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Reviews
Almost Famous (2000)
Who says "Rock is dead?"
Cameron Crowe has added another fine film to his growing list of excellent stories & memorable characters. As noted in other reviews posted here, this movie is about Crowe's love of music & how it changed/saved his life. There is a universal theme here that should not be overlooked. William Miller, the film's central character, discovers rock-n-roll through the stack of albums his older sister leaves for him. Those albums open up a whole new world for him that he revels in. When William meets the infamous Lester Bangs, he is told "Rock is dead." And yet, William presses on to see firsthand if that is actually the case or not. When I say a universal theme is the underlying pulse of this film, I mean that every time a teen-age kid discovers rock music for the first time, rock-n-roll is reborn. This film is a perfect statement to that. While there are those people who will continue saying that "Rock-n-roll died when (insert tired cliche here)...", to me they are missing the whole point about what the true spirit of rock is, or was. Rock music & rock stars belong to the fans; the fans are what continue to keep rock music alive in all of its varied forms. Crowe's film "Almost Famous" is a testement to the ongoing reincarnation of a love for music by fans that has kept something thought to originally be a fad in the 1950's alive for over 5 decades & into it's second century. No one is born a rock star, a rock journalist, or a groupie- we are all fans first, & Cameron Crowe has given us an excellent film to remind us of this fact. If rock-n-roll has ever touched your life, this movie will hit home for you.
Office Space (1999)
An accurate portrayal of life in Cubicle Hell
At first glance, this movie looks like a satire of what it's like to work in office environment. The trailer was enough to get me to give it a shot, having spent time in the cubicle world that "Office Space" claims to be a send up of. First & foremost, unless you've spent a considerable amount of time working in this type of Hell, most of the humor will probably be lost on you. But if you've been there, it's right on the mark.
All the details were perfect- having 8 different bosses telling you the same things, the fax machine that claims to have the eternal malfunction, having idiots say things about "Having a case of the Mondays
", Hawaiian shirt day, the stupid cake ceremonies for birthdays
I lived all this crap & more.
The satirical content of this film is so accurate, that it reminded me too much of where I used to work. If you've ever logged time in cubicle Hell, you'll get something worthwhile out of this movie.
The Sixth Sense (1999)
Wait for video
What a disappointement. How did this boring & trivial film become the #1 movie in the country for weeks on end? Bruce Willis is wooden & unsympathetic at best. This movie didn't have the least bit of suspense or drama to it. The end was a decent twist, but it lacked the one thing a true horror movie needs to succeed- HORROR! This movie was NOT scary. Save your hard earned dollar, wait until it's released on video in 6 months, & then you can be disappointed for half the price.
Bandwagon (1996)
Finally, a halfway decent movie about a band.
I thought this movie was done pretty well. I saw the box in the video store, & noticed that it claimed it had original music written on the soundtrack written just for the film. I read the back of the box, & took it home. After seeing it once, I had to buy the soundtrack because "It couldn't be Ann" stuck in my head. I thought the movie was good, because it showed how four people who had nothing in common, came together through playing their own music. It felt real to watch, having been through it myself on a smaller level.
Watching these guys go from their drummer's garage to actually touring together, was fun. It also helped me to realize that if the guys I play with off & on went on the road in a van that size, we'd probably end up at each other's throats too. But, like Circus Monkey, no matter what would happen, it'd be worth it just to do it, period.
There were some inconsistencies. The bass player's amp/cabinet alone required two people to carry it (as seen when they steal it back from that dealer). So you're going to tell me that all of their instruments, amps, mikes, mike stands, & an entire PA to tour with fit in the very back of that van? Yeah, right. I can't fit my whole drum kit in my car! And where did they get the money for the van & PA to tour with? Oh well, why gripe, it's just a movie.
I honestly thought this was a pretty accurate portrayal of a band starting out realistically. They didn't just suddenly start playing arenas, & become a huge success. In fact, I really liked how they didn't end up selling out to Rival Records. It felt honest & real. Not everyone wants to be the next Spittle.
If you play, or have played in a garage band that's tried to play your own material, check this film out. And also buy the soundtrack, if only for the four original Circus Monkey tunes. They made me wish that there was an entire album of their music to buy. The liner notes are interesting too. The same group of guys that recorded the Circus Monkey tunes, also recorded the Spittle songs. What irony...
All in all, a pretty light & enjoyable film worth seeing if you've ever wanted to get out of the garage & get on stage.
Slap Shot (1977)
15 mili-seconds of fame.
There's a part in this movie, when the Hanson brothers go into the crowd & start throwing punches at spectators. One of the people who gets hit is wearing a Psi Phi Delta Fraternity jacket, which is my old alma mater in Potsdam, NY. Of course, to see this accurately, you have to go frame by frame to even catch it. Yet, it's still pretty cool to see one of our red & black jackets made famous even briefly. This is a classic movie about the greatest organized sport ever. Paul Newman is at his finest delivering great verbal crosschecks ("She's a lesbian! A lesbian!") Old time hockey at it's finest...
The Warriors (1979)
One of my all time favorites.
When this movie first was released in the theater, I was too young to go to R-rated films. I saw it for the first time on HBO on Halloween night in 1980. I still have articles that I saved from when it was originally released. A great, great movie. It lags in parts, but the action sequences more than make up for it. I've always wondered how difficult it was to actually film the sequence in the park after Cyrus gets shot & all Hell breaks loose. That can't have been easy. I've loved this movie since the very first time I remember seeing a trailer for it when I was 13 years old. Everything about it was memorable- the fights, the gangs' names, the gangs' clothes (have to admit- The Baseball Furies are my favorite. Might have something to do with their make-up being vaguely similar to Kiss' from the 70s), the story itself, & just the overall theme of gangs in general. I was very surprised & pleased years later to find a techno style disc by Messiah that sampled dialogue from the film (Cyrus on both counts: "The future is ours!" & "20,000 hardcore members!"). Again, one of my all time favorites that has stood the test of time as far as my interest goes. This movie really showed gangs as something more than just common criminals. With the costumes & rituals, it almost gave them a Marvel Comics superhero type of feel. No matter what anyone can say, either good or bad about it, this movie has definitely made its mark. I could go on with more specifics, but I won't bore you. As Cyrus said- "Can you dig it?"