Sing Street

John Carney, 2016

IMDB

4/5

I have to confess that Sing Street was one of those movies that I watched the trailer for the first time and felt a little annoyed. It was clearly the headspace that I was in at the time. Because the movie surfaced one night through a brief Netflix browsing session with my wife who was looking for something with some heart and not blood. Sing Street would prove to be one of the better 2016 films to watch with my wife.

One of the redeeming qualities about Sing Street is the fact that when the group of high school strangers assemble, their first attempts of making music don't actually suck much. In fact even their first tune that they make is actually pretty catchy. By doing this it eliminates a lot of technical build up like in School of Rock where students literally have to learn from the ground up in terms of form. A device used is to sort of skip over the rudimentary obstacles is to plug in character Eamon (Mark McKenna) who not only is a multi-instrumentalist but he is even able to provide practice space because his father is in a cover band. School of Rock is a fitting movie to bring into this conversation because there are obvious parallels. Young school kids making music together, all bringing their own life experiences and using music as a form of expression. But the differences between the two are stark. Admittedly a lot of it is cultural. With Sing Street being an Irish production, the story is set in the rigid and strict confines of the UK educational system in the 1980's. The landscape is gloomy. There is an obvious sense of authoritarian rule. Bullying is rampant. School of Rock was more about a wild teacher finding a way to connect with a classroom. Sing Street is more about a young man dealing with all of the normal angst-ridden things that teenagers have to deal with and finding a way to deal with it. While a lot of what lead character Conor (Ferdia Walsh-Peelo) are common teenage problems, they are all illustrated in a way that makes it compelling on screen.

Perhaps the only negative that exists with Sing Street is the fact that its filled with the conventional teenage movie tropes. Frustration toward your parents. Not having a lot of friends. Not liking your teachers. The crush on the unattainable girl. Escape through music. But Carney finds a way to put blend these elements on screen that make it feel fresh and charming. This is likely to do with it with being an Irish production and having fresh faces on screen. It speaks well for international film, telling stories that might not be completely unique but telling the story in a place that doesn't get as much attention as it probably should. Its obvious that Sing Street would be a much different movie if it were set in New York City with American actors. But it wasn't. Instead it's a sweet little Irish film that will have "Drive it like you stole it" in your head for a few days after viewing.

Inside Llewyn Davis

Joel & Ethan Coen, 2013

IMDB

4/5

The Coen Brothers could quite possibly have the most diverse filmography in movie history. Their body of work is divisive. But one undeniable fact is if you polled anyone on the street who is a true fan of film and asked them what their favorites of all time are, it's almost a certainty that there is going to be a Coen Brothers film on there somewhere in the top 20. They approach widely different topics and you are never quite sure how specific that approach is going to be.

So of course it's intriguing when you hear that they are making a movie about a struggling folk singer named Llewyn Davis. And Llewyn is certainly struggling; freezing his way through the Greenwich Village streets lacking the proper winter attire. He is a man that is stagnant, can't seem to get to that next level in his career. Can't seem to manage his relationships properly, therefore having many displeased people in his periphery. It's a dreary character study. A man sort of ahead of his time. He's working before the big folk explosion in 1961. People haven't really been exposed to Bob Dylan yet. The big question is can Llewyn even survive long enough to make it there. He of course has no clue. While the odds seem more and more insurmountable, he spends a good portion of the film even wondering why he keeps at it. Is it worth it? What's the point? It's this quest for survival that adds the heart to the story. While Llewyn isn't a largely likeable character, you are rooting for him.

But his stagnation continues to be draining on you as you watch. The universe is using him as a punching bag. He doesn't seem to even draw luck from it. So he wakes up daily, stuck in the bondage of desperation. In a sense the film resembles Groundhog Day. Like there is the possibility that if Llewyn could transcend on some level, make some attempt to personally evolve, that there would some kind of epiphany. But he doesn't do himself many favors. He doesn't treat people as well as he could. He has a lot of pride, too much pride. He refuses to work a normal job, although it's exactly the type of thing that could help him upgrade his current situation. He's all in on the music. That alone is admirable.

There's a segment in the film when Llewyn is hitchhiking. It's a segment I can't seem to get out of my head. It so resembles some kind of purgatory. The sound, the visual elements at work. Man, only the Coen Brothers could create a landscape like this in the middle of a film. The fog on the highway, the hypnotic repetition of the painted lines.

Llewyn is certainly not a feel-good film. If anything it's a feel-sorry film. But it's memorable and unique, qualities of all of the good Coen Brothers movies.

Danny Collins

Dan Fogelman, 2015

IMDB

4/5

Danny Collins is a fictional story based one really interesting real life story. In real life a folk singer named Steve Tilston gave an interview to ZigZag magazine where he described his fear of wealth and the effect it can have on your artistry. John Lennon and Yoko Ono responded to the interview with a handwritten letter where they said "Being rich doesn't change your experience in the way you think”. Tilston was never aware of the letter until a collector approached him with it in 2005. Instead of Fogelman basing the entire movie off of this letter, which some filmmakers would certainly attempt to do, he uses it as a platform for the whole Danny Collins story. It's interesting to think of how influential receiving that letter would have been to Steve Tilston. The letter was written in 1971, during the peak time of Lennon's influence. A musician receiving a letter from him back then would have probably been as inspring as being handed a letter from the President. Maybe more inspiring, seeing as there is an actual connection. Lennon read the interview and felt motivated, obligated to provide a response. The culprit guilty of hoarding the letter is fittingly played by comedian Nick Offerman, who comes off as a snarky beat writer with an annoying chuckle.

Al Pacino has unarguably and notoriously reached a point in his career where he is often a working caricature of himself. The whole "hoo hah" Pacino, the guy with the raspy screaming, the unpredictable octave and decibel changes. It's all kind of excusable, being one of the few actors who get a pass because they have long ago cemented their legacy. But Danny Collins is kind of perfect for the modern day Pacino. He is able to channel that caricature Pacino into his Danny character. Danny is a tired man, past his prime, at a reflective point in his career. He realizes that he himself has become a caricature of his former self, almost like Elvis in the latter years. The Danny Collins character is clearly a nod to Neil Diamond with more anguish. Pacino probably won't get much attention Oscar-time, but he is the perfect guy for the Collins role. Slightly overweight, ridiculous attire. It's actually kind of hard to picture anyone else playing him. The Danny Collins character is not necessarily a "good guy". He's a complicated character. He's selfish but self-conscious. Charming but lonely. Prosperous but generous. Inebriated but trying to kick the habits.

There are moments in the film that clutch your heart. The family conflict feels authentic. Bobby Cannavale is really responsible for the weight of all of the family moments, and continues to prove he's one of the more talented working actors out there. Even though he appears to let Danny off the hook a bit easily, his character keeps the story moving forward and continues to be conflicted with his father up until the final moments of the film. Cannavale and Jennifer Garner have chemistry, and the whole dynamic with their hyperactive daughter works really well. The film could definitely be considered a character study but it's also a breakdown story. Danny has been ignoring real life problems for a very long time. He realizes that no matter how much he insulates himself with wealth and material objects, at some point he's going to have to pay the piper.  He is able to gain a moment of clarity and realize how alone he actually is at his age, even with all of the hanger-onners and leaches that surround him. Nothing is more scary than growing elderly and dying alone. And it doesn't matter how much money you have.

School of Rock

Richard Linklater, 2003

Can I Stream It?

4/5

After getting kicked out of his band, Dewey Finn (Jack Black) is desparate for some form of income especially with his roommate's girlfriend Patty (Sarah Silverman) putting pressure on him to contribute rent money. When he intercepts a call from the local school trying to reach his roommate Ned (Mike White) for a substitution position, he decides to dupe the school into thinking he is Ned and takes the position himself.

If you are not a fan of Jack Black's, School of Rock is probably a no go for you. It's Jack Black at his very Jack Black-est, demanding attention from everyone in close range. Lot's of sudden jerking movements, and loudness. But it's hard to picture anyone other than Jack Black playing the part of Dewey Finn. While his ADHD behavior can grow tiring, there is an endearing quality that fits well -especially in the role of a school teacher. Instructed to follow a standard curriculum, he abandons this quite quickly for his own brand of anti-authoritarian expression. Using Rock and Roll as a platform for his own satisfaction but also playing to his strengths, he inadvertently shows the kids how to open up and express themselves in an environment that they've grown imprisoned with. Living up to the high expectations of their parents, they assume that their parents will push their own wishes on them and they will simply follow. But Dewey comes in and shakes it all up. The film could also be considered Linklater's love letter to music, very much like Almost Famous was to Cameron Crowe. The two films are similar in a way. Both push the idea of young innocents wrapped up in their love of music, to the point where it becomes an all-consuming thing inside of a traditionally strict environment. But bearing the warning that the film may not hit the mark with Black haters, perhaps there are some aspects of it that may be able to make their way into your heart if you were one before. Maybe you can come away liking Black at least a little bit more. If this film doesn't do that, nothing will.

Grand Piano

Eugenio Mira, 2013

Can I Stream It?

3/5

After five years passed since a horrible bout of stage fright, concert pianist Tom Selznick returns for a come-back performance in Chicago. But when he begins playing, he notices a threatening note on his sheet-music warning him that if he makes one mistake he will be killed.

Mira employs the nervous craft of Elijah Wood (and an obvious body double or um, hand double) that we have all become familiar with seeing him with his Frodo Baggins character in Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings franchise. That same energy works very well here. Young man with a sort of deer-in-headlights look, with a precise goal to be achieved but faced with adversity. Wood isn't necessarily an actor with a lot of range, but one who can deliver when cast properly (unlike one of the other actors in the film to be mentioned soon). His Tom character shows an immediate sense of inner torment. Trying to overcome his past disaster, he struggles to maintain composure before he even arrives at the concert hall. White-knuckling the plane ride, not because of the fear of flying but the fear of landing in the city where he must perform in six hours. When he does arrive at the hall, his reception is lukewarm at best. The dapper crowd may have come with open-minds, but the stage-hands still have a bad taste in their mouth. Even the local radio station has low expectations. All methods in which you are shown how much of a calamitous embarrassment that last performance was five years before. There is a lot riding on this performance. Besides the obvious chip on the shoulder, he probably also feels obligated to prove his value to wife Emma (Kerry Bishe). With all of the effort involved in actually GETTING to the piano, you would almost think that his work is halfway done. That is, until you realize how complex and demanding the body of work is that he must gruel through.

The camera jumps around from close ups of the cold sweat dripping from Tom's forehead, to the fingers rapidly jumping around the piano keys, to wide shots of the stage from the crowd's perspective (and at times of course, the villain). Besides the obvious black and whites of the piano keys, you see a lot of red in the film, much of which is cleverly used from the curtain fabric. When exploring a massive Concert Hall like the one shown, the curtain itself at times has a disconcerting feel to it. Almost like there can be haunting elements hiding in the folds. Cue the low octaves his finger hits, and then when you realize how sophisticated the work is that Tom is playing you really feel the almost inevitable doom if Tom happens to misstep (again). 

While Wood is a good fit for the Tom Selznick character, the same can't be said about John Cusack with villain Clem. Cusack, who hasn't really had a remarkable performance since 2000's High Fidelity, continues to disappoint on screen. Perhaps because he is typically misused these days? Clem's character could have and should have been more menacing, more threatening, more imposing. But Cusack just doesn't have that in his repertoire. He could provide a much better service to film (not this one) if he continues to play the hopeless romantic sappy guy. Can't fault him for trying to branch out, but he's had many chances to prove himself in the darker roles (Identity, 1408, The Raven) and they continue to be disappointing. There are many actors who could have done a much better job here. It would have been nice to see a Christoph Waltz, Tom Hardy, or a Javier Bardem as Clem. With Cusack, you never really get a sense that he will REALLY pull the trigger. Despite Cusack's deficiencies with the villain character, Grand Piano still largely works due to Mira's handling of it. The mounting tension, engaging story, clean cinematography is enough to keep you interested. Satisfying and clever ending that follows up on an tease from earlier. You'll probably be sitting through the end credits hoping to get some follow-up footage, but you won't get it (sorry). 

Muscle Shoals

Greg "Freddy" Camalier, 2013

Can I Stream It?

4/5

Nestled just south of the Tennessee River in Northwest Alabama lies the small city of Muscle Shoals. Population 12,000, it's a working class town decorated with green hills and sunflower fields. But there's something magical that exists there. Something inexplicable. The unassuming Muscle Shoals has been the recording home of some of the most influential music ever put on tape. Rolling Stones' Wild Horses. The Staple Singers I'll Take You There. Wilson Pickett's incredible rendition of Hey Jude (encouraged by Duane Allman). Tell Mama by Etta James. When a Man Loves a Woman by Percy Sledge. At first glance, Muscle Shoals surely wouldn't reveal itself to be such a recording mecca. But there is an ethereal quality to the area. Some would say it's an energy, a certain essence that remains from the days that the area was inhabited by Native Americans. Descendants of the original settlers say they still hear voices singing above the surface of the water.

Camalier's comprehensive doc does a great job of showing all of the various facets of the musical culture that was present in Muscle Shoals. People started hearing some of the music coming out of the area, and there was a certain buzz that was created where musicians from all over wanted to record with the soulful black studio musicians who were considered to the pioneers of the Muscle Shoal Sound. Much to everyone's surprise they turned out to be white men. This element certainly brought up the racial issues surrounding the area at that particular point in American history. The film is enlightening in pointing out the importance of music at that point in time, due to the fact that the artists pressed on the wax were without color. It appealed to everyone. It transcended the racial bigotry.

The doc is filled with interviews with the very people who experienced it all. But it also is filled with some amazing stock footage and photography. The first hand accounts from Keith Richards and Mick Jagger of their experiences are enticing enough, but then to go on to be treated with old footage of the late Ronnie Van Zandt singing Free Bird in the early days is just the cherry on top. There's a certain nostalgia in their eyes. When Richards admits to always wondering what their non-Shoals songs would have sounded like had they been recorded there reinforces the impact of the Alabama studio.

Muscle Shoals is like David Grohl's 2013 documentary Sound City but more meaningful, more sentimental. It's a piece containing stories of regret, longing, reflection, and importance. Maybe none of us were there to experience any of it directly, but at some point a piece of it has been in all of our ears. 

The Other F Word

Andrea Blaugrund Nevins, 2011

Can I Stream It?

2/5

This documentary provides a look at middle-aged punk rockers as they explore their own fatherhood, struggling with maintaining their rebellious personas while trying to be good parents.

The film presents the irony of watching an eff-authority punk-rocker hit middle age, but doesn't pack a whole lot of calories doing so and ends up serving you a mixed message. Unorganized. Confused. Lacking. Crude at times without substance. Are we watching middle-aged rebels struggle with inevitability or are we watching a Pennywise reunion tour? The doc is swerving all over the road all-while playing the songs we've grown to hate. Some scenes are just downright irritating. Everclear's Art Alexakis, who has managed to get more mileage out of three top 20 hits than anyone in the 1990s, sits in a room playing "Father of Mine" with an aged voice that isn't anywhere near the quality it was twenty years ago. His involvement in the film is also puzzling in a sense (not to take away from any of the trauma he actually has experienced) because he is not really known as the rebellious punk type.

But to cut the film some slack, there are some redeeming qualities. Jim Lindberg (of Pennywise) provides some honesty, some insight to the struggle of aging, displaying an urge to put his touring life behind him and dedicate his life to his family. He probably opens up more than the other subjects of the film. Flea also really shows some true vulnerability when he tears up gushing about his daughter. This is what you want from the film, a real unprotected side. But you just get too much filler and not a whole lot of consistency. If you come looking for laughs, you will at least get a couple of those. Seeing a 40 year old Rob Chaos stand in his kitchen unwilling to let go of his spiky hair. Mark Hoppus (Blink 182) talk about his reluctance to purchase censored music for his kids. But the F Word is disappointing because its an enticing premise that is just not explored properly. All the makings of a mediocre documentary.

Sunset Strip

Hans Fjellestad, 2012

Can I Stream It?

2/5

Sunset Strip can be credited with being a rather full story. It has a beginning, middle and an end. And there are a plethora of faces to attempt to recount their experiences (Johnny Depp, Sharon Osbourne, Keanu Reeves, Sharon Stone, Mickey Rourke to name a few). The beginning is clearly the strip in its incarnation. Originally poinsettia farmland owned by a single landowner, it slowly became urbanized and ultimately became an entertainment destination due mostly to it's proximity to Hollywood. The Vegas Strip before there really was Las Vegas. An exclusive hot spot that everyone wanted to get in on. Sammy Davis Jr. Elizabeth Taylor. James Dean. And the popularity grew. The culture evolved, for better or for worse. The middle is the Strip in its gritty heyday. Sex, drugs and rock and roll. Very little interference by the law. A lot of pivotal moments. Jim Morrison at the Whiskey a Go Go. Sam Kinison screaming into the microphone at the Comedy Store. Richard Pryor performing his legendary set. And just like any party, it must come to an end at some point. The end is basically closer to the present-day. The Sunset Strip of Los Angeles has turned into a homogenized, corporate version of its former self. The lines of cocaine have morphed into heavily-caffeinated energy drinks, with their very advertisements plastered all over the walls in an effort to cross-promote. The busy streets have turned into promenades to increase the volume of foot traffic. Instead of a historical site it's basically become a novelty display.

The problem with the film is while it treats you to beautiful historical footage early on in the film, it becomes rather aimless and self-indulgent at the end. The camera sits down with a group of mob types and it feels wearisome. It shows some confusing footage of Paris Hilton in a police cruiser. Kelly Osbourne performing with the Pussycat Dolls. Instead of continuing on in some kind of rich historical context, it ends up just playing some live footage of Jane's Addiction and some other bands performing at the Roxy. And perhaps that's whats sad about the Sunset Strip. The inevitability of it all. The old die out and the young are born. Led Zeppelin is no longer renting the entire floor of the Chateau Marmot, because they haven't even performed together in years. You won't find Ozzy at any of the bars. In fact, his own children have undergone their own rites of passage on the Strip and look back on it with nostalgia. What's left are the ghosts of the past. It's turned into a rather unforgiving shell of it's former self. New thrills are now packaged. There are no surprise acts. Just contracted residencies. It's just too bad that Fjellestad wasn't able to maintain the momentum in the final third of the film. This film could learn a thing or two from more entertaining Sunset-Strip based documentary The Mayor of the Sunset Strip. 

John Lennon: Love is All You Need

Alan Byron & Ashley Hall, 2010

Can I Stream It?

3/5

Alan Byron and Ashley Hall direct this documentary that profiles late Beatle John Lennon. Using archival footage, interviews with close friends and family, the film creates a multi-perspective look at a beloved American icon.

When you are about to watch a documentary on a Beatle, especially Lennon, you are about to click play and you begin to think a few things. Is this going to be a completely biased look at my Johnny Boy? How much Yoko are we going to see? Is it going to be one of those documentaries that didn't get any licensing, so we are going to hear third party accounts at how much the Beatles meant to this complete stranger? Well, good news. This one offers more than that. This one is actually put together quite well, actually. Oh wait! One last question! Am I going to learn anything from this Lennon film that I don't already know? Actually, probably.

It begins with humble beginnings. It details the Fab Four's coming up in the working class Liverpool. You can't blame them for wanting to venture out, break out, see what's out there in the world. That sense of blue-collar British grit certainly gave them some fuel to run off of. It soon jumps to the Beatles arrival in America. Shea Stadium. Beatle Mania. Then comes the controversy of the "the Beatles are bigger than Jesus" statement. It's too bad one quick casual statement had such an impact. Once again it makes you think about the world we're living in today. John Lennon didn't have an iPhone where he could tweet any little thing that happened to cross his mind at a moment's notice. Unfortunately, there was one microphone... and it was front of him. And they took him seriously. Way too seriously. The interviews with the southern American youth reinforce the Puritanical roots that are in this country. Thou shalt not ironically use Baby Jesus' name in public or thou Shalt have thy records burnt! Jump to the death of Brian Epstein, which one could argue changed things quite a bit. He certainly could have been the stitching that kept the Beatles brand held together nicely. Soon after comes the introduction of the divisive Yoko Ono. The filmmakers do not hesitate to play some footage of Camille Paglia expressing her disdain for Mrs. Ono which may please the many Yoko haters of the world watching. You see Lennon's sudden "art phase", in which he clearly gushes over Ono's minimalist, borderline finger paintings on display. Of course with the love blossoming between the two it unfortunately causes the end of the marriage to Cynthia, who on camera could not be more humble and evolved. She comes off as very healthy minded, not harboring any resentment and acknowledging that sometimes couples move on to different things. Soon after the divorce, the Yoko-mania begins. The press stunts. The seemingly inevitable Beatles breakup. The film covers a bit of the 1966 Psychedelia, but soon jumps from that to the very much publicized Yoko/John political statements. The very Nixonian attempt to deport the pair. And of course, the murder. The impact of the murder. It hits the beats you want it to, and gives them fair time.

The film effectively displays Lennon as a very HUMAN figure. And that may be the best quality of this piece. You do actually get a sense of Lennon the person, and not just Lennon the figure. The U.S. vs. John Lennon had more of an emphasis of the political direction that Lennon was taking in his career. But this film covers much more. The film is titled John Lennnon: Love is all you need. But perhaps it was all he needed. While he may be accused of being cynical, cold, unapologetic... Lennon certainly didn't mind speaking his mind. His message, while perhaps naive and idealistic, was still consistent. And look, it lives on. You are constantly reminded of his impact. Lennon could easily be compared to President Kennedy in so many ways. A beloved American figure that certainly didn't mind being in front of the camera. A figure who had some publicized infedility. A figure who was suddenly taken from us, with much effect. A figure who lives on, with the legend having more of an impact. The film leaves you wondering what the world would be like if Lennon were alive today. Would he be a caricature of himself? Would he be dragging himself on tours with various backing bands like Bob Dylan? Would he be in American Idol? Would he be doing interviews on MSNBC protesting the war in Afghanistan? We can only sit and wonder.

Electrick Children

Rebecca Thomas, 2013


3/5

Rachel (Julia Garner) is a young girl living in a remote Mormon community, separated from the outside world. When she discovers a tape recorder in the basement of her home, she plays a rock and roll tape she finds. Soon after, she begins displaying symptoms of pregnancy and is convinced the music impregnated her. When she hears that she will soon be forced into an arranged marriage with an elder member of the community she runs away. She travels to Las Vegas where she meets a boy her age named Clyde (Rory Culkin) who shows her a world she's never seen before.

The film blends in some of the beats of Almost Famous with some Christian symbolism such as the Virgin Mary and her Immaculate Conception. Rachel is so hungry for stimuli outside of her small community that the second the music plays on the old tape recorder she is starving for more, like tasting the forbidden fruit. She departs the small community in the desert Utah landscape and discovers a new world. Departing her faith like she is partaking in a Rumspringa-tradition. She arrives in the obviously ironic Sin City which might as well be an alternate dimension to her. Cell phones, neon lights, pizza, skateboarding. It's all new to her. Rachel's mother Gay Lynn clearly relates to Rachel. You get the feeling early on that she has a past outside of the Mormon faith, as she tells her tale of the unicorn-like Red Mustang. Early on the Mustang feels like a symbol of freedom, or perhaps represents something that has passed and that you can't get back. It later reveals itself, and it's more than that. It's a well put together fish out of water story. Love, purity, innocence. The world she enters is friendly and inviting. When entered, everything changes. Like seeing the world in black and white your whole life and finally getting a taste of color.

Sound City

Dave Grohl, 2013


4/5

Grohl directs this documentary about a legendary recording studio that was home to 100 gold and platinum records. Legendary artists such as Fleetwood Mac, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Rick Springfield, Nirvana all recorded their work there. The grungy ambiance, laid-back owners and analog recording equipment was inviting to Rock purists who wanted to make records without executives breathing down their neck.

The film has a spectacular opening sequence, with a recording studio slowly coming alive. Lights being flipped on one by one. Grohl picks up an acoustic guitar and starts strumming. His hand elevates to strum another chord and a perfectly synchronized electric guitar chord kicks in and in comes the hard rock, punching the gas. It's a well organized film that thoroughly details the creation of Sound City. The conversion to a studio from a Vox amplifier factory. The early years and foundational recordings. The acquisition of the Neve console that would prove to be a draw for musicians who wanted to be hands on with their analog recordings. The changing 80's, and the early digital age. The financial struggles. Nirvana coming to the studio to record Nevermind, and changing not only the music world but also revitalizing Sound City. The inevitable sweep of technology that put Protools in the hands of anyone who wanted to make a record.

Sweat stains line the Sound City walls, placed in the middle of an unassuming industrial park in Van Nuys. Echoes of past heroes and past riffs resonate through the studio. There is an obvious energy to the building. The musicians themselves say the studio shouldn't sound so good. The layout didn't make any sense. It should sound horrible for drummers, but it didn't. The mythical status of Sound City could be compared to CBGB. The film is loaded with old footage, great music, gritty camera filters, and good story. Grohl is a sentimental person. He appreciates where he came from and who got him there. He credits Sound City with putting Nirvana on the map. Grohl purchasing the Neve console is ensuring that the equipment is in good hands, and is going to get some use. The final portion of the film is a bit self-indulgent but still pays a nice tribute and is a nice send-off. A thank you note to Sound City.

Searching for Sugar Man

Malik Bendjelloul, 2012


5/5

          Rodriguez was one of the best singer-songwriters to come out the 1970's, and nobody knew who he was. His albums never experienced commercial success. Although he sounded very similar to Bob Dylan, he never came close to gaining the same level of fame. His music had soul. You hear themes of struggle, love, desperation. He faded into obscurity in the United States, but unbeknownst to him - he was a HUGE musical figure in South Africa. In South Africa, he was bigger than Elvis. South Africans found comfort in his music while they were in the oppressive grips of apartheid. He inspired them... and he never knew it.
          This is the best documentary that I've seen in 2013 thus far. It deservedly won the Oscar for Best Documentary. I had heard so much buzz on this film that I wondered if it could live up to the hype. It exceeded my expectations, and you are better off going into this film knowing NOTHING. Go in blindly because there are some really great twists that add to the already compelling story. It's also well shot. Great pan shots of Detroit city streets, empty parking lots with glowing street-lit snow piles. Deteriorated motor city brownstones with plywood windows. Beautifully gritty stock video footage of 1970's Detroit, displaying theater-fronts with unlit marquees and newspaper littered streets. It even shows you historical poverty-stricken sections of Detroit, reminding you that their economic woes are not only limited to this past decade. Rodriguez came from a blue collar working American family, pouring years of sweat on the Chrysler assembly line. That only adds to the irony that someone who is arguably MORE American than Bob Dylan never caught on with the American people. What was it? Was it his ethnicity? Was it because the name Rodriguez doesn't have that Rock and Roll edge to it? Did people just write him off when they heard his name, like he was a Latin-American musician? I wonder if he appeared today, would a more open-minded American public be more receptive to his music?
          My biggest question that went unanswered was what happened to the band-members? You hear Rodriguez' music, and while the vocals and the songwriting is very prominent - there is also impressive musical work going on as well. Where are those people now? Are they still in the music industry? Did they feel ignored by America like Rodriguez did?