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Life is weird.
One moment I’m in the ALAMO DRAFTHOUSE
watching Wes Cravens’ wonderful THE HILLS
HAVE EYES... genuinely tense. The audience had a
blast with it. I had fun with it. Afterwards, Mr. and
Mrs. Alamo and I were talking about how cool the
upcoming Quentin Tarantino fest at the Drafthouse is
going to be. 30 films in 8 or 9 days... Glorius.
Father Geek, Johnny Wad and I all hit the doors and
enter the quite chilly air of Austin.
That’s when this mini-skirted beauty approaches us...
She says to follow her. Well, the next thing I know
I’m watching this lovely lady jimmy a door into the
Paramount Theater, she tells us to get to our seats.
While being quite interested in what was about to
happen, we all discuss the concept of seeing each
other naked. I decide that I don’t want to be naked in
the same room with my Dad. It just doesn’t appeal to
me. I don’t want to know if male pattern baldness
extends into the nether regions. There are... things I
don’t want to know.
Well, the curtains parted and there on screen began a
movie. We looked at each other as though this was a
huge disappointment. I mean Christ, what happened
to the mini-skirted beauty. Johnny Wad went off in
search for her. Dad and I decided to watch the
movie. Wad never returned, I’m still waiting on his
phonecall to see if he and the mini-skirted one... ya
know...
The movie was STILL CRAZY.
I was instantly familiar with the title because I
remember writing about it in the first AICN
newsletter. As the memories were flooding in to my
brain as to who was in it... well Stephen Rea’s name
appeared and Billy Connolly’s... The rest were... well
unknown to me. But then my memory is not as good
as it should be.
Wow, for having ZERO anticipation for this movie, it
hit me dead on. And my father really seemed to love
it. Ya know how we all crack jokes about aging
Rockers from the 70’s? Jokes about Keith Richards?
Well this movie has a few nods in that direction but...
It’s much better than that.
I’ve heard people refer to this movie as the
Rock-n-Roll version of THE FULL MONTY. Well,
I love THE FULL MONTY, primarily because of the
friendships that I felt the characters had, but this is a
bit different.
This is more about getting back together with friends
that... well you went through something a long time
ago with. It’s about burying the past, excepting the
reality of your situation, about friends. And it’s about
finding your stride and it’s most importantly about
ROCK N ROLL!!!
I love the look of this movie. It’s just gorgeous. The
pull back shots while the band is playing the giant
gig... is stunning. God’s Lightshow playing in the
heavens, the impossible crane shot, the magical
mixture of lights on the stage, and the teeming mass
of 200,000 rocking fans. I checked the credits and
saw that THE MILL did the effects. Well, if the
quality of the few shots I saw them do in this movie is
any gauge.... well Ridley Scott’s GLADIATOR is in
very good hands.
I loved the way they handled the music, that perfect
70’s British Rock Sound. And that’s where my
question is. Is this all new music? If so... damn,
great friggin job. If not.... damn, great friggin job. I
really really like these songs. And I wish to hell I had
em on CD cause it just rocks.
This movie works at every level it attempts. There
are twists and surprises and it is simply delightful.
There is a scene with Ray (Bill Nighy) in the streets
of Holland in his ‘Phantom’ outfit where a pusher
approaches him that is... quite simply haunting as
hell. The lighting is moody, but there seems to be a
sparse amount of some sort of plant spores (or
whatever I should be calling them) floating about
catching the light. Mixed with the emotion of the
scene... it is just fantastic.
In another scene, two characters meet atop some roof
in London and the shot is... startling. I fell in love
with the look of this movie, the characters and the
music.
Ultimately at it’s base it is a “Let’s get the band back
together” movie. And I’ve always loved that genre.
It’s a different band, they have a different sound from
the BLUES BROTHERS, and this movie is firmly
lodged in reality, but it has a surreal air to it.
The memories of their prime are trippy and floaty and
has all the right feels. The humor is dead on....
I guess what I’m trying to say is this... IT’S A FUN
MOVIE. I came out with that same groovy feeling I
had coming out of THE FULL MONTY, but it’s not
as absurd as that movie. (I love the absurdity of that
film, by the way) The real feel of this movie is just
dead on.
It really seems that director Brian Gibson really gets
this genre. In WHAT’S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH
IT he hit all the right notes, and here... well it may not
be as ‘heavy’ as that film, but the moments of joy
there... are amplified here. And no matter what he
treats these characters with the respect and awe that
we treat our rock idols with. By the end of the film...
you believe these guys are ROCK GODS. I wanted
to be at that concert and that other one too. I want to
hear their albums, I want to see them when they play
town. And dammit... they ain’t real. ARGH!!!
Well, I got to track down Johnny Wad, though I get
the feeling he’s blown one or two....
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