Stones In Exile

Title: Stones in Exile

Synopsis: It's spring 1971 all over again in director Stephen Kijak's nostalgic documentary that chronicles the creation of one of the greatest rock albums ever recorded: "Exile on Main Street" by the Rolling Stones. Highlights include interviews with Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts, Bill Wyman and Mick Taylor, and clips from the infamous, unreleased 1972 documentary filmed during the band's tour in support of the album. (Synopsis via Netflix)

First Impressions:

• This documentary is a collage of footage, photos and sound bites. It's not your typical "talking head" interspersed with footage.
• The movie pulls you in and makes you wish you were in that dank basement in the south of France sweating it out with them.
• The footage is not polished. There's a lot of shaky home movies and fast cutting. Either you'll like it or you won't. However, it definitely felt emblematic of the time and place. It was chaos.

In A Nutshell: It's an interesting document of how The Rolling Stones masterpiece Exile on Main Street was made. It made us immediately want to go back and re-listen to the album with fresh ears.

Trick 'r Treat

Title: Trick 'r Treat

Synopsis: It is said that Halloween is the night when the dead rise to walk among us and other unspeakable things roam free. The rituals of All Hallows Eve were devised to protect us from their evil mischief, and one small town is about to be taught a terrifying lesson that some traditions are best not forgotten. Nothing is what it seems when a suburban couple learns the dangers of blowing out a Jack-o-Lantern before midnight; four women cross paths with a costumed stalker at a local festival; a group of pranksters goes too far and discovers the horrifying truth buried in a local legend; and a cantankerous old hermit is visited by a strange trick-or-treater with a few bones to pick. Costumes and candy, ghouls and goblins, monsters and mayhem...the tricks and treats of Halloween turn deadly as strange creatures of every variety-human and otherwise-try to survive the scariest night of the year. (Synopsis via iTunes)

First Impressions:

• Reminiscent of Tales From The Crypt or Creepshow. Loved the way the four stories were woven together without the need for titles.
• There are some fun characters, a few twists and some good urban legends. It's not a gore or slasher fest; it's just fun, creepy and doesn't take itself overly serious.
• For a movie that went straight to DVD the cast is a decent one with many familiar faces and a few names, like Anna Paquin.

In A Nutshell:

It could have been a little scarier. It's not the ultimate horror movie, but it's a good one to add to the mix for Halloween viewing. And remember, don't blow out your jack-o-lantern until midnight!

Dr. Bronner's Magic Soapbox

Title: Dr. Bronner's Magic Soapbox

Synopsis: Brilliant chemist, Holocaust survivor and mental hospital escapee, Dr. Emanuel Bronner invented his famous Magic Soap and founded the environmentally concerned company that's just as popular today as it was among the counterculture in the 1970s. This documentary captures the complexity of Bronner's relationship with his son Ralph, who spent years in orphanages and foster homes as his eccentric father sought to unite all mankind. (Synopsis via Netflix)

First Impressions:

• If you have ever used Dr. Bronner's soap and attempted to read the label you no doubt have wondered: Who is this man and what's with all the writing on the label? This movie provides a complex portrait of the man and his family. He's quirky, eccentric, flawed and certainly rides the line between insanity and genius.
• Having a successful soap business seems secondary for Dr. Bronner. His real product was the label espousing his All One or None philosophy and The Moral ABCs. It's interesting that while not as fervent as their father and grandfather in the religious message, the family continues to run the company with a message of unity through its environmental sustainability and fiscal responsibility.
• In terms of cinematography the movie is nothing fancy to look at and the story does drag a bit towards the end, however overall it held our interest until the end.

In A Nutshell: An interesting man makes for an interesting documentary. The movie might not blow you away, but it's certainly worth watching. Watch the movie, buy the soap (which we love by the way) and while lathering up you can do some light reading on the label.

Last Days Here

Title: Last Days Here

Synopsis: In this poignant documentary portrait, an aged and gaunt Bobby Liebling, the former lead singer of the heavy metal act Pentagram, rallies to restart his life after decades of disappointment and drug addiction. (Synopsis via Netflix)

First Impressions:

• The American Black Sabbath, yeah, that could have been Pentagram. It's a classic tale of a band that could have been the next big thing, but never got there. In part it seemed like lead singer Bobby Liebling just couldn't get out of his way. He had what we call "lead singer disease" before he really had any reason to have it.
• The thing is, no matter how much Liebling messes up, and continues to mess up, even when he's acting like a selfish, infantile drug addict, you still root for him to succeed at any level. At the heart of it, he's not a bad guy.
• The documentary itself has a solid narrative and good pace.

In A Nutshell: If you're a metalhead you owe it to yourself to watch this movie and then check out the music. Even though they didn't become huge, they still influenced lots of musicians in the world of metal. \m/

Immortals

Title: Immortals

Synopsis: In Ancient Greece, King Hyperion searches for a powerful weapon that will free the bloodthirsty Titans and enable them to overpower the gods and enslave mankind. Unable to interfere directly, the gods choose a champion to defend them: Theseus. (Synopsis via Netflix)

First Impressions:

• We were excited for the stylized look of the movie (done ala 300) and it didn't disappoint in the visual department. Action sequences, the color palette, CG and cinematography were just plain cool.
• The storyline was a little light and at times fell a bit flat. It felt like they sacrificed script for visuals. It wasn't horrible, just not all that incredible either.
• Before we mention one "style" criticism we need to make it clear that we are fans of Mickey Rourke. With that said, the crazy, evil metal bunny headgear they had him wear in this movie was maybe not a solid choice. It was kind of distracting and we doubt seeing him in it was supposed to elicit a giggle. His character was bad-ass, this style choice not so much.

In A Nutshell: Meh... it was OK. While it would have been cool to see all the action sequences in 3D at the movie theater, we're glad we waited to watch it at home.

Life In A Day

Title: Life In A Day

Synopsis: After thousands of people around the world joined together to record banal and remarkable everyday events on July 24, 2010, director Kevin MacDonald led a team of editors to condense more than 4,500 hours of video into this picture of life on Earth. (Synopsis via Netflix)

First Impressions:

• This was a huge undertaking. We cannot fathom culling through 4,500 hours of video to create something coherent. This movie is not only coherent, but also beautiful, happy, sad, mundane and everything in between.
• In a way, we liken this movie to a "reality" version of Koyaanisqatsi. It's a blending of images and soundtrack.
• One criticism is that a lot of the footage was "Western" centric, but that would kind of make sense given the wider access to video cameras and technology.
• Not to give anything away but we both felt the ending clip, while nicely wrapping things up, did felt a bit cliche.

In A Nutshell: This movie does a pretty great job of showing the diverse lives we live across the globe on any given day. In many ways we are more similar than different. Not everything is exciting or beautiful, but that's life. So, what you will make of your day?

To Live & Ride In LA

Title: To Live & Ride In LA

Synopsis: Although many would regard bicycling in Los Angeles as the height of vehicular madness, a hard-core pack of fixed-gear cyclists revel in racing through the city's frantic streets by day or night, as captured in this high-energy documentary. (Synopsis via Netflix.)

Watch the trailer.

First Impressions:

• There are beautiful shots and cool music but it gets tired.
• This documentary just feels like a feature-length music video. We kept waiting for the story.
• It's a superficial look at what seems to be an interesting group of characters. Thing is, as a viewer you don't get any information about them: why they ride, how they got into riding fixed-gear bikes, about the bikes themselves, etc.

In A Nutshell:

This movie is a glorified music video. Its cool elements aren't enough to support it. We think we'll explore other documentaries out there on the subject. 'Til then, keep riding.