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dan_benbow
Reviews
The Life and Death of Peter Sellers (2004)
An honest, painful portrayal.
Anyone expecting "entertainment" should go the Cineplex for the latest throwaways. Like true and dark and sharp bios on any number of artists (Mommie Dearest, as one example of many), this movie was not made so that people could sit in their living room vegetating while munching popcorn and watching things explode. This movie is not "upbeat," but it is about substance, specifically being a solid take on Peter Sellers, the artist, and the boxes he was in due to the bottom line (read: race to the bottom) nature of the business. Rush is excellent, as ever. Lithgow is fine, despite what you may've read, as one of many people in Seller's life who stifled his creativity. This movie - though taking place thirty-forty years ago for the most - is another good guide to why the quality of (most of) Hollywood's productions is so low.
Black Tar Heroin: The Dark End of the Street (2000)
top of the class
the video jacket for this movie says "makes 'Trainspotting' look like an after school special, and they ain't lying. this is the best movie ever about hard drug use - unromantic, colorful, real. the first poster is correct that some gratuitously bad votes have pulled down this first-rate documentary, which should not be seen by squeamish viewers or people looking to have 'entertainment' with their popcorn and soda. no reliance on special effects, contrived whirlwind plots, just the real deal - interesting characters with life stories of a kind your typical middle-class film buff never comes across, parallel stories that develop organically. a great example that you can make a good flick on a small budget (and vice-versa)...