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<title>indieworkshop.com | film/dvd</title> 
<link>http://www.indieworkshop.com/</link> 
<description>indieworkshop.com | film/dvd</description><pubDate>Tue, 21 May 2013 19:31:58 -0400</pubDate>
<language>en-us</language>
<copyright>2006</copyright>
<managingEditor>jake@indieworkshop.com</managingEditor><item><title>Lower City</title><link>http://www.indieworkshop.com/film.php?id=157</link><description><![CDATA[The themes of jealousy, lust, and sex, and their consequences, are not exactly novel. But they are so central to our experience as human beings that a great number of films have taken these on as their principal subject matter.  Lower City, the directorial debut for Sergio Machado, is yet another take on this topic.  The film follows two childhood friends, Deco and Naldinho, who, on their way to the town of Salvador, meet and offer a ride to Karinna, a stripper who is going to the same town in search of work.  In exchange for the ride, Karinna has sex with both men on the overnight journey.  This is the start of an intense love triangle in which the two men and Karinna become caught.  The incredibly solid bond between Deco and Naldinho, as a result, gradually self-destructs as the story progresses.

The competent manner with which the film demonstrates the initial deep connection between the two men sets the stage pretty well for testing their friendship.  The movie is no doubt intent on exploring this tension (and eventual seething anger) between the two friends as the main result of this love triangle.  But the main question I had while watching this film, and to some extent still have, is this:  is this a love triangle?  Or is it, as I believe it to be, a lust triangle?  If it is the former, then the writers and director has not adequately motivated the feelings of love both friends are supposed to have for Karinna.

As I've said, however, I think it's a question of lust, and about how such a seemingly die-hard brotherly love can break down so catastrophically because of such basic, but strong, animal urges. This is shown in a simple metaphor near the beginning of the film, when the friends are on their way to Salvador, and stop in a town to unload cargo.  They watch and place bets on a cock fight (to make it obvious, it pits a white rooster against a black rooster, the skin colours of Naldinho and Deco, respectively). Clearly a foreshadow to later animosity between the two men, it also seems to ask in hindsight, what are they really fighting over?  In this example, the roosters are motivated  by nothing more than their animal instincts.  Later in the movie, Naldinho himself asserts that Deco should not be upset by Karinna's departure at one point because she is just a prostitute, and the two friends agree in another scene that their "friendship is worth more that pussy".  However, it seems that the film shows that this is not always the case, and examines exactly when this moral notion collapses and our genetic predispositions take over, sometimes beyond our control.  The movie is not about the love triangle, but instead uses the situation, when it becomes that overbearingly, emotionally excessive, as a test for human rationality.  One of the main ways the film succeeds in accomplishing this is by not really delving very deep inside Karinna's mind; this is more or less the case until the remarkably affecting end of the movie, when it is up to her to, quite literally, clean up the mess, of which she is the center.  The film does well, however, not to blame any one person for this sorrowful situation.

I could be reaching a bit far with my take on things.  I don't think I am, but the fact I am still left wondering about this somewhat is perhaps my main complaint: maybe a little more could have been done to really solidify the point of the movie.  It's a pretty minor quibble, however -- a bit of thought after watching it makes things fairly clear, and I'm no genius.  The direction and editing are mostly well done, apart from a few occasions when I found myself asking, "how did he find him all of a sudden?" or "how did he get there before he did?"  However, any ambiguity in the progression of the storyline, or in the film in general, is definitely not the fault of the actors.  Lazaro Ramos, Wagner Moura, and Alice Braga (as Deco, Naldinho, and Karinna, respectively) do very effective jobs in their roles, bringing out the characters they portray with great skill.

Regardless of the exact subtext, Lower City is an engrossing movie -- not to mention incredibly steamy.  It's a good first effort by Sergio Machada, pointing to a promising future for this director, as well as for the actors in the film.
]]></description><author>rferdman@gmail.com (Robert Ferdman)</author><pubDate>2006-09-28</pubDate></item><item><title>Paper Rad - Talking Trash DVD</title><link>http://www.indieworkshop.com/film.php?id=156</link><description><![CDATA[I was very happy to find this day-glo bundle in my mailbox. Recently reminded of the kinetic potency of Paper Rad video streams after witnessing footage live with Extreme Animals, I was primed for a wholesome home viewing experience.

But firstly, if you have never had a Paper Rad encounter before, may I first direct your attention here:

www.PaperRad.org

Yes...you needed that didn't you?  Perhaps not.  Did it blow your mind or annoy your mind?  You can probably make that decision for yourself and choose how to proceed.  Choose your own adventure, if you shall.

By now many have an audio/visual sync of the Paper Rad/Load tag-team. Famously, Paper Rad and Load helped detonate a huge color bomb over New England.  Though Paper Rad launched from Boston, the mushroom cloud rose over Providence, amidst such names as Fort Thunder, Lightning Bolt, Black Dice, and Load.  Seems like just yesterday there really were tazers at the parties, then the mutation soon spread into households, galleries and publications spanning the globe.  Yet still, righteously, new corneas are exposed to their projects everyday.  

Following segments on the Lightning Bolt and Pick A Winner DVDs, this is their own official Load title.  The DVD program delights for the most part.  There is a beguiling menu, plenty of churning hyper-color flux, a Wizardzz (Bolt side project) music video, innumerable shards of 80s VHS footage that probe nostalgia nodes with humorous yet unsettling compulsion. An extended &quot;Alfe TV Pilot&quot; chapter that honors the Muppet Babies is perhaps the only momentum lag, and it wraps things up fairly quickly after that.  But around 1.5 hours of entertainment is an ideal amount and a sound value.

Please wait until after viewing to indulge the restless mind with lofty concepts of meaning behind this work.  Paper Rad invites relentless abstract multi-tasking like few others, but seriously just go limp, it's much more enjoyable. Ideally this DVD is best consumed with friends anticipating a unique ingestion of LCD, SGB, VGA and CRT expanding animation.  
]]></description><author>andytefft[nospam]@lycos.com (Andy Tefft)</author><pubDate>2006-09-13</pubDate></item><item><title>Clean - DVD</title><link>http://www.indieworkshop.com/film.php?id=155</link><description><![CDATA[Clean comes to us from French director Olivier Assayas. He might be best known in these parts for his film Demonlover, which came to my attention due to its score composed by Sonic Youth. Whereas Demonlover was rather stylized and dabbled in science fiction, Clean is a pretty straightforward and moving tale of struggle. Here, the struggle is with drugs and a struggle for control. Maggie Cheung (who dazzled in In the Mood for Love and 2046) plays Emily, a junkie whose husband Lee, a struggling, aging, punk rocker OD's while they are on the road. After his death, custody of their child, Jay, is granted to his parents. As a result of the OD, Emily is arrested for possession and sentenced to time in prison. The grandfather, Albrecht, played wonderfully by the generally phenomenal Nick Nolte, tells Emily that she best clean herself up if she has any hopes of being a part of the child's life.

After Lee's death, the majority of the people they knew turn their back on Emily. It'd been widely felt that she was hindering his career and now that she appears responsible for his overdose, they don't want anything to do with her. She's posited as a modern Yoko Ono (or, at least, what many assumed was a &quot;Yoko&quot;) or, dare I give the name any credence by mentioning it, Courtney Love. The difference here is that Lee is nowhere near as famous as John or Kurt. And no one, fact or fiction, is as useless as Courtney.  Once out of prison she goes to Paris in hopes of straightening herself out, getting her life together. She finds herself essentially alone, broke, and hooked. Emily, also an aspiring musician, comes across an opportunity to record some songs with someone she befriended in prison. The woman arranges a session with a somewhat notable producer (he worked with Mazzy Star) in San Francisco. And Emily is also presented with an opportunity to spend time with son while in Paris. The film details her attempts to take her life in some direction and form some sort of relationship with her son.  Through a few jobs, Methadone and finding a somewhat stable place to live, she's able to give it a go, ready or not.

The film itself isn't quite a tale of redemption; it's a tale of finding the road to redemption. Cheung nails the lost-yet-not-gone Emily, showing her desperation to develop a relationship of any kind with her son, but also relaying the insecurities of the character, the reality that she isn't quite ready yet. Somehow, Clean manages to be a feel-good story about purification, about kicking a drug habit and trying to clean a life up, without being sappy, trite, gushy or rife with religious undertones. Both Cheung and Nolte emit an honesty that carries much of the film. I wasn't totally sold by Cheung at first, as punk rocker junkie but it turns out that that isn't the whole role anyway. Emily as a whole character ends up being much more than that, and it's there that Cheung shines, as a mother trying to grow beyond her mistakes. This isn't just a voyage to re-connect with her son; it's a shot at connecting for the very first time. The film is beautifully shot, always intriguing to look at, jumping between muted tones, almost brash, unfiltered light and lush colors. Each setting, each actor's portrayal and the mood of each scene are captured with a masterful attention to detail. With a combination of strong performances, nimble direction and an interesting story, Clean is a strong film and surely worth your time. 
]]></description><author>awr1000@hotmail.com (Adam Richards)</author><pubDate>2006-09-08</pubDate></item><item><title>We Jam Econo: The Story of the Minutemen - DVD</title><link>http://www.indieworkshop.com/film.php?id=154</link><description><![CDATA[In a poignant moment during We Jam Econo: The Story of the Minutemen, D. Boon spins the spiel of &quot;History Lesson- Part 2.&quot; It's a rare acoustic set performed on what appears to be a low-rent cable access TV show. Boon speaks the lyrics nostalgically, recalling his early punk rock salad days with bassist Mike Watt. He sums up: &quot;We were fuckin' corndogs.&quot; 

Not many bands would willingly describe themselves as one of America's more repugnant delicacies. But not many bands could be as self-effacing, honest and humble as American punk rock pioneers The Minutemen. With the terse six-plus minute blast of 1980's Paranoid Time (SST 002), San Pedro's most famous rock n roll phenomenon changed the face of independent music as it existed through the 80s and beyond.  Refusing to conform in anyway to punk convention, the band blended funk, jazz, blues and the disjointed song structures of avant-garde artists like Captain Beefheart into their punk stew. They issued records at an alarmingly prolific pace. They challenged the concept of the rock band as larger than life or on a higher, more royal plain than normal people. They came to an abrupt end with the car-crash death of guitarist/vocalist D. Boon in late 1985, the same week their final proper full-length 3-Way Tie (for Last) was released.

21 years later, a proper documentary on the band finally appears. Through the testimonies of various notable music celebrities (Ian MacKaye, Thurston Moore, Lee Ranaldo. Flea, Henry Rollins, to name a few), we learn about the massive impact of the little band that could. They imbued every note and every action with integrity and honesty. Even their blatant attempt at commercial viability (1985's Project: Mersh) still overflowed with a tongue-in-cheek sensibility (note the cover drawing of big label executives using charts to determine how to sell The Minutemen, or the video for &quot;King of the Hill&quot; found in the DVD extras). As everyone close to the band attests, The Minutemen were the real deal. They created music because they had to. They pushed themselves to write songs like no one else. Live clips feature an early show with the band acting as human spittoons for the saliva-volleying crowd. The surly crowd derides the band for their failure to deliver the routine punk sounds akin to headliner Black Flag. Much to the consternation of punk purists, they'd cover Creedance Clearwater Revival or Van Halen. The Minutemen turned punk on its head, challenging what could be defined as such.

As exposed in Michael Azerrad's account of the band in 80s indie rock tome, Our Band Could Be Your Life (the title taken from &quot;History Lesson- Part 2&quot;), the story of the band is also the story of D. Boon's and Mike Watt's friendship. This features heavily in the documentary. It begins with Watt showing us the tree where he first met Boon. The friendship would form the glue that held the band together. Their chemistry was as much the secret ingredient to their music as was their respective talents, passions and abilities. With drummer extraordinaire George Hurley (who receives unending praise by commentators in the film), the band outshined most of their peers in terms of vision, instrumental prowess and sheer prodigious output. Yet at its heart, The Minutemen were about the friendships of its three members. 

The band's history is explained in part by Watt taking us on a tour of San Pedro, to the band's historical landmarks, such as the site of their first show or their practice space. Interviews with the band, then and now, make up a significant portion of the storytelling. Interviews with friends and peers flesh out just what made the band so special. Particularly illuminating is a friend of the band recalling one of Boon and Watt's legendary blow-ups. Both declared that the band was over with both claiming Hurley for their respective new bands. Hurley rejects both and states he will start his own band. And within minutes they were best friends again. Such was the nature of the inner-workings of the Minutemen.   

Yet perhaps what reveals most about what made the band tick is the vast amount of live footage. We see the band in many differing locations (basements to arena-sized venues) and at various stages of their career. If anything explains the power and allure of the band it's their supremacy as a crack live band. Their performances are taut, explosive bursts of musical majesty. Even with Boon's guitar going out of tune (or losing strings) and his and Watt's constant bouncing about the stage like fleas, the band never ceases to smoke in the live setting. To watch Hurley is to witness a jazz-like percussionist at work in a scene who nary has seen such a talent before or since. Yet their magic transcended musicianship. The band was fearless in their musical explorations, and the live footage demonstrates this. 

What The Minutemen may most be remembered for is the ethos behind the DVD's title. They jammed econo. They began what Fugazi would contain to glorious effect in the late 80s and on into the alternative-as-commodity post-Nirvana 90s. They prided themselves on their blue-collar upbringing and saw themselves as a band for and of the people. They were proletariat rock, though this may have been due more to Boon's intense leftist leanings and avid love of history.   

Eschewing the superfluous trappings of the rock business, the band lived up to their avowed intention. They cut out the fat and did it themselves. No booking agents, no managers, no publicists. They built upon the path blazed by peers Black Flag and proved that bands could exist outside the distinct boundary of the mainstream music industry. Though they did tour with R.E.M. on the eve of that band's commercial explosion, The Minutemen always retained an integrity that is all but extinct in today's musical landscape of multi-million dollar offers for band's with little more than a CD-R demo and a myspace account.  

Tim Irwin and Keith Schieron offer the ultimate homage as long-time followers of the band. We Jam Econo is a fan's dream come true, or an instructive introduction to a crucial band. It's an expertly executed documentary that offers everything anyone could ask for in a film on a band. Unlike many contemporary documentary DVDs (e.g. Refused Are Fucking Dead), We Jam Econo feels satisfyingly complete and well worth the price. The extras are as vital as the main course, featuring three live sets, videos (that term should be used loosely), as well as a litany of worthwhile outtakes. 

The Minutemen could be your life. They are as relevant, intriguing and great to listen to 20 years past their demise as during their short-lived existence. With this DVD we get to watch them, and experience their music in the way it was most intended.   ]]></description><author>casedefy@yahoo.com (Casey Boland)</author><pubDate>2006-08-18</pubDate></item><item><title>Kaiju Big Battel - More Better Fighto Vol. 1</title><link>http://www.indieworkshop.com/film.php?id=153</link><description><![CDATA[Dear Kaiju, 

Thanks.  I mean it.  Thanks a lot.  This is exactly what this guy living in the middle of the US needed.  Seeing as you don't bring your traveling circus of foam-clad warriors to the Midwest, this is as close as I may ever come to the action and the mayhem.  And this latest DVD really lives up to its name… because… there are a lot more fights.

With the Shocking Truth DVD last year you hooked me.  I was impressed and amused.  But, to be honest, there was something lacking.  I pined for more full matches.  The clips you provided of fights within the DVD got me interested… and the bonus feature full length fights (sans commentary) helped fill that void a little, but it just didn't seem the same.  Sure, it was nice to see a match from beginning to end, but it just didn't have that 'Pow!' I was hoping for.  

But look at you.  Look at what you've done.  It's like you've read my mind.  Not only did you give me nine (yes, NINE) epic battles, but you've iced them off with full commentating by Louden and that nerd Beav, little pop up facts, and tons of little extras that make Kaiju so great.  While I was a completely sober 28-year-old sitting on a couch taking this all in, I enjoyed your action packed DVD as if I was an eight-year-old again, watching Hulk Hogan on Saturday morning.

So thank you, masterminds behind Kaiju.  Thanks for taking what was surely a joke developed by possibly drunk friends and turning it into a reality.  A sort of surreal, Asian monster movie fueled reality, but that's about all the reality I can handle these days. Dudes dressed up as fictitious characters in Gwar-esc costumes that WRESTLE EACH OTHER?!?!  Come on, what's better than that?  

Anyway, thanks again.  You make me laugh, you make me cry (I weep for Call Me Kevin), you make be glad to own a DVD player.  You also make me proud to be an American… as odd as that may seem.

XOXO, 
Jake     ]]></description><author>jake@indieworkshop.com (Jake Haselman)</author><pubDate>2006-07-27</pubDate></item><item><title>“Awesome, I Fuckin’ Shot That!” – The Beastie Boys</title><link>http://www.indieworkshop.com/film.php?id=152</link><description><![CDATA[The first thing to say about this latest concert film from The Beastie Boys is that it more than lived up to the expectations of die-hard Beasties Fans.

Directed by Adam Yauch (MCA from the group) it was an exceptional example of an artist setting out to capture a certain theme or style, and getting it so perfectly right.

The idea of &quot;Awesome&quot; was conceived by Yauch to accurately portray what fans of the group experience as audience members at one of their concerts, and it certainly did that. Yauchs deliberate use of low definition cameras to create a grainy and unclean finish, was at first a little distracting, however it soon became the aspect that really made you feel like you where at the show. Unlike other concert films where the production has been so perfect and precise and clean, that you lose the actual feel of the event.

Recorded at Madison Square Gardens in New York, by no less than 61 cameras, it really gave an all round, upside down, inside out view of one the greatest Hip Hop groups of all time doing what they do best, enthralling a crowd. Added to this, the fact that 50 of the 61 cameras where held by die hard fans of the group strategically placed in and around the audience, made for an experience that at times could quite possibly have been better than the live performance itself (although a live Beastie Boys concert is pretty hard to beat).

As with all Beasties concerts, the boys know what their audience wants, and never fail to deliver. In an industry where too many big acts only play their latest hits at their concerts, The Beasties always deliver an excellent mix of old and new favorites. Always tizzied up a bit to so that know matter how well you know the track, you still find yourself saying &quot;HOLY SHIT, that is so cool&quot;. Mix-Master Mike is often the major component in achieving that, still you can't go past the guys when it comes to being able to just let it flow (pardon the pun) in such a way that it always seems fresh and eye-popping.

As always, the boys had with them a few regular additions to the group that they perform with. The pick of these being Mix-Master Mike on the decks and Money Mark on keyboards. Since replacing DJ Hurricane as the groups turntablist early on in the scene, Mike as been an unmistakable sound and display that accompanies the Beasties style so well that he has practically become a Beastie Boy himself. Although a major superstar himself in the turntablism scene (he is 3 times straight, World DJ Champion who bowed out undefeated from competition at the request of organizers) it's when combined with the boys that he really finds his niche.

Money Mark on Keyboards was a sight to behold. His energy and antics behind his instrument sometimes bordered on gymnastics, including a handstand on the keyboard he managed to pull off while playing.

A not so regular appearance by Beat Box Extraordinaire Doug E. Fresh (&quot;The Worlds Greatest Entertainer&quot;) was a highlight viewers are unlikely to forget any time soon. The incredible talent of his vocal ability teamed with the boys sharp popping style saw a moment that hip hop fans will talk about for quite a long time.

With Yauch being no newcomer to the directors role (always a keen director of the groups video clips) it was little surprising to experience what at times seemed to be the overuse of visual film effects. It's not that he was going for an art house feel and pushed it a little too far, it seemed more like a year 11 high school class had just worked out the effects functions on the editing desk and didn't have the experience to know when enough was enough. Being as this was the only fault I could find with this production, full credit must go to Yauch for being able to produce perhaps the best concert film to date, and on his first go too.

The film had many laugh out loud moments as well as many stare at the screen in disbelief moments. None of which I'm going to mention here as the surprise of these moments really added to the whole experience.

A mammoth production effort by Yauch and his team of editors was required to produce this film over a year and a half period. With close to 100 hours of vision from the cameras to collate, study and then choose from, it's easy to understand why.

For people who &quot;don't mind&quot; the Beasties, it may not be a DVD they want to add to their collection, due to the unclean finish of the film and the way the concert is designed for their fans who know all their stuff. For &quot;big fans&quot; of the group, this DVD is a must for the collection, as it is designed to be &quot;The Beastie Boys Concert you're at when you're not at a Beastie Boys concert&quot;, and definitely lives up to its intention.]]></description><author>douggy@gmail.com (Doug Phillips)</author><pubDate>2006-07-19</pubDate></item><item><title>The Venture Bros. Season One - DVD</title><link>http://www.indieworkshop.com/film.php?id=151</link><description><![CDATA[	We are living in a Golden Age for geeks.  Movies based on comic books are all the rage, the internet has created a community that not just tolerates, but promotes fan-boy opinions, and even cartoons have caught up with geekdom's aging sensibilities for pop culture and some occasional t  & a.  Cartoon Network's Adult Swim block of programming has done a lot for geeks and regular folks as well.  Adult Swim has provided its viewers with exceptionally clever cartoons like Home Movies, Harvey Birdman, and Sealab 2021. It has played critical roles in reviving both Family Guy and Futurama, and is not afraid to take a risk with completely absurdist animation (Robot Chicken, Tom Goes to The Mayor, etc.).    Falling somewhere in between clever and absurdist can be found Adult Swim's latest DVD release, The Venture Bros.

	Written like a twisted take on Johnny Quest, The Venture Bros. chronicles the tales of Dr. Thaddeus Venture, his two sons Hank and Dean, and their ultra-violent bodyguard Brock Samson (voiced brilliantly by Patrick Warburton).  Dr. Venture is a failed super scientist who is living off the inventions of his father and barely keeping the super secret science lab in test tubes.  Hank and Dean are two naïve, accident prone teens, who seem to be constantly amazed at each new adventure.  Brock Samson, in contrast to the boys wide-eyed nature, rarely lets a scene go by without brutally killing a henchman, graphically seducing a female spy.  Humorously enough he is also the only positive father figure that the Venture brothers have.  Beyond the main characters, there are a whole slew of super villains, like The Monarch (who takes on the very un-super villain like character of a Monarch butterfly), The Phantom Limb (who, of course, has no limbs), and King Gorilla (who is basically a homosexual gorilla who can talk), again, something for everybody.

	The animation is solid throughout.  It is both vibrant and detailed.  The writing tends to get progressively better as the season continues, as well.  By the season finally, the dialogue is fast paced and devilishly laden with pop culture references that would put The Family Guy to shame.  In the episode entitled &quot;Tag Sale – You're It!&quot;, The Venture family holds a yard sale to get rid of all the mega death rays and sonic distorters that are laying about the compound.  It is also a chance for Dr. Venture to get rid of that &quot;Seven Ragged and The Tiger&quot; t-shirt that he has been hanging onto since the 80's.  By far, one of the best, secondary characters that develop during the course of the season is that of Dr. Orpheus, Dr. Venture's Necromancer tenant who lives on the Venture compound.  He goes from what appears to be a one-off episode character to playing a critical role in the supposed fate of Hank and Dean Venture.

	This double disc sets boast 13 episodes, a pilot episode, and a special Christmas episode.  Like most shows, its pilot is kind of shaky, but other than that there is really not a dull episode in the bunch.  As usual, several episodes have commentary which is moderately interesting.  There is also a special feature about the making of a live-action version of The Venture Bros.  All that needs to be said about that is that there will be no live action version of the Venture Bros. anytime soon.  If you were a fan of cartoons like The Tick (which is essentially made by the same folks) you will love these shows. Occasionally the Adult Swim shows will go for laughs over plots and stories, but these episodes are well written and have funny and complicated characters.  The second season of The Venture Bros. is airing now on Cartoon Network.  It is a good time to pick up this set and then tune in for the new episodes.]]></description><author>travishutzell@mchsi.com (Travis Hutzell)</author><pubDate>2006-07-06</pubDate></item><item><title>The Proposition</title><link>http://www.indieworkshop.com/film.php?id=150</link><description><![CDATA[	It's been a while since I've seen a western.  When I first saw the trailer for this film I was fairly intrigued, I mean, guns, horses, English and Irish accents, dirt, where could you go wrong?  Hell, it's even written by Nick Cave.  The problem with westerns today is that they have a lot going against them to begin with, most people have made their mind up about the genre, they've already got their favorites and they know a bit too much about that period in time so whenever anything questionable comes up, they call bullshit and the rest of the film is marred by the lack of historical credibility in the seasoned viewer's eyes.  I've got my select favorites and I've got a small morsel of knowledge regarding the 1800's, guns, horses, and the rest of it, but I can often suspend disbelief for a story to be told.  Thing is, you don't really need to do that for The Propostion, Cave and the rest appear to have done their homework and the end result is as tough as a fifty-cent pack mule (I tried).

	Taking place in the Australian outback in the 1880s, The Proposition tells the story of the Burns brothers, a group of ruthless Irishmen awash in the lawless expanse of the Australian countryside.  The Burns boys have been pinned for the barbaric rape and killing of an entire family and the British Colonial Army regiment led by Captain Stanley (played by Ray Winstone) that already has its hands full with the awful duty of &quot;dealing&quot; with the aboriginal settlers in the outback, is determined to bring them to justice.  Having captured two of the brothers, the gaunt, yet strong Charlie (Guy Pearce), and the fourteen year-old baby brother Mikey (Richard Wilson), Captain Stanley makes a difficult deal with Charlie: he has nine days to kill his older brother, who appears to be the leader, Arthur and bring back his body or else Danny gets to meet his maker.  Arthur (Danny Huston) is somewhere in the outback and all Charlie has to track him down is a gun and a horse.  

	The line between good guy and bad guy in this film is extremely blurred, which makes the film an engaging back and forth contest for the viewer's allegiance, so to speak.  Captain Stanley's methods of justice are short and vicious, just like the demeanor of the entire Burns lot.  Cave focuses both on Charlie's journey to find his brother and his difficult task, and Stanley's struggle to do his job while trying to be a good husband and overall, a human being.  After long days of busting heads and essentially ethnically cleansing the outback, Stanley goes home to his wife Martha, who is his only respite from his unsavory duty as a soldier.  

	As the days stretch on in the arid desert of Queensland, Charlie meets a bounty hunter who is also looking for his brother Arthur as well as a group of Aboriginal settlers who don't offer much of a friendly hand to him.  Soon enough, Charlie is in conference with his brother and his wily sidekick Sam Stote and the tension within Charlie is visibly twisting his conscience in knots.  Charlie tells Arthur of Mikey's capture and the men head out to the small town where the Army's post is held.  From there, much hell is brought on nearly every character involved.

	With this film, Nick Cave once again proves his prowess as a storyteller.  Detail is spared not in the film from the story, to the violence, to the harsh conditions of the outback, the unyielding filth that is all over virtually everyone in the film (see the presence of grimy teeth and flies in nearly every cell).  Everything from the set and scenery layout to the costume work is done with great care and attention and every measure appears to have been taken to make the film as authentic and gruff as possible.  I couldn't recommend this film enough.  To those esoteric western fans, a new gun's in town, make note of it.  ]]></description><author>burlyphil@yahoo.com (Philip Del Costello)</author><pubDate>2006-06-29</pubDate></item><item><title>Refused Are Fucking Dead - DVD</title><link>http://www.indieworkshop.com/film.php?id=149</link><description><![CDATA[Wow.

The Chinese Democracy of punk DVD's is finally upon us.  Fans have been waiting what seems like an eternity for the final documentation of the band that changed the face of punk rock forever… even if it was after they were already dead.

I've been waiting to see this movie for a long time.  And while I never really knew what to expect, I think Steen's film threw me for a loop.  It isn't this happy-go-lucky trip down memory lane.  In fact, it's the complete opposite.  It's a dark narrative of the last days of a band who never really knew the impact they would have on the face of music; culture or otherwise.  

With gorgeous filmmaking as a backdrop, Dennis Lyxzén, Jon Brännström, David Sandström, and Kristofer Steen retell the tension in their own words.  None of them seem pleased or comfortable with the subject matter.  Some things (like the rest of the bands' obvious problem with front man Lyxzen) go unsaid, but little comments and tone tell the real story.  

When talk about the final show comes up you'd think the members weren't even there.  In complete deadpan attitude each member talks about the basement show as if it hardly mattered.  No emotion, no sadness.  Sandström even talks about the cops, who eventually made their way into the basement to pull the plug on the show (after only 2 and ½ songs), as some sort of saviors to the band.  He explains how wanted to hug them.    

There is also a great monolog on the importance of what they did.  They talk about how they really believed in what they were doing, they really believed they could change the world.  But they were beaten down, they were drained of their energy.  Years of performing, years of touring, years of writing songs together took its toll… and by the end the band just didn't seem to care anymore.  It's a sad way for such a great band to have ended, but at the same time, immensely powerful.

Extras on the DVD include the two videos the band did (for the tracks "Rather Be Dead", and "New Noise") and their album The Shape of Punk To Come performed live.  It's actually a collection of videos taken from random live shows put together to be the album front to back.  It's a fantastic, lo-fi documentation of one of the most energetic bands ever.  

While it's short, it was worth the wait.  It's not some glowing remembrance as if everyone is still chums and they all look back at those days as "the best days of their life".  It's a real deal look inside one bands' implosion, and as sad as it is to watch it play out, we are still feeling the ripple effects from it some eight years later.]]></description><author>jake@indieworkshop.com (Jake Haselman)</author><pubDate>2006-05-25</pubDate></item><item><title>David Bowie - Serious Moonlight - DVD</title><link>http://www.indieworkshop.com/film.php?id=148</link><description><![CDATA[Like a castrated rooster, with hair so blond it's orange, Bowie struts the stage with a ten piece band or so backing him. Like hens mocking in the background of the cuckold, he delivers ‘Heroes' like a villain, like a vampire.  Everyone loves a show that entertains as well as it enlightens but this is a production, at its core.  This is a well-choreographed disaster that Madonna would be proud of.  Bowie points to the sky as the beginning riff of ‘Golden Years' begins.  He is seated in a director's chair like a poor man's throne, barely breaking a sweat.  And the crowd keeps screaming.

This was recorded in the days of the thin white duke version of Bowie's incarnation,  in the eighties when everyone was caught up with excess and bold lighting.  When dance moves from a white man looked more liked a pedestrian grooving across the sidewalk while the boom box next to him plays Grandmaster Flash.  Posing and preening, beep, beep, and get across the street, David.  Go down to the next block and find some new sound please, we will wait, and you're worth it.

Every song turns into a medley of times past.  Looking back on the time, we all agreed that Bowie just wanted to pop.  With Mick Ronson long gone and the days where Ziggy androgynously belted out ‘Better Hang on to Yourself', it is a sad reflection to see that Bowie had let go and let the almighty number one hit rid him of any originality.

Unquestionably, Bowie's voice is flawless as ever.  If American idol existed in 1983, David Bowie would, no doubt, guest as a guide and a tutor to the fledgling vocalist. He croons hits that would make you desire to admire and wretch at the same time.

In case you forgot which Bowie you are watching, a nice little image and song title appear at the beginning of each song to remind you that Bowie was a shape shifter.  One time folk singer, one time alien and all time chameleon, we love to love David, but how much does one want to brush this period under the rug?  Throwing roses to the crowd, one thinks that panties may be thrown on stage next, ala Tom Jones. Unlike Jones, however, there is no sexual menace, there is no Iggy Pop type scare, but only the promise of tender love in the dressing room and maybe an autograph when it is all said and done.

If we can find a spotlight in the DVD, it is Bowie's version of ‘Cracked Actor'. Dressed like Hamlet and singing to a skull, he makes this Broadway nightmare turn into an actual interesting theatrical piece.  And who can discredit ‘Space Oddity' where Bowie finally picks up an acoustic guitar and plays along.  Despite the &quot;show&quot; element and the cheese factor, there is a true innovator and remarkable songwriter beneath this period of time in Bowie's life.  

The extras offer little but a documentary about the creation of the concert DVD.  Not a lot to write home about here.  He is Bowie, and what can you say?  Everybody sucked in the 80's and why should we expect little different from David Bowie?
]]></description><author>travishutzell@mchsi.com (Travis Hutzell)</author><pubDate>2006-05-23</pubDate></item><item><title>The Benchwarmers</title><link>http://www.indieworkshop.com/film.php?id=147</link><description><![CDATA[What the writers, directors, producers, actors, and anyone else involved in this movie wanna see right here is some glorious praise, something like &quot;get the whole family and watch this fun film.&quot;  But you see, payola's not working here at indieworkshop, so instead what you're going to get is me wondering just what the hell it was that inspired me to lay down my gift certificates last night on the counter and speak the dreaded words I'm now regretting: Two for the benchwarmers please.  I should have known better. David Spade, Rob Schnedier, Jon Lovitz, and that guy from Napoleon Dynamite. Not exactly all star, but we were too late for Akeelah and the Bee so we had no choice.

The movie is bound to be bad when Rob Schneider is made out to be the cool guy. Rob fucking Schneider as the cool guy? This has mis-cast written all over it. This is in fact, a lesson on how NOT to cast movies. That guy from Napoleon Dynamite can forget about &quot;breaking out&quot; of the ND role that made him a favorite of high school kids everywhere. His character in this movie is virtually the same dufus-driven, ‘you're an idiot' schtick that made him famous in the first place. All we needed was Pedro Sanchez and his wicked moustache and this could have been called a sequel. Well, a Kip cameo would have sufficed.

The only somewhat memorable character is Amaury Nolasco (of Prison Break fame) who plays a talented baseball player from the Dominican Republic. Unfortunately, his time in the movie is limited to 10 minutes and we're stuck again with David Spade making jokes about having never kissed a girl, his agoraphobic brother, Jon Lovitz being a zillionaire, and midget jokes.

Getting into the plot would only waste more time thinking about this movie slash advertisement. Pizza Hut paid huge dollars to someone, Sony Vaio's seem to be what every geek is using to download porn, and Pepsi is being consumed all day, every day by everyone.

Don't make the same mistake I did and for fuck's sake, can someone tell Jon Lovitz to retire already?]]></description><author>dsusin@yahoo.com (Darren Susin)</author><pubDate>2006-05-10</pubDate></item><item><title>Brick</title><link>http://www.indieworkshop.com/film.php?id=146</link><description><![CDATA[	I don't know if you remember, but a few months back we had a nice little series of film reviews that were aimed at the magnificent genre known as noir.  The majority, if not all of great noir films came out in the 30's, 40's, and 50's with a few lesser films scattered about in the years after that.  I love noir, watching a noir movie is like reading a good book.  So when I heard about this movie Brick coming out and it setting the course for a new noir movement, I had to partake and see what this was all about.
	
Brick is set in a modern day Southern California town with its cast of characters all attending the same, lax-on-attendance high school.  The lead character, Brendan, played by Joseph Gordon Levitt, is a hard-boiled, too smart for his own good kid who gets thrown into a rat's nest of problems and puzzles after a frantic telephone conversation with his ex-girlfriend, Emily (played by the pregnant girl on Lost, well, she was pregnant last I saw DON'T TELL ME WHAT HAPPENS, I'LL FIND OUT WHEN I WATCH IT).  Alongside Brendan is his trusty confidante &quot;The Brain&quot;, as his name implies, the smart guy crunchin' numbers, findin' out facts, doin' the homework and holes in stories.  The Brain stays back and lets Brendan do the footwork and soon enough, everything.  From there, the character list trickles down the normal high school ladder, there's a steak-headed jock, the elusive beauty, the mysterious girl, the druggy, the bully, and the leader of all things illegal.  
	
Soon after the panic-riddled phone call, a truncated search for her and a tough goodbye, Brendan finds Emily dead in a reservoir tunnel and vows to find out why after hiding her body.  In his mission, Brendan runs into heaps of trouble in assorted forms.  Tug, the burly muscle man employed by The Pin, the leader/crime type, kicks the shit out of Brendan a few times and aims to intimidate him whenever he doesn't have his fist in his face.  From there, Brendan ends up working for the pin after a long and mind-bending hunt to find out who and where he is.  While on the inside, Brendan finds clues as to the cause death of Emily and inches toward who's to blame.  Soon enough the assistant-vice principal gets involved and by this point, Emily is now reported missing to the Cops: time's running out.  From there, sticky situations lead to stickier ones and time and  the only one on Brendan's side is The Brain.
	
There are enough plot twists in this film to leave your mind in a mess of knots and the quick-fire, noir slang-heavy dialogue only makes those knots worse and further matted.  At the end, everything works down right to the source just in fabulous noir fashion.  Levitt plays his character almost flawlessly and the rest of the cast does so as well.  Each character is well-written and multi-dimensional, providing even more depth to the story as each one of them is extremely important to the story and eventually, the outcome.  Considering that this is Rian Johnson's first work as a writer/director, I'd say he's on the right path to even more extraordinary work and I'm looking forward to see what he's carrying in his hat.  Best movie I've seen this year so far.]]></description><author>burlyphil@yahoo.com (Philip Del Costello)</author><pubDate>2006-04-20</pubDate></item><item><title>Guided by Voices: The Electrifying Conclusion</title><link>http://www.indieworkshop.com/film.php?id=145</link><description><![CDATA[	This is the documentation of the last ever Guided by Voices show, held on New Years Eve of 2004 at the Metro in Chicago. Over the course of four hours, Bob Pollard and crew (occasionally joined by special guests like former members Tobin Sprout, Matt Sweeney, Greg Demos, and even Bob's younger brother Jim) bust out 63 songs culled from over 20 years of albums and EPs. 

	As for the recording of the show, it is extremely sloppy. The camera work is shoddy and the sound mix leaves something to be desired. This bothered me at first, but as the show wore on, it made sense for one of the most important lo-fi bands of all time to have a completely lo-fi recording of their final show. The sloppy veneer is easy to look through and after a while you barely even notice. All you see is a band playing their last show, bringing out their friends to play songs with them, and getting completely wasted. Speaking of getting wasted, one of my favorite things about this show is that they actually have a bartender on stage just for them! Above the bar hangs a big fluorescent sign reading &quot;The Club is Open&quot; (referencing &quot;A Salty Salute&quot;). Throughout the show we watch as Bob Pollard gets completely shitfaced. It's really quite amazing that after drinking shot after shot and beer after beer through the duration of the show, he is still able to stand during the second encore. 

	Overall, the set list is pretty excellent. I would have liked to see &quot;Man Called Aerodynamics,&quot; &quot;As We Go Up, We Go Down,&quot; &quot;Hardcore UFOs,&quot; &quot;Chasing Heather Crazy,&quot; and &quot;Big Boring Wedding,&quot; and I would have died if Tobin had come out and sang &quot;Atom Eyes&quot; or &quot;To Remake the Young Flyer,&quot; but alas, you can't have it all. But you can have most of it! The only problem, at times, is weeding through the entirety of the set. They played a lot of their newer stuff, particularly from their final album &quot;Half Smiles of the Decomposed.&quot; However, although the last GBV albums are, how should I say, a little sub-par, they do a really good job of picking the best songs from them. Like &quot;Fair Touching,&quot; and &quot;Glad Girls&quot; from &quot;Isolation Drills,&quot; &quot;My Kind of Soldier,&quot; and &quot;The Best of Jill Hives&quot; from &quot;Earthquake Glue, and &quot;Everyone Thinks I'm a Raincloud (When I'm Not Looking),&quot; and &quot;Window of my World&quot; From &quot;Half Dead Smiles of the Decomposed.&quot; Since Pollard is using the lineup that he used for all of these albums, certain liberties are taken with the older songs that I'm not sure if I approve of or not. Certain guitar solos here and there that just don't belong in songs from &quot;Bee Thousand&quot; and &quot;Alien Lanes.&quot; 

	The portion of the concert before the encores gets a little droll at times, but every few songs something like &quot;Demons are Real,&quot; &quot;The Goldheart Mountaintop Queen Directory,&quot; &quot;Watch Me Jumpstart,&quot; &quot;Buzzards and Dreadful Crows,&quot; &quot;Cut-Out Witch&quot; or &quot;Bright Paper Werewolves&quot; will come on. There's also a beautiful moment where Bob Pollard calls Tobin Sprout out to the stage and they sing &quot;14 Cheerleader Coldfront.&quot; Even though there were a few songs that I wished they had played, thank God they played &quot;Tractor Rape Chain,&quot; and especially &quot;Game of Pricks.&quot; &quot;Redmen and Their Wives,&quot; a personal favorite of mine, caught me off guard because I had initially been disappointed because I thought it wasn't on the DVD (I'd overlooked it on the set list). It's really one of the highlights of the show. After a few hit or miss songs, they leave, and of course they come back to play the first encore.

	The encore is what everyone has been waiting for and it has the best songs and performances of the show. This is kind of ironic, considering that by this point, Pollard is slurring his words and I'm worried if he's going to do justice to &quot;Motor Away,&quot; &quot;I am a Scientist,&quot; &quot;Echos Myron,&quot; &quot;Queen of Cans and Jars,&quot; and &quot;My Valuable Hunting Knife.&quot; Fortunately, he does this without difficulty and they end the first encore with the fan favorite &quot;Smothered in Hugs.&quot; The band takes a bow and leaves the stage.
	
And of course they come back, Bob gets another beer, and the bass line for &quot;A Salty Salute&quot; starts up. After that the songs are mostly taken from obscure EPs. Songs like &quot;Postal Blowfish,&quot; &quot;Pendulum,&quot; &quot;Dayton, Ohio – 19 Something and 5,&quot; &quot;He's the Uncle,&quot; and &quot;Exit Flagger.&quot; This is all leading up to the electrifying conclusion, the moment you've all been waiting for. Doug Gillard starts playing the cello part of &quot;Don't Stop Now&quot; on guitar and the song starts up. Pollard is so drunk by now I'm wondering if he's going to be able to make it through the song. Once he starts singing, all of my fears are gone. It sends chills down my spine and, for a moment, I have some semblance of what it felt like to be at Guided by Voices' last show in Chicago in the early morning on the first day of 2005. ]]></description><author>ihrabe@mail.ku.edu (Ian Hrabe)</author><pubDate>2006-04-18</pubDate></item><item><title>Sugarcubes - The DVD</title><link>http://www.indieworkshop.com/film.php?id=144</link><description><![CDATA[Let me make one thing clear; this DVD does contain a very young and especially attractive Björk Guðmundsdóttir, or just Björk for the rest of us.  Furthermore, Björk does sing quite often for the majority of each song.  Sadly, beyond that there is not too much positive about this compilation.  Alright, alright, you can say it is a ‘document' of a given band at a given time.  If it were not for the Sugarcubes, we would not have Björk and if we would not have Björk we would have missed out on a spectacular, unearthly voice (and a swan dress).

Let's talk about the high points first. "Cold Sweat", "Motorcrash", and the bonus video "Hit" are top notch, given the time of production and surely the amount of budget.  They are all great songs and equally interesting videos.  Beyond that, well folks, there is not a lot going on in here but bad 80's videos and the sweet relief in knowing that Björk went solo and blew our collective minds.

I was never a very cognizant of the Sugarcubes; they were pretty early in my first forays into the world of ‘alternative' music.  I perused the occasional video on late night MTV between trying to make out breasts on the scrambled porn channel, but I cannot claim to be a fan by any standards.  After watching these videos I have come to believe that the ‘cubes other vocalist, Einar Örn Benediktsson, was the Icelandic equivalent of the B-52's, Fred Schneider.  He has the ambiguous sexuality, the annoying vocals, and that type of vocal delivery that just makes you want to slap the idiot.  Both Einar and Fred maybe very nice people, and I am genuinely a person who abhors violence, but if these two ever got in the same room I think I would have to open a vein.

At the DVD's rock bottom, we are treated to the (hopefully) rarely seen video ‘Luftgitar', which despite being completely in Icelandic, it is easy for anyone to interpret means ‘Air Guitar'.  First off, it is a song that apparently is championing the air guitarist, strike one.  Second, the air guitarist in question appears to be the Icelandic version of one of the Proclaimers, strike two.  Finally, the Sugarcubes rented a blue-screen and by good goddamn they are going to use it!!!!!  Strike three, your out, take your helmet off, and go home.

The point is, no one is asking for a high tech, big budget video.  This is the late 80's after all and it is coming from Iceland.  No one is asking for Guns and Roses ‘Estranged' type production value here.  What we are wanting is a product that you may be slightly proud of being released to the viewing public.  If you want to buy this thing, be my guest, but try to find it for free, better yet, try to find someone willing to give you a little something to take it off their hands.  Despite all that I am not saying the DVD is all bad, I mean, did I mention it had Björk in it?]]></description><author>travishutzell@mchsi.com (Travis Hutzell)</author><pubDate>2006-04-13</pubDate></item><item><title>Denali – Pinnacle - DVD</title><link>http://www.indieworkshop.com/film.php?id=143</link><description><![CDATA[I was as sad as anyone when I heard that Denali was calling it quits.  For starters, I never did get to see them play live.  I would have loved to see if they could pull off the feel and weight of the albums in a live setting.  I guess this DVD helps clear up that question for me… but at the same time, it raises some others.  

The dark, brooding ballads of Maura Davis crushed me the first time I heard them.  I was amazed that a pop song could come off as menacing as Denali's did.  And what clinched my fascination with the band was Davis' unique voice.  It has a haunting quality that adds a tremendous amount of feeling and darkness to her songs.  Both albums would become fixtures of my CD rotation for a good chunk of time.  But of course they did, there was nothing out there quite like them.

With members from another Richmond mainstay Engine Down (who… also broke up), it just seemed like a matter of time before the band would come to a halt.  After huge tours and praise from a number of outlets, the band decided to stop.  It wasn't a fight, it wasn't even for other projects.  The band just wanted to stop instead of fade out.  Commendable, sure.  But it was also pretty sad.     

So now we have Pinnacle to cap off the band's career.  While it's not the most glorious or amazing DVD I've seen, it does do a good job at getting an idea of their live show and a glimpse into the behind-the-scene's aspect of the band.  I say, "an idea" of their live show, because the 44-minute set is actually five different shows clipped together.  While the editing between songs (and the one song with a split screen of two different shows) is really good and feels like a natural flow, it still comes off as though the band can't pull it together for a whole show.  While I've always heard nothing but praise about the Denali live show, it still leaves me feeling like I'm getting cheated out of the true experience.  It's like a best of, but on DVD.

There are a handful of extras on the DVD if you are into that sort of thing.  Some 150 photos of the band is really only interesting for the first 20 or so… then… its just pictures.  But the real winner here is the home movies provided by guitarist Cam DiNunzio.  That's what I usually love about DVD's these days.  Give me behind the scenes stuff, give me the band acting like the people they are instead of the people they are on stage.  Give me video on the road, give me video of people being grumpy and playing shitty shows.  THAT'S what I want from band DVD's.  I just find that stuff way more interesting, seeing as I already own the music and know what to expect in that department.  

So maybe I was a tad let down by the live footage, but that in no way discredits this final document of such a good band.  You'll get a little sad, you'll have a laugh, you'll end up pulling out your Denali CD's and giving them another spin.  What else can you ask for?]]></description><author>jake@indieworkshop.com (Jake Haselman)</author><pubDate>2006-04-11</pubDate></item><item><title>The Mae Shi – Lock The Skull, Load The Gun - DVD</title><link>http://www.indieworkshop.com/film.php?id=142</link><description><![CDATA[I like the guys that make up The Mae Shi.  I've never met them in person, and actually I've never seen them live.  But I like them.  I like them because of their DIY attitude towards their brand of punk meets pop meets damaged rock and roll.  It goes beyond the typical "recording music themselves", these guys seem to live the DIY lifestyle. 

Lock The Skull, Load The Gun is the first DVD offered up from the frantic LA foursome (now five-some).  Despite being released in 2006, the majority of the contents deal with the bands debut album and 2004 tour of the US.  First on the DVD are 32 videos by the band and their friends.  While most of the songs are represented multiple times, it's surprising how engaging it is as a complete watch.  Personal highlights include the always classic, but never tired face-drawn-on-chin-hanging-upside-down-off-the-couch-people and the werewolf boy getting burned at the stake.  Even with the repeated songs (albeit in slightly different edits and mixes) you are still fixated on the TV, waiting to see what new demented vision the boys and their friends come up with next.

And while the videos are all well and good, the main attraction has got to be the hour-long tour documentary The Celebration Tour.  If you've ever been under the misconception that touring on your first album (even if it's been released by a label like Kill Rock Stars) would be glamorous and a non-stop party, you're in for a harsh realization.  

After their farewell show, things looked pretty bleak for the first week or so.  Playing at one point for 6 paying patrons in a basement bathroom, The Mae Shi seemed to take it all in stride.  Whether that's due to editing or just an overall good-natured attitude shared by the band, I'm not sure.  But it does make for some compelling viewing.  

The tour seems to make a turn for the better once the band makes it to New York City.  The turn outs seemed better (well, expect for that part time bar, part time strip club show… oh, and the failed Sonic Youth after party show), the band was apparently able to get some sleep.  Either way, by the end of the trip you feel their exhaustion.  You actually crave some closing shot of each member stumbling into their own bed.  You plead to see them curl up after a fresh shower and pass out in the comfort of their own house. You want to know that everything turned out all right.  But instead, you are ushered out the same way the band brought you in… rocking out for a bunch of kids and having a blast doing it.

While it's not the best tour doc I've ever seen, I was more than entertained while watching it.  I prefer a bit more from the band instead of live footage with these things.  But all things considered, I'd have no problem telling any fan of these guys to get a copy of Lock The Skull, Load The Gun in their hot little hands as soon as they can.    ]]></description><author>jake@indieworkshop.com (Jake Haselman)</author><pubDate>2006-03-28</pubDate></item><item><title>Stoned</title><link>http://www.indieworkshop.com/film.php?id=141</link><description><![CDATA[The poster for Stoned is a perfect representation of what to expect from the film. It features blonde, flamboyant Brian Jones in the foreground clad in a flashy silk shirt and big jewelry. There is a naked woman perched on his shoulders, the other members of The Rolling Stones trailing behind him in order of prestige. 

The film's tagline reads "Before Jimi and Janis there was Brian". Which isn't entirely true. Jones was friends with Hendrix and was known to have been enamored with West Coast psychedelia, the scene from which Joplin rose. Coincidently, all are members of the infamous "27 Club", the name given to the several famous musicians who all died at age 27. Interestingly, so was "the greatest blues singer of all time", Robert Johnson, who, as a major influence on Jones, has music featured prominently throughout the film. The deaths of Jones, Hendrix, and Joplin have come to symbolize the "death of the hippie dream" along with events such as the Manson Family murders. 

The filmmaker and screenwriters have used this symbolism as a basis for the movie. Director Stephen Wooley spent ten years researching Jones' death and the circumstances surrounding the event. He has said, "It's Brian's hedonistic world that leads him to this awful, dreadful ending. The Sixties were about naivety, optimism and youth that's slowly ground down by the establishment and finally becomes self-destructive."

Jones, portrayed in the film by London actor Leo Gregory, was a founding member of The Rolling Stones in 1962. Stoned chronicles his final days spent at his home, Cotchford Farm, also the former home of Winnie Pooh author A.A. Milne. You can even catch Jones referring to the property as "Pooh Corner" in the movie. Jones has isolated himself in his home with his then girlfriend, Anita Wohlin pining for his ex-girlfriend actress Anita Pallenberg (Monet Mazur) who, by that time, had left him for Keith Richards. 

Jones is presented as a beautiful, mysterious character that is often dressed in flowing, glamorous women's clothing.  Draped in silks and bold colors, drink in hand, he is a kind of androgynous figure, ambiguous and distant, paranoid and tempestuous. He is self-indulgent and prone to violent outbursts. It gives you an unsettling impression of Jones' lovelife and his obsession with Pallenberg (Monet Mazur). Even more unsettling is the portrayal of his paranoia, difficult personality and addictions that lead to his ultimate demise. 

The basic storyline involves Jones' hiring of Frank Thorogood (Paddy Consadine) to act as a handy man around the property along with his crew. Thorogood also happened to have been the best friend of Tom Keylock, the road manager who was a major player in the Stones "organization". Thorogood quickly becomes a central figure in the film alongside Jones. Their relationship becomes, as scriptwriter Robert Wade describes it, symbolic of the "clash between two archetypes", the rebel and the conformist. 

His death has been shrouded in mystery and Wooley has arrived with Stoned to help clear things up. Based on the murder theory, the filmmakers admit to having taken a bit of poetic license in terms of the time frame but extensive research was done to come up with the most likely scenario. To ensure authenticity Tom Keylock and the author of the 1994 book Who Killed Christopher Robin? The Truth Behind The Murder of Brian Jones", Terry Rawlings, were brought in as consultants. 

Much of the film is swallowed up in a psychedelic haze, flashing in and out of time warps and swirling colors. It intentionally has an overall feeling of paranoia. As would be expected, there's a lot of drugs and sex. And, as we all know, in movies where there's lots of drugs, sex, and swirling colors you also have lots of music and Stoned is, of course, no exception. Johnson's songs (and others) are used to connect the themes and tell the story.

Despite the psychedelics, Stoned remains a relatively dark film as it slowly builds momentum and tension as it nears its climax. With somewhat "un-famous" actors, the story and the mystery remains central doing justice to Jones' memory. Fans of early Stones and Brian Jones will be relieved that this is about clearing things up not about glamorizing or sensationalizing a crime. Although it is made obvious that Jones himself was indeed a glamorous and sensational figure. 

Brian Jones died July 2, 1969, the year before both Joplin and Hendrix, 31 years after the mysterious death of his idol, Robert Johnson. If you don't know the events leading up to that day, Stoned will both enlighten and surprise you. ]]></description><author>steph@indieworkshop.com (Stephanie Haselman)</author><pubDate>2006-03-23</pubDate></item><item><title>Be Here To Love Me - DVD</title><link>http://www.indieworkshop.com/film.php?id=140</link><description><![CDATA["There is heaven, purgatory, hell and the blues.  I am trying to crawl up from the blues."
- Townes Van Zandt

The "cult" artist may have one of the hardest roads to walk.  He or she knows that what they are doing is critical, and that they have made a connection with an audience like few others.  However, being a "cult" artist means never being quite able to get over the fence. Artists like these can see the comfort that their friends and maybe their apprentices have achieved, but they know they will rarely reap the tangible rewards.  They have to suffer the knowledge that either the world is not ready or that the message is just simply not what it wants to hear at the time.  Townes Van Zandt was branded with this "cult" moniker. He was also given the title of "the songwriters, songwriter", another appellation given to a genius who could never seem to reach total mainstream celebrity.  He would earn such titles as the Van Gogh of lyrics, to which Townes would joke that it was because "he had no ear".

If there is any small justice in the world, Margaret Brown's new documentary will enlighten a handful of new listeners to the difference between the cult icon and the artist, himself.  It is not a pretty story; it is full of sad accounts and heartrending anecdotes.  Behind the darkness, though, something shines, and that is the art. The product that Van Zandt created in the 52 years he walked this earth (perhaps much longer than Townes himself ever believed he would be around) is the light that illuminates and leaves the darkness far behind.

One of the first interviewee's on screen, and world class Texan songwriter in his own right, Guy Clark, was seriously inebriated during his portion of the interview.  How could he not be?  This is a documentary about Townes. He detailed stories of how Townes and his meeting, Townes unique talent for songwriting and his playful jealousy of Townes and Guy's wife, Susanna. In some ways Townes was closer to his wife Susanna than even Guy was.  There was a good natured knowledge that he knew at every moment he had to "watch his old lady".  Guy was convinced he was safe just because his wife had "better taste in men."

As the film progresses we witness a pivotal moment in Townes life.  Apparently, he felt the need to experience what a fall from a four story building would actually feel like, and took the plunge leaning backwards.  After surviving this, he was committed to a Texas State mental hospital and subjected to shock therapy, subsequently losing most of his childhood memories.  Van Zandt was never the same from that point.  His mother would reflect, later on, her only regret was allowing Townes that kind of treatment.

After his first marriage and his beginnings as a dive club folk singer, things became more and more unstable. As Kris Kristofferson said, "Being a songwriter you couldn't stay home." Quickly, Townes' days became the highway kind.  He became an iterant folk singer, recording an album in New York with Kevin Eggers (a man of dubious repute according to Townes last wife, Jeanene).  It was songwriting and hard drinking.  It was art and drugs.  He was a father, but he could not quite be called traditional parent. In several touching segments, J. T. Van Zandt, Townes' son to his first wife, reflects on his time with his father. He sounds conflicted by his father's passion and his father's indulgence in his addictive personality.

By the late 70's a downward spiral had begun. In one scene of the film we see a rundown trailer park where Townes and his cronies lived. While one man shot a pellet gun over his head at an unknown target, Townes detailed how he had fallen asleep sniffing airplane glue and had glued his teeth shut.  It took a ball peen hammer to unhinge his mouth.

As the timeline in the film progresses, things just seemed to move even further downwards for Van Zandt. Steve Earle talked about a period in time where he came across Townes in the woods hunting, and Townes stood talking and loading a handgun with one bullet, spinning the cylinder, and taking it to Van Zandt's own head.  Three times Townes aimed the gun and pulled the trigger, escaping each time.  These were the times when Townes did not have record deal and nothing to record for.  It is these types of anecdotes that can be downright chilling.
 
Despite the darkness there still were moments of comedy.  In a radio interview, Van Zandt described a new song he was writing:

Van Zandt: I am gonna write a song about birds and it starts with bluebird, another bird, another bird, verse, bridge etc.

Interviewer: Well what's it gonna be about?

Van Zandt: Birds.

Several of the interviewees make note that Townes had this uncanny sense of humor, that he was not completely a depressed lunatic (although that part may have been there too).  He would sing the darkest songs, but begin with some old chestnut of a joke that was so bad you could not help to laugh.  One of the things this documentary does well is detail how very complicated the Van Zandt character is.

It would be remiss in this documentary not to speak of Van Zandt and mention his classic song "Pancho and Lefty".  Kinky Friedman, candidate for Texas governor at the time of this writing, mused that if he wrote a song like that and had the hit it did; he would call it a day and retire.  For Townes, it was just another song. Term papers have been written about Pancho and Lefty. Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard found it and made it a number one hit on the country charts, and before that Emmylou Harris recorded  "If I needed You" with the legendary Doc Watson and scored a hit as well.

Despite a period of obscurity (more so than usual), Townes began to return. It is a genius that writes a song like "Marie" that made its first recorded appearance in the 90's, but was written in one morning and played live the same night word for word. "Marie" is a song that makes you slightly nauseous, about a homeless man falling in love only to have his bride become pregnant and dies before the child is born.  There is a difference between a sad song and a downright helpless song.  There is the blues, and then there is something a bit lower.
 
Towards the final days of Van Zandt's life, as the film details, Steve Shelley (Sonic Youth) attempted to produce one a Townes album and Townes showed up in a wheel chair. Unbeknownst to Townes he had broken his hip in a fall.  Instead of seeking medical help, he just got around in a wheelchair for EIGHT DAYS.  With tape rolling Townes ask for another shot of something and in "none of those little cups".  Days later he was checked into the hospital and operated on for his hip. Townes was going into the DT's as he checked himself out of the hospital after his surgery.  Shortly thereafter his time had ran out. Townes Van Zandt died of heart failure on New Year's Day 1997.  He was 52 years old.

There is a lot of dark water in Be Here To Love Me; there is a lot that would make even a passerby a bit choked up.  It is not fair to say that this documentary is one sided, however.  Some times those at the bottom evoke anger at the sloth and the waste of potential. Townes was a bottom dweller who magically lived well beyond his potential.  He surpassed the physical bottom and ascended to the spiritual peak of his art.  The body, the physical shell, makes you pity him, it makes you angry, but the art makes Townes a man of esteem, and in some very specific ways a man to that needs to be emulated.  Just be goddamn careful, and it is probably safer not to try.  Any musician, any songwriter, can look at Townes as a gold standard. If you don't think you can put all of yourself into the perfection of your art then, like the man said, "Roll down your sleeves pick up your money, and carry yourself home."
]]></description><author>travishutzell@mchsi.com (Travis Hutzell)</author><pubDate>2006-03-21</pubDate></item><item><title>The Velvet Underground - Velvet Redux MCMXCIII</title><link>http://www.indieworkshop.com/film.php?id=139</link><description><![CDATA[	Despite my initial concern at a low key take on Venus in Furs, by the time I heard John Cale begin the backing vocals on White Light/White Heat, any hesitation was officially removed.  Beyond a small smile from Moe Tucker, no one looked especially happy to be here.  But it's the Velvets, after all, you're here for them and they don't have to be there for you.

	Seminal bands had reunited before and suffered from critics claiming it was all about the paycheck, but the Velvets were the first band that made it cool to get back together.  I mean if they can do it, why can't everyone else?

	Seeing Cale and Reed perform what seemed like an endless version of "Femme Fatale" (one of the last songs I thought the Velvets would jam too) was pretty amazing. Cale's viola ominously droned and scratched while Reed, with brooding face and workmanlike composure endlessly jammed in unison. This combination recording of their three night stand at the Olympia in Paris proved to be a true gift to the fans that have waited so long for a brief glimpse of what was one of the most influential bands of the late sixties.

	When Reed ended the band after the 1970's album Loaded, it seemed that the Velvets had issued their swan song.  With Cale having departed after White Light/White Heat, and a surprising stripped down self titled album to follow, it seemed that Loaded was to be the last ditch effort to break into the mainstream of rock'n'roll.  Reed referred to the album as "loaded with hits", and with songs like "Rock'n'Roll" and "Sweet Jane", the farewell album seemed to live up to its name.  Except for a rare live show in Paris with Nico, Cale, and Reed in the early 70's at Bataclan (which still can be found with a little searching) it was thought that the era of the Underground was finished.  Only Reed and later Cale went onto interesting and at times wonderful solo careers.

	But in 1993, at the behest of Reed's one time wife Sylvia, it seemed that the story was not quite finished.  Beginning with a series of opening performances for U2 as a warm up, the Velvets were ready to officially claim a comeback.  This DVD captures the highlight of that comeback. Playing standards, such as "Waiting For The Man", and "Heroin", the band did not stray away from more obscure songs like "Hey Mr. Rain", and the rare vocal appearance of Moe Tucker singing "I'm Sticking With You".  The show was not a cavalcade or tunes to please the casual fan, and in fact, I would argue that there is no such thing as a casual Velvets fan.  A casual fan would enjoy a fresh take of "Pale Blue Eyes", but the die-hards would swoon at the show ending "Coyote".

	If you can rule out the semi-grainy film work and the depressing lack of extras this DVD brings, this DVD is more than essential as a testament to one of the greatest bands in rock history, a band who was one of the first to deal with real issues of drug use and life on the street.  They may be older, but with age comes perspective and a different view of the rebellious subject matter that was dealt with in the turbulent days of the sixties and seventies.  Not long after this recording, an American tour was scrapped for who knows what reason.  Sterling Morrison succumbed to cancer and each member went their separate ways.  Despite all this, Velvet Redux MCMXCII concert managed to capture what will be most likely the last complete vision of a band that may have never been heard at their prime, but spawned a million other bands in its wake.]]></description><author>travishutzell@mchsi.com (Travis Hutzell)</author><pubDate>2006-03-07</pubDate></item><item><title>Bill Hicks - Sane Man - DVD</title><link>http://www.indieworkshop.com/film.php?id=138</link><description><![CDATA[I've sat in front of my television, watching Bill Hicks' "Sane Man" six times. I've watched all the extras several times over. I've been on the internet, reading about Bill Hicks, reading his life story, his optimism, his pessimism, his social criticism, his love and hate for humanity, his spirituality, his wildlife foundation, and his loyal fan base reaching from American rock bands to the British Parliament. And I'm now sitting at my computer, completely and utterly speechless. I've got nothing. I've written countless paragraphs, then deleted them. I've trashed nearly complete drafts because they seem to just miss the point. And if there's one thing you must be ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN not to miss about Bill Hicks, it's the point.

I'm trying, perhaps in vain, to somehow transfer Hicks' timeless observations about humanity and life into this review; not doing so being a serious injustice. But the thing is, sometimes there's a level of human genius that has no appropriate lexicon with which to form a proper description. I just can't do it, and he knows it. In fact, he's looking directly at me right now, from the DVD menu on the other side of my living room, waiting for me to write some bullshit boilerplate DVD review -- smirking.

"Sane Man" marks Bill Hicks' first video performance, recorded in 1989, and pre-dating his seminal audio recording, "Dangerous." For those unfamiliar with Hicks' later work, "Sane Man" is perhaps an appropriate primer. The material is tame by comparison, which  means very little when confronted with images of prepubescent Debbie Gibson and Tiffany sixty-nining, or Dick Clark as a Satanic wolverine, sodomizing actor and fellow television host John Davidson. Details aside, its Hicks' POINT that rings true, more than a decade and a half later: Do not accept mediocrity, don't become a "happy consumer," don't live in a mall.

Bill Hicks' satire and social criticism extend to a broad range of topics. Central themes include chemical use, music, politics, consumerism, capitalism, sex, and even life itself. Using anecdotal stories of his past experience, Hicks will make a point of staggering clarity on any of his central themes, making you simultaneously laugh hysterically, and think critically. He has an innate way of identifying characteristics about ourselves, things far less mundane then, say, Seinfeld-esque observational humor. Instead, he riffs on more serious, heavy-hitting ideas, aimed more toward the horizon of human existence than at airplane peanuts, wine lists and dogs.

"Wouldn't it be great to hear a POSITIVE drug story on the news? 'Today, a young man on acid realized that all matter is merely energy condensed to a slower vibration, that we are all one consciousness going through itself subjectively. There is no such thing as death, life is only a dream and we're the imagination of ourselves ... here's Tom with the weather."

Bill Hicks oscillates between affection and distaste for "society/humanity." This duality gives the humor a brilliant characteristic; at times very touching and beautiful, and others dark, deadly, and brash. He tends to use extremes to make his point, testing the audience's limits of taste and tolerance. During breaks in his rant, I could see members of the audience with a look of confusion on their faces, not sure whether to laugh. That seemed to make the jokes funnier. But in defense of the audience, some of the jokes were so poignant that I was too floored to laugh. Throughout the performance, I couldn't help but wonder what was roiling around in his head, what chaos must've been unfolding in there, the great heaps of intelligence screaming to get out. Thankfully, a lot of it managed to escaped out of his mouth.

Hicks was a teacher, a mentor of human life, or at least I think he might have felt that way, perhaps doing his routine as a public service to deliver us from rampant stupidity. But in 1994, he died of pancreatic cancer, just when we needed him the most. I can only imagine what he might have to say about the state of the world in the late 90s into 2000, about the terrorism, the wars, and the figurehead political figures who can't seem to sort it all out.

Well, I barreled through this review. I still feel like this article doesn't do the man justice. But read whatever review you want, the simple fact remains: YOU WILL BENEFIT IN SOME WAY BY VIEWING THIS, OR ANY OTHER, BILL HICKS PERFORMANCE. There. I said it. Now, I mean it. Go. Rent it. Buy it. Whatever. If you're too cheap to get your own copy, then at least go to this site. I resisted the temptation to simply cut-and-paste the whole goddamn page into this review.]]></description><author>jessepelkey@gmail.com (Jesse Pelkey)</author><pubDate>2006-03-02</pubDate></item></channel>
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