Director Todd Haynes, who made the incredibly spare Safe and a biopic about Karen Carpenter with Barbie dolls, crams ...
The art of movie-making at its best!, 2010-03-22
Being an admirer of Placebo, I purchased this DVD years ago because I like that particular band. At first a bit disappointed by the fact, that there are only a few rather short moments to get a glimpse at Brian Molko and the performance of "20th Century Boy" being a short one, too, I happened to become a huge fan of this film and its cast. The multi-layered storyline is perhaps not of everyone's taste but in my opinion adds to the breathtaking kaleidoscope and colourful ride "Velvet Goldmine" takes its viewers on. The costumes are gorgeous. I especially enjoyed seeing the glam kids dressing up, trying to do their best in copying the style of their idols - more or less successfully. It reminded me of myself doing exactly that at the time, more or less successfully, too. ;-)

There's nothing I could say about the music, except that it's one of the best soundtracks I've ever heard in a film. It's got all it takes to bring back the good old days for those of us who were around back then. And there's plenty of stuff to hear for the younger ones, giving a good overview of what's possible without using lots of digital effects and computers. As for the visual aspects of the music, I was literally blown away by McGregor's performance. Rhys-Meyers does equally well and they could both take off as Rockstars on the spot as far as I'm concerned.

The movie spins monthly back home and remains as eye- and ear-catching as it has been on the very first viewing. It's also to be held responsible for us having become huge fans of both Jonathan Rhys-Meyers and Ewan McGregor.

The film thus rounds up a who’s who of comedy, and gets them to both discuss the infamous joke, and to commit their rendition of it to film. What the viewer then gets from it all is an at-times fascinating comparison of how different comedians can tackle pretty much the same material in wildly different ways. And with contributions from the likes of Whoopi Goldberg, Robin Williams, Eric Idle and Paul Reiser, this isn’t a tired scrape around the C-list circuit by any means, and it’s all the better for it.

With 100 comedians ultimately repeating their own version of the gag throughout the film’s running time, it’s perhaps unsurprising that The Aristocrats does slightly outstay its welcome. And the warning that the j...
Good good good, 2009-01-29
Ok, so I bought this as I remembered watching sections of it when it was on TV and thought it would be a good watch. It is a good watch, but it isn't quite as special as I wanted it to be. Even though I feel I want to moan that it isn't all that long, the fact that it startes to feel dragged out in the last half hour is an overriding factor.

That being said, I still think that ANYONE who is a fan of stand-up needs to have this DVD as I think it capture a moment in comedic history. Mainly because there are so many great comedians in here, and don't forget that the late great George Carlin is included here.

As these on-set maladies and "accidents" continue, Schreck wields greater control over Murnau, who descends into a kind of obsessive art-for-art's-sake madness until diva co-star Greta Schroeder (Catherine M...
A really clever little flick., 2009-03-11
'Shadow of the Vampire' is a fantastic homage to the early pioneers of film-making. I loved the ironic nods to modern film practices and I thought the use of 'Nosferatu' was well-conceived.

Across The Universe follows Jude, played by Jim Sturgess, who travels from Britain to America in the 1960s, and eventually meets Lucy (Evan Rachel Wood). The film then picks up the story of their romance, with the likes of Vietnam war protests sitting in the background, along with a strong-yet-unknown supporting cast who more than hold their own.

Across The Universe progresses its narrative through a mix of Beatles numbers, and it’s a method that sometimes works exceptionally well, and at other times feels a little bit shoehorned. Nonetheless, more of it succeeds than fails, and there’s no denying the quality of the musical work, even though it’s not the Fab Four whose vocal talents are used.

Sometimes a bit uneven, Across The Universe is nonetheless a brave and bold screen musical, with a striking visual style. Director Julie Taymor--who previously directed the musical of The Lion King on Br...
can't be done any better than this, 2010-07-07
The film deserves to be much better known. Its storyline hardly seems contrived at all, and the music is played and sung with a freshness which gives the songs a new lease of life. But their interpretation in the context of the film is the most surprising aspect - it's almost as if they had been written for the purpose.

Altogether an amazing musical and dramatic experience, which more people should share. I recommend it without reservation.