You know generally when you watch really low budget independent movies the only ones that are any good are those really self referential campy for camp’s sake silly movies, you know the Ed Wood-wannabe Troma/whatever films. Because the probl...
Opening on the boggy marshland of Arkansas, candid voice-overs from the locals of the small town of Brinkley entice us toward the notion that the Ivory Billed Woodpecker, long since thought extinct by all experts, is alive and well and that b...
You know how – generally speaking – low budgets lead to much more interesting storylines and script, when it comes to movies, tv, etc? I mean, realistically, the director has to make up for the lack of spectacle somehow. And that is not to say...
A DVD of the Chieftains live is a bit of a tough thing to review for me. Because? Well, for starters, I think fans of the Chieftains know who they are and what they are about, and probably pretty much what to expect live. Anyone that would...
From the title, one might assume that O Zelador would appeal to the narrowest of niche markets, but this Portugese documentary with English subtitles in facts has a wide-ranging appeal for anyone with an interest in Brazil, or world mu...
As a result of not having television, I only ever hear about shows after the fact when somebody is shocked that I’m not a fan of such and such a show. I hadn’t checked in with Tracey Ullman since the early 80’s when the video for her hit “You B...
An excellent document of Return To Forever’s 2008 reunion tour. This concert (with the exception of bonus tracks) was recorded live at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzlerland. The reunion featured the classic “rock” lineup of Return To For...
So okay if you don’t like cheaply made, ultra low budget horror gore fests, don’t watch this. I feel this needs to be said as so many people I know are completely funny with low budget films. Like, you find this super awesome cheap B-movie ...
Well when I sat down to watch Revamped my girlfriend was really hoping for a vampire makeover movie, that would have been great. You know like well vampires live forever right, so obviously every few years they are gonna have to do some rev...
Dream of Life is not a concert movie. Don’t expect to see hours of footage of godmother punk performing her fiery back catalogue. While you will be treated to a few snippets of Patti performing; Dream of Life is rather an intimate portrait of o...
Okay, first of all, right of the bat, I have to get this out of the way. If you can’t stand cheap special effects, low budget filmmaking, bad to moderate, at best, acting, and cornball science fiction, do not in any way watch the Planet. Th...
Initially I was going to throw this DVD into the garbage and pretend that I had never seen it, and act like it must have just disappeared. I assumed no one else would see it and everything would be for the best. One more piece of junk the worl...
A nice if highly opaque look at the life and times (and music) of Congolese musician Wendo Kolosoy. Instead of focusing on any kind of clear narrative, filmmaker Jacques Sarasin focuses on beautiful footage of people and scenes, interspersed wi...
Not unlike Sharpling & Wurster‘s Air Mix-loving Music Scholar, I had almost completely eschewed rock music when Arab on Rador was a working band, so even despite the fact that my girlfriend’s best friend was dating one of the guys in the ba...
An excellent look back at the beginnings of punk rock in Canada, D.O.A. Smash The State features concerts clips and other documentary footage from the early years 1978-1981. Concerts include the legendary San Francisco venue Mabuhay Gardens, Sa...
In 1995/1996 The Dandy Warhol’s met The Brain Jonestown Massacre, this is the story about the love/ hate rivalry between the two and how each band takes road after road in different directions.
2000 hours of footage is kept for the f...
The Last Pogo is an all-too-brief 26-minute glimpse at the Toronto punk scene circa 1978. The film set out to document one last-hurrah at the Horseshoe Tavern, a venue that two promoters known as The Garys had been booking with legendary punk g...
An excellent music documentary that seeks out what’s left of hillbilly culture, Homemade Hillbilly Jam is a look, both visually and musically rich, at the Ozark Mountains. Focusing on the extended Bilyeu family and the Big Smith ba...
A well-made bilingual documentary by Sophie Fortier and Audrey Gautier, with options of French or English subtitles about a hardworking punk band from Montreal, Quebec. The band has been paying dues since 1999, touring relentlessly and happil...
Fingered is a periodical DVD zine that focuses in each edition on a different local scene. The Winter/Spring 2008 edition focuses on the vibrant Montreal noise rock and art scene and features a variety of interview, concert performa...
The premise of Magus is not especially well layed out at any point during the movie, but it's an enjoyable ride from start to finish nonetheless thanks to excellent acting by Ron Fitzgerald as The Magus Fernos, Bill Steel as Uncle F...
A thoroughly enjoyable film starring Rosanna Arquette and an excellent cast of British actors. Dead Cool’s main character David is played to great effect by Steven Geller. 15 year old David’s father is filled early on in ...
Last Request has a very pungent aroma of B movie, but is enjoyable anyway thanks to a warm, feel-good vibe throughout. The cast includes Danny Aiello, Joe Piscopo and Gilbert Gottfried.
Aiello stars as a comedian father with six ...
48 Angels is an Irish film notable for its beautiful cinematography and haunting narrative. The film, set in contemporary Northern Ireland, was directed by Marion Comer and stars Ciaran Flynn, John Travers and Shane Brolly.
We...
