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I have a longstanding respect for and really enjoy Dwayne Johnson, so I went into Snitch expecting not to hate it, 2/5 stars. I know that ain’t much, but it didn’t look particularly substantive, so that was the baseline (though “inspired by” true events, if that’s all that’s said, it often still qualifies as fiction).

Then a funny thing happened, one that in over 2700+ titles hasn’t occurred quite this way before: the stars just kept climbing, step-by-step, hand over fist, as the film progressed. I could actually feel it… “hey this isn’t bad at all”… “you know, this is pretty good”… “whoa, good job”… “that was really well done”… and so on, half-star by half-star until here we are at 4/5. I think I’m as surprised as some of you may be!

Let’s get one thing out of the way at the start: the trailer misleads.

The 8th annual Big Sky Documentary Film Festival is all set to run for ten days this Feb. 11-20 in Missoula, Montana. This year, the fest will have a whopping 140 film programs, a growth that necessitates an expansion from its regular home at the Historic Wilma Theatre — where it will occupy two screens — to also feature screenings at the former Pipestone Mountaineering store.

Special events at the fest include a free opening night screening of How to Die in Oregon sponsored by HBO Documentary Films. The film, directed by Peter D. Richardson, examines the impact the legalization of physician-assisted suicide has had on the state. (In 1994, Oregon was the first state to legalize the practice.)

Also, indie rock band Yo La Tengo will perform their acclaimed live score of the films of pioneering French underwater documentary film director Jean Painlevé, something they have done for other film festivals all over the world.