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Reviews18
ThePrinceofPeas's rating
Cul de Sac is a great flick. It's about Shawn Nelson, the unemployed plumber and former Gulf War vet, who took an M-60 tank on a six mile rampage across San Diego. There's footage of it on shows like "World's Most Dangerous Police Chases".
Shawn was suffering from depression after a divorce, drug addiction (meth) and the death of his parents. It also sounds like he had a unhealthy dose of paranoia. Shawn used to tell his buddies and co-workers that one day he'd steal a tank and drive up the steps of city hall. There's some cool interviews. Shawn's older brother talks about how much he misses him and said what a nice guy he was, as he gets choked up. Shawn's buddies were heavy crystal meth users but he spent a lot of his free time teaching them the basics of plumbing so they could find work.
Shawn was pretty out there too: he dug a 25 foot deep mine shaft in the basement of his small San Diego home in a quiet residential neighborhood. He became detached from reality when he believed he was finding gold dust and flakes in the dirt beneath his house. Supposedly, there were small amounts of gold in the rocks so he filed with the city for mineral rights on his property. His claim was denied. Enter disillusionment. Shawn was obviously a heavy crystal user and the goldmining sounds like a tweak thing. Shawn had generators in the basement and had even converted his jacuzzi into a sluice for his goldpanning. His buddies, all former meth addicts, were telling stories about all going down the mineshaft to dig for gold. It became a community tweak project. "Let's go to Shawn's to dig for gold". Meth heads and parolees would stop by Shawn's, do drugs, and then "head down the mine". Shawn's backyard was brimming with mounds of dirt. The neighbors must've been freaked out.
The documentary attempts to link Shawn's erratic methamphetamine-fueled behaviour back to the defence industry in San Diego. During the Cold War bomber crews would use methamphetamine to stay awake and alert for 24 hours straight. The filmmaker suggests San Diego, a post war community made up of military families and defence contractors, was a haven for meth as early as the 1950s.
When his mineral rights were denied by the local government it was probably the last straw for Shawn. His grip on reality seemed to be tenuous at best. His disillusionment now turned to anger. The rest is history. He stole a tank, crushed cars and RV's, knocked over utility poles but eventually tried to cross a concrete highway divider. The tank was stuck. San Diego Police opened the hatch with bolt cutters and shot 35-year-old Shawn Nelson to death. From the helicopter video, it looked like he wanted to cross the divider and drive headlong into oncoming traffic. Based on that, I think the officer's actions were justifiable.
A sad story but in a sense he's gained immortality. No one who has seen the video of his tank rampage will ever forget it!
Shawn was suffering from depression after a divorce, drug addiction (meth) and the death of his parents. It also sounds like he had a unhealthy dose of paranoia. Shawn used to tell his buddies and co-workers that one day he'd steal a tank and drive up the steps of city hall. There's some cool interviews. Shawn's older brother talks about how much he misses him and said what a nice guy he was, as he gets choked up. Shawn's buddies were heavy crystal meth users but he spent a lot of his free time teaching them the basics of plumbing so they could find work.
Shawn was pretty out there too: he dug a 25 foot deep mine shaft in the basement of his small San Diego home in a quiet residential neighborhood. He became detached from reality when he believed he was finding gold dust and flakes in the dirt beneath his house. Supposedly, there were small amounts of gold in the rocks so he filed with the city for mineral rights on his property. His claim was denied. Enter disillusionment. Shawn was obviously a heavy crystal user and the goldmining sounds like a tweak thing. Shawn had generators in the basement and had even converted his jacuzzi into a sluice for his goldpanning. His buddies, all former meth addicts, were telling stories about all going down the mineshaft to dig for gold. It became a community tweak project. "Let's go to Shawn's to dig for gold". Meth heads and parolees would stop by Shawn's, do drugs, and then "head down the mine". Shawn's backyard was brimming with mounds of dirt. The neighbors must've been freaked out.
The documentary attempts to link Shawn's erratic methamphetamine-fueled behaviour back to the defence industry in San Diego. During the Cold War bomber crews would use methamphetamine to stay awake and alert for 24 hours straight. The filmmaker suggests San Diego, a post war community made up of military families and defence contractors, was a haven for meth as early as the 1950s.
When his mineral rights were denied by the local government it was probably the last straw for Shawn. His grip on reality seemed to be tenuous at best. His disillusionment now turned to anger. The rest is history. He stole a tank, crushed cars and RV's, knocked over utility poles but eventually tried to cross a concrete highway divider. The tank was stuck. San Diego Police opened the hatch with bolt cutters and shot 35-year-old Shawn Nelson to death. From the helicopter video, it looked like he wanted to cross the divider and drive headlong into oncoming traffic. Based on that, I think the officer's actions were justifiable.
A sad story but in a sense he's gained immortality. No one who has seen the video of his tank rampage will ever forget it!
...was awful. It was almost as annoying as that ridiculous Mike Myers bloke performing his Shrek/FatB*stard routine. Mike Myers doesn't sound Scottish, he sounds like a South African who has a Scottish cousin. Bobby Duvall is a wonderful actor but he will have to admit that he can't do a Scottish accent. Typical Hollywood...they think we're all idiot TV zombies. At some point Brad Pitt realized he couldn't do an Irish (Oirish) accent (The Devil's Own) so Guy Ritchie did the smart thing and made him indecipherable as a Irish gypsy in Snatch. End of rant...just sick and tired of hearing butchered accents.
Teddy1066 (The Puerto Rican and Greek Technique)
Teddy1066 (The Puerto Rican and Greek Technique)
Meeting Che Guevara is an interesting short indie film combining revolutionary themes. A sci-fi interpretation of H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds set against the backdrop of the Cuban Missile Crisis, the film was an enjoyable and captivating twenty minutes.
The story centers around a deluded girl who is reading The War of the Worlds and is told by the 'Man from Mayberry Hill' (John Hurt) that she has to find Che and give him a letter. You realize the sci fi element when you come across an invisible man.
On the downside, there were a few anachronisms present. For example, if Che was in Ireland in 1964, then it was several years after the Cuban Missile Crisis. Another pet peeve was the Karl Sheils performance as Che. He certainly resembled Guevara (greasy hair, beard) but I think he made Che too Cuban. Sheils' accent sounded more Tony Montana than Ernesto Guevara. Overall it was worth watching and the soundtrack gets stuck in your head...
Sidenote: Che Guevara spent a few hours in Ireland on a layover in 1964 and gave a rare interview to Irish journalist (Sean Egan) It looks like some of the footage from this event is in the film. Guevara did in fact have an Irish ancestor from County Galway. Ana Isabela Lynch was his paternal grandmother. She emigrated to Argentina during the famine.
The story centers around a deluded girl who is reading The War of the Worlds and is told by the 'Man from Mayberry Hill' (John Hurt) that she has to find Che and give him a letter. You realize the sci fi element when you come across an invisible man.
On the downside, there were a few anachronisms present. For example, if Che was in Ireland in 1964, then it was several years after the Cuban Missile Crisis. Another pet peeve was the Karl Sheils performance as Che. He certainly resembled Guevara (greasy hair, beard) but I think he made Che too Cuban. Sheils' accent sounded more Tony Montana than Ernesto Guevara. Overall it was worth watching and the soundtrack gets stuck in your head...
Sidenote: Che Guevara spent a few hours in Ireland on a layover in 1964 and gave a rare interview to Irish journalist (Sean Egan) It looks like some of the footage from this event is in the film. Guevara did in fact have an Irish ancestor from County Galway. Ana Isabela Lynch was his paternal grandmother. She emigrated to Argentina during the famine.