Raise Hell: The Life & Times of Molly Ivins

What the world needs now is Molly Ivins.

Given that it's 13 years since Ivins died, it's puzzling why this film is coming out now, but it's never not a good time to celebrate a woman with an outsized, big-boned talent...

Though the documentary doesn't feature any conservative talking heads to balance out its liberal voice, anyone could leave the film unsettled by how relevant Ivins's commentary remains today.

Janice Engel's loving portrait of perhaps the most famous liberal journalist in Texas history (there must be a few others, right?) feels a bit like a pitch for a biopic. That is to say, it's more portrait than story.

[A] documentary that makes the case for how much the outspoken journalist's voice is missed today.

This movie just a hoot and a half.

A rousing portrait of a brilliant journalist who would not be defeated.

Talking heads ranging from family members, friends and news anchors Rachel Maddow and Dan Rather bring excellent analysis of this once-in-a-lifetime and sorely missed pundit.

It instead works because the film operates in and plays with its grey area, entirely uninterested in going towards any true 'side.' It, like Ivins, knows these polarities as a construct.

Perhaps what stands out most of all is how disarming Ivins was in spite of her sharp tongue.