By http://www.dixiechicks.com/dc_movieposter_us.htm, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=28925578
Dixie Chicks: Shut Up and Sing - (2006)
It's hard to believe it's been 20 years since the War in Iraq and Weapons of Mass Destruction fiasco, and one almost forgotten aspect of the divided political consensus and opening shots of the culture wars began when Dixie Chick lead singer Natalie Maines told an audience in London that she was ashamed that her president came from Texas. There's a tendency in modern times for the American Right to take things a little too far - being upset about that is okay, and so is airing your views, but this
endless rage thing is not a winning hand in anyone's point of view. We all have a right not to like a band, performer or celebrity - but to stage concerted (and successful) efforts to have them blacklisted from country radio, or in some cases threaten to kill them, is unhealthy for society as a whole. As seen in this Barbara Kopple & Cecilia Peck documentary, the Dixie Chicks came through a torrid three years okay, winning Grammy Awards for the album and single that dealt with the whole controversy. In the meantime, the war they were against descended into deadly farce and hopeless entanglement. The tribulations of this era, combined with the financial crisis of 2008, sowed the seeds of future discontent in America.
7/10
By The poster art can or could be obtained from Paramount Pictures., Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10240997
Disturbia - (2007)
Have you ever wondered what
Rear Window would have been like if Jimmy Stewart's character had of been gut-wrenchingly obnoxious? Okay, I'll cut Kale Brecht (Shia LaBeouf)
some slack - he did accidentally kill his own dad, but he's also very lucky that neighbour Ashley (Sarah Roemer) thinks that his constant spying on her and watching her is "sweet" rather than terrifying, horrifying and means for police assistance. Over at Robert Turner's (David Morse) house, the bodies are piling up (
really piling up) and it's Morse that provides the film with some real performance satisfaction - such a slimy, slippery customer. Well-liked and a box office success,
Disturbia doesn't grab me as much as it does others I'm afraid - but I'm glad Shia LaBeouf has graduated to films the quality of
Honey Boy after playing so many undeserving jerks.
5/10
Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10240997
Steep - (2007)
Top marks for underlining the passion extreme skiers have for mountain skiing - with some really incredible shots of various greats either hurtling down at 50mph, carefully descending with left/right swivels or else base jumping off cliffs after daredevil downward plunges on skis. The various personalities and famous (in the skiing community) adherents are made known to us in a chronological order as they speak their minds. One of them, Doug Coombs, died while the film was being made. Extraordinary, dangerous and somewhat crazy stuff - a relatively new phenomenon (the first to ever try his hand did so in the 1970s) that seems made for motion picture cameras that can capture the various vistas and maniacs hurtling down them.
7/10
By It is believed that the cover art can or could be obtained from the publisher or studio., Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9575295
The Soul of a Man - (2003)
Kind of a big step down from
Buena Vista Social Club in format for Wim Wenders, with a framing device that feels especially awkward. You have to respect his love for these three Blues legends all the same, and if you just sit back and listen to his music choices and watch the historic footage (not the docudrama reenactments) then there's some value to be had.
6/10
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