Reviews

I think 'White House Madness' is a great example of quality independent cinema which combines a madcap sense of humor with political satire. The movie gets a bit preachy towards the end (for example: "I don't know what year you're in but I declare it 1984" followed by Hitler salutes) but throughout, the film is very funny. Basically the Watergate scandal is explained as a mix-up involving Nixon attempting to recover a stuffed, mechanical dog, which contains all of his criminal admissions; this essentially leads to the Watergate Scandal. Many clever moments of Marx Bros. type humor ensues. However if you're not a fan of this of type humor mixed with political satire and a somewhat preachy edge - particularly towards the end, then you might not like this. Also, it's lack of budget is somewhat obvious since this was an independent project. But if you put those prejudices aside, you might enjoy it. It's also a great mid 70s time capsule.

I'm surprised at the high grade this film received. Anyone who wants to know about Norwegian Black Metal would be better off reading 'Sound of the Beast' which goes into far more detail than this.

After seeing 'American Hardcore' and 'Get Thrashed: The Story of Thrash Metal', I think I have an idea of what makes a good documentary about a musical movement.

Those include but are not limited to: putting the movement into some social context, having a good sampling of the music, having some actual live footage, describing how it developed and what its influences were and describing where it ended up.

All of these basic ideas were touched on in very limited quantities. So apparently Black Metal was a cultural war against American capitalism and commercialism. How is that any different from Hard Core and why Norway? Furthermore how does that equate with burning churches down? Where did this music even come from? Fenriz briefly mentions Bathory and we see a lot of Venom t-shirts and that's it. No contrast with other styles of music? Furthermore Fenriz complains about its supposed commercialization (a dubious claim in the first place), but what got it there? And why NO live footage? This film could have been great. The directors could have expanded on why perhaps someone is being *praised* for killing a homosexual. One of these musicians says it as if it's good with no followup, no balance. And really, what is the link between Black Metal and violent performance art, of which we see a lot of.

The film has LOTS of interviews - a virtual downfall of documentaries - and many with Varg Vikernes, arguably the most notorious member of the Black Metal scene, yet aside from his very black and white argument against conformity, there is no explanation at all about his racism and anti-Semitism and how this came from Black Metal. The closes thing to live footage is a grainy video of Mayhem rehearsing... by the way, who is Mayhem? Were they the first band, was Dark Throne, Burzum? And why is Harmony Korine thrown into this documentary, just because he likes the music? This is an interesting topic and I hope that another documentary is about it some day. Oh and Fenriz is the most boring character to center a movie around.

In response to user Planktonrules, if you dismiss 'Made in U.S.A.' as too unconventional then Godard films really aren't for you. I did not find 'Made in U.S.A.' to be very unconventional in terms of its narrative structure any more than any film he made before it.

With that said, 'Made in U.S.A.', is essentially Godard's cross pollination of his three main interests: his wife/muse, his political views and his love of films. This was made right before he really went off the deep end into Maoist political tracts and essentially still holds to a solid narrative while utilizing his typical Godardian techniques.

Those include deconstructed narratives which remind you you're watching a movie, on screen text, film references galore (particularly to Otto Preminger), copious amounts of closeups of his gorgeous wife Anna Karina in her last film with the director and political rhetoric.

And, if you're wondering, the genre he uses this time is film noir. Another thing people fail to note is that it's quite a pro-feminist move to cast Anna Karina as the lead reporter/detective, going quite the opposite than most in the genre.

In conclusion, even without a solid knowledge of Godard's personal life reveals an entertaining film, that's surprisingly quick moving for Godard and further examination into his personal life reveals a lot of what this film says.

So to all you naysayers who 'don't get it' and to those who love his films based on the fact that you're supposed to, hope that helps!

I'm shocked by the negative reviews for this movie. I think it's a well made, intelligent horror film through and through and furthermore, it might be Rob Zombie's most ambitious film.

There are a couple of problems and I think the worst may be its somewhat clunky structure, especially the first 30 minutes or so, I think, (not sure didn't time it) almost ruin it but it was redeemed throughout.

And yes this movie is VERY violent. I'm pleasantly surprised (as a horror fan) that this received the coveted R rating which movies of this nature generally do not. Thank goodness because censorship is WRONG! With that all said this movie is a horror film, a character study and a social critique rolled up in one bloody good mess of a time. Basically the film follows a typically gory path but its the discovery from the main character Laurie Strode (Scott Taylor-Compton) and how she deals with the incidents of the previous film that drive the plot. She has nightmares relating to incidents but deals well; she's a survivor and honestly Rob Zombie's characterization of the three female leads is believable without condescending into mindless bimbo behavior; after all they are punk girls with killer taste in music! The movie also has a subplot involving a greedy Dr. Loomis (Malcolm McDowel) whose recent book about Michael Myers has made him millions but earned the ire of all those involved. He creates some unique moments of comic relief while also raising some questions of responsibility and tastefulness in media.

And it seems as if Rob Zombie really isn't taking any sides here - which I assume he wouldn't since he wrote enough songs about Charles Manson in the past.

With that all said the last sequences are great, the movie has great buildup. And yes all the icing for a horror/punk/weirdo are there as well including a neat rockabilly band at the end and wicked soundtrack including such obscure bands as Void (!!) and Scream (!!) in a big budget Hollywood movie, cool!!!!! I didn't like the ending. I should point that out that the very ending really cheapens the movie.

You've seen four different directors adapt their style to the Alien franchise and two to the Predator one and the crossover, inspired by a comic book. At this point anyone who goes and sees a sequel to these films is just going for the franchise.

With that said, this movie does not make you wait and wait and wait for, I don't know, 40 minutes before we see exactly what we're expecting. It throws you right in the middle of the what we, the blood thirsty fans want; two grotesque monsters and plenty of carnage.

Plot? Come on now, we've had that in seven other films between these two classic monsters. This movie gives fans exactly what they paid for. And this one really does deserve its R rating!

I'm assuming Cannibal Holocaust is most people's first and last exposure to the infamous cannibal exploitation sub-genre of Italian horror films. But, there are many films like this and to be sure this is not the only one with scenes of animal torture.

With that said I found this movie to be enjoyable, but then according to a certain IMDb commentator that makes me some sort of subhuman or cretin; whatever.

Cannibal films are not for the typical film watcher; they're for people into nasty and violent exploitation films. And yes these films are often crudely made, the acting isn't incredible, etc. But that's not why I watch "drivel" like this.

It's a good movie if you aren't put off by the extreme torture sequences and, in all honesty, does make some pretty strong statements about the media as a whole in its portrayal of violence. For fans of this also check out Eaten Alive! (not the Wes Craven film), Man from Deep River, Jungle Holocaust and of course the companion film, Cannibal Ferox a.k.a. Make Them Die Slowly.