Honest Liar, An

Director: Tyler Measom and Justin Weinstein
Year Released: 2014
Rating: 2.0

Quick review of the life and career of famed magician James Randi, who began as a stage performer (inspired by Harry Houdini) and turned into a debunker of frauds and "mystics" (including "telekinetic" Uri Geller and "faith healer" Peter Popoff). It touches on some of his greatest moments (such perpetrating a fraud with his life partner, Jose Alvarez, and fooling Nobel-hungry scientists) but the editing is very uneven (too many sections feel like they aren't thoroughly explored) and the "revelation" about Randi's sexual orientation is probably the least interesting thing about him and the insinuation that being gay is something that should be 'ran from' (and a motivating factor in his work) comes across as lazy psychoanalysis. What's truly baffling is how Geller, after all these years, still goes on with the same schtick and makes money at it: con-artists just don't know when to quit.