Reviews

If you want to see a closer glimpse of who David Bowie really is, this is the short for you. And the secret of what Bowie's music is all about and what a genius he really is is found here.

Throughout history, we have seen David Bowie as this stud beyond all studs. From his pre-Ziggy days through The Thin White Duke and into the present, David Bowie has presented himself as THE Glamorous Rock Star without which there could be no rock stardom. And while that role has changed constantly with the times, there is no doubt that Bowie has changed with it. But if you watch closely, you will see that this "Rock Star" was always played with a wink and a smile; for underneath the visage of David Bowie the Rock Star is David Bowie (or really David Jones) the ordinary guy creating extraordinary music and theatre. And while he has been seen as a complete doppelganger without a true personality compass, the reality is that he is one of the modern world's truly great actors and has been but playing a role for us to take in with awe.

And to see this movie short is to understand this. This movie finally has Bowie drop the rock star visage to reveal a much closer glimpse of who he really is. Certainly he is playing a role, and this role should not be mistaken for the "real" David Bowie. But equally certain is that this role is the closest we have seen him to his real self. In essence, this film shows Bowie mocking the rock star image to the hilt while simulataneiously teaching us how our perceived gods can be mortal. And just as the boobish Vic is in reality the godly Screaming Lord Byron, the Glamorous Rock Star is but an Englishman with an overactive imagination.

To not realize Bowie's normalness and mediocrity is to not realize his genius and extraordinary talent. A god is born a god and should be faulted for acting short of that. But a human that acts like a god should be praised for performing the impossible. And David Bowie has performed the impossible for several decades. To fault this mortal's later works as being unnecessary and embarrassing is to not understand how his earlier works were beyond comprehension and expectation.

And oh yeah, it's a very funny movie for those with a sense of humor. It's a tad on the dry side, but if you don't find this movie to be funny then you should just be embarrassed. Remember, life should be played with the wink and the smile. You only get to do this once, so make the most of it while you've got the chance.

This movie is about two dudes that most likely hung out with real Hell's Angels after they became popular and sold-out in the late 60's and came up with a "perfect heist" type movie using the Angels as props for their caper.

Unfortunately for their characters, the Hell's Angels are a force of nature, similar to fire, and you can't play with them without eventually getting burned.

And unfortunately for you, I really can't tell much more about the movie without giving everything away. I'm not sure if the plot and character development was intended to develop over the course of the movie, or if they just made it up as they went along; but that was the main thing that made it interesting, so I'm not really able to tell you anything more without ruining it.

Oh, but the best part about the movie: they used real Hell's Angels to play the Hell's Angels. They even use their real names. And if you think that the REAL Oakland Angel's were going to be in a movie in which they end up the suckers, you've got another think coming. As I said, the Hell's Angels are a force of nature and are not to be trifled with. Just give them their due, and pray they let you walk away.

Macgyver sucks. Marg Helgenberger (?!?) is horrid. The plot is predictable. But the eye? The eye is AMAZING! I tell you, when Lifetime Movie said that this was on following ROTOR, I was already looking for something else faster than you can say "Snap Dandy". The camera work looks like a first time college student at a rave, especially the first outdoor scene on the patio where I suspect the viewer is meant to feel motion sickness (or maybe it's the dialogue doing that). Overall, I completely suspected that this was intended to fulfill some cock-en-eyed television contract of Macgyver's.

But then the eye came on the scene, and I was all eyes myself. Helgenberger is looking for a cheap apartment in the Big Apple when she comes upon yet another rundown sleaze-hole. But just as she is planning to give it up, she perchances upon the eye pyramid in the window. She stares at it just long enough, and then...the sun shines through and mesmerizes her. She MUST have the apartment. And then Macgyver sees the eye, too.

And it all gets better from there.

P.S. Beware the Guillotine Room!

Very boring detective movie. Couldn't they at least agree as to what era they were in? Howard Hesseman is weak and embarrassing. He almost makes Brooke Shields seem good. No, nothing could do that. She was completely unredeemable.

Originally, made for tv, but eventually released as film. My guess is that no network would have it. Most likely went straight to video, which is just a waste of good videotape.

The worst is that it's not bad enough to funny. Just boring tv detective shlock. I recommend the movie ROTOR one hundred times over this borefest.