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DETROIT ROCK CITY review
I am so tired. Exhausted, worn plum out.
I just got back to Austin from my little 24 hour
excursion to Los Angeles to hook up with Moriarty.
Read the sacred texts, break into a major effects
company and of course go see KISS playing in some
UCLA parking lot.
Oh yeah. And we were also going to see DETROIT
ROCK CITY.
Now before I get into this review and begin talking
about last night, I want to set y’all straight on this.
I’m seeing DETROIT ROCK CITY again tonight...
Without any of the pomp and circumstance. Just with
the regular cool line folks. Gene Simmons will be
nowhere within sight. In fact... The only thing I’ll
want to do after the movie tonight is sleep, cause I
haven’t had the opportunity to do that yet and it’s
been a long ass haul of awakeness.
Now... Let’s set the way back machine for 17 hours
ago.
WHOOPS!!!! In actuality I hit the snooze button and
slept. Now it seems I’m back in Austin and I’ve just
returned from the second showing of DETROIT
ROCK CITY that I’ve seen. I’ll review both
experiences in this review.
So, once again, I’ll attempt to set the way back
controls...
(doodily doo doodily doo doodily doo)
Alright. I’m in Los Angeles, it’s the 25th
Anniversary of Richard Nixon’s resignation. And 30
years ago in this town we all learned of a terrible
murder that took Sharon Tate’s life and introduced us
all to Charles Manson and his family.
I wasn’t around for Manson, but I remember Nixon’s
presidency coming to an end. Quickly followed by
Ford’s head hitting that microphone and Chevy Chase
doing an impersonation of it.
I remember Jimmy Carter and his brother’s BILLY
BEER, I remember boycotting the Olympics and
cheating Kurt Thomas out of the chance to win a ton
of Olympic gold.
I remember the world of KROFT, the original Stretch
Armstrong, Mego Dolls, metal lunchboxes, long hair,
polyester, tight jeans with funky stitching on the back
pockets. I remember Phantom of the Paradise, Dark
Star, Schlock (aka The Banana Monster), projected
Godzilla movies, Drive-ins, glass bottles with no
plastic in sight. Gasoline under 70 cents. I also
remember the OPEC strike and the 7 mile gas station
lines with cars being pushed empty to the pump.
I remember being afraid of the Russians, but knowing
that we would win. I remember disco and all it’s
glory, and I remember Rock-N-Roll kicking Disco’s
ass.
Back when Ozzy Osborne was eating the heads off
live chickens on stage and tongue kissing the serpents
as well. I remember the first time I heard of KISS.
It was 1975. I was 3 and a half years old. It was in
Detroit. Technically at the DETROIT TRIPLE FAN
FAIR to be precise. A convention that my parents
had taken me to. It was the same convention where
my father purchased a two foot stack of YELLOW
SUBMARINE animation cels and the original pan
backgrounds for FORBIDDEN PLANET.
My mother had befriended a stripper at the
convention and she told my mother how she goes
from costume contest to costume contest winning best
costume and collecting the $100 reward without ever
stripping.
Hearing this (there is a point to the story) my mother
wanted to try it out and wondered out loud where she
could get a costume. Mom’s new friend said she had
an extra costume that was about her size that was a
Barbarella costume.
Mom really did love BARBARELLA so consented.
She went out on stage and stomped her foot 3 times to
get the room’s attention... The costume came apart at
the Velcro hinges and left her completely nude on
stage. She won the female division of the costume
contest. The male winner was a guy dressed up like
some sort of nightmare. And the runner up was a god
of thunder viking character with a long beard.
The winners posed for an artist and my father bought
the piece. I had it hanging in my room since the age
of three and a half. Here it is....
Now at that time, I knew nothing about KISS. I
didn’t know that that character sung songs. At the
time I was in my ‘RAMBLIN MAN’ phase with an
occasional intervention of Snow White’s “DIG DIG”
My favorite things in the universe were GORGO and
THE INCREDIBLE HULK.
As the following years went by I began seeing that
head next to my mother’s appear everywhere. I had
heard their music, but hadn’t put the image with the
music together yet.
I remember at some point in 1977 or 78, KISS played
near or in Austin. And everyone in Mrs Sparkman’s
class in Elementary school was talking about them.
I’d seen magazines out the ass of fiery explosions and
gurgling blood and bad ass images that would haunt
my subconscious as well as conscious mind.
Then in 1979... Three Mile Island went insane. Two
weeks before I had seen CHINA SYNDROME and I
was officially scared of Nuclear Power. A party in
Austin called EEYORE’S BIRTHDAY PARTY was
coming up and I put on my glow in the dark Reptilian
mask, my NO NUKES t-shirt and green makeup
along my arms and went to win the costume contest.
They asked me what I was and I told them, “I’m the
thing that survived three-mile island!”
Being the political town Austin was/is... I won. My
prize? The 4 KISS solo albums. Each with a face
upon it. That night, I put the music and the faces
together. And I’ve been dying to see them play ever
since.
I’ve had the gumcards, the comic printed with their
own blood, the Love Gun water pistol, the 4 12 inch
dolls, the lunch box, the belt buckle and a shit load of
magazines.
I had a very real chance to see them without make up
once. But... I had faith that the make up would
return. It’s kinda like when DC fucked up the
SUPERMAN costume, or anytime MARVEL screws
with SPIDER-MAN’s costume.... They always come
back to the classic iconic image.
But, I remember my friends in the late 70’s, and I
remember trying to connive to see KISS. My parents
would have been cool with it, but... There was
something about KISS that made you not want
parental support in your seeking out of them.
I didn’t want mom or dad to say, “Oh cool Harry,
here’s your tickets!”
I wanted to.... see them on my own. I wanted to quest
to see them. I wanted to go, not with mom or dad,
but a fellow friend who could sing loudly and out of
tune to every song sung. That would flash the ol
horns with the thumb out and not tucked in like the
University of Texas hook’em sign.
So, when I got my tickets to the world premiere to
DETROIT ROCK CITY (not through the studio btw),
I decided. It was my time to quest as well. Those
four kids in the movie, traversed many dangers to see
that concert. And one quote I had heard from the
movie, “What? You want to be watching KISS on
album covers for the rest of your life?” got me.
No goddamnit. I want to see KISS now!
So, I stepped off that plane, got to my hotel,
telephoned Moriarty and had some major adventures
into the forbidden that Moriarty and I will be clueing
you folks into over the next.... oh couple of weeks or
so.
About an hour before we were suppose to arrive at
the WESTWOOD VILLAGE, Moriarty and I hung
out in my room. And tried to relax. We were hyping
ourselves up too much. Also, both of our days had
started waaaay too early. And we both hadn’t much
sleep.
We sat in the room, drank our caffeinated drinks of
choice and talked about KISS. Moriarty being
around since the time of Leopold Stokowski has made
a study of music in this century. He told me about
how he had constructed 4 robotic rock stars, one with
an animatronic tongue, that were built and unleashed
with the express purpose of bringing forth
diversification. Moriarty has always felt that evil
needed some poster boys to take the heat off of him,
so he created KISS.
Personally I believe he’s full of shit and senile, but
that’s another story all together. I talked about Tom
Joad and his experience with his parents, specifically
his ex-nun Mom and her destroying of his Gene
Simmons poster. While my parents were doing things
like hanging posters in my bedroom as an infant that
portrayed Mickey, Donald and Goofy smoking a
hooka, and another that had every Disney character in
the midst of an orgy.... think of Pinnochio’s long nose
and a spread legged Cinderella (drawn by Wally
Wood). KISS was tame in their eyes... to me, they’re
exciting.
The clock ticked down. We got ready and hiked the
4 or 5 block walk on over to the Westwood Village.
We could hear sound checks from the UCLA parking
lot 7 blocks away... and we smiled. Me and my fat
cheeks and Moriarty with his wrinkled skin texture,
though as we got 2 blocks away he put on this wig
and had me affix these strange clothespins pulling his
skin smooth for a stunning BRAZIL-like disguise of a
young man. (We don’t call him an evil genius for
nothing)
Soon we saw the crowds and pulled out our tickets
got in the theater as quickly as possible and sat
down.... About 7th row center. This premiere had a
high degree of mega-babes walking around. ‘Big
breastses’
Moriarty was saying, “Lotsa of potential Mrs. Evil
Geniuses walking around tonight.”
Dirty old man.
Sure enough the movie started a good 45 minutes
late, which to me was actually 15 minutes early cause
these things always start an hour late... You can set
your watch by it.
From the opening New Line symbol it had me
smiling. There was this cool electric guitar riff
version of that... ‘New Line theme’
Now, right around here you are thinking. ‘Gosh
Harry, is it really necessary to go into all that above
detail before we get to the movie?’
Well, simply... With this film it’s imperative.
DETROIT ROCK CITY could be described as an
‘Animal House meets American Graffiti meets I
Wanna Hold Your Hand’ comedy. But to me, it’s a
lot easier than that. It’s like DAZED & CONFUSED
if it had been directed by Robert Rodriguez.
SEE THIS FILM IN A LOUD DAMN THEATER!
The soundtrack rocks hard and often. Not just with
KISS tunes but with music from all over the period.
And for me, the coolest musical sequences are a
couple of classical selections used for comic and
dramatic underscore which are just friggin hilarious.
If you can survive that EXCALIBUR piece about 12
minutes from the end without cracking up in hysterics
then you are a much stronger rock to crack than me.
Recently we’ve been seeing a lot of seventies set
movies, but the problem is.... while we see a few
references here and there to this and that from way
back when... We miss key objects. Where are our
Famous Monsters, the Marvel and DC comics, the
MAD magazines, the Hustlers, the Farrah poster, the
Partridge Family games, Stretch Armstrong, the black
light posters, the 8 track tapes, Lou Ferrigno, Cheech
& Chong, Jaws, Saturday Night Live, Nixon,
poisoned Kool-Aid and the Village People?
If you at all have a fetish for the seventies this is a bit
of an all-you-can-eat buffet for the eyes and ears. If
you have a complete distaste for the seventies then...
well you may very well leave the film with ribs
exposed and a bloated gas filled belly awaiting to
hear the stirring tune of WE ARE THE WORLD.
The film is rich in it’s detail. From the hairstyles to
the belt buckles to the wallets and watches. Now, one
person in my group tonight (here at the Austin
screening) claims that at the time of this movie there
were no punch button pay telephones, but that is a
detail that I sure as hell can’t remember one way or
another.
But I remember with great trepidation the K-MART
stylings that my maternal grandmother used to wrap
my carcass in. They were... HORRIBLE. Made me
look like some sort of red-headed step child of the
Brady Bunch. I hated them. Instead I grooved to the
political and pop-culture t-shirts my parents provided
me with. The ‘Question Authority’ one was a
particular fave of mine.
I’ve seen the film twice now. The first time was a
perfect visual and aural film presentation. Tonight at
the CINEMARK MULTIPLEX off of Stassney here
in Austin, Texas.... They turned the film on with
ONLY the center front speaker on and volume so low
that if a giggle came from behind you, you couldn’t
hear the following dialogue. And there were a lot of
frigging giggles, belly laughs, cheering and clapping
at the screening tonight.
Meanwhile, in Westwood.... The screening was filled
with a lot of industry types and a few instantly
recognizable KISS fans. The result was whole
sequences of hilarity where it felt as though only
Moriarty and I were howling in laughter. By the end
of the screening in Westwood though, the audience
was fully fired up.
One of the reasons I wanted to wait and review the
film after this second screening is this.
Last night was one of my favorite film experiences I
have ever had. Watching DETROIT ROCK CITY
which is nothing if not a wonderfully constructed
mythic quest to seek out KISS and to affirm us KISS
fans for doing so. It’s a bit about how while KISS
fans are in fact obsessed with KISS they care about
other great issues like getting laid and raising money.
There is also a theme of not preaching blind morality
to those who can see. Which, what with all the
bullshit we are getting from the MPAA to the
Catholic League to the Senate itself... Well, it’s a nice
message to preach. Unfortunately the ears that will
hear it are not the ears that need to hear it.
In a lot of ways I’m smiling like crazy cause I believe
that there is probably a higher degree of religious
subversion aimed at the Catholic church in this film
than in DOGMA, but the idiotic kneejerk reactionary
splinter group called the Catholic League just didn’t
get this script at all.
The editing in this film will remind some of the work
in BOOGIE NIGHTS, while the cinematography
reminded me of Robert Rodriguez’s work. The sound
editing and design was just lovely cartoonish and
over the top to provide that hyper-reality that we all
exist in when the adrenal gland is pumping pints of
that shit into our skulls.
The audience here in Austin would range from trying
to be extremely quiet so we could just hear the damn
movie, on account of the crap Tinseltown garbage
mart, to prolonged laughter. Through out the film
there were cheers and laughter.
Not a single person in my group didn’t really really
like the film, including my Father, who is cool for a
grown up (“I’ll never grow up dammit!”).
As for the filmmakers and cast? Well, damn....
First off is director Adam Rifkin who... to be
perfectly honest hasn’t made a movie I’ve even come
close to liking (that I’ve seen). I didn’t care too much
at all for THE CHASE, and while I love SMALL
SOLDIERS, which he had a hand in writing, I don’t
know to what degree I owe him thanks as many
writers worked on that project with Joe Dante. This
film seemed to be injected with enthusiasm and
passion for the material. There seemed to be a
genuine love for each and every character... even if
they were the loathsome bad guys.
Eddie Furlong as Hawk is... really damn convincing.
Annette Kellerman feels that Eddie is cute as hell,
and I’ve always liked the kid even if he’s gonna be a
great military leader someday. In a lot of ways this is
an older version of his John Connor character but
with a significant lack of savvy and common sense.
But he is... cool. He’s got one hell of a mean kick to
the gonad ability and is the luckiest damn KISS geek
this world has seen.
Giuseppe Andrews as Lex is a pretty dang real kid.
He gets pissed, he tries to have self control. He’s
quiet and when he opens his mouth he wants it to
sound cool. Sometimes it is... sometimes it isn’t, but
is that not the way it is with all of us?
Sam Huntington as Jerome or.... JAM (it’s his... Band
Name. I friggin love that. ‘Band Name’) Well,
gosh... this boy is sweet. Once again Annette has one
of her ‘school girl crushes’ on JAM here, and it’s
easy to see why. Of the 4 he’s the only one that you
can believe might possibly get a relationship with
someone on a continual basis. And, though I thought
the film was supposed to be Furlong’s... after
watching it twice I really do believe that Sam here
might have taken that away from him.
James DeBello as Trip... Man oh man, I really love
this character and actor. In some appearance levels
he looks a bit like a clone of Jay (ya know as in Silent
Bob), but there is a deeper level of innate stupidity
and non-awareness at work within his character.
But... I love it when this guy geeks out. In fact all 4
of these guys geek out REAL WELL! But Trip does
so with no hindrances. He’s loud, uses his hands and
becomes physically rambunctious when thwarted
from his geek ideal. And I just have to say he should
win some sort of award for merely using a Stretch
Armstrong to the fantastic degree that he does. I
loved my old Stretch Armstrong and.... I knew he
could be a real hero someday and man oh man is he
ever. The pan from the SMILEY MART sign to
Trip’s face is wonderful... and he brazen sort of
‘nothing that leaves my mouth can I be really held
responsible for’ ethic is just beautiful.
Lin Shaye as Jam’s mom is one of the great comedy
villains for me. While she isn’t quite given say the
lines of say Dean Wormer’s “Don’t piss on my leg
and tell me it’s raining”, but her conviction and
venom with which she delivers her lines are just
biting as hell. The cold uncaring look of agitation
and bewilderment in her eye, the instant kneejerk
reactionism... Perfect character. I loved her.
Natasha Lyonne as one of them Stellas is once again
very strong. You might remember her as the girl in
AMERICAN PIE that was always getting involved in
everybody’s business and helping them to get laid.
She’s the one that helped that one guy spread rumors
about the size of his cock and his sexual prowess.
Well, Natasha has my interest in the same sort of way
that I’m fascinated with Christina Ricci. Lyonne is a
cool quirky character that really seems to chew the
hell out of the scenery that she is placed in. Her
upcoming parts in CONFESSIONS OF A TRICK
BABY and BUT I’M A CHEERLEADER could very
well help solidify her standing as one of the cooler
young actresses working today.
Melanie Lynskey. Now that’s a name that a lot of
people don’t know. And I have to admit that I didn’t
know it, and while I had the ‘feeling’ that I’d seen her
before I could not place her for the life of me. I
bumped into her a couple of times at the afterparty
and still did not place her. But then Robogeek
tonight squealed with glee at how great it was to
finally see her again since her role in HEAVENLY
CREATURES opposite Kate Winslet. Well ya could
have just hung a “I’m Stooopid” sign above my head
cause... I should have recognized her. But man it’s
been like 5 years since that film. I also saw that she
too is in BUT I’M A CHEERLEADER. Man,
between her, Natasha and Clea DuVall... I can’t wait
to see that film. Her character in this film just feels
honest. She feels like a real nervous girl.
Then there is Shannon Tweed, who... heh heh...
Maaaaan, fucking Furlong. Lucky little bastard. She
really does ooze that older seductress of young male
meat look like you wouldn’t believe in this film.
But then there are tons of other characters that you’ve
seen on that fantastic poster that are equally praise
worthy in this film. That boy and his brother Chango,
Elvis the hall monitor, the disco car guys, the
scalper.... who has a fantastic scene of coercion with
Furlong that just leads him along the path to the dark
side, through which he may reemerge in... Well I
won’t say what he emerges in, but oh man.... You can
probably figure it out.
I really really like AMERICAN PIE quite a bit, and
to some it may end up being the better film to their
tastes, but to me.... I prefer, by a lot, DETROIT
ROCK CITY.
Why?
First off, AMERICAN PIE is set in the here and now,
with today’s youth. In a strange way I don’t quite
associate with those guys. The desperation to get laid
by a deadline with whoever you possibly can is...
Well it just isn’t particularly endearing to me.
What I love about sex, and which is handled to a
wonderful degree in this movie, is it’s usually best
when you haven’t planned it, plotted it and scheduled
it on you weekly calendar.
The biggest point is... I associate very closely with
these characters. I remember the very same excited
rapturous glee with which they speak of KISS. I love
their roadtrip to the concert, something I have done
on many occasions and loved their ‘theater of the
absurd’ version of it.
I love the way the movie reinforces the very fibre of a
KISS fan’s universe that it is cool... oh so very cool to
kick ass in the name of KISS, to get laid in the name
of KISS, to tell your parents off in the name of KISS,
to be different, wild and eclectic like KISS.
The movie is at all times not about KISS and nothing
but about KISS. The film is probably closer to
ROCK-N-ROLL HIGH SCHOOL than ANIMAL
HOUSE, but it definitely has a mighty powerful dose
of laughter.
Once again. Seek out the loudest possible theater in
your area that is playing it. You want the cuffs of
your pants to vibrate as Chango walks, as the dogs
howl and as the shotgun goes off. You want to be
immersed in that concert, in the strip club and you
want to feel Ron Jeremy say “Swallow”!
I really want a soundtrack that is exactly the music off
this movie, with all the other non-ROCK stuff as well.
I want that Little Rascals music between LOVE GUN
and DETROIT ROCK CITY.
This has been one hell of a summer for fun comedies.
I still feel ELECTION is by far the smartest, I believe
this to be the most fun and cool.
And lastly... I’ll spare you the description of the
concert afterwards. It was cool. And... there was a
moment where it looked like security wasn’t going to
let me and Moriarty in. And I instantly went into a
Trip impersonation looking for a couple of kids to
beat the shit out of. Luckily we managed to use a
couple of Moriarty’s henchmen, who gladly gave up
their lives so that he and I could have black powder
burns for explosions splash across our faces. So we
could feel the blast of heat from every fireball
erupting from the stage. And... I do want to say that
the performance was everything I always dreamed
KISS would be like on stage. Though it is airing on
VH1 this Thursday so you can catch the concert and
maybe a glance of me. I’m about dead even with the
‘I’ in the KISS sign and three bodies from the front.
Right in the heart of the jumping pounding KISS
screaming maniacs. Twas quite a bit of fun.
But then... So is just watching the movie with a bunch
of friends right here in Austin. Enjoy the show.
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+ Expand All
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KISS are and shall forever be the gods of rock and roll. Can't wait to see this film! ROCK AND ROLL ALL NITE!
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What the world needs now and has done for about forty years is some good rocking, and it's nice to see that the tradition of Rock n Roll High School, Animal House et al is being carried on with Detroit Rock City. Well done to everyone concerned. It's the eclipse in about 40 minutes but everything seems fine now...
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Sounds like you enjoyed yourself, Harry, but I can't help feeling that you spent most of your energy building up to your review, that you were spent by the time you got there! Your critical insights weren't as incisive as usual IMHO, and you declined to review in detail the only part of your pre/post premiere activities that I was interested in..... the kick-ass concert!!! Oh well, let you off this time, after all you had a great time.
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And I NEVER want to be immersed in that concert, in the strip club and to feel Ron Jeremy say, "Swallow!"
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But,I'll be in Austin Labor Day weekend!
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Do you realise how cool a title you just came up with??!?
"Poisoned Kool-Aid and The Village People" is an excellent name for just about anything from a Punkband to a movie!!!!!:-D
GG -
Aug 11, 1999 6:14:27 AM CDT
I haven't seen this movie. Out of curiosity, was Harry referrin
by r_dimitri22
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Aug 11, 1999 7:20:55 AM CDT
Harry, Rocking n Rolling All Nite, and Writing a Good Review for
by haystacks jones
KISS is so great Jesus grew his hair long after seeing them in concert. Nice review Harry.
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I truly believe that no matter how fun or funny this movie is, the current musical tastes will not accept this as a road picture and will reject it en mass. Look at the 'Psycho Circus' cd. First studio album with reunited band, big push by the record company, hype galore, piddling sales. You just can't fight the wave, and now with this Latin craze going, that's even one more step away. The one thing about the 70's that was good was that you didn't need to be embarassed when you said you liked 'rock music'. Well, forget all that now. Wish for the moon, but expect an Iron Giant thud (miserable Time Warner).
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Yes, to the person who asked, it was indeed Orff's CARMINA BURANA that is used in the film, and it's one of the best music cues in the movie. There's a lot of good ones, though, including a HYSTERICAL use of Black Sabbath's "Iron Man" that makes me smile just to think of it. My review for the film will be up later today as part of my (very, very late) Tuesday column, but I thought Harry's piece nailed a lot of my feelings about it. Good read overall.
"Moriarty" out. -
Aug 11, 1999 8:59:09 AM CDT
Jesus Fucking H Christ, Harry, you prolix bastard, GET TO THE FU
by mr angry
I don't want to read the shit about your childhood. That is not relevant, however much you say it is a lead-in to the review. It isn't. It's just boring. What you do is this: you cite a passage from the film, THEN in an aside you relate that to your own experience, grounding it in reality and adding a depth and color to the elements from the film you are trying to highlight. See? I know you don't care, because you don't listen to criticism, but when it comes to the writing stakes YOU SHOULD. PROLIX. Look it up.
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Aug 11, 1999 9:16:26 AM CDT
Your once, twice, three times a bad review streak is over
by jessmasters
Rock-N-Roll isnt dead and neither is your ability to write a good review Harry.
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...was also the 'good' sister in
"Ever After" in between Heavenly
Creatures and this flick. I saw
it last night and really enjoyed
it as well, even though I wouldn't
have known a KISS song if I'd
tripped over it. This was a film
that looked like it was made in
the time in which it takes place. -
I don't usually talk on the talk backs, but I have to say something to Crackity Jones: shut up! I don't know if there's much else to say except that, because your babbling isn't helping you prove your point. Why should Harry be compared to Roger Ebert or Kenneth Turan? He shouldn't! Ebert and Turan are two different people. They work for newspapers which print their reviews. That's their job. I have a lot of respect for both of them, as I have respect for Harry, but Harry shouldn't be compared to them because Harry is NOT them, and he is not going to be them. This site is free, Harry does it for free, and he does it for you! He does it because he wants to, and he likes to! Harry's reviews tend to be different than people like Ebert and Turan because he does more than just review the movie, he tells a little about what he's doing that day or how much he's anticipating the movie (or vice versa) so we know where he's coming from when he sees a film. If you went to see The Phantom Menace, and you had never seen any other Star Wars movie, than it would be a different experience than if you had seen another Star Wars movie before TPM. If Harry was having a bad day when he saw a movie, he would tell us so we know that maybe Harry was a little bit more cynical towards the film because he was having a bad day. Harry tells us about himself so we know who he is and why he might not like a film, but why somone else might. Anyway, this is getting long. I just want to conclude by saying that a lot of people on this site have respect for Harry and the way he does things, and they don't want him to change the way this site works! We love this site because of Harry, and we want it to stay the way it is. BTW, great review, Harry! Before, I didn't know if I wanted to go see this film or not, but now I'm definately going!
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Those murals you described intrigued me. Did anyone else see the movie "Pinnochio . . . it's not his nose that grows"? Anyway, I'm sure you could make a movie of your life, Harry, and it'd be far more interesting than most of what makes it to the screen.
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Your repost of a personal e-mail that Harry sent you was totally inappropriate. So he lashed out at you, what's the big deal? Gonna go cry to momma? And actually, I for one care about the well-being of Harry and his family. He is the one dishing out his time and effort on this site so that I can have something nice to read while I sit in my cube at work. But your tactics make Harry totally look good. If you got a beef with him, send him back another e-mail, but not to me, and not to everybody else. What? Do you want us to pick sides? Get over yourself. And before you go thrashing back at me, and I know you just can't help yourself, I just want to say that there have been more than one occasion where I thought Harry was a total idiot with his reviews. But the guy has good taste too. He's only human...or the leader of some pod people from the planet Aintitcool.
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Crackity, did you completely miss Harry's point? This site is supremely important to him, as is his integrity; ergo, when jackasses such as yourself make unfounded attacks on his credibility, he takes it personally. As for SIX-STRING SAMURAI, I thought it was a blast. Maybe Harry was a little overly enthusiastic in his review, but it was, essentially, his discovery, and that often makes one quite effusive. And I completely understand his GODZILLA rationale, as I saw ID4 during my first summer in NYC at the Ziegfeld on opening day, and thought it was damn near the second coming. It was only afterwards that I realized I had succumbed to the experience. I haven't seen DETROIT ROCK CITY yet, but I'm not surprised he'd love this kind of film (especially since he's such an unabashed KISS fan.) IMO, the man's integrity is well intact.
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I just want to commend Harry for a great review. I always enjoy when he gives the background behind a movie review...it DOES make a difference where and when you see a movie. Like the poster above who said they loved ID4 because the environment made it better than it really was, I am sure we all have walked out of a movie getting a hell of a lot more out than you would normally. As to the poster who put in a personal letter from Harry, grow up! I see it this way, Harry is doing 2 things on this site: (1) Sharing movie info from fans/spies/cool folk in-the-know, and (2) Sharing his personal reviews. If you don't like his reviews, don't read them. Stick to the news!! I like his reviews because I share Harry's taste for the most part, and to me that's rare - with most movie critics I usually love the stuff they hate! I really don't believe that Harry is getting paid for good reviews...it deviates from the whole reason he started this web page in the first place. First, last and always, Harry loves movies! End of story.
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love the 70's MAD-style poster but truly do not give a rat's ass about those bloated refugees from a bad kroft's supershow. gene simmons is a cool guy because he definitely knows his monster movies, but their music...let me be objective...sucks donkey ass. i of KISS mania, and while i thought their costumes were cool, their music...uh...sucked donkey ass. i'll go see this with reservations, not being a fan of rifkin, but i'm kinda hoping people stop making movies about these pop-culture quests...and really, at this point, the 70's have been mined to death. now onto the plundering of 80's culture....and crackity, chill out...
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You see my talk back friends, all the background Harry gave may not seem important to you and I'm sure you scrolled down to get to the "review" but really, all that exposition is important to know before reading what Harry thought about the film. If you read a review by somebody and they give no background information about themselves and something that has to do with the movie, than you don't know where they're coming from. Knowing that Harry has a background of loving KISS, it is pretty easy to see he is going to give the film a good review and his judgement is a little screwy. Now if Harry had started by saying "I'm not a big KISS fan" and then he gave it a good review, than I would know the film is probably pretty good. You see, if a critic gives a film a bad reivew, it doesn't mean its bad to everyone. It is just bad to him and it could be because f some background information we don't know about the critic. With Harry, we kniow where he is coming from with every movie and we can see whether we might like it too. So, you may not like all the background, but Harry knows why he puts it and you're just gonna have to deal with it.
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Anyone who listens to KISS will burn in the fire and damnation of hell. These freaks are followers of Satan sent to suck all they can into eternal damnation. So go I tell you, Go and listen to some music with a more positive message before your souls are lost foreve...uh..pghghhh.uhhu.. pspat...boom..ugh.pow.. Sorry guys I just beat the hell out of the penicostal evangalist wannabe that got on my computer while I was in the head (bathroom). Although I believe in God and not a huge KISS fan, I don't believe a word of that religious fanatic crap. I got some positive music for ya! Insane Clown Posse!! Muhahahahaha!
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Catholic-bashing again? It's so pitifully hilarious that your writing indicates that you seem think that you're more enlightened than the only institution that has survived intact for 2000 years. Especially since you spend so much of your time watching shadows (motion pictures) in caves (movie theaters), and think that represents the real world. LOL!!!
I haven't a clue what Detroit Rock City has to do with Catholicism, but it must be a rich religion indeed when a writer can take one snippet of a single dogma and make great script like Dogma. (By the way, either Kevin Smith is ignorant of the Church's true teaching regarding indulgences or he's intentially misleading people, because indulgences are described completely innacurately in "Dogma". For instance, an indulgence requires complete repentence by the person receiving one, something the fallen angels in his script obviously haven't done. This, of course, would blow apart the whole premise behind Dogma.)
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I read nearly ten posts about Crackity Jones but guess what? Harry has expurgated him from the TalkBack. There's something vaguely immoral about that, isn't there? Controlling information and all that Orwellian B.S.? Anyway, Harry, I know this is your site but do your bit to honor the First Amendment. -
whats with everybody tryin to tell harry what to do with his site, why don't you fools run your own damn movie review site and see how hard this shit is, I bet half you silly bastards don't know the first thing about HTML, or lemme guess you pu**ies use front page, geeks. why don;t you guys go whine n cry someplace else, Im tryin to read a review, by the way, Great review, althogh a bit long, it made me wanna go see the movie, Ill be in line to see it, Thanks for the great review
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I saw this movie last week and could barely stay till the end. It was poorly conceived, poorly written and horribly directed. I saw Kiss on their reunion tour twice, so you can't say that I hated the movie because I'm the wrong audience. I was looking forward to seeing this after seeing the trailer. But, what a disappointment! You should apologize to Robert Rodriguez for using his name in your review. This film makes Rock & Roll High School look like Casablanca. Really awful. Stay away.
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Some of us got to experience the real thing with KISS on stage. I'm sure its like my version of "American Grafitti"; the time period diffrence and all. Anyway, at least you had a good time and that's all that counts. I don't care for Gene Simmons as a person, but his "communial spouse", Shannon Tweed, hey, "Knick Knack Paddy Whack... she'd give a dog a bone!" Shcwing!
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Aug 11, 1999 6:35:12 PM CDT
MPAA deleted a poster, and so did Harry. What's the difference?
by getbent
Harry, does your name in espanol mean he who deletes posts with stubby, fat finger? Your the guy who jumped all over the censoring of the Sleepy Hollow poster? Your a hypocrite by definition. Secondly, for a man who has made a mark on the cyber world with reviews of others life's work, I find it odd you need to defend your integrity when people criticize your work.
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As angry as I've been with him for this whole Iron Giant thing, and his glowing review of Mystery Men (which provoked me to call him a homosexual, sorry Harry, but it was a genuine opinion at the time) at least he doesn't BASH EVERY MOVIE HE SEES like Entertainment Weekly's critics, or David Ansen of Newsweek. Everybody complains that Harry likes every movie he sees, but that's a lot better than hating everything, and being bitter about movies in general.
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Wow...nice piece of crap review..or shall I say.. The story of my trip to watch a new shoulda been straight to video crapfest. Man this movie is gonna suck and if it breaks 10 million at the box office I will chop my right arm off. I am tired of coming to this site and reading stories of trips here and trips there--All paid for by the studios...Wonder why we have so many glowing reviews of sh*t hole movies like Detroit Rock Sh*tty! Harry put this site back on track and get out of the Studio Bosses Ass....Get real or shut down..visit sites that don't have their palms greased...Coming Attractions or Dark Horizons are the real deal....If you don't like my post I guess you can delete me like you did the fella Crackity...Have a Nice Freakin day!
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I think I just saw a quote from Harry's review on a tv ad for Detroit Rock City. Anyone else see this?
If so, way to go Harry. -
Now I know I'm gonna be sick after seeing the latest ad on TV for DRC. Just because of that tacked on "Aint It Cool News says it 'Kicks Butt'" bit. I can only imagine what fodder this'll create in the 'credibility' department.....
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I can say no more.
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Uhhhh..catholicism is the ONLY institution that has lasted 2000 years? Oh, dear the Buddhists WILL be dissappointed when you tell them that. Yes what you call "in tact" I call lack of positive progression. The Crusades happened a thousand years ago, they only got around to apologising for it last month. They even have Catholic Universities. I wonder if you can major in guilt? Anyway, I read this site like a morning paper every day because I relate to it.The only reason I don't like "I flew in here for this, got this, went to a midnight showing of..." is because I'm jealous. I wish it was me. I have no intention of going to Austin anytime soon, but if I did what I would want to do is go to the Alamo drafthouse (which sounds like a wet dream kind of a theatre)and see a show with Harry and his buddies. Because in a small way, I already feel like I do that, every time I read a review. That's the biggest compliment I can give. And a lot more eloquent than "Fuck'em Harry!"
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Wow. Harry gets quoted in a TV ad? That places him among the critical pantheon with Jeff Craig from Sixty Second Preview. This movie must be bad if they're stooping to this as a marketing ploy.
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Sort of off topic, but in the current poll on this site regarding favorite "rock" movies, Harry included the excellent concert film "The Last Waltz", but conspicuously absent is _THE_ best concert film ever - "Stop Making Sense." It captured the Talking Heads in one of their best performances, and the direction of Demme combined with the staging of Byrne and co. make this film electrifying. I think it's coming to the Dobie in Austin on a revival soon. Don't miss it, especially if you're a Byrne/Talking Heads fan.
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Gee Harry you sure do like to keep an open forum for the geeks to discuss films but if just one person lashes out and attacks your credibility, you pull their post. I guess then I shouldn't have reprinted your heart felt email you sent my friend telling him how much of a pile of crap he was for attacking your character and integrity when he said on the Lake Placid talk back that you got a $1000 for writing a good review. Boo hoo. My heart really goes out to you. Here are some questions I want you to address Harry, Why didn't you make a statement in the Salon article about the Fake hype around Blair Witch? Why is it that you love every movie (except films by Jon Peters and Joel Shumacher, who everybody knows suck ass to begin with)? Why indeed do you recommend crap every week to the same hundred geeks or so who monitor your site 24 hours a day? You claim to love movies, so do I, but I don't love crap! And believe me we are all entitled to an opinion, but I have found that yours has become tainted over the last 2 1/2 years I have been visiting your site. Sure you have everybody on your side, everybody loves the big red-headed fat guy who doesn't allow other people's opinion on his site especially if they are attacking his credibility. Harry, do us all a favor, just admit you are a sell-out. It's like taking off a Band-Aid, it would be quick and painless. But I imagine you are trying to be more like Chris Gore who originally sold out to Larry Flynt and then bought it back and you know what, he's doing alright. He can feed his family, has health care, he's just made a business out of his obsession and that's what you need to do with yours. Turn Aint-it-Cool into the ultimate movie site. Get that TV show you want, become the household name you know you don't deserve, and once the lights come up and you have the lowest ratings in the history of cable TV you can blame me for being the selling out you became and being the fame whore you've always wanted to be.
P.S. Harry, Two strikes and I am out, come on, have some heart. -
This movie was so fucking great!!! It was better than sex, masturbation, and Guiness beer!!! I've been in love with Edward Furlong since I was 14 (when he was in T2~he's exactly a week younger than me...LOL...oh I'm a dork!). He's the coolest guy...but, I think I'd have to agree with Harry about Sam Huntington...he stole my heart. What a cool guy. I was so excited when his character(***sort of a spoiler, I guess) finally got some balls at the end. The soundtrack is the best soundtrack I've heard for a movie in a long time. Every song works perfectly in every scene. The Shannon Tweed thing was funny...except, well, isn't she, like, 180 years old now? And, gee...I wonder how she got that part??? LOL...I'm sure most of you know what I'm talking about when I say that. Well, anywho~this movie kicked ass majorly. Right after screening this we had to screen Brokedown Palace (more like Brokedown Piece of Shit) and I was sad because I had a feeling it would suck and ruin my night...I was right...right after I had to sit through that wretched crap, I desperately wanted to watch DRC again...even though it was 5 in the morning. I could watch that movie all day long!!! OVER AND OVER AGAIN!!! Okay, guys...go see it...it's worth the money and worth your time. Oh, and make sure you tell the theatre managers to crank the shit out of the sound...it's the only way to watch it!!! Smiles to everyone!!!
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Christ, will there ever be a movie made about the 1970's that will actually contain music that was at least half-way intelligent? I seem to remember that aside from disco, punk, and cock rock, there were also bands like Rush, Led Zep, and Pink Floyd(you know, bands that actually knew how to PLAY their instruments! What a novel concept. Who'da thunk it?) Once again, Hollywood appeals to the lowest common denominator...
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I couldn't get into this at all. The setup was amusing, but after the first half hour I lost interest. Maybe people who were hip to the 70's will find more enjoyment than I did.
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As someone who grew up in the '70s I'm always hoping that someone besides Richard Linklater might actually get the decade right again on film. It definitely doesn't happen in DRC. It might look like Dazed and Confused as if directed by Robert Rodriguez but it also seems to be Rock and Roll High School as written by chimpanzees. All the hyperkinetic camera work in the world can't cover the fact that this is one boring, senseless movie.
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... did four guys really go see a Kiss condert back in 1978..?
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...there actually were 4 guys who went to a Kiss concert. Now wether this is a true story or not, I have no idea. :-)
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after reading some of the degrading reviews on your page, written by some people, i want to ask something-why write them? sure, i can understand that some may not like kiss, but if you don't like them, why waste your time writing in to say so? leave us kiss fans alone! ok, ok, kiss may not be as popular as they once we're, but they still rock!!! any kiss fans are welcome to drop me a e-mail, if they want to. thanks.
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The movie's pretty good.
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The movie's pretty good anyway.
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JOIN THE BOYCOTT! DO 'NOT' WATCH THE NEW MOVIE "BROKEDOWN PALACE'S" STARRING THE "PERSONA NON GRATA" herself, "CLAIRE DANES"
[Celebrities are saying they will 'not' go see the Claire Danes' new movie, Brokedown Palace's. Bruce Willis, Oprah, Denzel Washington, Rosie O'Donnel are just the few celebrities who publicly declared that they'll join the boycott. "I can only hope she chokes on it." said Oprah, talking about Ms.
Claire Danes' acerbic tongue] --People's Magazine
["Claire Danes might want to take a few public speaking classes next
semester at Yale." said Hollywood producer Glenn Klein. The 20-year-old actress turned freshman is being sharply criticized for comments she made
about Manila, Philippines where she filmed her current movie Brokedown Palace.]--CNN Showbiz
[The city council of Manila voted 3 weeks ago to ban all movies featuring Claire Danes because the actress dissed the Philippine city in the current issue of Premiere Magazine. "She is declared persona non grata," councilor Kim Atienza tells the Associated Press.
At Magazine issue is Danes' public recollection of the months she spent in Manila earlier this year while shooting scenes for Brokedown Palace in a dilapidated mental hospital. The city "just f--king smelled of cockroaches,"
she told Premiere Magazine. "There's no sewage system in Manila, and people have nothing there. People with, like, no arms, no legs, no eyes, no teeth.. Rats were everywhere."
This wasn't the first time Danes had spoken out against Manila; in the April issue of Vogue Magazine she described it as "a ghastly and weird city." But this time, Atienza and his colleagues had had enough.]--Newsweek Magazine
[Philippine President Joseph Estrada, a former movie star, said he believes Hollywood actress Claire Danes should be banned from entering the Philippines for having disparaged the country's capital. "She should not be
allowed to come here. She should not even be allowed to set foot here," Estrada said Thursday in reaction to a decision by Manila's city council Tuesday to declare Miss Danes "persona non-grata" and ban all her movies from being shown in the city.] --Manila Bulletin
["She deserved to be banned" said Tom Hanks "Those are irresponsible, bigoted and sweeping statements Claire Danes made."] on an interview in
Entertainment Tonight
[Claire Danes' reported comments have also been widely debated in newspaper columns and editorial pages, with some newspapers castigating the actress
including New York Times and the Washington Post.] on CNN Showbiz show by reporter Shiela Schultz
["Her remarks were uncalled for." Lisa Kudrow said] MTV 1515 News
[Claire Danes were known as an actress with a bad attitude. "She(Claire Danes) seems to be a very rude actress especially towards the movie set crew
staff and her make-up artist"] explained "Romeo & Juliet" Assistant Director Richard Meyers
In a statement released last week, the actress attempted to clarify her position. "Because of the subject matter of our film Brokedown Palace, the cast was exposed to the darker and more impoverished places of Manila. My
comments in Premiere Magazine only reflect those locations, not my attitude towards the Filipino people. They were nothing but warm, friendly, and supportive."
But nobody seems to be accepting Claire Danes' apology. Atienza dismissed the statement as an "excuse made by Danes' Hollywood agents and not a genuine apology."
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I totally agree! Sam Huntington totally rules in DRC!! Check out THE SAM HUNTINGTON WEBSITE at http://members.aol.com/ samhuntu/page
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Here's what I think is funny:
people bitch for several pages when Harry posts something they think is "off topic" for his review, and then nobody ever says anything when these talkbacks degrade into personal attacks, advertisements for the most recent hollywood cause, or who would win if Star Wars took on the cast of Star Trek. It's utterly moronic.
Take this whole Brokedown Palace B.S. post above. People rant about how Harry "sold out" and "is breaking the Fifth Amendment" and then someone comes out and posts their whole college thesis on why we should boycott Brokedown Palace because Claire Danes spoke her honest opinion on a specific environment that she was exposed to. Guess What? Ever been to Manilla? Really, honestly? It probably is a cockroach capitol. Until I go to Manila and see otherwise, I'm going to believe someone whe actually went there.
What do people want??
It just boils down to this: Don't criticize the reviews. Don't start offending someone and then bitch about the fifth amendment when they don't like your post to their site.
Don't like it? Tough titty. This isn't your site, you don't have the freedom to change this site. See down below, in small letters? Go ahead and look..."This site is -
edward furlog rocks my world lke nothing else and its a pity this movie flopped just because it didnt appeal to the shitty teen-movie loving generation that eats 'shes all that' like its worth it (to which i belong being 15) that didnt see it cos they thought there was something better on - this movie fucking ROCKS! you have to bloody see it it was the last COOL movie of the millenium. hooray DRC its brilliant.
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A boycott would hurt THEM too.
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