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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 |
 "What really happens when bands reach middle age"I've never bought a Metallica disc but I found this documentary fascinating. It nicely illustrates what happens when bands stay together too long and have the money to try to keep things going. (For example, after recording the new album with the bass played by the album's producer, a new awe-struck bassist is recruited and almost casually offered $1 million up front to commit to the band. Another example: the ageing live-in psychotherapist that the band decides to get rid of is revealed at around Day 600 to be charging his services at nearly half a million a year.) Not knowing much about Metallica, I can't decide how bright the guys are. In discussion in the movie, they often spoke eloquently about themselves and the problems of working together. (Maybe this was just the result of being surrounded by Californian psycho-babble all their lives.) But then when they're trying to come up with lyrics to their tunes, they all seem to write entirely in uppercase, which is normally used to hide poor punctuation. The lyric-writing scenes were revealing, making it abundantly clear that the band records the riff and the music first. They then sit around on sofas listening to the music track, and sketch out their ideas on notepads. One or two of them just doodle, much to the frustration of the others. (That was a wonderfully funny scene, introduing an angle that neither Spinal Tap nor Bad News had thought of.) My favourite scenes are the ones involving Lars's Dad, a Gandalf figure with a long white beard and a walking stick but a penchant for yoga and a good knowledge of 1970s rock music. The psychotherapist gets Lars to talk about his Dad in a field -- while his Dad is hunched over his stick and doing knee-stretching exercises. Everyone wants their Dad to be impressed by their achievements, but maybe you shouldn't ask your Dad's opinion on the heavy metal tracks you've been laying down. Lars really has to bite his lip as his Dad struggles not to tell him that he really thought the track was rubbish. Although Metallica might be Lars's band, it is nothing without James. When he goes off for six months' rehab, all the other two members can do is sit around and dredge up old mates. when he then returns and demands that the band only work for four hours a day -- without even being able to listen to tracks outside those hours -- Lars flips, and expresses his dislike for the arrangement in the best speech of the film. Though you see much, there's a lot you don't see. Despite the Napster lawsuit going on at the time, you don't see any discussions with Metallica's attorneys, for example. I have to say that, despite all the hilarity, the band-rebuilding process actually seems to work. The track excerpts we hear sound decent. Maybe some of the other middle-aged bands I follow should take note.  "Bunch Of Pansies!!!"Wow, I always knew Lars Ulrich was a whiny little wuss, but after this film I have less respect for him that I do for Britney Spears, Usher, Justin Timberlake, X-tina Aguilera, and Mariah Carey. I was never a Metallica fan, but I really do enjoy watching music documentaries, and I usually find them really interesting. I could sit through episodes of VH1's Behind The Music for groups like Styx and Journey and be fascinated, even though I don't care for their music. So I figured that the guys in Metallica had to be pretty interesting, regardless of what one thinks of their music. WRONG!!!! If you like watching grown men behaving like whiny little school girls, then you may enjoy this. If you are able to keep a straight face when James Hetfield has to leave band meetings and practices at a specific time every day because his therapist doesn't want him to get overly stressed, then you may enjoy this. And the best part is watching them write their lyrics. I have always been amazed by their lyrics and how they usually make absolutely no sense. Now I know why--they sit around in a room and each person just writes a bunch of sentences, and they take any that rhyme and throw them together. LAME!!!! In these guys' defense, they are talented musicians, so it's okay to be bad at writing lyrics. But maybe they should have hired somebody to write good lyrics for them. Instead, they are basically saying "It doesn't matter--our fans aren't intelligent enough to care about good lyrics as long as they can bang their heads and make horn signs with their hands." Skip this one if you are not a hardcore Metallica fan. It will make you think much less of them, I guarantee it. Oh, and by the way Lars, my girlfriend bought a copy of Master Of Puppets (your only good album ever), and I sometimes listen to it. Is that okay, or am I "stealing" the music when I hear it since I didn't pay for it? Just wondering. "THE DOCTOR IS IN (OUT)"Picture Saddam Hussein in a psychiatric session with Dr. Phil. Such is the image of heavy metal monster, Metallica, hiring a prominent psychiatrist-of-sorts to remedy their internal conflicts during the making of the "St. Anger" album. This is really one long unintentionally funny group therapy session, with the macho Metallica reduced to bratty siblings tattling on each other to mommy. It's a wonder these guys ever make it through a day. The psychiatrist, who remains with the band through the years it took to make "St Anger", is about the most un-Metallica like square you could ever imagine, sporting a mall bought knit sweater, and hush-puppies no doubt, looking like somebody's Dad from a 1960s sitcom, mouthing broad bland strokes of psychiatric wisdom which is sometimes heard as nothing short of profound from the members of Metallica. Later in the film, when Metallica determines he is no longer needed and too expensive anyway, and the psychiatrist himself is apparently making plans to become an unofficial fourth member of Metallica, as maybe some former band members can attest, he is given the boot. Chewed up and spat out. And the poor guy doesn't get it. He has a mental block. He can't comprehend getting fired. I thought he was going to start begging - "I'll do anything -I'll sweep the floors - I'll carry the amps!" You can hear frontman James Hetfield murmer something under his breath to the effect of, "See you later, chump." It was a bit reassuring to see Metallica bully somebody around, and this documentary reveals Metallica in all their flawed human glory. They're just your typical multi-millionaires with problems just like the rest of us. When drummer Lars Ulrich decides to part with his art collection of famous paintings, he is conflicted. He loves the paintings but decides he wants to share them with others. A museum or gallery doesn't leap to mind, but a public auction does, and he is rewarded with millions and millions of dollars in profit. Boy, can I relate. It was just the other day I was looking at my original Van Gogh on the wall, thinking, you know, I'm getting so bored with that picture ... By the time the work is done and Metallica steps on stage to reveal "St. Anger" to the world, you have to believe that you have witnessed the process that resulted in the fine music. I like these guys even more than I did before seeing the film. It takes courage to reveal to the world that you're just a bunch of jerks. The striking tinted color cinematography during concert scenes looked like a neo-youth for Hitler rally nightmare. Seas of flesh saluting praise to Metallica. The editing and sound of the film is superb. It has to be the first rock and roll documentary I've seen, where, as far as I can recall, not one cigareette was lit. "very interesting"i was not sure if i would enjoy this documentary. however i am a fan of metallica and it was very interesting to see the band in a different light. very personal. very effective.  "Whiplash"This movie gave me whiplash! It is freaking awesome!!! Perfect for any rock and roll fan! |
