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May 16, 2008 | Movies
March 25, 2008 | Movies
March 7, 2008 | Movies
March 3, 2008 | Movies
February 14, 2008 | Movies
January 4, 2008 | Movies
December 19, 2007 | Movies
December 14, 2007 | Movies
December 7, 2007 | Movies
December 6, 2007 | Movies
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ALARM Magazine #30 |
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Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel De Homem-Christo wrote and directed the 74 minute robot epic, Electroma, as a conceptual complement to the duo’s 2005 album Human After All (Virgin). Composed of five set-pieces and shot on 35 mm film stock in the California deserts, the film follows the leather clad avatars of Daft Punk, Hero Robots #1 and #2, down perpetual highways and endless deserts in the pursuit of humanity. Devoid of dialogue and anything from the Daft Punk catalogue, the film floats on the potency of lingering camera sequences and stark cinematography. 
Rock the Bells is a funny and quite often frightening account of concert promoter Chang Weisberg’s attempt to reunite all nine original members of the Wu-Tang Clan for the 2005 “Rock the Bells” hip hop festival—a show that would be Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s last before his death less than six months later. It’s a skillfully paced doc that slowly builds to an almost-harrowing conclusion as the promoters and fans wait for the group’s troubled wildcard, ODB, to complete the reunion. “It’s planning a wedding, and you hope the groom shows up,” Weisberg comments, but he is seriously understating the situation. 
With over four hours of Ramones concert footage and television appearances along with an array of interviews and bonus features, The Ramones: It’s Alive 1974-1996 DVD set is a Ramones fanatic’s dream come true. Music supervisor Tommy Ramone provides a personal touch in compiling the band’s best moments on stage into a comprehensive anthology. From their earliest shows at CBGB to final concert footage at the River Plate Stadium in Buenos Aires, Argentina, it is apparent how the Ramones grew from a New York bar band into beloved legends, and to many, the face of punk rock itself. 
Now in its third incarnation, the re-releasing of $100 and a T-shirt is timely. Clocking in at just under an hour, the documentary acts as a “Zines For Dummies,” discussing the methods and ethics behind a handful of Northwest US zines. It gives a first-hand look into the people that give these tiny booklets life. The zine creators pay for each page out of their own pockets, print endless copies at Kinko’s, drink tons of coffee and smoke cigarettes, and celebrate their unique voices. The film’s soundtrack includes Defiance, Ohio and the late Lance Hann and J Church, suiting the rebellious nature of the content. 
On February 12, Stones Throw Records will release In Living the True Gods, its second DVD collection of music videos. Its first such disc, Stones Throw 101, served as a visual primer for those unfamiliar with the label. 
Directed by Frank Pavich, hardcore documentary N.Y.H.C. is slated for release by Halo-8 Entertainment as a two-disc DVD on March 29. The vanguard film, which chronicles hardcore punk subculture, was originally distributed as an underground VHS tape in 1999. 
Juno, the latest of this year’s films about unexpected pregnancy, is not yet in wide release but is already being called the female answer to Knocked Up. 
What Would Jesus Buy? sounds like a reactionary right-wing religious slogan. However, this documentary is a relatively left-wing protest of over-consumption — particularly America’s extreme shopping at Christmas time — led by fictitious Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping Gospel Choir. 
A bizarre synthesis of psychedelia and electronica, Ultimate Reality again unites visual artist Jimmy Joe Roche with electro-spazz musician Dan Deacon.