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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 |
 "band therapist...why the heck not!?"some friends recommended this to me, decribing it's numerous spinal tap pleasures, art auction outrages, and whining millionaire melodramas. it delivered all these and more in spades. this film is a very well made odyssey that made me laugh my ass off at these guys, at their use of rediculous psycho-speak and their clueless self-absorbtion...but, unlike my girlfriend who was quite over them by the end of the movie, i found myself quite liking them. this movie does something i've never seen before, which is showing rock stars unafraid of revealing themselves variously as middle-aged farts, shrewd buisness minded people calculating every gesture, emotional children, and bored and/or uninspired musicians. none are flattering things. but they get props for putting this out. what seems like a very dull premise to those who are not voyeuristic or easily seduced by jerry springer-like exploits, turns actually into something of a warm portrait. check out james hetfeild at his 6-year old daughter's ballerina class for simutaneous warm-fuzzies/ironic debacle. them sitting around "opening" up their feelings with phil, the "band therapist", is certainly a less appealing image of a rock star to show the masses than the reclusive/abusive stereotype. i should say that i once had an ear for their music in the 80s when i was a skateboarding punk rock teen, and i lost any taste for their overproduced slowed down ballad rock as they and i got older. that said, i got much pleasure out of this, so i don't think anyone need be a fan to watch this movie. additionally the scenes with lars' father are strange and fantastic. and the topper being the scenes with dave mustaine of megadeth. jeezus key-riest! what a goof-ball! it really is a must see. o, i forgot, the outtakes with ja rule and other hip hoppers in the studio is also a must see. four stars for sure!!  "Jimmyod"I was looking forward to seeing this video. Just as I expected, these guys are so out of touch with reality it is frightening. It is nice to see the mighty fall on their pompous little butts. That should be a lesson to anybody who thinks rock stars and rappers are anybody worth looking up too, the joke is on you. It is time for metalica to quit before they make bigger fools of themselves, and a word for Lars, learn when to shut the !@#$ up !  "Brilliantly Exposed Outpour of Creativity by Metallica..."Metallica: Some Kind of Monster introduces Metallica through a documentary filmed between 2001 and 2003, as the remaining members were working on their record St. Anger. Whether you are a fan or not the documentary offers a radiantly transparent view of one of the most celebrated heavy metal bands, as they share their personal struggles with the process of making the record. It dives into the social group dynamic and it portrays the personal psychology of each member of the band. The film also depicts former members and their experience within the band, which offers additional insight to the dynamic of the band. The accumulation of information presented offers a truly genuine cinematic experience of Metallica's identity. A reporter asks James Hetfield to describe Metallica's career with one word, a question that James seems to struggle with for a long time. The beginning of the documentary seems to provide the beginning on the search for this word as the bass player, Jason Newstead, announces that he is leaving Metallica, as he does not feel that the band offers him a chance to fully develop his artistic qualities. This is the beginning on a long uphill and narrow path, which they have to follow in order to save the band. For this purpose, they hire a therapist and performance coach, Phil Towle, to help them recover from the backlashes that the group dynamic generates. Phil facilitates group meetings much like a marriage counselor, as he tries to save the band's future. Through these meetings, the remaining members Lars Ulrich, James Hetfield, Kirk Hammett, and producer Bob Rock get to vent their concerns that lie close to their hearts. In a sense, the ordeal with Phil creates awkwardness, as there is a general preconceived notion of Metallica's identity. Metallica has shaped their stage identity over decades of performances where they have displayed an overtly tough, rock-n-roll, and "I-do-not-care" attitude. These weathered and hardnosed rock artists seeing a counselor does not fit in with the profile they have worked hard on to create around them. Yet, it is in this awkwardness where the audience will discover the true identity of the individuals in Metallica. A humane and compassionate side emerges, as the viewers are allowed into their personal lives where they can view their hobbies, hear their thoughts, and see how they behave while trying to create songs together. One of the most intriguing portions of the film is the brief moment of genius that delivers thoughts and ideas for the songs. Together with the ideas and the relentless hard work, Metallica puts in their work in order to find a way to perfect their creations such as Sweet Amber, Some Kind of Monster, and Frantic. Through the thousands of hours that Metallica endured in their recording studios where they tweaked and changed the sound and words of their songs and tunes the audience gets to see the source of their material. Creativity pours out from their experiences and repressed feelings, which delivers a caged and furious monster. This monster screams to get out, and on the record St. Anger, the audience can hear Metallica's rage of this monster free itself. Despite the seemingly hostile material Metallica does a brilliant job of exorcising their own demons, as they visit the San Quentin Prison to express their feelings through their lyrics and tunes. Ultimately, Metallica: Some Kind of Monster provides a genuine story of how a personal struggle can affect a group of people. The film does not depict the greatness, or the inadequacies of Metallica. It simply depicts a small group of men trying to find a solution to a problem, instead of being a part of the problem. This notion elevates the cinematic experience far above average cinema, as it truly offers some valuable lessons to ponder. The product of the pain and suffering that the band went through gave them a chance to reunite and once again create an outstanding record offering much more than just mere words and head banging. Yet, one words seems to echo through the documentary, and it is the word anger, maybe this was the word that James was contemplating. "Truly a moving movie experience"I've never been a big Metallica fan... heavy metal just isn't on the top of my music list, so I was marginally interested in seeing this movie. But, I often find documentaries fascinating, so I watched it. I have to confess... I was extremely moved and captivated by what I saw. Actually, I couldnt's stop watching it. It was genuinely inspiring to see these hard-core metal icons being courageous enough to face their demons and show up real, exposing their humanity to the world ~ rather than being content to hide behind their fame. Oddly enough, this movie gave me a sense of hope ~ hey, if these spoiled, ego-centric "rock stars" can evolve and learn from their own human experience how to make peace with each other... maybe there's hope for us as a nation? My personal thanks to Metallica for having what it takes to tell the truth.  "Too long, but still very funny"Some Kind of Monster is worth watching just for all the unintentional humor. Seeing these guys go through therapy with a guy who looks like Mr Rogers is absolutely ridiculous. The movie does drag on a bit, especially in that there really is no urgency to it, yet it's more than two hours long. These dudes are clearly uninspired and no longer capable of creating honest music, so while they are running around in some sort of crisis, I sat there saying "Who cares if they make this album or not?" But it's definitely interesting to see a bunch of aging metalheads try and make aggresive music between taking their daughters to ballet lessons. I just wish there was more Dave Mustaine in the movie. Oh and Kirk is hysterical. The pink shirts, the wimpy voice, the balding... it's just too funny. He can still shred though, I'll give him that. |
