[This review initially appeared when the film screened at Germany's Nippon Connection and with the film appearing this weekend at the Shinsedai Festival in Toronto we present it again now.]
When I think of concert films I tend to think of them as static. Even if the filmmaker is following a band on tour things tend to progress from one stage show to the next. If the music is great then it can be electrifying, but concert films still present a real challenge to a director. How can people playing music on stage carry an entire feature film? Some have found that magic formula, namely my favorites like Chris Blum's film of Tom Waits's 1988 American tour "Big Time", Laurie Anderson's groundbreaking "Home of the Brave" and that little piece of Toronto punk rock history "The Last Pogo" shot at the city's Horseshoe Tavern. I was lucky enough to recently add to my list of favorite concert films when I got a chance to see Tetsuaki Matsue's "Live Tape", the winner of the top prize in the...
When I think of concert films I tend to think of them as static. Even if the filmmaker is following a band on tour things tend to progress from one stage show to the next. If the music is great then it can be electrifying, but concert films still present a real challenge to a director. How can people playing music on stage carry an entire feature film? Some have found that magic formula, namely my favorites like Chris Blum's film of Tom Waits's 1988 American tour "Big Time", Laurie Anderson's groundbreaking "Home of the Brave" and that little piece of Toronto punk rock history "The Last Pogo" shot at the city's Horseshoe Tavern. I was lucky enough to recently add to my list of favorite concert films when I got a chance to see Tetsuaki Matsue's "Live Tape", the winner of the top prize in the...
- 7/21/2010
- Screen Anarchy
[Our thanks go out to Chris MaGee and Marc Saint-Cyr at the Toronto J-Film Pow-Wow for sharing their coverage of the 2010 Nippon Connection Film Festival.]
When I think of concert films I tend to think of them as static. Even if the filmmaker is following a band on tour things tend to progress from one stage show to the next. If the music is great then it can be electrifying, but concert films still present a real challenge to a director. How can people playing music on stage carry an entire feature film? Some have found that magic formula, namely my favorites like Chris Blum's film of Tom Waits's 1988 American tour "Big Time", Laurie Anderson's groundbreaking "Home of the Brave" and that little piece of Toronto punk rock history "The Last Pogo" shot at the city's Horseshoe Tavern. I was lucky enough to recently add to my list of favorite concert films when I got a chance to see Tetsuaki Matsue's "Live Tape", the winner of the top prize in the...
When I think of concert films I tend to think of them as static. Even if the filmmaker is following a band on tour things tend to progress from one stage show to the next. If the music is great then it can be electrifying, but concert films still present a real challenge to a director. How can people playing music on stage carry an entire feature film? Some have found that magic formula, namely my favorites like Chris Blum's film of Tom Waits's 1988 American tour "Big Time", Laurie Anderson's groundbreaking "Home of the Brave" and that little piece of Toronto punk rock history "The Last Pogo" shot at the city's Horseshoe Tavern. I was lucky enough to recently add to my list of favorite concert films when I got a chance to see Tetsuaki Matsue's "Live Tape", the winner of the top prize in the...
- 4/15/2010
- Screen Anarchy
As someone who tends to favor the low-budget, the twisted, and the purposely bizarre, it’s really no surprise that this endless wave of violent, over-the-top action currently streaming out of Japan amuses me to no end. It honestly doesn’t matter how trashy, sleazy, or generally unpleasant the picture may be — all I need is an abundance of intentionally strange set pieces punctuated with the sort of copious bloodletting that would greatly disturb the well-adjusted, socially productive members of society. Story, characterization, and a multi-tiered plot are nice things to have, but they aren’t necessarily required. I’m guess I’m just shallow like that. An organic sense of the absurd is essential to enjoying something as slipshod and low-budget as Kenichi Fujiwara’s goofy 2008 undead actioner “Zombie Hunter Rika” (aka “High School Girl Rika: Zombie Hunter”), a film that pulls absolutely no punches when it comes to wanton violence and stupidity.
- 1/11/2010
- by Todd
- Beyond Hollywood
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