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Reviews
The Invitation (2015)
How to rid yourself of pain LA style
The people of the Hollywood Hills do seem a little pretentious, with overly decadent lifestyles. However, an awesome remedy for 1st world problems that Yoga,TM or Ayahausca can't heal.
Above Majestic (2018)
Confusing and nonsensical
Many outlandish claims and zero empirical evidence presented for their claims. When Corey Goode, David Wilcock, and Jordan Sather collaborated on this project, They must have been the ramblings leftover from participating in an Ayahuasca ceremony or something of that nature.
The Doors (1991)
This movie changed my life
Oliver Stone's homage to one James Douglas Morrison is one of the most brutally nostalgic, emotionally moving, and savagely honest films about a Rock stars fall from grace that I have ever seen.
The film itself is two hours plus, and chronicles The Doors rise to fame and fortune on the back of Morrison's charisma, sexuality, darkness, and poetic lyrics. Fundamentally, the movie's seeds are in what happens to Morrison after the Doors become famous, and focuses primarily on Morrison's complex personality, fueled by fame and fortune, alcohol and drugs, and a young man embedded in the 60's social and political upheaval in the United States.
I first viewed this Oliver Stone film after the movie's release circa 1991 - 1993. From the opening of the film, I was enchanted, the recording studio, where Morrison was recording his poetry on his birthday, to the mysterious and dark song, "Riders on the Storm" accompanying the first film sequences of the movie were just wonderful.
The film is beautifully shot in CinemaScope with state of the art technology of the time (1990's), the color, textures, and cinematography are magnificent, The soundtrack is impeccable, acting superb, and the screenplay is a condensed masterpiece.
Val Kilmer plays the role of Jim Morrison in what is his finest performance as an actor, and captures so beautifully, Morrison's complexity, his charm and charisma, his darkness and intelligence, and also Morrison's anxieties. Kilmer deserved the best actor gong for his portrayal of the troubled rock star.
The sad pathos of the film and the introduction of "Death" as a character in the movie, as what Bergman did in "The Seventh Seal", was a stroke of master genius on Oliver Stones part. The whole film took on an almost premonition type of dark journey to his death, in which the protagonist already knew his fate, and was wallowing in this realm for only a short amount of time, brilliant.
There are some inaccuracies in the film, although 90% of the movie is based on actual events and real people, and is pretty much in chronological order, Stone has taken license in one or two scenes in order to convey a concept, give context to, or to highlight a particular incident.
Morrison was and will always be an enigma, and rightly or wrongly the doors will unfortunately always be subservient to the Jim Morrison myth, the film highlights this in utterly uncompromising terms, which may dismay some fans of the doors, however, this was the reality, as was evidenced in the last two albums without Morrison. They didn't sell, and the remaining doors had lost their appeal without their endearing front man.
Morrison was a man in pain, he seemed to have an ongoing psycho- drama with his parents and could not reconcile his differences with them, and this could have led up to what triggered his substance abuse, however we can only speculate about this.
I highly recommend seeing this film whether you are a doors fan or not, because it is a brilliant interpretation of a tragic poet, his quest for immortality, his reflection of a society, and the way he perceived it, his magnificent philosophical insight, and his ultimate sacrifice for his art.
Glenn Cuthbertson
Love Her Madly (2000)
Terrible Movie
I saw this movie as a curious fan of The Doors, and the fact that Ray had claimed that the idea for the movie had come from the mind of one Jim Morrison. I must admit, after all the criticism focused toward Oliver Stone from Ray Manzarek with regards to The Doors movie starring Val Kilmer, I was surprised at the hypocrisy of one Ray Manzarek. I remember the utter disdain, aggressiveness, and absolute hate that Ray displayed during the pre-production of Oliver Stone's Doors film that I was personally shocked. Every chance Ray got to publicly condemn and humiliate Oliver Stone, he would, and gladly crap on the guy for such an inaccurate portrayal of Jim Morrison and the doors. I have seen the Oliver Stone version of The Doors and all in all the premise, events and people were basically portrayed the way that history, biographies and anecdotal evidence of the times claimed took place. There are some inaccuracies in the movie, however 80% of the film is pretty much what happened. Ray really has to come to terms with the fact that his skill lies in the fact that he is an excellent musician, and not a filmmaker. I think back in the UCLA film school days he and Jim had visions of becoming the next Frederico Fellini or a modern day David Lynch, however it wasn't to be. I think what Ray wanted in essence was to make the film The Doors, however Hollywood would not invest the money into a project where the director or filmmaker who had no real proved track record, or list of movie/film credentials that would attract state holders who held the financial strings at the time, so to speak. I am disappointed that Ray's real first attempt at making a movie turned out so bad, I had expected something unique, something sacred and something entertaining and different, much like the doors were back in the day. I did not expect a B Grade sub- porno film, which exactly what "Love Her Madly" is. I guess this has really colored my thinking about Ray, his thought processes, his prejudices, his anxieties, and ultimately, his jealousies. When all is said and done, if it wasn't for Jim Morrison, Ray would have wallowed away in anonymity, if the last two albums without Morrison were any indication, and with regards to the "An American Prayer", the subsequent album, was just stealing Morrison's poetry, and laying tired old doors music to it. Oliver Stone was right in keeping Ray off The Doors movie set, he was disruptive, infantile and immature and had nothing of any real substance to add to the creative process other than his technical input, in which he withdrew anyway because of his self righteousness, jealousy, and sense of self entitlement and pretentiousness.