mbluth-15630 Reviews

Born in Chicago (2020)

A Great Doc About Chicago Blues

[8/10 · 12 November 2023]

If you grew up in the sixties, and listened to The Butterfield Blues Band, and had your head totally spun around, in amazement, this is a film to watch. It has a lot of Butterfield, Bloomfield, and Bishop, and many more, young lunatic musicians, who learned to play, by playing with the masters. Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Little Walter, and the rest. You'll see the Chess Records studio, that was unbelievably important. The Rolling Stones went when they came to America. Their tribute is the track, "2120 South Michigan Avenue".

The film explains how Chicago, became the epicenter of amplified blues.

It's really a great short film. All of 75 minutes.

I stumbled on it on Amazon Prime, but it's actually on FreeVee. It's free and really worth watching.

It's strange how this seems to have been made long ago, and never distributed or aired.

After watching this, go listen to EAST-WEST.

And wonder how the music of today compares.

Squaring the Circle: The Story of Hipgnosis (2022)

I did not want this film to end!

[10/10 · 17 June 2023]

I was interested after seeing the trailer, and decided to see it, because I knew the director with the unpronounceable name is really good. I loved the film about Joy Division, and his videos are certainly way better than most.

If you're over a certain age, you're going to really love this film. If you loved Pink Floyd, and most of the album covers that accompanied the vinyl albums, you are really going to love this film. If you're curious what Hipgnosis meant, and how they got the name, yes, hope it plays in your town.

Like so much in life, the incredible success story could never make it into a feature film, because it's too ridiculous to believe. But this was real, and amazing coincidences kept happening, time and time again, making a really wonderful fairy tale, that's all true.

I see a lot of movies, and as the film ended, I wanted to clap. If you have any chance of seeing this in a theater, don't miss the opportunity.

You'll be happy you went.

The Machine (I) (2023)

Infinitely better than what I was expecting........

[8/10 · 31 May 2023]

It was just a sudden moment, that I decided to go see THE MACHINE. It was probably because I went to see a film about a father, that so thoroughly disappointed me....... If you saw the trailer, you essentially saw every good joke in the film. It was like they took a 2 1/2 minute montage, and added 80 minutes of filler. And then sent it out to theaters across the country.

Glad that's over with.

I really had no idea who Bert Kreischer is.

Except for when he hosted some shows on The Travel Channel. I really hated him. He was loud, never shut up, and was as funny as an inflamed limb. And I think he took his shirt off, for no reason whatsoever.

Anyway, I went to see this, with low expectations. And was really shocked and surprised. It's really pretty good. Infinitely better then the metacritic score.

It has a story, and some very funny scenes.

People in the theater were laughing, and I was one of them.

I just read that it's a big disaster at the box office. And that is really wrong. It's actually pretty good. And Mark Hamill is great also, which was a nice surprise.

I really recommend it.

Beau Is Afraid (2023)

If you enjoyed THE TENANT,

[8/10 · 25 April 2023]

Not sure if "enjoyed" is the right word.

This film goes a few levels beyond THE TENANT, and doesn't let up. Not for a moment. Not for a second of it's 3 hour runtime. It's unrelenting and keeps going in unexpected directions. It's a free-fall ride, and I have to say, it's not boring for any of it.

I saw it in an IMAX theater and found the cinematography and audio, both, absolutely excellent, and riveting.

I saw Ari Aster's other 2 feature films. I thought they were okay, maybe even over praised. But this film is a game changer. He knows how to direct, and he's someone to make room for, in the future.

This is not a normal, typical, movie.

This film has ideas and creative processes and no regrets. It's refreshing.

Go see it and be amazed.

Barbarian (2022)

One of the greatest cuts in film history!

[8/10 · 31 October 2022]

Yes, any cinephile who's into film, will gladly tell you what the greatest edit in cinema history is.

In 2001, A SPACE ODYSSEY, when the ape-man throws a bone up in the air, and the camera follows it, and the screen cuts to the space station, in deep outer space, the audience is jolted and has to travel a million years forward.

Don't read further if you haven't seen the film.

The viewer is watching the film, BARBARIAN, and we're below the sub-basement, in a narrow underground tunnel, where it is almost pitch-black dark, and the.claustrophobia is almost too much to handle.

And we go to absolute black for what seems almost wrong.

And, suddenly, it's a panoramic view of the Pacific Ocean. And then we see a red convertible sports car, speeding down the Pacific Coast Highway. And the space, and the beauty, and the freedom, are all on display. And the feeling after what we just witnessed, is truly unbelievable.

I really enjoyed BARBARIAN, and it deserves more praise then it's getting.

All Quiet on the Western Front (2022)

Go see this in a theater!

[10/10 · 16 October 2022]

Just saw this at a screening. It is a film, that from one minute in, you know you are going to witness a superior masterpiece, that will not disappoint in any way. And it doesn't.

It is so incredible, from cinematography to music to acting to special effects to wardrobe and everything that goes into creating a feature film.

It is not getting a full theatrical release, which is almost criminal. It's going to be on Netflix, and I hope it gets some serious viewership. But seeing this on the big screen, is all the reason people used to go to "the movies". It's an experience that really has the power to make people think.

How unusual and refreshing.

If you're lucky enough to be able to see this in a theater, run, and catch it, and you'll be a better human being.

Urban Myths: Bob Dylan: Knockin' on Dave's Door (2017) Season 1, Episode 1

If you love Bob Dylan

[10/10 · 7 April 2022]

This is a really great little short, obviously a labor of love, made by fans of the one and only Bob Dylan. There have been rumors about this story, and the accuracy is of no concern to me. I saw it on Showtime, in the US, about 3-4 years ago.

But I looked the other day, and found it on Vimeo, and hope you can find it and enjoy it.

It's really excellent.