Category: REVIEWS

Director: Chris Lewort, Producer: Keira Freeman, Art Director: Leah Heming

“The Art Bastard Show is a groundbreaking documentary. It follows the quest to unite Bristol’s highest profile artists, brought together for the city’s most ambitious exhibition to date.”

We need to talk about Banksy. Well no, we don’t, but it’s hard not to think about Exit Through the Gift Shop while watching The Art Bastard Show, because they seem to have the same motive: To mock the art world. Exit Through the Gift Shop was an attack on an art establishment that takes itself too seriously, plucking talented or edgy artists from relative obscurity and anointing them “The Next Big Thing”. The Art Bastard Show does the very same thing, but doesn’t stop at the establishment, it attacks the middle-ground and the fringe alike: fine artists, folksy twee ones, graffiti artists, London art gurus, galleries and art directors. So much so that it’s difficult to see the point of it. Is this simply a bitter reaction to being rejected by a big gallery?

The difference between Gift Shop and Bastard is exactly the difference between the first and second series of Look Around  You (essential viewing). The first was played straight and perfect for it. The subjects are unaware of how funny they are. The second (as in The Art Bastard Show) was self-conscious about the joke and more prone to falling flat. The audience is rarely helped by the actor winking at the camera. Yes pal, we get it, don’t bust down the fourth wall for that.

Lewort et al have clearly been influenced by Chris Morris – The Day Today era: aiming to stick a pin in a few egos as well as observing people at their most ridiculous. On that note, Art Bastard may have benefitted from interviews with figures from the art establishment (see also Philomena Cunk).

So here’s my advice: To gain maximum enjoyment from The Art Bastard Show, watch it before anything mentioned above. If you have already seen them, keep your expectations low and its merits might stand out – Look up the artists on Twitter if you want to get into the swing of it. The production is great and the establishment deserves a ribbing, of course. It prompted a couple of laughs, so it’s not a flop, and hopefully Lewort will maximise on that for the next production.

As young lovers find themselves on the wrong end of a poltical coup in Chile, Colonia follows their tale as Daniel (Daniel Bruhl) is tortured for his participation in revolutionary events, to rescue him, the fiesty and determined Lena (Emma Watson) must embed herself into the religious cult assisting in his torture as old allies refuse their aid.

Despite being based on real events, Colonia is more of a romantic thriller than an investigation into the real events and characters involved in Colonia Dignidad, a religious cult led by a former Nazi, and was compicit with war crimes in Chile. Many reviews of Colonia might see this a negative, and in many ways, Florian Gallenberger has missed a chance here, but has instead chosen to create a love story intertwined with discovery.

Colonia could easily be separarated into 4 short films and one mid length feature, but not in a bad way (give me a second here). Gallenberger does a fantastic job of building the beauty of the initial revolution, only to destroy it instantly with the coup. The transfer to scenes as Colonia Dignidad, which are beatifully pieced together, giving a sense of vasst open land without losing the suffocation of the regime, are shocking and there is a stark difference in tone which I really enjoyed. The final part, which is your typical running from the bad guys scene, is probably the worst, needelessly overplayed and drawn out, but it does serve to display the true extent of the corruption involved in this story.

Emma Watson and Daniel Bruhl give their usual high level performance, but both fail to take it past what we expect and give that little bit more to make these roles special. Bruhl will forver be my favourite young revolutionary and Emma Watson plays a strong but delicate woman to perfection, really playing the only hero in this story. Credit really must go to Michael Nyqvist who plays cult leader Paul Schafer who gives a spine chillingly believable performance. Finaally, the scenes known only as ‘mens meetings’ are shockingly brutal. Credit for these must go to not only the director and Nyqvist but also the countless extras who partake in thescenes.

Overall, Colonia could be considered an average film with high level material. I personally found it exciting and enjoyable, but it doesn’t bring much new to the table. If you’re looking for something exciting and mildly provocative, but not so much so you’ll question life, then Colonia is an excellent choice.

“What am I looking for, what am I looking for? Please tell me, talk to me”.

Paul Thomas Anderson’s fourth feature film after Hard Eight, Boogie Nights & Magnolia is either a drama or an unsentimental romantic comedy, depending on what you’re sensitive to.  Featuring Adam Sandler as the seemingly affable Barry, a smart, straight-talking vulnerable man, dealing in bathroom supplies.  He is endearingly honest with people who abuse his confidentiality, yet balances this with a multi-faceted personality – polite and drily funny with the ability to get extremely angry when provoked. Barry has seven omnipresent sisters; the type who think that family means being able to say whatever they want to their younger brother, consisting mainly of teasing and mockery.

Emily Watson as Lena Leonard, is the surprise in Barry’s life, as naturally good as she always is. Anderson, when talking about the casting said that both Watson and Sandler seemed like nice people, the kind he’d like to have round for dinner. This film is not the traditional vehicle for Sandler’s classic comic characters, which is a refreshing surprise. It is a stripped back version, featuring some dark desperation, and nobody can say shut up like the crooked mattress salesman Dean Trumbell (Philip Seymour Hoffman) as he tries to wreak havoc on Barry’s life. The late and great Hoffman, who appeared in five of Thomas Anderson’s films, makes the film worth seeing for his scenes alone.

Jon Brion has composed the soundtracks to all of Paul Thomas Anderson’s films and this one is as good as the rest. It is a beautifully constant presence, complimenting the script, unlike many soundtracks which distract and intentionally manipulate.

Despite not doing well at the box office when it was released 14 years ago, Anderson won his only Best Director award for it at Cannes in 2002. The film has since been recognised as one of his best. Punch Drunk Love is a brilliant film about human relationships as well as the beauty and anxiety of falling in love.

…and you can grab a pair of tickets for tomorrow’s London screening here.

By Donna Darling.

The Violators is a thought provoking British drama, set on a Northern estate, which looks at the different relationships 15 year old Shelly has (convincingly played by Laura McQueen). She’s forced to be more mature than her years in many ways; for example, looking after her younger brother Liam (newcomer Callum King Chadwick). However, her naivety and vulnerability still shows through in other scenarios. The viewer is a fly on the wall as she lives each day facing different violations, some more obvious than others, with each person she encounters.

Due to the issues that she’s faced in her past, when her neighbor Kieran (Liam Ainsworth) shows genuine goodwill towards her, she initially treats him with contempt.

She assumes that he too just wants something from her. As each day passes we watch Shelley’s life unfold. From the responses she has to people in her life, like Rachel (Brogan Ellis), who tries to befriend her out of the blue, to the powerful reaction she has just at the mention of her Father’s name.

This is a realistic drama, not just the characters but also the industrial Northern setting. Issues are raised that, unfortunately in reality, some teenagers are forced to face on their own. A great directorial debut from Helen Walsh, who also wrote this film.

The DVD is released on 25th July.

By Last Caress.

“Alright, Mister Sister! I want you to tell me… no, better yet, stand up and tell the class: WHADDA YOU WANNA DO WITH YOUR LIFE?!?”

“I Wanna Rock!”

Who doesn’t love Twisted Sister? I know I do. I know my son does too, although that may be thanks to SpongeBob SquarePants’ admittedly excellent reworking of I Wanna Rock: I’m a Goofy Goober. Still, who cares how you arrive at the party? Twisted Sister front man Dee Snider doesn’t care, he just cares that you get there.

We Are Twisted F***ing Sister!, the 2014 documentary by Andrew Horn, opens with this clip from seminal UK music show The Tube in 1982 depicting Twisted Sister at what I would call the peak of their career, and then quickly backtracks “3267 shows earlier” to Manhattan in 1972 where guitarist Jay Jay French had grown tired of the pot-heavy, hippified scene from whence he’d sprang, and taken instead to much more glamorous-looking outfits such as David Bowie, Lou Reed, Mott the Hoople and the New York Dolls. He wasn’t overly impressed with the music, mind you (“The Dolls – they look great, but… man, they suck!”), but thought that if he could find a band who looked glam but could actually play, he’d realy be onto something. And so it came that he landed a gig with The Twisted Sisters, a band playing Led Zeppelin and The Who covers whilst dressed fundamentally as women (“We’re dressed as women? Are there groupies for that?” “Oh yeah, you’re gonna get laid a LOT!”). A few miles away in Long Island, a disenchanted teenaged vocalist called Daniel “Dee” Snider was drifting from band to band, honing his craft. Dee was making a name for himself locally as were The Twisted Sisters (who, somewhere along the way, had become simply “Twisted Sister” by this point). Dee liked what Twisted Sister were all about but Twisted Sister, for their part, had been experiencing difficulties with vocalists (they sacked one, another one bailed on them, Jay Jay had a go but wasn’t in truth up to it), and ultimately split altogether. Undaunted, Jay Jay and Twisted Sister founder Kenny Neill revived the band with a new lineup which included guitarist Eddie Ojeda and Dee on vocals.

The band’s move from a covers band to a band playing original music produced a coup d’etat in which the young Dee took over writing duties from band leader Jay Jay, but this poduced a more raucous, rock n roll sound which coincidentally tallied all the more with their on-stage persona, which had begun transforming from an avant-garde house band into a wilder bunch of effeminately attired party boys, frequently holding on-stage drinking competitions, leading the crowd in chants of “Disco Sucks!” and hanging effigies of Barry White (although this act, unfortunately, began attracting the attention of racists blithely unaware that the band hated Barry for his music, not his skin colour).

It’s not all rise-and-rise of course; every story has to have a bit of adversity in there somewhere and so it goes for We Are Twisted F***ing Sister!

An epileptic seizure for Eddie Ojeda on a crucial night for them put paid to their chances of being signed to a major label. By the time the opportunity to play for all the big labels rolled back around, their glam look was considered passe. Forcing them back a step or two proved fruitful ultimately however as they retuned and retooled some more, becoming heavier and rockier just as NWOBHM bands like Iron Maiden and Judas Priest were becoming truly global, and spandex “hair” bands such as W.A.S.P. and Motley Crue were on their way to the big time. It’s Twisted Sister’s time. What will they do with it?

As a fan of the music in general and somewhat of the band in particular, I suppose it’s tough for me to gauge exactly how essential We Are Twisted F***ing Sister! is to all-comers. It’s much more of a conventional talking heads doc than, say, Sacha Gervasi’s phenomenal Anvil: The Story of Anvil (2008), a true triumph of the human spirit and in this reviewer’s opinion a must-watch for anyone, regardless of one’s interest in conventional heavy metal from three decades ago. To me though, We Are Twisted F***ing Sister! is nothing less than absorbing, not least because neither Jay Jay French nor Dee Snider were drinkers and still have their wits about them, and provide detailed and interesting commentary throughout (Dee is also highly interesting throughout Dick Carruthers’ more general metal documentary from 2006, Heavy Metal: Louder Than Life). You’ll no doubt already know whether We Are Twisted F***ing Sister! is something you want to see; Dee Snider himself would no doubt rather you just rocked out to the f***ing music, man!

We Are Twisted F***ing Sister! has an Australian DVD release.

@TwistedSisterNY

http://www.twistedsister.com/