Hey folks, Harry here... Massawyrm had an all day affair with film. HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH, THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS and TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES. However, he is only discussing the first two. Like I said in my review of THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS.... it is a blast... alot of fun, BUT... BUT... HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH is sheer genius. Where MOULIN ROUGE was pop-A.D.D.-edit-strobe-spectacle... enormous spectacle and fury and romance... HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY ITCH may very well be a close running mate with AMELIE as my favorite film of the year thus far. I'll stew on it a bit further before writing about it, but there is a song called THE ORIGIN OF LOVE which might very well be headed towards being one of my all time favorite songs... God I loved that film. Review coming soon, but get your quickie from Massawyrm.... So long...
Hola all. What a day, what a day, what a day. For those of you who have been wondering, as I know you all have, "What exactly does Massawyrm do with his free time when he's not watching the mounds of tape that come his way every day?" Well, folks, sad but true, when I have free time, I am out with harry and Quint watching movies. Such a life, right. Thank god I found my soulmate Lucky Pierre, who is understanding of my inherent lack of time and has found, other, more battery operated substitutes for my affection.
Today was my day off, and thus I spent it traveling theatre to theatre, checking out the fine goods that are headed your way. Today's two noteworthy films: Hedwig and the Angry Inch and Fast and the Furious.
I'll discuss Fast and the Furious first, so that you action junkies don't have to skim this article to find what you're looking for (you indie fans are by definition more patient and have larger attention spans, so I thank you now, in advance for waiting).
Fast and the Furious is very much worth your action dollar. I will say now that if you see it, do not wait for video, do not plan on renting the DVD in lieu of paying $7 at your local theatre, do not skip this if you love action. This film has it in spades. It's worth the price of admission just to feel the engines rev in your gut. Now I know many of you out there are already sold. With Vin Diesel attached, the promise of hot chicas and what looks to be some wild action racing scenes, I'm sure you're twitching in your seats, playing Gran Tourismo 2 and eagerly awaiting Friday. You will not be disappointed. This film delivers on a very visceral level amounting to everything an exploitation fan wants to see erupt from the screen.
This film was everything Gone in Sixty Seconds promised to be. The racing scenes are edited perfectly and the pacing is spot on for this kind of film; it doesn't allow a second for you to catch your breath before the movie begins in another direction. It opens with a running start and it doesn't let up.
The soundtrack, however, is what really drives the film. BT helmed the electronic score on this one and it just kicks ass. From some excellent Drum and Bass race sequence breaks, he moves into some hardcore progressive house and rounds out the mood in certain sequences with some recognizable rock and rap selections. Every music choice perfectly complements the scene and pushes the film along at its breakneck pace. I have to tip my hat to BT on this one, as he chose a selection from one of my favorite, unknown to the US bands, Molotov, a kick ass Mexican band that does songs both in English and Spanish (check them out if The Rap/rock blend of music is your taste; think Rage against the Machine meets Cypress Hill (and if you've heard the coversong or their collaborations and dug them, you'll love this)).
My only problem with this film is that it feels like they weren't sure how to end it. There comes a point in the film when you realize there's no real way to have a perfect conclusion that will satisfy everybody. And so when the last reel came to roll, I was left unsatisfied, unfulfilled. I felt a bit cheated by the ending, like they'd decided to go the way the average action fan would want the movie to end, rather than a truly reasonable one. But it was the last reel only that made me feel this way, every other moment in the film was a wondrous, quite literal Joyride, and well worth the price of admission, regardless of the ending.
One note on this: stay till the credits end...the movies real ending is afterwards. And it really pays off. Don't worry, BT's music alone over the credits is well worth staying for. Get up, dance for five minutes, sit your ass back down and watch. I feel sorry for the 98% of the audience that bolted once they started to roll. They missed out.
HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH
Now, onto Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Brilliant. Astounding. Mind Warping. Unbelievable. This is the thinking man's movie with pop sensibilities we've been waiting for. Quite literally this film is the best open dissertation on the nature of human duality since Herman Hesse's "Steppenwolf" (the novel, not the movie or band). It is a stunning portrayal of one persons search to be whole, while wrestling with two very different sides of their own personality. And yet, it doesn't present itself in a heady, boring nose in the air artfilm sort of manner. It is fun, poppy and disturbing.
What really makes this film a work of genius is the fact that it operates on so many levels at once. On the surface, it is a gritty "Velvet Goldmine" with substance. While Goldmine had this glossy sheen, Hedwig has a dirty, seedy, flipside underground rock feel to it. But rather than feeling like you've just watched a two hour music video, as in Goldmine (but an amazingly beautiful music video at that), you start to see threads of inner struggle. The songs in Hedwig and the Angry Inch (and there are many; its not a musical per se, but it is almost half music) all have deep meanings and serve to illustrate the soul searching going on within the main character (Hedwig, played by the Writer/Director John Cameron Mitchell).
Really the best film to compare this to, rather than Velvet Goldmine (which it shares many parallels to), would be with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (on the surface nothing at all like Hedwig). However, both films have the look and feel of a surreal comedy, and yet each has this rich concept, steeped in Philosophy (R&GAD really, at its roots, serves as both a parody of Hamlet and a discussion of Heidegger's theory of time, particularly the concept of the Authentic Vs. the Inauthentic existence; but that's a whole different column altogether). Hedwig and the Angry inch is simply put, the best Existential film in a Decade.
The theme of Hedwig is that of Duality: Pop sensibility Vs. Artistic honesty; the love of another Vs. contentment with oneself; Masculine Vs. Feminine; and of course the middle ground in-between all of these. But, like Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, it doesn't force ideas down your throat or go into long winded discussions or philosophical rants. It instead presents the ideas in a creative, refreshing manner that only requires you to think about it if you want to. It can totally be enjoyed without a single thought creeping into your skull (for those of you who prefer more monosyllabic entertainment). However, if you are a thinking person at all, you'll love the depths to which Hedwig will take you and the manner in which it takes you there. This is just great existential cinema, the kind we need more of.
Unfortunately, Hedwig is a niche audience type of movie. John Q. Popcorn, if you will, will find the music dated (it has a late 80's early 90's feel to it), the homoerotic themes disturbing, and the jokes a little over his/her head. But if you're the indie lover, an armchair philosopher, or a die hard deep cinema fan (or all three, like myself), then you'll love this magnificent foray into the strange and twisted life of Hedwig and her band the Angry Inch. See this when it runs at your local arthouse theatre. You will not, or rather, cannot be disappointed with this film. It's just too damned good.
Until Monday, smoke 'em if ya got 'em. I know will.
Massawyrm out.
