Rock School

Net Flix: At Paul Green's Philadelphia music school for kids, the "three R's" are rhythm, rock and roll, as the energetic ex-rocker teaches kids the essentials of playing, singing and performing rock music. This documentary captures him working with his students, including a talented 12-year-old guitarist who just might be Hendrix's reincarnation. During the film, Green's top band is invited to perform at Zappanale, Germany's annual Zappa cover-band fest.

My Take: A great documentary, in many respects. After viewing this film, I declared "Every parent in the US should be required to watch this movie." Clearly, we as a product of being raised by our parents, are certainly subjected to their influence. In some cases that can be good, in other cases less positive. Why are these kids capable? Some have talent, some work hard, but most importantly in many cases, they've not been told "they can't" or "if it gets too hard, you can quit." Check out this flick and I suspect, you'll find, the evidence speaks for itself.

Long Way Round

A sort of The Motorcycle Diaries for the Hollywood set, this documentary miniseries chronicles the cross-continental adventures of actors Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman as they set out on their BMW bikes to travel round the world. Embarking from London and arriving 115 exhausting days later in New York, the duo tackles 20,000 miles of tough terrain, explores offbeat destinations and takes in colorful local culture.

I found this to be one of the most facinating docu-dramas I've ever seen. I think this is for several reasons.
1. We've seen and know Ewan McGregor. His "familiarity" helps us as an audience. Plus, he's Obe-Won for fuck's sake.
2. They took a long time to tell the story. I think this is what, we miss with many many movies today. How can you really tell a story, develop a story, build a story with 80-90 minutes of film time?
3. We all subscribe to the great "adventure." All are snowflakes and really reflective of personality but we all want to discover more about our lives, our friends, our selves.

Highest rating on this one......

Fido

Fido is a typical movie about the boy next door and his pet -- except in this case the loyal "pet" is a lumbering zombie named Fido (Billy Connolly). Problems arise when he breaks loose and noshes on the next-door neighbor, forcing owner Timmy Robinson (K'Sun Ray) into damage-control mode while he tries to persuade his parents (Carrie-Anne Moss and Dylan Baker) to keep Fido in director Andrew Currie's imaginative horror-comedy.

This movie was quite a weird little crack and everything we view in society. Do yourself a favor and rent it. It will twist your mind a little.

The Yes Men

Net Flix: This humorous documentary monitors the exploits of a group of jokester liberals who make names for themselves as they mimic members of the World Trade Organization at various venues across the globe. The absurd facade gets started when two members of The Yes Men create a web site that looks quite similar to the WTO site, resulting in the group being invited to high-level meetings and being mistaken for WTO officials.

This was a documentary CLASSIC. This just shows us that there are a percentage of the population, a very small percentage, who live off the true cream of the crop and as a result have no understanding of daily life. This was cleary evident by audience responses. My highest rating.

Gummo

Description: Xenia, Ohio, is still reeling from a devastating tornado that ripped through the region 20 years ago, and the town's teens are having a difficult time adjusting. Solomon (Jacob Reynolds) and Tummler (Nick Sutton) kill cats, huff glue and generally wreak havoc, while Siren Dot (Chloe Sevigny) puts tape on her nipples and Bunny Boy (Jacob Sewell) skates around wearing bunny ears.

My Promulgation: OK, so this is a slice of white trash Americana that no one would want to see, much less make a movie upon. Shot in Nashville, this director claims to have taken 30-45 minutes to find these actors and it clearly shows. No plot, no narrative, no story line, no good. If you enjoy bizarre movies that have little to no social redeeming value, this is perfect. If you want your own excuse to start your directorial debut, you have this as your guiding light. Hell, anybody could make this piece of shit. Unfortnately it wasn't me and for that and only that, it gets one star.

I first reviewed this movie January 26 in '05. Two years later, we STILL talk about it. I gotta admit, Gummo hasn't left my mind. I've seen countless movies on TV, DVD and big screen. There are three that I can not get out of my head.

1. Crumb
2. Pink Flamingos
3. Gummo

Therefore I'm upgrading this movie to 5 stars.

Six Feet Under

I'm back. OK, so I've not reviewed and DVD movies in a LONG time....Well first we had to catch up on the Sopranos, then we got hooked on Six Feet Under, then I left the country to go climb for 2 months, then then then.....So here is my SixFeet Under review.

Description:
This darkly comical HBO television series follows the members of a dynamic but dysfunctional Los Angeles-based family that operates a funeral home. It has an ironically grim but intriguing premise: Each episode is based on the death and extenuating circumstances of the family's current client. Captivating, original and utterly engaging, this Emmy Award-winning series is the brainchild of American Beauty screenwriter Alan Ball.

The second season of this darkly comical HBO TV series delves into the lives of the Fishers, a dysfunctional Los Angeles family that operates a funeral home. Each episode surrounds the details of the family's current client, and the Emmy-winning show's larger story arcs explore siblings Nate (Peter Krause), David (Michael C. Hall) and Claire (Lauren Ambrose), Nate's girlfriend (Rachel Griffiths) and the passive-aggressive mother (Frances Conroy).

The Fisher family is back for more darkly funny drama in this season of HBO's hit series. This time around, Nate (Peter Krause) has to cope with marriage and fatherhood, Ruth (Frances Conroy) gets caught up in her flighty sister's life, Claire (Lauren Ambrose) has her usual romantic misadventures, and David (Michael C. Hall) works on his relationship with Keith (Matthew St. Patrick). Lili Taylor, Kathy Bates and Patricia Clarkson guest star.

This season of HBO's hit dramedy series finds the Fisher clan dealing with the usual complement of angst and then some. Ruth's (Frances Conroy) impulsive decision at the end of Season 3 leads to problems; Nate (Peter Krause) is wracked with grief and guilt after a tragedy; Claire (Lauren Ambrose) finds romance in an unexpected place; and David (Michael C. Hall) endures a terrifying experience that threatens to undo him.

The fifth season of HBO's emotional dramedy finds the Fishers and their friends and loved ones in the show's typical state of angsty turmoil. Will Nate (Peter Krause) finally be able to make a relationship work? What is George (James Cromwell) hiding from Ruth (Frances Conroy)? Can David (Michael C. Hall) and Keith (Matthew St. Patrick) stay together? And is Claire (Lauren Ambrose) ready for life as an artist? Stay tuned....

My Promulgation: Best drama series I've ever seen. Period. As good as my other favorites, Sopranos, and Deadwood. I often wonder how HBO can produce such amazing TV? More pay? More prestige? Better actors? I mean, shit the networks would LOVE to be able to produce something like this half as edgey, half as insightful and half as good.

The Motorcycle Diaries

Description: This film tells the incredible true story of a 23-year-old medical student from Argentina, Che Guevara (yes, that Che, played here by Gael Garcia Bernal), who motorcycled across South America with his friend Alberto Granado (Rodrigo de la Serna) in 1951-52. The trek became a personal odyssey that ultimately crystallized the young man's budding revolutionary beliefs. Based on Che's own diaries of the trip.

My Promulgation: This is one of a few movies I've reviewed that receives an unprecedented 5 of 5 stars. Why? Because I liked it, you dumbass. Why did I like it? Ahhh, that is a different question, taking pages to answer. I will give you a quick summary.

1. I love Argentina and Chile, and for that matter South America.
2. I love third world countries.
3. I love stories of adventure and travel.
4. I love foreign films.
5. I love stories that tell of life altering and defining events.

Rent it, you won't be disappointed.

Team America: World Police

Trey Parker and Matt Stone apply their acerbic wit to global crime-fighting in this satire starring an all-marionette cast. Team America is a police force that takes on the challenging role of keeping the peace in a troubled planet. Wherever there appears to be a dictator itching to rule the world, the heroes fly in to dismantle the government. The team's newest recruit is Gary Johnston, a Broadway star who just may have found his true calling.

My Promulgation: This is the best potty humor movie I've seen. It was fantastic. If you are a South Park fan, you will love this movie. Watch the extended cuts on the DVD. Amazing what they did with the puppetry….Not like with their pensises, but still very interesting and funny all the same. If you are easily offended, then GFY.

Bob Marley: The Legend Live

Recorded in California at the Santa Barbara County Bowl, this live concert appearance from Bob Marley and the Wailers was filmed on November 25, 1979. One of the last shows to be recorded before Marley's untimely demise, the gig is a scintillating mix of reggae classics and provides a fitting epitaph to the influential musician. Tracks include "I Shot the Sheriff," "Exodus," "Is This Love" and many more.

Bob.

Bubba Ho Tep

Description: Elvis Presley (Bruce Campbell) is an elderly resident in an East Texas rest home; seems he switched identities with an impersonator years before his "death" and then missed his chance to switch back. The King teams up with Jack (Ossie Davis), a fellow nursing home resident who thinks he's John F. Kennedy, and the two old codgers prepare to battle an evil Egyptian entity that's chosen their long-term care facility as its happy hunting grounds.

My Promulgation: Said in my best San Dimas High venacular, this was a most excellent movie. I dug the simplicity, the freaky, funky storyline and the fact that these two boys did some good whoop ass on an evil spooky creature.

Super Size Me

Description: Two out of three Americans are overweight or obese, but where does personal responsibility end and corporate responsibility take over? On the heels of recent lawsuits against McDonald's, director Morgan Spurlock takes a hilarious and often terrifying look at the effects of fast food on the human body. Spurlock spends a month of eating nothing but McDonald's food, ordering everything on the menu at least once and "super-sizing" his order if asked.

My Promulgation: I'm completely amazed that people would eat food that only cost a dollar? Do you know the profit margin on this shit? Basically what you're eating cost no more than 15 cents to "manufacture" (like mass food manufactures are "growing" anything) what you're cramming in your hole. Everybody in the US of A should see this movie, all 300 lbs of ya.

Chris Rock: Bring the Pain

Description: First coming to the attention of the American masses as a mid-1990s "Saturday Night Live" regular, Chris Rock later skyrocketed to the status of Class A, million-dollar-salary celebrity with high-profile movie roles and a regular show on HBO. This video, taped for a 1996 HBO special, features Rock in between mainstream success and international fame -- and he's at his irreverent, controversial, political and, best of all, uncensored best!

My Promulgation: Funny, funny, funny. This is better that when you wack your brother in the balls and he doubles over from the pain.

Shine

A riveting profile of Australian keyboard virtuoso David Helfgott (Geoffrey Rush) and his ultimate triumph over a domineering, abusive father (Armin Mueller-Stahl); schizophrenia; and an obsession with the all but unplayable Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 3. Sir John Gielgud, superb as ever, plays Helfgott's tutor. Richly deserved Oscars went to Rush (Best Actor) and to Mueller-Stahl for his supporting turn.

Excellent. Got the praise it deserved. Bravo. Rush is good.

Warren Miller's: Storm

Extreme-skiing/snowboarding documentarian Warren Miller traveled from Alaska to Aspen to the Austrian Alps to lens this amazing display of extreme skiing. The film keys in on some of the sport's greatest competitors and rising stars. Witness the ultimate combination of deep powder and the high, lonesome clash when these superb and fearless athletes rocket down the slopes (all set to the music of the Dave Matthews Band, Nickel Creek and more).

Gotta love Warren Miller flicks...They are the best!

Miracle

Relive the miracle on ice all over again as coach Herb Brooks (Kurt Russell) takes a ragtag band of college hockey players and molds them into an unstoppable juggernaut (Team USA) that did the impossible -- beat the Soviet Union and won Olympic gold at Lake Placid. Do you believe in miracles? You will after you watch this inspiring movie.

I LOVED THIS MOVIE.