Reviews

There have been several Lord of the Rings inspired fan films. This one falls far short of Chris Bouchard's The Hunt for Gollum or Kate Madison's Born of Hope. For one thing, it tells a story that doesn't need telling. One soldier of Rohan going off to warn his countrymen is not much of a plot. Second, it looks very amateurish. The props are cheap (it's unlikely that the army of Rohan would carry flimsy wooden shields). The two orcs who are hunting the hero wear near identical masks and the other in their company (an Uruk-hai? It's never explained) wears a black leather mask that makes him look like Leatherface from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Don't waste your time on this.

Let me start off by saying I love Derek Jarman's work. Caravaggio and Edward II are among my favorite films. But he, like a lot of filmmakers, just didn't get punk. I realize that this movie is about more than punk and what it has to say about society and class is important. But dressing people up in torn clothes and playing any generic loud/fast music does not equal punk. Having so many non-actors in important roles doesn't help either. If you want a film that gets what punk rock is about, has something to say about society, and has great music, try Rude Boy.

You'd think a movie title with The Doors in the title would feature...I dunno...the Doors. I get that the director and the surviving members wanted to document this concert, but more clips of the actual band performing would have made it a lot better. Instead, we get very brief snippets of them playing, while most of the movie is other people doing Doors songs with Robby Krieger (and sometimes John Densmore). The worst moment is when singer Andrew Watt tries to out-do Jim Morrison (an impossible task), writhing and grunting before crowd-surfing -- an absolute embarrassment. And much as I love the band X, there was no need for them to perform one of their own songs ("Nausea") after their cover of "Soul Kitchen." The film had its moments and I'm not sorry I saw it, but it could have been so much more.

I really wanted to like this film, despite the mixed reviews. I enjoy a lot of the cast and was especially psyched to see the talented Mackenzie Davis given a project to carry. And for the first hour or so, I wasn't disappointed. But the last act (pretty much everything after the point where she confronts her former friend and leaves the party) is downright terrible. Neither what happens to her the next morning nor the very last scene makes any sense considering what comes before. It seems tacked on, like there was an original ending that didn't play well with preview audiences. This could have been so much better.