Documentary Movies 2008 List

Comedian Bill Maher examines the presence of religion in big news stories of recent years, from Muslim riots over cartoons to the Ten Commandments in front of courthouses, a born-again Christian in the White House and Scientology in the birthing room.

Fifteen young sailors...six months of intense training... one chance at the brass ring. This exciting true-life documentary tells the inspiring story of a group of intrepid and determined young men and women, on the cusp of adulthood, as they embark on life's first great adventure. Racing a high-performance 52-foot sloop in the Transpac, the most revered of open-ocean sailing competitions, the crew of "Morning Light" matches wits and skills in a dramatic 2,300-mile showdown against top professionals. From their earliest training sessions in Hawaii conducted by world-class teachers through their test of endurance on the high seas, they form an unbreakable bond in the process of becoming singular team that is greater than the sum of its parts.

An aspiring rap artist and her streetwise husband, armed with a video camera, show what survival is all about when they are trapped in New Orleans by deadly floodwaters, and seize a chance for a new beginning.

"American Teen" is the touching and hilarious Sundance hit that follows the lives of five teenagers - a jock, a popular girl, a heartthrob, an artsy girl and a geek – in one small town in Indiana through their senior year of high school. We see the insecurities, the cliques, the jealousies, the first loves and heartbreaks, and the struggle to make profound decisions about the future. Filming daily for ten months, filmmaker Nanette Burstein developed a deep understanding of her subjects. The result is a film that goes beyond the enduring stereotypes of high school to render complex young people trying to find their way into adulthood. Hannah Bailey is smart and beautiful, but a misfit in her high school. She is a liberal, atheist living in a traditional, Christian, conservative town and dreams of moving to California after graduation. Colin Clemens is the star of the high school basketball team - and in Indiana, basketball is everything. Colin is under enormous pressure this year playing not only to make his town, his school, and his father proud, but for a college scholarship. Jake Tusing is considered to be a nerd in high school. Though quite funny and charming one-on-one, he is painfully shy in group situations and crushed with self-doubt. In his senior year he vows that nothing will stand in the way of him finding a girlfriend. Megan Krizmanich is the student council Vice President and the youngest daughter of a prominent local surgeon, anxiously awaiting word from Notre Dame University admissions. Wealthy, pretty, smart and popular, she rules her high school - just don't get on her bad side. When Megan's peers challenge her authority, she can't help but take action, even if it means risking her future. Mitch Reinholdt is an attractive and charming Varsity basketball jock with a soft side. When he puts his social status on the line, avoiding his popular friends for dates with artsy Hannah Bailey, he strains to maintain his reputation while discovering a new side of himself. With extraordinary intimacy and a great deal of humor, "American Teen" captures the pressures of growing up – pressures that come from one's peers, one's parents, and not least, oneself.

This Rolling Stones documentary focuses on the two concerts from the group's current "A Bigger Bang" tour and includes scenes from a recent concert in Austin, Texas. It also includes behind-the-scenes footage and interviews.

Young@Heart, a New England Senior Citizen Chorus, delights audiences worldwide with their covers of everyone form James Brown to Coldplay.

With a baby on the way, and a need to make the world safe for infant-kind, an unassuming guy from West Virginia takes on what no special ops team could do: he puts to use his complete lack of experience, knowledge, and expertise to find the most wanted man on earth.

Tentatively titled S.O.P. (a military acronym for "Standard Operating Procedure"), the film will examine the unintended consequences of the Iraqi war with a focus on events at Abu Ghraib prison, notorious for the shocking photos which began to appear in global media in 2004. It is the story of soldiers who believed they were defending democracy but found themselves plunged into an unimagined nightmare.

In the fall of 2005, "Vince Vaughn's Wild West Comedy Show: 30 Days & 30 Nights, Hollywood to the Heartland Tour" traveled across the country, performing 30 shows in 30 days. The entire tour, including all performances, behind-the-scenes action, and interviews with Vince, the comedians and special guests, was captured on film.