Dope is about a self-proclaimed geek, Malcolm, and his two geeky friends who are high school seniors in Inglewood California. The trio ends up being tricked into moving a package of MDMA for a drug dealer.
Hijinks ensue.
5/5
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The Campbell Review |
Dope is Dope. I very much enjoyed this clever little coming-of-age dramedy. It's a breath of fresh air. It's fun! Dope is about a self-proclaimed geek, Malcolm, and his two geeky friends who are high school seniors in Inglewood California. The trio ends up being tricked into moving a package of MDMA for a drug dealer. Hijinks ensue. 5/5
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I'm always up for a good biographical documentary, particularly about obscure, lesser known, often critically acclaimed outsiders artists. Those who though critically acclaimed, never really broke into the mainstream. The Harry Nilsson, Daniel Johnston, and Townes Van Zandt docs are fantastic. Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me is that kind of a doc, and the doc Big Star deserves. Now both deceased, there is a bit more attention paid to Alex Chilton's genius, and his lengthy and prolific career. There is also due respect to paid Chris Bell, as well as to the band's lasting influence and musical legacy. If you don't know Big Star, you aren't alone. Check this out. 5/5 Seymour: An Introduction is a documentary film by actor/director Ethan Hawke. The film focuses on octogenarian, Seymour Bernstein, a classical pianist who quit performing concerts in the middle of his career in order to focus on teaching (and on becoming great at getting the most out of life). Hawke presents this as a very serious, reverent documentary, but Seymour breaks through with his beautiful wisdom, perspectives, life lessons, stories, and experiences. Seymour's unbound but very grounded passion for life and the piano is infectious. He's an absolute delight and his outlook on life and his passion for music bring him as near to ecstasy as he can possibly get. To say this doc is touching and poignant is an understatement. Seymour makes me want to be better at my life, in general. 4/5 t took me 8 years to see Cocksucker Blues and it was definitely worth it. Crappy versions do exist and one might even live on Youtube, but I was fortunate enough to see it at the Telluride Film Festival this summer. Guest Director Rachel Kushner chose the rare documentary. It wasn't on film, but it was on the big screen--and it was LOUD. Cocksucker Blues is Robert Frank's rarely screened, long-suppressed, unstructured and experimental documentary on The Rolling Stones. Essentially, Frank allowed anyone to pick up the camera and film. The film combines incredible on stage footage--using the 16mm sound as it was filmed--with behind the scenes debauchery including some pretty rapey content, all filmed during the 1972 Exile on Main Street tour. This is a noisy, clunky, jarring film and I'm so glad I finally got to see it! 4/5 Suburbia (Penelope Spheeris, US, 1983) Suburbia is a low-budget independent film by Penelope Spheeris (Decline of Western Civilization, Wayne's World). Suburbia is about a group of homeless punk kids in LA who are squatting in an abandoned suburban housing development. This is a stellar film about chosen family, community, punk ethos, poverty, and abuse. There are some terrific live performances throughout including TSOL and The Vandals. Keep your eyes open for baby Mike B "Flea". 5/5 True Stories (David Byrne, US, 1986) True Stories is a musical comedy written and directed by Talking Head's David Byrne. An unnamed visitor (played by Byrne) visits small-town Virgil Texas for its sesquicentennial celebration. Along the way he meets the towns' colorful characters, he visits Virgil's brand new shopping mall, attends a surreal fashion show, and finally a big talent show. This film has great music, sung by the actors, including numbers by Pop Staples and John Goodman. Lastly, this is a truly quirky and strange, 100% enjoyable film. Here's a piece of trivia: there are over 50 pairs of twins in the film! 5/5 Sid and Nancy (Alex Cox, UK, 1986) I'm a big Alex Cox fan. Repo Man and Straight to Hell are stellar little punk rock movies. Cox's Sid and Nancy, however, is more than that; it's a remarkable piece of cinema. Don't be mistaken, while based on real people and actual events, this is not really so much a bio-pic as a portrait of self-destruction. Cox did little research and fictionalizes quite a bit. The result is the raw and poignant story of young love through a drug and alcohol fuelled haze. Oldman and Webb are brilliant. 5/5 Amy is a new documentary about the late, great singer Amy Winehouse. This doc is comprised wholly of found footage, that is often set to off-screen interviews about Amy. There are no talking heads or experts in this film. These are the voices of Amy's friends, family including her father Mitch Winehouse, her ex-husband, and her a few colleagues including her former manager Nick Shymansky and producer Salaam Remi. The film focuses on Amy's rise to stardom, her short but impressive career, and her tumultuous personal life during those years. As such, it was a concise (at 2 hours and 8 minutes) portrait of the road to fame its subsequent path of destruction. It's about addiction, self-destruction, eating disorders, fame, talent, heart, and love. Along the way there are several impressive performances, though the documentary is not overly pre-occupied with performance footage. Amy is gut wrenching. I cried. 4/5 It's impossible to say how many times I have seen Harold and Maude. When I worked at a video store I often put it on repeat during 8 hour shifts. It's my all time favorite and I have to admit that there's nothing that notable about the aesthetic of the filmmaking. For me, this is all heart and soul. My love goes back much further than the video store. It was a favorite as a kid, albeit hard to come by. This is the story of a May-September type, unusual relationship between morbid and depressed young Harold and the much much older fun-loving, eccentric Maude. This movie is super quirky and all around delightful. 5/5 |
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