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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 |
 "Rent This One, Don't Buy"I give this documentary a "3," but I give the band a "0", because it is very informative but it demystifies Metalica, and this former fan walks away realizing that James, Lars and Kirk are big time losers. Thus, fans beware, after watching “Metalica – Some Kind of Monster,” you will no longer be a fan. Indeed, this DVD is a sad testimony on Metalica. A camera crew follows them around for more than a year, documenting how three boobs manage to make a pop album, "St. Anger," that happens to suck. In sum, it is a sad testimony on the corporate and mental status of rock n' roll, and makes one wonder how these guys ever had enough soul to make the Black Album. For example, they paid an inspiration sucking therapist $40,000 a month just to follow them around and hold their hand. That quack was supposed to help them get over they cry-baby disputes and make another successful album, but he just ends up eating sandwiches, giving advice on lyrics (!?), and making up reasons that he should not be fired. Real metal heads don't need that crap. We even witness how Lars sells over his collection of paintings for millions, one of which goes for over $4 mil. Wow, what a jerk. (There's more colorful words for him.) This is the guy that sued the fans because he wasn't making enough money. I guess he wanted just one more painting, or another mansion overlooking San Francisco. Lars is a business man, not a rocker. How did he ever have anything to do with Justice for All? And poor Kirk: He's basically a weenie that happens to know how to play the guitar very, very well. At least he's giving up drinking for surfing. James Hatfield? He's also giving up drinking, which is good, but you hardly see him do any work. He mostly shoots down all good idea proposed by his band mates and other hanger-on. One wonders where his money went. During one scene, he drives a piece of junk muscle car (probably worth less than $5,000), acting like he’s some kind of rebel. Why doesn’t he have enough money to at least afford a GTO? Maybe Lars has it all. The most interesting part of the film is when James and crew refuse to read a cheesy ad for a radio spot. They seem to realize that it's just too commercial (imagine that), so they tell their managers that they will not do it, even in the face of probable backlash. We should hope they follow that instinct more often. Those bozos should just fire all the blood suckers around them, get over their petty differences, stop worrying about fame and fortune, and remember who they were when they first started making music. "Metallica's Lost Opportunity"I just rented the documentary and I decided to look at the Amazon reviews afterwards. Over a year ago I reviewed St. Anger for Amazon and I basically trashed it. Turn the clock forward and now we have a documentary that essentially chronicles the making of St. Anger. I maintain that St. Anger was a major disappointment for the band. It was poorly mixed, poorly recorded, snare drum-laden to a ridiculous extent, and with lyrics that would make James Hetfield from 1987 puke continously. Now after seeing this "documentary," we finally realize why St. Anger was so weak. They had cameras on them while they were creating it. You have three extremely self conscious muscicians trying to make up stuff on the spot. That's tough to pull off for anyone. And it failed miserably. But the film itself: is cleverly done, has great historical footage, and shows many flashes of the former greatness of this epic band. The film might have been much better if it didn't concentrate so heavily on the current problems and the performance therapist they employed, and concentrated more on why they became the highest grossing cd sales band of the 90's. In 1986, when Metallica released their incredible album, Master of Puppets, most metal bands were yapping out silly songs with hair sprayed up to the rafters with dark spandex,purple shoes with sparkles, and sunken cheeks with hair extensions for some of the slightly balding lead singers. The overall IQ of metal music was low. Metallica was totally different: Metallica wore holey jeans and battered black t-shirts and sang about pain and played their instruments so hard and heavy that it looked like their guitars would become sawdust and strings by the end of their show. They were an incredible band. That's what is missing in this film.  "Revealing: But Is This Good Or Bad?"I remain convinced to this day that Metallica is the best band in the world. No questions asked when I got this DVD I popped it in and watched it. My initial reaction(Initial meaning after I watched every available piece of video on that DVD; over 7 hrs. worth) was: WOW. I have to say my favorite part about it was Kirk's traffic school song(but maybe that's just me...). Anyway, I was reading the spotlight reviews, and in general I found what I read to be accurate except for one that seemed to be "demystified" of Metallica. Well first off; the word is "disillusioned", and second I found the DVD to be most informative and true it did reduce my view of James Hetfield: REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE to rubble but hell, I don't care whether Kirk is a little conservative, or Lars is at times a whiner. I love Metallica for their music, not there personality. I tend to feel things such as personality should apply when evalutating someone for a relationship, not a heavy metal rocker. The fact remains that James still has the best growl in the industry, Lars is still a kickass drummer, and Kirk is on of the best guitarists out there. Metallica is still Brilliant, Bloody Brilliant, and theres no deny it. On to the DVD itself...hmm. I thought it was awesome, seeing lars's childhood home, watching james in his awesome hotrod, watching the bassist interviews. The napster movie was hilarious and my only complaint is that droning therapist. Effective or not in the field of therapy and his attempts with Metallica I honestly didn't see him helping Metallica that much. Mostly Metallica come to understandings by arguing about something until it was settled. And I do happen to feel he shoulda spent more time stopping that instead of fixing hogies. But seeing James progress from the somewhat of an egomaniac he was to being able to share the load of head writer and watching them accept Rob better then they did Jason was cool. I thought Jason whining and him throwing his none to subtle hints about wanting back in the band was...amusing. Watching the band when it was technically only two members was enlightening to say the least and watching them rise from the ashes in phoenix type fashion was somewhat of a(dare I say it)...inspiration. Watching them go from selfish conflict to true effort and watching them come out with #1 on release day was cool. (my views pertaining to St. Anger disclosed in other reviews.) "Blown Perceptions"Bottom line - some things should not be made public. At the same time, watching these guys under a microscope was both enlightening and disturbing. These guys made recording a heavy metal record look and feel like sheer drudgery!!!! They seemed to hate each other for the most part. About 10 minutes into the flick I was left wondering why they even bothered to do it??? Was their management twisting their arms to do this record??? But now as I listen to the CD, I can clearly hear them expressing their love/hate relationship to each other (i.e. "I'm madly in anger with you"). Some Kind of Monster is appropriately named for this DVD because that is exactly what these guys are feeding. Let's face it, they have enough money to survive on for the rest of their lives. They can afford a $40k a month therapist for God's sake!! What is the motivation to work together to create another metal masterpiece?? There is none! And it comes across clearly in the film. But they feel the need to keep feeding the beast because everyone else is expecting it from them. The bonus feature showing management discussing the future of Metallica after James' heads to rehab is very telling. They are "Some Kind of Monster". "We the people" are "Some Kind of Monster". Lars, James and Kirk still feel the need to feed it despite the fact that they clearly don't love it anymore. Robert Trujillo must be wondering what the hell he got himself into.  "Very revealing"I'm surprised that no one seems to draw any comparisons between this movie and 'A Year And A Half In The Life Of Metallica', the documentary that followed them through the recording and subsequent touring of 'The Black Album'. James Hetfield didn't seem to mind the cameras back then, but today, in SKOM, he loathed them. To me the older documentary was more fun and entertaining, but this new one gave the band in a nice emotional depth. Watching Some Kind Of Monster reminded me of how huge of a Metallica fan I used to be. Every frame of old flashback material I instantly recognized and reminded me of good times. Though this was a documentary, it was played out like a scripted move. I'm not likening it to the phoney realty TV out there, I'm saying that it flowed like a movie should, in such a way that had you guessing about the future of the band. My complaint about the movie is that it felt claustrophobic. Even though it took like two years to film, the recording studio and the therapy room were the only dominant locations.Though already a long movie, I felt that it could keep on rolling Just as things were picking up from the gloom of uncertainty, the movie came to an end. |
