Posts Tagged ‘Lars Ulrich’

SPINAL TAP: THE END CONTINUES: 3 STARS. “feels like a cover version of a fan favorite.”

SYNOPSIS: “Spinal Tap II: The End Continues,” a new mockumentary now rockin’ in theatres, sees the estranged members of metal legends Spinal Tap thrown together for one last gig. Times have changed, but have they?

CAST: Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, Harry Shearer, Rob Reiner, Elton John, Paul McCartney, Fran Drescher, Questlove, Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood, Kerry Godliman and Paul Shaffer. Directed by Rob Reiner.

REVIEW: “Spinal Tap II: The End Continues,” the legacy sequel to the forty-one-year-old classic mock rock doc, captures the spirit of the original, but does not turn the volume of laughs up to 11.

Following a fifteen-year break, the estranged members of heavy metal band Spinal Tap— David St. Hubbins, Nigel Tufnel, and Derek Smalls (Michael McKean, Christopher Guest, and Harry Shearer)—are forced to reunite for a one-off show in New Orleans.

Their acrimonious split sent them in different directions. Guitarist Tufnel has a shop called Nigel’s Cheese & Guitars, where he trades cheese for musical instruments. Singer/guitarist McKean writes scores for b-horror movies like the retirement home horror “Night of the Assisted Living Dead”, and bassist Smalls runs a glue museum called Stick to It.

Reluctantly reunited, they are once again under the scrutiny of documentarian Marty Di Bergi (Rob Reiner) who captures the backstage drama, ego trips and the search for a drummer.

The original film was groundbreaking, a masterful mock doc that set the template for everything from “Bob Roberts” and “Borat” to “The Office” and “A Mighty Wind.” The new film, however, feels like nostalgia. We’re used to the form, and while it’s nostalgic fun to spend time with silly-but-sweet rockers, our familiarity with the original blunts the impact of the new one.

There are some laugh out loud moments in “Spinal Tap II: The End Continues,” but the satire doesn’t land in quite the same way it did forty-one years ago. British comedian Chris Addison’s portrayal of the music hating concert promoter is bang on. He’s the embodiment of the ruthless music executive who, with a straight face, suggests it would secure the band’s legacy if, “during the gig at least one, but ideally no more than two of you were to die.” When he’s on screen the spoof is sharpened to a fine point.

It’s when the film gets awkwardly reflective with a mix of satire and emotion that it hits a flat note. As old wounds are opened and an air of mortality hangs over the band, the jokes become fewer and further between. A new song, “Rockin’ in the Urn,” is a reflection on aging, but it hits the expected tone, self-serious, over the top and metal as hell. That scene hits the right chord, managing laughs with the band’s reflections on refusing to stop rockin’ in the face of their own impermanence.

“Spinal Tap II: The End Continues” is a cover version of a fan favorite. Guest, McKean, Shearer and Reiner, who directs as well as appears as Marty Di Bergi, are game, but the looming specter of the original casts a long shadow over the proceedings.

METALLICA: THROUGH THE NEVER: 3 ½ STARS

“Metallica: Through the Never” is a cinematic primer for the bone crunching oeuvre of the heaviest of heavy metal thrash bands.

The concert film—shot by Nimrod Antal in Vancouver and Edmonton—showcases three decades of their uncompromising music. In front of thousands of devil horn throwing fans they deliver a blistering sixteen-song set that includes “The Ecstasy Of Gold,” “Creeping Death,” “…And Justice For All” and their biggest mainstream hit “Enter Sandman”

The concert footage is a turn-it-up-to-eleven experience with one of the best touring bands working today.

But it doesn’t stop there.

While rhythm guitarist and vocalist James Hetfield, drummer Lars Ulrich (who makes some of the strangest faces ever captured on film), lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo rock out on stage a surreal parallel story unfolds on the streets outside the arena.

When Trip, a roadie for the band played by Dane DeHaan. is sent on a simple mission across town to retrieve a briefcase for the band, he discovers a terrifying post apocalyptic world where citizens have gone wild, frontier justice has taken hold and a masked man on horseback leads a band of headbanging anarchists.

The story is played mostly without dialogue and slices in and out through the concert footage. The story doesn’t add up to much, although DeHaan’s wordless performance is compelling. With just his expressive face and body he artfully conveys the confusion and fear felt by his character.

It is within his performance that the reason for the dystopian story becomes clear. Like “Thriller” or other extended music videos, the narrative is a clever way to bring the band’s favorite themes—like misuse of justice—to life or to personify the feelings of anger, rage and desperation that burn through the music. Many of Hetfield’s lyrics deal with nightmares, war and fear all topics covered off in Trip’s terrifying journey.

It’s a clever twist on the regular concert film, but ultimately the elaborately staged “Mad Max” scenario doesn’t add much to the understanding of Metallica’s music.

“Metallica: Through the Never” gets full mark for the concert scenes. The sound is stellar and Antal’s cinematography gives the audience the ultimate you-are-there experience but in the end the narrative gets in the way of the stage presentation.