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Back Shelf Beauties
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Metallica:Some Kind Of Monster This documentary tears open Metallica for everyone to see the dirty laundry, and it works because there is something oddly compelling about watching legendary heavy metal, hard rock tough guys go to therapy and talk about their feelings. It's much braver than anything I would have ever done (do you really want to see Willie Waffle: We Think He's Some Kind Of Critic including behind-the-scenes footage of me typing out reviews while eating Ben and Jerry's Karamel Sutra and wearing my ice cream stained Yankees t-shirt?). Even if you have never in your life purchased one of their CDs, you will want to see Metallica: Some Kind of Monster. The film follows the band as it records it's latest CD, St. Anger. However, filmmakers Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky, originally hired to make a fluffy, adoring promotional film about the making of the CD, find themselves watching Metallica in complete meltdown, and have to worry about the project getting spiked by veterans who understand how to control their image, or see the movie die because the band calls it quits. As the movie starts, Bassist Jason Newsted has been forced out of the band, lead singer James Hetfield has entered drug and alcohol rehabilitation, drummer Lars Ulrich is convinced the band is dead, and guitarist Kirk Hammett is left watching all of this unfold while dreaming of calm, serene days on his Northern California Ranch (and provides the film's funniest, exasperated responses). Metallica: Some Kind of Monster is fascinating viewing as we learn about the band's history (including a moving confrontation between Ulrich and former guitarist Dave Mustaine) and watch them work out their issues with therapist Phil Towle, who looks like he is trying to become the Metallica Svengali a la Dr. Eugene Landy and his relationship with Brian "Beach Boys not Fox News Channel" Wilson (something the band has to address in one of the movie's most tense scenes). You get an unfiltered, behind-the-scenes look at how they work together, old tensions that haven't resolved themselves during the band's 20-year history, and a good look at the personal lives of Ulrich, Hetfield and Hammett. Berlinger and Sinofsky do a tremendous job of telling us the story without attempting to sugarcoat what was happening or trying to build up the band as God-like figures who can do no wrong (kudos to Metallica for allowing the movie to proceed warts and all). While the music is important, Berlinger and Sinofsky focus on the process, the players, their emotional states, and their personal interactions to capture our attention. From funny moments like a radio promotion gone bad to frightening scenes of Hetfield and Ulrich going at it, Metallica: Some Kind of Monster gives you a full understanding of who these musicians are as human beings. 4 Waffles (out of 4) Copyright 2004 - WaffleMovies.com
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