Documentaries that chronicle the rise, triumph, and inevitable fall from grace – and redemptive coda, if one is available – of an influential artist are often tricky propositions: VH1’s “Behind the Music” series pretty much cornered the market on this plotline early on, and subsequent efforts to subvert the formula either need to be either particularly innovative in style or to boast an interesting enough story to distinguish themselves. Take last year’s Pearl Jam Twenty, for example: an exemplary documentary, […]
Posts tagged "movie review"
Pass the Popcorn: Kevin Smith’s “Red State”
The notion that Fred Phelps – pastor of the charming family church Westboro Baptist, prolific funeral picketer, originator of the adorable slogan “God Doesn’t Much Care For Homosexuals At All” “God Hates Fags” – is perhaps the worst person on the globe right now isn’t new; after all, perhaps the only good thing about the Phelps clan is that nobody actually takes them seriously. No, what’s truly surprising about public perception of the Westboro Baptist Church is that it took this […]
Pass the Popcorn: Pearl Jam Twenty
Rock documentaries can be a bit of a tightrope act for filmmakers. On one side of the line are the diehard fans, the ones who have followed the band for years and obsessively researched every last detail about their favorite musicians. On the other are the casual fans and general audiences that may barely know the subject at all. It can be hard to cater to both sides, and often directors have to choose who they want to favor: do […]
