Short Reviews #7
It’s back due to popular demand (actually I brought it back because I wanted to) so here’s some short reviews on films I’ve seen lately that may or may not need some discussion.
Grizzly Man (2005)
Werner Herzog’s amazing documentary on the life of grizzly bear activist Timothy Treadwell who was killed (and his girlfriend) by a grizzly in October 2003 while living in the Alaskan wilderness. Nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance 2005, this film is a mesmerizing exploration of one very tortured individual who found peace living with grizzly bears for 13 years. Herzog had over 100 hours of Treadwell’s footage and some of it is truly amazing (such as the huge bear fight) but the extended focus on how Treadwell and his girlfriend died hampered this film becoming a masterpiece. What was most fascinating was Treadwell himself, what was going through his head at various times in isolation and those rare moments of wonder and awe with the animals. One of the best films of 2005.
Sid & Nancy (1986)
Hardcore and fucking depressing look at Sex Pistols bassist Sid Vicious and his girlfriend Nancy Spungen (although I wasn’t expecting roses either). Oldman and Webb are absolutely brilliant in their roles but unfortunately the film isn’t much more than seeing two people take a lot of heroin and eventually hit rock bottom. The live gigs are well staged though and it gets the 80’s London punk scene feeling right. A cult classic definitely. Surprise, surprise to see Courteney Love playing one of the Nancy’s friends, obviously trying to convince us that she was part of the 80’s punk scene. Fuck that shit.
Land of the Dead (Uncut) (2005)
Romero is at home here, doing what he does best although perhaps not as strong as Night of the Living Dead or Dawn of the Dead. Strictly b-grade story, characters and plot but the zombies are awesome and I loved how they’ve now started to evolve and learn things. Nice creepy blue-lit cinematography but like most horror films of late, the ending fell flat. Worthy sequel though and well worth a look if you dig Romero’s earlier films.
Firefly (TV Series, 2002)
I finally get into it and then it got canceled. Fuckers. Admittedly, it took me a while to get into this series but I ended up really loving it. Why? Because Joss is da man. He makes ensemble casts like no other and dialogue so witty that you can’t help but be sucked in. There is the occasional average episode but there are plenty of great ones. Next step is to catch Serenity. Is it on DVD already though?
Pimp My Ride (TV Series, 2004)
How addictive is this show? I don’t get the fascination with cars but this show just goes way over the top with customisation. I mean putting a pool table in the back of a pick-up truck while engineering a retractable rear window so you can take shots from all angles is genius. Hosted by rap star Xzibit who loves to drop in the sexual innuendo every now and again (which gets pretty tired) but the stars are the team from West Coast Customs. They always do an amazing job but you’ve gotta wonder how the car owners can afford to run their cars once they’ve been customised. An entertaining 20 mins while eating breakfast, lunch or dinner.
