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Monterey Pop, a review by Danae Cassandra

Monterey Pop
Year of Release: 1968
Directed By: D. A. Pennebaker
Starring: The Mamas and the Papas, Canned Heat, Simon and Garfunkle, Hugh Masekela, The Animals, Big Brother and the Holding Company, Jefferson Airplane, The Who, Country Joe and the Fish, Otis Redding, Jimi Hendrix, Ravi Shankar,
Genre: Music

Overview:
On a beautiful June weekend in 1967, at the height of the Summer of Love, the first and only Monterey International Pop Festival roared forward, capturing a decade's spirit and ushering in a new era of rock and roll. Monterey would launch the careers of Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and Otis Redding, but they were just a few among a wildly diverse cast that included Simon and Garfunkel, the Mamas and the Papas, the Who, the Byrds, Hugh Masekala, and the extraordinary Ravi Shankar. With his characteristic verite style, D.A. Pennebaker captured it all, immortalizng moments that have become legend: Pete Townshend destroying his guitar, Hendrix burning his. The Criterion Collection is proud to present this timeless document of a landmark event.

My Thoughts:
Interesting documentation of the Monterey Pop Festival but it feels incomplete. As a concert film, the music is excellent but it cuts between acts. I'm pretty sure it's to create a portrait of the entire festival, as if the viewer is travelling from one act to the next, but it means you never get a full set from anyone. There are also moments during Otis Redding's song that the camera is facing directly into the light and the screen becomes a blinding white square. Really annoying. As a documentary it includes little information about the Festival and it's place in the Summer of Love. So there's a lack of context for the less informed viewer.

But for those of us who would never have been able to go, the film offers a trip to the Festival, a capsule of a time and place in history. It is wonderful to have it, even if it leaves you wanting more.

Bechdel Test: N/A
Mako Mori Test: N/A

Overall: 3.5/5

(From July Movie Marathon: Musicals (Yes... You read right!) on August 1st, 2016)

Come and See, a review by Rich

across mother Russia...



Elem Klimov's stunning COME AND SEE is a relentlessly brutal condemnation of war hidden in the guise of a surrealistic coming-of-age nightmare. A physically and emotionally draining viewing experience, the film follows Florya (played brilliantly by Alexei Kravchenko), a 12-year-old boy living in 1943 Byelorussia. When he digs up an abandoned gun, Florya gleefully signs up with the Russian Army, looking forward to life as a soldier. But that fantasy rapidly deteriorates when the reality of the situation confronts him head-on. Abandoned by his fellow comrades, he stumbles across the weeping Glasha (Olga Mironova), a pretty teenager who has also been left behind. Together, the pair returns to Florya's village only to discover that everyone has been slaughtered Florya's mother and younger sisters included. The journey continues as Florya embarks on a mission to find food for the stranded inhabitants of a neighbouring village. He eventually lands in the middle of another German massacre, where the animalistic Nazis stuff the Russians into a barn and torch it, obliterating Florya's innocence completely.

This Soviet film pulls no punches and portrays war in it's most gruesome light. Deep felt hatred for the Nazis floods out of this film, and the camera style reminded me of a horror film as opposed to a typical war film. This wasn't entertainment, it was more endurance. If you are hardened and want to watch a war film that goes beyond the typical glossy hollywood fare, then try this on for size. 5/10

(From Around the World in 80 DVD's on February 12th, 2008)

The 2013 Pilot Review, a review by DJ Doena

Super Fun Night

Super Fun Night @ IMDb
Super Fun Night @ Wikipedia

Synopsis: Non-laugh track comedy by and with Rebel Wilson who has declared Friday night as "Super Fun Night" where she goes out with her friends and tries to have fun. For this you need to know that these people don't exactly fit the "beautiful people" pattern and are awkward on top of it.

My Opinion: The most fun this show provides is the opening titles, singing "Don't Stop Me Now" by Queen. Not only are the characters awkward (on purpose I hope) but it's also awkward to watch and rarely funny at all.

(From The 2013 Pilot Review on October 10th, 2013)