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Metallica - Some Kind of Monster Actors: James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett Directors: Bruce Sinofsky, Joe Berlinger Number of Items: 2 Format: Color Audience Rating: R (Restricted) Studio: Paramount Home Video Product Group: DVD Release Date: 2005-01-25 Buy from Amazon

Customer Reviews: Total numer of reviews: 125 Average rating: 3.5 "Some Things are Better Left Unseen" As a huge Metallica fan since '85, I was eagerly anticipating this DVD to gain insight into the guys and the music I admire so much. I'm glad VH-1 showed it uncut - I now feel no need to own this. I did appreciate learning a little more about Hetfield; namely, how he feels about the music, the band, Lars, and his family. Lars, on the other hand, makes me want to slap him every time he opens his mouth. This movie would have been a lot better if the creators had the guts to not allow him to hog the mike. Yes, his the "mouthpiece" of the band (unfortunately), but he really doesn't know when to put a sock in it - and the producers took the easy way out and let him dominate the entire film. As for "Dr. Phil" - absolutely, one of the best parts of the film was when the band had to let him know that he was not, in fact, a member of Metallica. Did the boys really need this guy or someone like him? Could they have figured all this stuff out for themselves (and saved 40K a month!)? I think so. Look at Aerosmith, the Stones, AC/DC...any band with a longevity of at least 2 decades. Yes, it is a family, yes, it eventually becomes dysfunctional, and yes, you can work things out without professional help. I'm with Newstead on this issue. It was interesting to watch Dave Mustaine spill his guts in this. Megadeth, founded 100% out of Mustaine's fury over being fired from Metallica and desire for revenge, always has been and remains one of the best metal bands ever. Their latest, "The System has failed", is fantastic. Watching this film helped me understand why St. Anger sounds the way it does...but that still doesn't make it listenable. I've tried, believe me. I just can't listen to this thing even halfway through. It's extremely self-indulgent, lyric wise, and let's face it - the sound quality is crap. Despite all this, I still love this band. I still want to hear from them for years to come. But some things are better left unsaid...and unwatched. "Some Kind Of Megalomania" The fact that I am a fan of Metallica's music might have detracted from my ability to summarize the extent of the documentary, but, like the reviews on the DVD clearly state, you don't have to be a fan to appreciate this movie. Sure, I can remember when I was a wee lad of 16, hanging out in the parking lot of the San Diego Sports Arena (1986 Opening Act for Ozzy) with Jaymz and Kirk and Larz and the dearly departed Cliff Burton and being inspired by how cool and calm and normal they were. That night they blew Ozzy off the stage with their short Master Of Puppets set and I have been a die hard fan ever since. Now I am so much older and they are so much older and things have changed . . . for better or worse? Hard to say. Being that I was not even remotely impressed by the release of their St. Anger CD, it made me wonder what had happened to the Metallifux to bring them to the place where they are now, both musically and emotionally. Well . . . Some Kind Of Monster gives us the answer to that question and others by chronicling the journey that took place between the start of recording St. Anger and the two years it took to complete it. Inside looks are not often very true, but I felt that this one was. A lot of therapy going on, which I didn't like all that much. The dude they were paying some outrageous bucks for mental stability boosts seem stupid to me. In fact, the part where they were going to cut him off and he tried to talk them out of it made it clear how nonessential he was to them. Play music, feel better, put together a little set for the AFC championship game (so sorry that Jaymz is a Raider fan. Steelers all the way!!!) play with the kidz. Cool. Seeing Lars sell his favorite paintings for somewhere around $6 million at auction made me wonder what it must be like to go from rags to riches in these guys' minds. Jaymz takes off for rehab right in the middle of recording and . . . they wait . . . and wait . . . only to have Jaymz come back with some rules and tells Lars that he's not comfortable playing music with him. Jesus. What a blast to the ego. Throughout all this, Kirk remains the straight-man, the ego-less voice of subdued, non-threatening reason. The part where Lars sits down as part of his therapy with Dave Mustaine is eye-opening and insightful. "You made people hate my f*cking guts! What happened to my little Danish friend?" The reality of it all makes you step back and appreciate where you are. Are they millionaire crybabys? Maybe? Do they need to pay some guy megabucks to make them feel secure? Probably not. Not a firm believer in all those make-yourself-feel-better, self-help gurus, I found it kind of demoralizing to watch my hero Jaymz play into that scenario. Overall, though, I gotta say, I was entralled with this candid look into the twisted world of the world's most popular/successful metal band of all time. This makes the disappointment of St. Anger that much easier to swallow. Metallifux unite. Metal up yer ass! And all those cliche metal phrases. Once again, you don't need to be a fan of Metallica to enjoy this documentary. It stands alone. "Witness the process of making the all-time worst album!" For anyone out there who is still convinced that Metallica is cool, this documentary will undoubtedly change your mind. These guys should have retired after the Black album. I am not sure how all these guys lost their touch, but everything they do now is cheesy and ridiculously amateurish. Watch as they come up with the lamest lyrics you will ever hear, the weakest guitar riffs you will ever hear, and vocals so bad they'll make you cringe. It's so sad what has happened to this band's auditory senses, after all, the fact that they can listen to those songs combined with the horrible sound quality and believe it's good enough to release to the world speaks volumes about their hearing loss. By the way, why did Lars replace his snare drum with a hub-cap for this album??? The other thing I noticed is that these guys arent even rockers anymore. At one point the video shows them all standing around the studio with Bob Rock, and I realized just how old and burnt out these guys look. They are a bunch of balding, old, rich guys who look more likely to be playing racketball than metal. They have just completely lost touch with their audience, with their sound, and with rock n'roll for that matter. I think they just have way too much money to be able to still think like the true hungry rockers they were in the early days. Jason Newsted clearly gets the last laugh here, especially since he was lucky enough to escape before they created the ultra-pathetic St. Anger. Lars makes a profound statement at an echobrain gig as he buries his face in his hands and declares,"Jason (and echobrain) are the future, Metallica is the past." Well, Echobrain may not be the future, but Metallica definitely is the past. I only feel sorry for Rob Trujillo (who should have NEVER left Suicidal Tendencies)for joining the band just in time for them to release the biggest turd-sandwich album rock n' roll has ever seen. I can only imagine him trying to act impressed as they played all the new material for him the first time. It is so sad what is captured on this documentary. Would be musicians should only watch this as an example of what NOT to do with your musical career. "Mildy Entertaining - Mostly sad and pathetic.... " As far as the documentary is concerned I think the DVD was made very well. It shows all different aspects of the band and you really get the feeling that the band has forgotten about the cameras and crew. What is really disapointing about this DVD is the band themselves. When did they become such losers ?? Kirk is the only one left in the band who makes any sense. Too bad he's such a wuss that he lets the other three (bob, james, and lars) make all of his decisions for him. All this DVD really did was make me dislike what these a-holes have become even more. I wish they could go back in time and see themselves twenty years ago as compared to now. They remind me of the old rich lady at Neiman Markus walking around with her poodle in her arms talking about how she's late for her therapy..Get a grip you bums. While the rest of us are working fourty to fifty hours a week just trying to make ends meet, these idiots are crying how they can't work together anymore and how much they don't know each other, blah..blah...blah... It make me sick to my stomach. How they expected the average Joe to relate to this DVD is beyond me. All I could do was watch in disgust as a bunch of forty something rich guys cry like babies over every aspect of there existance..I guess it's true that money really doesn't buy happiness.. Oh yeah, this DVD is way too long and unless your a Metallica fanatic keep your money in your pocket. I'm sure VH1 ill play this a hundred times more anyway. Don't give any more $ to these losers... "Some Kind of Monster - The Lars Ulrich Story" This could have easily been a biography on Lars. God knows, he wanted to dominate every aspect of this film. With an ego the size of the entire United States, he shows us what we already knew: a little man who has no regard, compassion or sensitivity to other people's feelings. His bluntness and insensitivity towards James alone during the therapy session when he repeatedly cursed at him, and the initial St. Anger recording sessions at the Presidio made me want to sock him. It is a miracle that this band has stayed together for over 20 years when a tyrant like Lars is running the show and wants to control every aspect of the band, but instantly goes into a tizzy if he can't have control or loses control over a situation. I'd only wish that James came to the conclusion of leaving the band when his rehabilitative sabbatical came to an end, because no amount of money in the world is worth the amount of abuse he takes from Lars. He could have done what Jason is doing now, started his own band and controlled it as he saw fit. I love Kirk, but he needs to grow a few and fight for the right to express his talent in the band. Who ever heard of a 8-minute song (a rock song at that) with no guitar solos? What a waste. Kirk could have simply phoned in his contribution to the St. Anger album without having the need to have left his ranch. While I enjoyed seeing the Dave Mustaine session with Lars (though Lars contributed very little to the session), I would have like to have seen a session with Jason and the boys. While Jason felt that the band seeking therapy was `weak', I'm sure he would have wanted to express some feelings of what it was like being in the shadow of Cliff for all those years, and not feeling like he was truly a member of the band. I would have given this film all five stars, but certain parts that included Lars at his worst caused the film to lose a star. I would recommend this film to fans as well as others who don't know Metallica from a metallic ore on the ground.