Review of Metallica: Some Kind of Monster (2004) by Blind P — 27 Jul 2010

Wickedly delicious performances abound in a show stolen by Bettie Davis.

I'd say more, but Heavy Sedsey is making us go off to some cabin party, where he will surely get us wasted.

...and these many days later, life has been too busy to add much more.

Another film hits the list, and the backlog grows. I must be off for my daily libation. Curse that Heavy Sedsey and his fucking addictions!

Let's make it four, and a few books...it is getting to be a greater backlog than the number of entries in this journal.

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Here goes:

[b]All About Eve[/b], again, is highlighted by Bettie Davis, but there are several other top quality performances that really make the difference in what could have been an overly simplistic soap opera.

Anne Baxter, as Eve, shows great range. Just when you think she will give you a sugar overdose, the doubts start to creep in. By the ending, she is exposed for her truth, and while I will not say what that truth is, it is a marked change in personality.

George Sanders, as our narrator and theatre critic Addison DeWitt, comes very close to topping Davis as the star of this show. His arch wit and self-admitted heartless demeanor provide several high quality remarks that fans of dialogue will enjoy. His speech to Eve near the end of the picture is, to use a beaten down word, awesome.

Celeste Holm, Gary Merrill, Hugh Marlowe, Barbara Bates...all are integral to pulling it off.

I have to return it to a friend soon, but I think I just may have another look.

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[b]On the Waterfront[/b], amusing to be seen in youth for one who will forever have Brando associated with the Godfather, appeals more to my sense of humour than anything.

I delight in the old idiomatics popularized in gangster films on the 30s and 40s, and they are here in force.

Famous for the "I could have been a contender" line, it is an entertaining look today at what was an important risk back then to expose corruption in labour unions.

The love story angle, as is typical with me, detracts a bit, even though I see the necessity of it here to force Brando's moral dilema to a life changing choice.

Karl Malden provides some good moments as the tough preacher.

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Love them or hate them, or be completely indifferent, this propaganda film manufactured by Metallica is obviously intended to turn around their public relations disasters of recent years by showing the viewer their raw humanity.

In that, it does succeed in placing "real" faces on people that have come to symbolize greed and whining.

Fans of any music scene will find points of interest as they prepare for their unfortunately titled "St. Anger" album, without a singer or a bass player.

The rehab stuff with Hetfield can wear ya out, as it does the rest of the group.

Lars is trying hard to be likeable, but it is his dad who steals the title of "most interesting character". When they play him some sample tracks, his disapproval and the way it is expressed is hilarious.

Anybody curious about Dave Mustaine will see that he is not happy with his Megadeth road, though I personally don't see how he could consider that he "fucked up", as he says. Yeah, Metallica makes more bucks, but didn't you get to do the tunes you desired to, Dave?

The bass tryouts are interesting to any fan of heavy music, as guys we all know try their hand. I was a bit surprised to see Pepper from CoC there, but I guess when one considers the $$$, it makes sense. (I don't follow music rumours at all, so I had no idea what millions likely knew at the time).

Trujillo takes the spot, and a million dollar signing bonus, with greater technical skill than the others can muster. No shock here either, as he has stood out in every band he was a previous member of. A likeable character as well, it seems from the little we see of it.

I had a bit of a quibble with the emphasis on how many albums are sold, and how much money is made. More proof that Metallica is stinking rich for life, and their file sharing bitching is completely off base.

In total it is a good look at the music industry, even as a propaganda piece.

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Good performance by Ed Norton in [b]American History X[/b], but I am personally getting a bit tired of the whole "those bastard racists" plots.

Here, we feature a predictable turn around after a prison stint by our lead, with circumctances that are just too pat to be plausible.

The whole "laundry room friendship" angle is ridiculous, and unbelievable.

There is one scene of curb stomping that relies almost completely on audio effect to make one wince.

Not a bad film, but nothing I see as revolutionary. I do commend them for painting human pictures of the racist family, rather than dipping solely into the usual vat of cookie-cutter racists that populate similar works. (Though they do exist here in enough numbers to be a detraction).

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Book time:

[b]Anthem, by Ayn Rand[/b]: An argument for the ego and "I" over the needs of "We", this story is entertaining. I was a bit surprised by how our female author wrote female characters, seeming to border on disdain at all times.

I don't remember off the top of my head the definitions of "novella" and such (based on word counts), but it is a short one. I wouldn't be surprised if it classified as a short story.

[b]Life of Pi, by Yann Martel[/b]: Very entertaining novel detailing the survival experiences of an Indian lad and his menagerie, trapped together in a lifeboat adrift on the boundless Atlantic Ocean.

Antropomorphism, zoology, religious freedom, faith, and of course, survival techniques, are examined in a narrative style that prompts page turning.

Even a devout anti-religious type like myself found the expressions of such sentiment tolerable, framed as logical arguments in contrast to the usual thunder and brimstone crap that we are deluged with.

[b]Journey Into Darkness, by Borges[/b]: Poetry? Yuk.

I don't dig poetry. Even when I write verse myself, I don't dig it.

So, the book had little to engage me. Is Dreamtigers in the same format? If so, I'm not into it.

[b]We, by Zamyatin[/b]: Almost finished. Yet another dystopian novel in the vein of 1984 and Brave New World (which I seem to enjoy greatly), this takes a look at a Totalitarian society based on the author's views of Russian history in the Stalin era.

I'm a little disappointed in what is seeming to be a "love is the answer" theme, but overall I'd say it is worth a look.

[b]Infinite Jest, by David Foster Wallace[/b]: It's waiting for me to pick up from the Library.

yay! Caught up!

To close, I have to give a kick to the sports broadcasters who actually claimed the New Orleans victory over those stupid fucks from Carolina (can ya tell they knocked me out in week one of my elimination pool...$10 in, $15G for the winner) was "a triumph of the human spirit.".

I love sports. I do like football, but hockey is my real thing. To compare, there is no way I would ever be able to contrast even a Stanley Cup victory with the trials people go through in wake of environmental disasters.

So, even though I cringe at my politically correct statement here, they are laying it on way too thick.