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jimmygeekrock
Reviews
Pink Floyd: Live at Pompeii (1972)
Interesting, but...
There's no contesting Pink Floyd's impact on rock and roll (or on the recording of music post-1973). Despite any tarnishing that may have happened to their legacy thanks to the fake Floyd packages and Roger Waters' runaway ego, they were a great band. One of the greatest.
So I was a little confused what to make of this DVD. There's no denying that the band have some interesting interplay. There's no denying that they put together some great tunes here and there. There's no denying what a great location this concert was shot in. It might be the single best concert location ever committed to film. But the reality is that this is the Floyd before they broke free. Before Dark Side of the Moon pushed them over the top. What we're left with is a hit and miss compilation. There are some great moments, but there are also some truly trying stretches. Imagine a bunch of stoned hippies trying to turn a three minute single into a thirty minute "masterwork." Now add organ.
Great moments. Great band. Just not their best work.
Rock 'n' Roll High School (1979)
Lots of Fun
How can you go wrong with the amazing Ramones? What a crime that two of them are already dead. It reminds me of the Dennis Leary joke about great musicians dying in kitchen fires while useless ones live forever. I'm paraphrasing here, but you get the idea.
ROCK AND ROLL HIGH SCHOOL tells the story of a group of disenfranchised kids fighting against their oppressive high school's administration. It's extremely silly stuff, but there's an optimism about it that's refreshing (even if they do resort to blowing up the building). Who knew that this would actually become a concern for students around the world? ROCK AND ROLL HIGH SCHOOL is a time capsule of an era when people still believed that music mattered and that it could make a difference to the larger society. It's full of kids who know authority doesn't have the correct answers. Rather, rock and roll is the only thing they can trust.
But most important, this is pure exploitation.
Take none of it seriously. Just go in and have a good time. If this wasn't what high school life was like in the seventies, then it should have been.
Sea of Dust (2008)
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Amsterdam....
There I was on vacation when my host suggested we take in this B-Movie festival in Breda. I was resistant, as I hadn't gone on the trip to sit in a movie theater, but I've got to admit that I don't regret a second of this one (especially with Stephen Malkmus' contribution). It probably helped that I had no idea what to expect.
SEA OF DUST starts out like a typical costume drama. We've got a young medical student going to help a doctor whose town is being destroyed by a crazy plague (which somehow involves exploding heads). On the way, he stops to visit his fiancé and gets thrown off the property by her father. Traveling on, he finds a girl lying on the road, another plague victim, and takes her along to the doctor's. Yawn, I thought. It all seemed pretty predicable.
And then everything went crazy and it suddenly turned into a completely different film. Tom Savini shows up looking like Dracula, characters begin traveling to "the other side" of reality, and the dialog gets increasingly humorous.
And just when I thought it had settled into a groove, the picture changes again, becoming really dark and bizarre. I won't spoil it for first time viewers, but there's an amazing sequence about hollow people, lots of chat about the abuse of religion by society, and some over-the-top gore effects. And did I mention Stephen Malkmus? This isn't a perfect movie (in case you haven't figured that out from its appearance at a B-Movie festival), but it's well worth the time for adventurous viewers. Great visuals, cool soundtrack, lots of interesting ideas. The acting is a little zany at times, but I think that's the point.
Funny I had to go to Breda to see find an American picture that looked like a British horror movie. You figure that one out...
Hellboy (2004)
Hellboy? Oh, Boy...
Saw this on television last night so I'm assuming there are funny bits that were pruned. It also seemed like Fox cut an entire section of the film near the end.
I've been eager to see HELLBOY for some time, so maybe my expectations were a bit high. With the sequel getting such great reviews I thought the original would really be something. It had a lot going for it. There was great computer effects. Lots of them. Lots and lots of them. And the makeups were great. Love the gillman that occupied the first part of the picture. There was some great character acting too. And did I mention the computer effects?
But I felt like I was dropped into the middle of a story without sufficient explanation. Not being a HELLBOY fan, I was a little vague on what was going on. And when some of my questions were answered, I found the explanations to be extremely silly.
HELLBOY is pretty entertaining. But after the endless raves I've read here, I've got to tell those of you who aren't already HELLBOY fans that this movie is unlikely to convert you. It's got a lot going for it, but a point isn't one of them.
The Feeding (2006)
Werewolf in the Woods...Oh, My...
A bunch of friends get together and decide to make a horror film. They've got a werewolf costume (not a horrible one, but inappropriate for any lingering shots). One of the friends thinks he's good at gore effects. And many of the group want to be actors, so they're willing to take their clothes off.
Now, all they need is a script. They decided to string together every werewolf cliché they can muster, which isn't many because all they can afford to do is film in the woods. They throw in some dope humor. They add a lesbian "undercurrent," because it can't hurt and that's what they think these films are supposed to do.
If you go into THE FEEDING knowing this background it's really not a terrible film. All things considered, it's better than a lot of "teenagers in the woods" films I've seen with bigger budgets. But there are problems. Like the bad focus every time the werewolf shows up. Hide the costume if you've got to, but don't make everything look like it's been shot through a shower curtain.
There are also some major plot holes. Why does the werewolf move at the speed of light most of the time, allowing him to kill off the majority of the cast, but then freeze when it's convenient for the heroes? Who in the hell is the werewolf and were did he come from in the first place? Maybe this was all explained and I just zoned out during the endless dialog sequences.
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)
Easy to make fun of, but not bad
I've never been an Indiana Jones fan. Never been a George Lucas fan. Never loved Star Wars the way other people do. Never entertained the thought of sitting on a city street so I could be the first one to see an ewok. Never loved Spielberg simply for being Spielberg. So, I went into this thinking it would be a complete annoyance.
Instead, it was a pretty entertaining two hours. There were some great action set pieces. Some fantastic sets. Some incredible special effects (like the saucer climax).
Was it a masterpiece? I wouldn't call it that. It had all the hokey stuff I thought it would, especially the edgy kid who seems to populate so many of these movies. I could tell he was edgy because it was pointed out to me every few minutes. And there were gaping holes of logic (like the entire opening sequence with the "magnetic" aliens). Am I the only one who wondered why they were magnetic? What this tidbit had to do with anything else in the plot? Why the skeletons' magnetism seemed to be so selective? Best not to ask deep questions of something designed merely for fun.
The Invisible (2007)
Stunningly Bad
I'm used to viewer ratings being inflated on IMDb. So used to it, that I tend to take them with a grain of salt. And THE INVISIBLE should be regarded as the poster child for inflation.
I write this review not to reinforce the lower tier ones this movie has received, but to warn unsuspecting viewers. Stay away. Stay far away. This is a movie that is inept on so many levels that I was literally stunned.
Let's start with the script, which has already been dissected here in detail. These kids were such cardboard figures that their dialog was laugh inducing. Every sequence featured some ridiculously over the top line, as if the viewers needed to be pummeled into "believing" in these stereotypes. My favorite moment? The poetry reading that is supposed to demonstrate how the main character's gentle soul is somehow transcendent. He's nervous to read it in front of his high school class, but the teacher insists (hoping to wipe away the memory of a peer's previous adolescent work). Relucatantly, he begins to read. The music swells. We know the kids are digging it, because they stop talking and lean forward. The music swells some more as classmate after classmate are won over by his genius. It's a pivotal moment in the film, as it demonstrates for the first time the conflict between Nick and his distant mother - how he wants to go to writing school in London, but is thwarted by a mother who (seemingly) doesn't believe in his talent.
What's the problem? Did anyone who gave this movie a good review actually listen to the drivel that came out? Nick's "poetic brilliance" sounded like bad emo band lyrics. And the crime becomes that his poetry is revisited throughout the film, each time becoming more annoying. More laughable. By the time he was reading the lines over his mother's shoulder, everyone in the room with me was in stitches.
It's hard to believe that the director penned BATMAN RETURNS. You'd think he's have an ear for realistic dialog. Instead, he seemed intent on proving he could use every camera move known to man to breathe life into this cliché-riddled excuse for a story. Witness the opening shot. It's like Orson Welles dropped by.
The lesson? When all else fails - when logic is thrown to the four winds and even a five minute crane shot is not enough - don't despair. Just fill very transition in the film's second half with painful emo music. Have each emotion underlined by brain numbing lyrics the equal of the brain numbing script.
Sorry to be so harsh. If this was an independent picture I might have given it a couple stars for the cinematography and acting. But this was a major Hollywood production with major Hollywood money. All we are left with is commercial exploitation: the producers seem to have bet that the preteen audience would be too self absorbed to recognize the clichés and bad execution. Given some of the reviews here, maybe they were right.
Across the Universe (2007)
Interesting Diversion
Let me start by saying: I was prepared to hate this. How can you mess with perfection? Who would dare take classic Beatles tunes and repeatedly rearrange them? And just how coherent a plot could/would be fashioned to string them together?
What I was met with was a likable cast "reimagining" the cultural highlights of the 1960s. Granted, it's ridiculous how the main characters keep showing up at every significant hippie event, but this isn't (obviously) about plotting. My concerns were well founded in that regard. ACROSS THE UNIVERSE desperately tries to connect these events and the characters (who are all pretty one dimensional). And the happy ending is pretty tacked on.
But I found myself being compelled to watch it. And to enjoy it. For every ridiculous plot development (and there are many) comes a moment of audacity. The reimagined songs even work well, excepting the occasional clunker like "Let It Be." And Eddie Izzard provides a hilarious turn.
Don't look too hard for content. Just go with the flow. Turn off your mind, relax, and float downstream...
The Song Remains the Same (1976)
Rocking Good Time
What can you say about this flick? Zeppelin are the undisputed kings of hard rock and heavy metal (despite what Black Sabbath fans might claim). They make it all look effortless.
SONG captures them in all their hedonistic glory, swaggering their way through their greatest hits. In seventies tradition, everyone receives a ridiculously long solo...and these can be painful to sit through. Do we really need a 15 minute drum solo, for instance? Granted, John Bonham may be rock's greatest drummer (all apologies to Keith Moon) but enough is enough.
There are also the dream sequences to deal with. While I'd like to think they were committed to celluloid on a lark, their presence gives the production a ridiculous overtone. These might have been cool in the seventies, before the days of music video, but they just look dated and nonsensical today.
Forget these minor quibbles, however, and enjoy the concert footage. This is grand stuff, the type you don't see anymore. These guys were the real deal!
Pavement: Slow Century (2002)
Essential Alt-Rock
This is an easy picture to critique. It's not well shot. It's not well edited. And on DVD, it's difficult to navigate the menu.
That said, this is essential viewing for anyone interested in alternative rock. Pavement was the quintessential slacker band, bar none. SLOW CENTURY captures them in all their unadorned glory, boldly sacrificing tuning and practice for their special brand of magic. The live shows are somewhat chaotic as a result, but anyone familiar with the band would expect no less.
Of course, you also get a collection of Pavement music videos, which offer unpretentious fun, start to finish.
In an era of antiseptic rock and American Idol posturing, these guys are the real thing.
Help! (1965)
How Sweet It Was
This isn't The Beatles best moment. That belongs to A HARD DAY'S NIGHT (and YELLOW SUBMARINE might have the edge on this picture innovation-wise). But there's no denying that The Beatles' charisma carries HELP! to levels other rock musicals can only aspire to.
Which is the picture's only detriment. When the Fab Four aren't on screen, HELP! feels a little flat. They're such commanding presences that anyone would suffer by comparison, let alone the fine character actors who populate this comic fantasy.
But this is a minor quibble. Try to resist the great songs, every one of which is a gem. Try not to laugh at some of the broader sight gags (like the contents of their shared flat). Try to suppress a smile at director Richard Lester's manic pacing. He is the guy who invented the music video, for better or worse. In effect, HELP! and A HARD DAY'S NIGHT are the blueprints for everything that has come since
and I'm not speaking of musicals, but of all contemporary cinema (its cutting, its pacing, its self-reference).
If HELP! seems at all dated, it's only because the gags and techniques have been so endlessly cannibalized by lesser productions. But this is a small price to pay for such sunny hopefulness. In a world where rock seems to epitomize whiny, self-absorption, I wish I could have been around for the real deal.
Silent Hill (2006)
Video Game Hokum
Had no idea that this was based on a video game until I read some of the other reviews, but it makes perfect sense. Once again, I found myself amazed by the over effusive language on IMDb. This film is "gripping and exciting and innovative. It's also extremely derivative.
Which isn't to say that it's horrible. SILENT HILL certainly has a lot of things going for it. It's got great atmosphere. There are some good performances. There are some creepy sequences. It's got amazing effects (scene after scene of digitally created landscapes and terrifying creatures). It's even got some interesting ideas.
But it's what it doesn't have that proves its undoing. It doesn't have any real sense of purpose. It's as if the writer Avary strung together every excuse for a suspense scene he could think of and director Gans cobbled together sequences from the HELLRAISER catalog.
And to what end? Why has this entire town disappeared from the face of the earth? Why is everyone trapped in this horrific limbo? What has the religious fervor of the town folks and their execution of witches got to do with them creeping about in radiation suits (while carrying canaries like coal miners)? If you expected some type of grand resolution that ties all these disparate points into a nice bow, you'll be sadly disappointed. Instead, what you get - Big Spoiler Here - is a lame explanation involving a little girl wronged. That's right, people, it's THE RING set in West Virginia. All this otherworldly possession, flying barbed wire(?), and creature infestation is somehow the doing of one angry little burned kid.
Which is sad, I must say, because all the ingredients where there to make this big budget spectacle a unique piece of work: a monster movie that worked on a multitude of levels. Every ingredient except the central idea. .
Pink Floyd: The Wall (1982)
What's to Hate?
Hard to believe that people find fault with THE WALL. What's there to dislike? It's got great performances. There's great music by one of the best bands of all time. The director turns us on our heads and sends us spinning.
But it's certainly not the usual rock star extravaganza, which may be the problem. I suppose some folks don't like to think. They'd prefer to be entertained, particularly in a rock and roll setting. Bigger, dumber, louder. God, I wish Motley Crue would have made this movie. I can see it now: instead of performances, there could be makeup. Instead of style, there could be swagger. Instead of great music, there could be
well, whatever it is that Motley Crue would bring to the table.
And I'm sure there'd be tattoos. Sometimes, that's enough.