Prolific documentarian and HBO nonfiction lodestar Alex Gibney‘s last project for the premium cable network was Wise Guy: David Chase and the Sopranos. The 2024 two-parter was a puppy dog-eager piece of fan service in which Gibney was the biggest fan of all, peppering David Chase and much of the surviving cast of The Sopranos with all of his questions. It was, in the grand scheme of things, perhaps Gibney's least urgent or essential project to date, but it was light on its feet and, if anything, the rare HBO documentary that felt too short.

It could be argued that, in our current political moment, Gibney's two-film docuseries The Dark Money Game might be one of his most essential projects, a rudimentary history lesson that you've probably already learned elsewhere, not that it hurts to be reminded. It's also sloppily edited, aesthetically uninspired and frequently tedious in a way that's not ideal given subject matter that's nothing less than the desperately fatigued state of American democracy.  Continue reading article here.