repeatedly found himself bonding with couples on their big day, never to see them again once the video was completed. 

Having long wondered what became of some of these marriages, Block began to 
track down a few of his favorite couples. Juxtaposing rapturous wedding-day flashbacks 
with remarkably candid present-day interviews, the documentary 112 Weddings asks 
what comes after “I do,” exploring timeless themes of love, romance and commitment.  Tune in tonight at 9:00 for the premiere or look for reruns or catch it on HBO Go.

The Case Against 8

The Case Against 8 is the new documentary from HBO premiering June 23rd at 9:00 and it takes an inside look at the groundbreaking Supreme Court case that overturned Proposition 8, California’s ban on same-sex marriage. Directors Ben Cotner and Ryan White follow four of the case’s plaintiffs over a five-year period, offering exclusive access to the work of the unlikely legal team of conservative Ted Olson and liberal David Boies, who previously faced off as opposing counsel in Bush v. Gore.

Earlier this year, the film made the festival circuit where it won the 2014 Sundance Film Festival Directing Award in the U.S. Documentary category and the SXSW Audience Award in the Festival Favorites category.  Check out the trailer below & tune in tomorrow at 9:00 and for more information, click here.

Remembering the Artist: De Niro, Sr.

HBO’s next documentary Remembering the Artist: De Niro, Sr. is a moving portrait of the painter told by those who knew him best. The film weaves together archival family footage and interviews with the subject himself, as well as with art experts, artists who worked alongside him and, most affectingly, his son. The documentary was an official selection of the 2014 Sundance Film Festival and gives a fascinating glimpse into the personal and professional life of the artist whose talent went largely unrecognized as the pop art movement swept the nation.

Directed by Perri Peltz and Geeta Gandbhir, Remembering the Artist: De Niro, Sr. premieres tomorrow, June 9^th at 9pm on HBO.  Check out a preview below & tune in tomorrow.

One Last Hug: Three Days at Grief Camp

This documentary from HBO Docs visits Camp Erin, one of 41 camps across the United States where children experiencing the death of a loved one can go to deal with their pain. At the camp, founded by baseball star Jamie Moyer and his wife, Karen, kids learn that by talking about their feelings, they can begin to heal. The documentary testifies to the power of friendship and support. Directed by Oscar® nominee Irene Taylor Brodsky (HBO’s “The Final Inch”) and produced by Emmy® nominees Greg DeHart and Paul Freedman. 

One Last Hug: Three Days at Grief Camp gives a poignant look inside Camp Erin, a three-day retreat founded by baseball great Jamie Moyer for children who have lost close family members. The documentary testifies to the power of friendship and support as children are able to open up about their feelings and move forward in the grieving process.  For more check out the preview below & tune in tonight at 8:00 to HBO or check it out on HBO Go, OnDemand or tune in to a rerun.