Change Your Image
Marc-Drost
Reviews
Totally Under Control (2020)
Politics, not science
Consider this was finished in late september 2020, before the elections, before vaccination and before a Big Load of information became more clear and available, despite increasing censorship. Since then, we have learned that the virus was most probably engineered in a Wuhan lab, most probably funded by the US, as we learned from the Fauci emails and many more juicy details that are still being disclosed. (wrinting on August 9 2021)
Interesting to see how the creators keep Fauci on a low profile. Considering the more recent disclosures it made me wonder if they knew more already...
Overall, you hear a lot of democratic voices speaking against Trump and the way he handled things. So in that sense it is completely biased and kind of annoying. (I am watching as a European, so I couldn't care less about the partizan thing)
Many crucial details are not addressed. Much time is spent on the test, the lack of test material and the mismanagement of all that. Equally, the mask issue is only approached from the perspective of the lack of masks for medical professionals at the early stages of the outbreak. Indeed, messy and inefficient procedings. But not a word about the test criteria, the PCR dilemma (it was not designed for diagnosis) and also not a word spent on the billions made by the rich over this pandemic. So, final judgement: interesting as a piece of propaganda to let us buy deeper into the official narrative.
Maybe this one can go on the shelf, out of historical interest, to see in retrospect how messy things got and how desperate certain people were to get a singular perspective across. But the creators already were very clear about that intention by choosing this title. I didn't get bored, annoyed or angry enough to stop looking, so I give it 4 tiny stars.
The End (2020)
Excellent and daring
Before I started watching, I read the reviews and was intrigued by the great gap between high and low appreciation. Now I understand and I find myself on the high end.
The story telling is very compelling. There are numerous threads which come together in the main character, a female Dr. who is facing her ethics about dying. Yes, the writers pushed it to quite an extreme, but with the episodes being 30 min. I find they did an great job at keeping my attention. It's drama AND a bit of comedy, not a documentary. A story is being told to tackle the theme of death, dying, euthanasia... As I see it, the balance is pretty perfect; it's quite serious at the basis, and there is enough relief in the story not to make it too heavy. The acting is first rate, the visual conception is quite to the point.
Jesus Christ Superstar: Live Arena Tour (2012)
Gloomy, dispassionate atheist version
What struck me from the very beginning, when I saw the 1973 movie was, how this musical presents such a strong view on the gospel, respecting the premise that Jesus was Messiah, and that in his own time this would have led to all sorts of dynamics, opinions, opposition, support, etc. So I have always been a fan of the material itself, since the music is probably the best that Andrew Lloyd Webber ever wrote, at least in my opinion.
So I watched this modernised revamp from start to finish, maybe with the wrong expectations. Jesus is not presented as anyone anyone special, more of a random leader of a political rebel group. Neither Jesus nor this group ever seems to stand for anything, as I see it because of the poor lighting and the highly distracting banners, showing what they should stand for. But are they punk or hippy... Unclear.
One of the Big Central Pieces in this musical is of course Gethsemane, where Jesus prays to his father. Up till then Ben Foster has been shown as a weak uncharismatic character, weak also vocally, though he does hit all the challenging notes. And then at Gethsemane, suddenly he is over emotional, crying before he even starts, which left me with the feeling that he is just not up to whatever he was catapulted into by his undefined group of followers.
But even more distressing is the bland dispassionate portrayal of Judas by Tim Minchin. From the very start he seems to be focused on his vocals, delivering a super-clean version of this highly challenging part. But after a while I started noticing the use of autotune... So maybe he was not quite up to the part, vocally? Meanwhile is acting is either non-existent, or else this indifference to Jesus and the mission J.C. and the disciples are on, was directed on purpose...? This uninvolved acting style goes on, scene after scene... Maybe the idea was to show Judas as being in a depression? Not very exciting from a theatrical point of view. Just like Gethsemane for J.C. seemed to come out of nowhere in this production, the suicide of Judas seems completely without motivation.
As for the rest of the cast: Mel C sings the part fine but again I see no relation between her and J.C. At some point it all seems more erotic than what is called for in the script, another odd choice by the director. A nice surprise was the choice to make Herod a kind of TV game host, well performed by Chris Moyles. The Herod piece I have always found a weaker spot in the score, the strange choice to refer to music from the 20s or 30s... That never made sense to me. So in this case, pulling that scene out of context into this strange tv-show world finally got my attention. Another part that almost kept my attention was Alexander Hanson's Pilate. He first appearance - the dream - is captivating. I see an intelligent magistrate with a nuanced view of who and what J.C. may be. Frankly it's also the first performer who is showing some acting skills. But unfortunately the direction further along is not helping him. To dress him up as a British style judge, wig and all... strange and distracting. Still, I appreciated seeing the acting performance being dramatic and consistent, unlike most of the rest of the cast.
The band and musical direction is excellent. Maybe hearing this show without seeing all that bad acting and the questionable distracting visuals would be a more satisfying experience. Still, a show where the core is an overdramatic highlight from the gospels should at least but J.C. and Judas at the center of this drama. Presenting it in a non religious way... maybe it could work, but then some very engaging alternative should be presented, and some passion about 'the cause' should be displayed. But then I'm not sure this could be done without some rewrites of the lyrics. In this presentation I was left feeling indifferent to the characters and puzzled by some of the scenes. What is the meaning of the last supper without the religious context? Who is J.C. addressing in Gethsemane...?
And to be clear, I am not at all a profoundly Christian person. But Christian enough to have always been intrigued by the meaning of the crucifixion and the way it got to be so central to the teachings of the church. Personally I am more of a gnostic believer, feeling it's good to question and investigate the events and teachings from Jesus' life. And in that context I also thoroughly enjoy and respect a movie like 'The Life of Brian'. But all that is a different story.
Mums Make Porn (2019)
Thought provoking
This 3-part documentary is not perfect but it is a good contemporary reflection on the state of sexual education and the role that porn plays in this. The moms are committed but also somewhat naive. The makers chose the emotional perspective rather than the 'behind the scene' technicalities of porn film making. But the premise of the mothers is that they want to make a movie that they could show their children, and in that sense the doc is thought provoking. In Erika Lust they find a 'new wave' porn maker who makes movies to their liking.
Meanwhile one blatant omission is the role of the fathers. They are so absent that one starts to wonder if they are all single mothers. Are these mothers indifferent to what the fathers of their children think about porn?
Considering the British output of documentaries about sex and porn, this is a welcome perspective and addition.