I was fortunate to have seen Dr. Feelgood on several occasions in the mid-'70s featuring the original lineup. I was excited when I found out about this documentary and ordered it right away. I was concerned that it might not capture the spontaneous nature and in-your-face, high energy of the band live, nor the uniqueness of its key members, Wilko Johnson and Lee Brilleaux. I needn't have worried because this is without doubt the best possible reading of these lads from Canvey Island. I had always wondered what happened to these Punk precursors and why Wilko Johnson so abruptly left the band at the zenith of their popularity. I had also wondered about the dynamic between Wilko and Lee Brilleaux, the front man and blues harp player. Anyway, these questions and a world of others were answered in watching this remarkable documentary. It is not only the history of this particular blues rock band but also that of a transitional historical moment when rock'n'roll shifted so radically to a harder and more basic paradigm, opening up a world of new musical possibilities for a genre which had become stagnant and boring. Dr. Feelgood were truly avatars helping to save rock'n'roll from a certain death by corporate dictum.
Reviews
9 Reviews
Le parfum de Mathilde
(1995 Video)
Excellent, atmospheric fim with great acting and direction
17 March 2012
Very atmospheric in nature. Reminds me, in a certain way, of Kubrick's "Eyes Wide Shut" with Tom Cruse and Nicole Kidman. Draghixa is quite endearing in her role as the ingenue and was certainly at her most most devastatingly beautiful at this juncture in her short porn career. I have it on my hard disk and still click on it occasionally, sometimes only to watch the erotic solo dance number that serves as the background for the opening credits. Excellent, fast-paced direction with exceptional acting, especially for a porn flick. Definitely a movie that a woman will appreciate for all kinds of reasons. This movie is terrifically difficult to find and my DVD copy is obviously one made from a VHS tape; however, I have not found that the marginal quality of it has detracted from my enjoyment.
The Runaways
(2010)
This movie is a stupid travesty! Where's Lita?
4 April 2010
Warning: Spoilers
I was a HUGE fan of the Runaways and followed them during the entirety of their tenure as a rock band. I saw them live and up-close on many, many occasions, possibly as many as thirty to forty shows. I saw them throughout the two personnel changes on bass (Vicki Blue and Laurie McAllister). Then after the demise of the band, I followed the solo careers of Joan Jett, Lita Ford, and Cherie Currie. So, being a first-hand, real-time, expert on the Runaways, it is inconceivable to me that a movie entitled, "The Runaways" could possibly be made with so little mention of lead guitarist, Lita Ford. It doesn't really matter to me that Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning look SO MUCH like Joan and Cherie, and that they do their own singing while sounding SO MUCH like the real thing. Also, who cares how much the story captures the "essence" of the band and the times in which they operated. For this movie to marginalize and almost completely leave out Lita Ford is not only a TRAVESTY but should be considered CRIMINAL! Everybody concerned should be arrested and sent to prison at hard labor. And I'm NOT exaggerating in the least here! It's a rock and roll crime!
If not for Lita Ford's lead guitar work affording the band almost immediate rock and roll credibility, the Runaways would never have even gotten off the ground, much less be able to fill venues and issue multiple albums of kick-ass rock music. There's no doubt that Joan Jett was a powerful presence on stage and contributed much with her rhythm guitar work and vocals. Also, Sandy's drumming was exceptional. But it was Lita who allowed the Runaways to soar and be taken seriously. For those of you who aren't familiar with Lita's brilliant guitar work, vocals, and her total command of the stage, all you'd have to do is view the DVD entitled, "Lita Ford - The Complete Video Collection" (still available from Amazon). There's seven live songs on this collection taken from a concert at Wembley Stadium in London in 1989 that will blow your mind and demonstrate Lita's true greatness. Neither Joan Jett nor Cherie Currie has ever - nor will they ever - even come close to attaining Lita's level of rock and roll prowess.
I consider the movie, "The Runaways," to be a total joke and a rather tawdry ripoff. It's based on the updated version of Cherie Currie's autobiography, "Neon Angel." The introduction to the book is by none other than Joan Jett herself! Yep, these two pretenders to Lita Ford's throne are just out there making some heavy and undeserved trash-cash and obviously couldn't care less about the truth or the facts. And just to demonstrate how contrived the book is, Currie states in the book that her identical twin sister, Marie, bailed out on their joint-venture album, "Messin' With The Boys," and left Cherie high and dry to go it alone, and that Marie refused to go on the road with a rock band to support the album. This a total fabrication because I saw the two of them, on the road, with a rock band, in concert, in 1980.
This whole Runaways movie just makes me sick to my stomach, and if I was a billionaire, I'd buy up all the prints to this stupid movie and destroy them immediately, never allowing them to see the light of day again!
Cherie Currie and Joan Jett: You should be ashamed of yourselves! And I feel certain that Sandy (RIP) would never approve of this mess!
If not for Lita Ford's lead guitar work affording the band almost immediate rock and roll credibility, the Runaways would never have even gotten off the ground, much less be able to fill venues and issue multiple albums of kick-ass rock music. There's no doubt that Joan Jett was a powerful presence on stage and contributed much with her rhythm guitar work and vocals. Also, Sandy's drumming was exceptional. But it was Lita who allowed the Runaways to soar and be taken seriously. For those of you who aren't familiar with Lita's brilliant guitar work, vocals, and her total command of the stage, all you'd have to do is view the DVD entitled, "Lita Ford - The Complete Video Collection" (still available from Amazon). There's seven live songs on this collection taken from a concert at Wembley Stadium in London in 1989 that will blow your mind and demonstrate Lita's true greatness. Neither Joan Jett nor Cherie Currie has ever - nor will they ever - even come close to attaining Lita's level of rock and roll prowess.
I consider the movie, "The Runaways," to be a total joke and a rather tawdry ripoff. It's based on the updated version of Cherie Currie's autobiography, "Neon Angel." The introduction to the book is by none other than Joan Jett herself! Yep, these two pretenders to Lita Ford's throne are just out there making some heavy and undeserved trash-cash and obviously couldn't care less about the truth or the facts. And just to demonstrate how contrived the book is, Currie states in the book that her identical twin sister, Marie, bailed out on their joint-venture album, "Messin' With The Boys," and left Cherie high and dry to go it alone, and that Marie refused to go on the road with a rock band to support the album. This a total fabrication because I saw the two of them, on the road, with a rock band, in concert, in 1980.
This whole Runaways movie just makes me sick to my stomach, and if I was a billionaire, I'd buy up all the prints to this stupid movie and destroy them immediately, never allowing them to see the light of day again!
Cherie Currie and Joan Jett: You should be ashamed of yourselves! And I feel certain that Sandy (RIP) would never approve of this mess!
The Lineup
(1958)
Steam room murder scene shot at the Embarcadero YMCA
3 December 2007
The steam room murder scene was shot at the Embarcadero YMCA, just to the south along the Embarcadero from the Ferry Building. I still swim and take a steam there on a regular basis and it still looks very much the same as it did in this amazingly wonderful noir! This YMCA functioned primarily as a merchant seamans' hotel way back in the day when San Francisco was a busy shipping port and the environment along the Embarcadero was quite dicey, to say the least. (Ocean shipping now goes into Oakland and Alameda across the Bay where there are enormous container facilities with huge cranes). I remember when this area was loaded with noir atmosphere due to the shipping piers (which are extant but used for a variety of other purposes) and the presence of the elevated Embarcadero Freeway (now torn down). I believe that the word "salty" would describe it perfectly! I remember one night standing outside the entrance to the "Y" waiting for my father to pick me up (he was a merchant seaman) and the fog was particularly dense that night. The fog horns were blaring and the street lights were haloing and I remember thinking how beautiful a moment this was. And I still believe that this was the most beautiful moment of my long life! The "Y" is now surrounded by all that is yuppy and modern. If you could only have seen that area back then... "Pave paradise and put up a parking lot."
Drugstore Cowboy
(1989)
I saw many, many people like these in the 1970's in San Francisco
26 November 2007
I lived in San Francisco all through the 1970's and saw tons of these kinds of people. They all tended to "group" together for the common purpose of scoring and getting high on any kind of drugs available, but the drug of choice always seemed to be heroin. These groups, or small communes, always tended to have a strong leader who ran the whole show for the group and issued "orders" like a drill sergeant, but interestingly, in a very "loving" way. And nobody ever seemed to question this leader. In fact, HE always seemed to be treated with complete deference (reverence???) as if HE were some kind of a star. Everybody in the group seemed to have a specific "job" to do within the group, and their jobs seemed to define their value to the group and, hence, their "right" to be there. Except for the fact that they existed in the general "hippy" milieu of the time, they never showed any signs of being interested in the presumed hippy world view. I always felt the groups simply represented highly efficient, small business concerns. These people were known thieves, drug dealers, and small-time con artists and, if left alone, they were not considered dangerous. In fact, they were typically very intelligent and interesting people, but very closed-off to the world outside their group. Each group was like its own little cult.
The group portrayed in Drugstore Cowboy would have fit in perfectly with what I remember from that time, except that there were typically more people in the groups than just four. I would say these groups numbered more like six to eight people, certainly enough to occupy a large flat or house in one of the cheap neighborhoods. The fact that the cost of living was so much cheaper back then allowed for this type of lifestyle. And it was only when the real estate boom in San Francisco in the mid-to-late 1970's precluded this type of communal existence (lease applications, leases, personal references, high deposits, etc.) that these "illegal" groups tended to disappear. The ease with which the group in DC moved from one living space to the other would become impossible due to these new economic and social realities (higher rents and stiffer rules). Yes, even in Portland.
Anyway, this movie really resonnated with me and triggered my memories of that time, and I think it's accurate to say that this is truly a "period piece." I'm certain that the DC group could have only existed in the early 1970's, and certainly no later than say 1974-5.
I have no idea why I felt compelled to write all this seeing as how it has very little to do with the movie, which I loved. Thank you!
The group portrayed in Drugstore Cowboy would have fit in perfectly with what I remember from that time, except that there were typically more people in the groups than just four. I would say these groups numbered more like six to eight people, certainly enough to occupy a large flat or house in one of the cheap neighborhoods. The fact that the cost of living was so much cheaper back then allowed for this type of lifestyle. And it was only when the real estate boom in San Francisco in the mid-to-late 1970's precluded this type of communal existence (lease applications, leases, personal references, high deposits, etc.) that these "illegal" groups tended to disappear. The ease with which the group in DC moved from one living space to the other would become impossible due to these new economic and social realities (higher rents and stiffer rules). Yes, even in Portland.
Anyway, this movie really resonnated with me and triggered my memories of that time, and I think it's accurate to say that this is truly a "period piece." I'm certain that the DC group could have only existed in the early 1970's, and certainly no later than say 1974-5.
I have no idea why I felt compelled to write all this seeing as how it has very little to do with the movie, which I loved. Thank you!
Crossroads
(I) (2002)
Britney Spears is God
7 August 2005
Warning: Spoilers
Yes, that's correct, folks, Britney Spears is God! And as for this wonderful movie, only God could have made something so perfect!!! Just the opening sequences alone, where She dances around the bedroom in Her underpants and sings into a cereal spoon is worth the price of admission, or rental, or purchase! It's obvious from some of the negative comments listed in this forum that many of the respondents can't handle God. Too bad! God is great, God is good! Britney rules the universe! Crossroads is the best movie EVER made! Have any of you noticed how many comment entries there are for this movie? There must be at least a billion of them! Yup, she managed to touch each and every one on you on some level or other. She touched a nerve that you prefer not to have touched, huh? That's what the great ones do. They cause you consternation and emotional upheaval! Deal with it...
Zoey 101
(2005–2008)
Loved the fact that this show is all about the students
3 July 2005
I love this show because it's all about the students, with a minimum of intrusion by adults, teachers, authority figures, etc. Too many shows having to do with young people are way too preachy and holier-than-thou. This show keeps its characters in-character and within the scope of their presumed level of maturity. In short, Zoey 101's a very focused and specific treatment of pubescent youth as told in their "own words," so to speak. Jamie Lynn Spears leads a remarkable cast of very effective young actors and comedians, and there's no doubt as to who's the leader of this favored, middle-class bunch of endearing cut-ups. Spears apparently has inherited the "power-gene" like big sister, Britney, and uses it to good effect without overreaching. I like this show and am impressed and thankful for its restraint and good taste. It will be interesting to see how the various excellent actors in this show develop in the years to come. I have no doubt that Spears will succeed: You've just gotta love that ridiculously wonderful face of hers, dontcha?
Me, Myself & Irene
(2000)
Absolutely Anna Kournikova's finest dramatic performance to date!
7 April 2002
Never in the annals of movie dramatics has an actress done so much with so little. When Anna Kournikova talks about her boyfriend, "Scooter", the tears just rolled down my cheeks. That she was overlooked for an Oscar nomination just goes to demonstrate once again how phony that whole process is!
Britney Spears Live from Las Vegas
(2001 TV Special)
In which a young star demonstrates all that she's learned, knows, and believes about show business and performing up to this point.
21 November 2001
Our favorite blond, nubile, performing sex symbol brings together all the many and disparate elements of her considerable repertoire into the definitive and ultimate Britney Show. And what a statement she makes!!! She sings, dances, prances, smiles, pouts, cries, flies (yes, flies!), takes a shower!!!, and treats us to a patented Britney Spears Fashion Show as only she can do it. And all done in the big-arena, state-of-the-art, exploding, smoke-filled environment of Las Vegas glitz. One gets the distinct feeling that this show represents a watershed moment, a compendium of all that is Britney to this point, a statement of virtuosity in which one can almost see her in a mortarboard and gown, proud to receive her degree and ready to proceed on to postgraduate work. She's absolutely done it all at this level. The movies are next and one just knows absolutely that she's going to knock us all dead at that level, too! A great, great show!!! She did it again. Hail, Britney!
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