Greetings again from the darkness. The next entry in the HBO Music Box documentary series comes from director Amy Scott and provides a textbook example of what can happen when a band hits it big ‘overnight’. It’s not always pretty, and sometimes it’s downright uncomfortable. Counting Crows’ popularity exploded with the release of their 1993 debut album, “August and Everything After”. The hit single, “Mr Jones” was all over the radio, only to be followed by an even better song, “Round Here”. The band and their music were ubiquitous.
Director Scott allows band leader, lead singer, and songwriter Adam Duritz to spend a good amount of time explaining what happened after the band’s follow-up album, “Recovering the Satellites” hit big … but not as big as the first album. Adoration was met with vitriol. Duritz admits to his struggles with mental illness and the delay in a proper diagnosis. We also hear from band members, as well as musicians Cindi Lauper and Chris Martin (Coldplay) on the impact of the music, as well as the strain of celebrity and pressure on artists. At times, we feel we are in a Duritz therapy session, although the music reminds us otherwise.
Additionally, NBA coach Steve Kerr, actor Mary-Louise Parker (once romantically involved with Duritz), and comedian Jeffrey Ross also contribute to the insight of celebrity. Their input helps us understand why success and criticism were both so tough on Duritz. There are some fascinating bits to the Counting Crows story. This little band from Berkeley put together a demo tape that spurred a bidding war by record labels and led to the great T-Bone Burnett producing their first album. The importance of MTV is discussed, and a spectacular clip of the band performing on “Saturday Night Live” is included – along with the story of why there never invited back.
Despite the backlash and internal battles, the band continued to make music. Duritz was ultimately properly diagnosed, and his current partner, Zoe Mintz, offers insight into the man. This is certainly not one of those fairy tale stories, as it seems the band endured as much pain as success … but for a guy who spent some time bartending at the Viper Room, Adam Duritz has delivered some beautiful songs and vocals.
Debuts on HBO on December 18, 2025
Posted by David Ferguson 
Greetings again from the darkness. Director Paul Feig hit it big with the outrageous comedy BRIDESMAIDS in 2011, and then he got a lot more interesting as a filmmaker by directing screen adaptations of Darcey Bell novels that were so popular with Book Clubs – A SIMPLE FAVOR (2018) and ANOTHER SIMPLE FAVOR (2025). There’s no need to mess with a good thing, right? This time he’s directing another Book Club favorite, Frieda McFadden’s 2022 novel. Adapted for the screen by Rebecca Sonnenshine, the movie subjects three gorgeous actors to some off-the-chart twisted and devious turns.
Greetings again from the darkness. The phrase ‘Third time’s the charm’ loses impact when the first two times were also charmed. Such is the case for writer-director Rian Johnson and his ‘Knives Out’ trilogy (so far). The filmmaker has really tapped into the joy of whodunits for those of us who are big fans of the genre. This third one has a darker tone and feel than the first two, but many of the elements remain in place – including a stellar ensemble of well-known actors, some whom only appear briefly.
Greetings again from the darkness. Raise your hand if you were once a kid. Well then, you likely had some experience with a monster under the bed or in the closet. You may have even had an imaginary friend. It no longer matters how your parents handled scary bedtime for you during childhood, but writer-director Bryan Fuller offers a fantastical tale on what could happen if you don’t believe your kids! Mr. Fuller is best known as the creator of the terrific (and dark) TV series “Hannibal”, and he once again collaborates with Mads Mikkelsen, the titular star of that show.
Greetings again from the darkness. There may be no more effective way to change the outside world’s perspective of a culture or country than through music. That’s the path Wizkid is taking to re-introduce the world to his home country of Nigeria and transform the image. Documentarian Karam Gill continues his focus on those in the music industry who have loftier goals than just hit records.
Greetings again from the darkness. My apologies for this review posting months after it should have. The tardiness of the post has nothing to do with the quality of the movie, which I found quite entertaining and creative. It might be best described as an innovate storytelling approach to an age-old tale … with some very cool twists and turns. Ryan Coogler previously directed BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER (2022), BLACK PANTHER (2018), CREED (2015), and FRUITVALE STATION (2013); however, this is his first fully original film as writer-director, and it certainly doesn’t lack ambition.
Greetings again from the darkness. Watching so many movies each year usually raises my defense mode against cinematic emotional manipulation. However, all hope is not lost for me as the best filmmakers and talented writers and top notch actors can still get to me, as evidenced by this latest from writer-director Chloe Zhao (two Oscars for NOMADLAND, 2020; plus the underappreciated THE RIDER, 2017) and novelist-screenwriter Maggie O’Farrell (her 2020 novel is the source material).
Greetings again from the darkness. For live theater lovers, the film version of a favorite play or musical comes with pros and cons. The film’s director, Maria Friedman (a renowned stage actor) strives to deliver the intimacy of a stage performance with cinematic qualities. What we see was the filming of a stage presentation in June 2024 at The Hudson Theater in New York City. The story was written by George Furth with music by Stephen Sondheim, only the production has quite an interesting history, with an original production in 1934 written by George S Kaufman and Moss Hart.
Greetings again from the darkness. The Music Box series at HBO brings us this documentary from Amy Berg (Oscar nominated for DELIVER US FROM EVIL, 2006), who profiles the tragic tale of the immensely talented Jeff Buckley. When he died in 1997 at age 30, Buckley had only released one album, “Grace”. Many musicians and critics call it one of the best albums ever. This film tells us how he reached that level.
Greetings again from the darkness. “The needle in the arm.” That’s how Paul Anka describes the will and the need to carry on after all of these years. How many years, you ask … well, he’s the only singer/songwriter to have a Billboard charting song in seven consecutive decades. Paul Anka is now 84 years old and documentarian John Maggio shows us that Anka is still going strong, still touring, still writing songs, and still loving what he does.
Movie Reviews from the Dark 