badgerbrewin Reviews

21 Grams (2003)

Deceptively Bad!

[2/10 · 25 January 2004]

This movie (that is to say the story) has so many flaws that I won't waste our time getting into it, but I did spend the better part of the last hour shaking my head in disbelief. Yes, the acting is good, but my take is that the movie was ultimately edited in the "random" order that it was in order to give it some spice and to draw attention away from the horribly weak story. It seems to be working.

4/10

Joe Cocker: Mad Dogs & Englishmen (1971)

Good music, fair movie

[6/10 · 19 July 2003]

First off, if you're looking for some good music and classic concert footage, this movie is a hit. I'm sorry that I'm too young to have made it to this show. Unfortunately, I think the movie falters is in its storytelling. This was a band of some 30 people put together for a tour with Joe Cocker. It would have been nice to get a glimpse of how it all came together. The movie does drag from time to time, and I found it difficult to make it all the way through the 2 hours. Now with that said, there are still some great scenes, including one that I swear Rob Reiner flat out stole for "Spinal Tap". I'd say it's worth a look. The music alone is worth it, but keep your finger close to the fast forward button.

The House of Mirth (2000)

The House of Yawns

[3/10 · 19 June 2003]

This movie really tested my patience.

I make it a point not to walk out of movies. "The House of Mirth" was as close as I've come in the last 5 years. A big fat cup of "who cares."

Only the Strong Survive (2002)

Soul Survivors

[7/10 · 17 May 2003]

A lot of different snipets make up the whole of this documentary, which is somewhat confusing and leaves us with a pretty anti- climatic ending. But the stories, voices and music more than make up for it. I was particularly impressed with the beautiful voice of Carla Thomas, and Issac Hayes just might be the coolest cat on the face of the Earth. Rufus Thomas and the radio show are good for more than a few laughs.If you like Soul music and its history, this one is certainly worth a look. 8/10.