• Evocateur: The Morton Downey Jr. Movie - Directed by Seth Kramer, Daniel A. Miller and Jeremy Newberger - 'Evocaterur' Morton Downey, Jr. forged the way for crowd-rousing television interview shows. During his tenure as TV's chief right wing loud mouth during the late 1980s, Downey engaged in discourse drama with a wide variety of prominent subjects, including Alan Dershowitz, Hermain Cain and Pat Buchanan, among others. In this well-researched documentary about Downey's life and career, three former avid fans who were often in the audience of Downey's taped TV talk show, present a fascinating study of the evolution of the 'evocateur' from his privileged upbringing as the scion of prominent show biz family and summer neighbor of the influential Kennedy clan to the celebrity who publicly badgered liberal politicians and pundits, often pressing them into news-breaking verbal -- and sometimes physical -- battles that influenced public opinion. The film uses previously unseen archival footage from the TV show to reveal Downey's wiles and attitudes, his tactics for stirring up political controversies, getting ratings for his show and his use of the media to focus attention on his right wing assertions.

• Fame High - Directed by Scott Hamilton Kennedy - This very entertaining documentary about burgeoning entertainers follows four high school students -- two seniors and two freshmen -- at Los Angeles County High School for the Arts (LACHSA)-- aka 'Fame High' -- as they struggle with the everyday turmoil of teenage life, in addition to the discipline and dedication required to fulfill their lofty ambitions, their inherent insecurities and the oft adverse impact of pressures at home, including family demands and traditions and economic factors. During the school year and several months following that are covered by the film, the four students' stories emerge: Freshmen Zak, a jazz pianist, has to embrace the school's dictates about style and cope with parental challenges at home, while freshman Ruby, an actress, finds it challenging to catch up on her academics after taking a three-week break from school to take understudy job that throws her studies off track. The two seniors, seeking to leave school and enter their chosen performing professions, include Brittany, whose focus on her music is so singular she may not be able to finesse her grades in other required school subjects sufficiently to actually graduate, and Grace, a young Korean-American dancer whose traditional family strongly opposes her career choice and want her to follow a more secure path. The students are all extremely talented, and their stories are compelling. They also win the support of their school teachers and coaches -- all of whom are working professionals, and some of whom are LACSHA alumni, including Josh Groban, Jenna Elfman and Anthony Anderson, among others who appear in the film.

• Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer - Directed by Mike Lerner and Maxim Pozdorovkin - Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer is a gripping social and political justice documentary about three Russian feminist punk rock artists - Pussy Riot's Nadia, Masha and Katia -- who were arrested and sentenced to seven years in prison for staging a punk rock performance inside Moscow's Cathedral of Christ the Savior. In the performance, which satirizes Putin's close relationship with the Orthodox Church and its repressive impact on Russian politics and lifestyle, the women took to the pulpit to sing and dance. They were arrested on the spot, and that began a long and drawn out period of incarceration and trials for the three artists. In addition to following the women's trial and appeal, the film presents archival footage of Pussy Riot performances that show the artists to be a talented group who might easily ascend to punk stardom anywhere else in the world. Their demeanor and comments at the trial and appeal show that they are smart, articulate, sophisticated, dedicated and entirely loyal to their cause. They emerge as popular heroines and advocates for civic freedoms in still authoritarian Russia. Two of the three are still in jail. Their arrest, the trials and their sentence, as the film shows, have spurred an international movement to support Pussy Riot and demand their freedom. This very well-made and compelling film is a must see. Premiering on HBO

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