Society Movie Reviews

/Capelle

We want more from the Society. Maybe in the New York Chapter!!!!!

Well, Long Live the Mother F(%^in Black Label Society. Only the true HARDCORE can even think of enjoying the most HARDCORE of them all. So Long from the ATLANTA CHAPTER. Oh, the BREWTALITY.

P.S. It does say something when u play a venue and u empty the establishment of it's last drop of BEER, LIQUOR, WINE, etc.

If you like gangsta flicks, this is cool but it doesn't compare to John Singleton's Oscar masterpiece.

There is also a handsome young Russian man in his late teens or early twenties, and a few middle-aged men. Those Russian fellows are luckier than most American men of their generation, since they haven't suffered the mutilation of circumcision.

The Russian nudists are mostly relaxed, though the girls often seem a bit bored with posing, especially on the dreadfully long boat trip. I can't blame them.

Overall, this is a decent way to enjoy watching beautiful young women, but better editing could have chopped down that boat trip. That trip actually gets off to a somewhat disturbing start when one girl, manouvering the boat into deeper water, gets jammed in the gut by an oar. Once the boat reaches its destination, it becomes clear that the producers didn't have many good ideas for what they wanted to do. Still, the lilypad scene and the one where they're all playing in the water came across as fun. I wasn't too thrilled with the long silhouette dance to close the festivites. The running time is also quite short.

The story is a bit weak. Tracy left Dexter because he chose to write popular songs. Oh, and because she couldn't mold him into the man she wanted. (More emphasis is placed on the songwriting, though, as the reason.) Also, Dexter never really does anything to try to win Tracy back, which made the ending of the movie not so believable for me.

The acting was good, but Frank Sinatra and Celeste Holmes as the reporters from "Spy Magazine" are great. In fact, Sinatra is one of the best things in the film. Another standout that makes this movie worth watching is the score and songs by Cole Porter. Some of his classics came from this film, including "Well, Did You Evah?" and the Oscar-winning "True Love." The extras on the DVD are pretty good, as well, with a few behind-the-scenes featurettes and even a Tex Avery cartoon in Cinemascope: "Millionaire Droopy." The picture and sound quality are good.

Where the weakness comes in is mixing the serious story of "The Philadelphia Story" with the casual leisure of Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra. All of the original concepts get swept away in the fun of the musical numbers, and one thinks that the same actors, with the same music, could have had a more fitting script. The keeping of the original dialog of "The Philadelphia Story" was a bad choice, as lines so powerful and well-delivered by Katharine Hepburn ("Put me in your pocket, Mike") come off silly and air brained from Grace Kelly.

What really boosts "High Society" way up is Louis Armstrong. Every moment he is on screen is charming, and a real hit. Unfortunately, there is just not enough, and every moment you are hoping for more Louis. When you see 'ol Satchmo swingin', the screen comes alive.

The DVD is great, and full of interesting tidbits and extras. Movie trailers for both "High Society" and "The Philadelphia Story," a "making of..." narrated by Celeste Holm, a newsreel of the Gala Premier, and coolest of all a Droopy cartoon, "Millionaire Droopy."

"High Society" is worth getting, and enjoyable, but it is neither a great musical nor a great movie. Just fun.

In this newly released DVD by Image Entertainment, Guttenberg is joined by Orchester Der Klangerwaltung and soprano Anna Korondi; contralto Iris Vermillion; tenor Deon van der Walt; baritone Dietrich Henschel; and bass Albert Dohmen. The orchestra and soloists are well-known in Europe and apparently have a large following. Although the soloists have some credits in the United States, they remain unknown here.

The DVD has excellent sound and the picture clarity is

stunning. But, technically, the entire production lacks. For instance, it is hard to understand that a May, 2001 release would not include DTS sound which would have added to the clarity and presence of the performance. Editing is sloppy leading to views of oboeist Julia Strobel pumping mightily while no sound is emitted. Also, the chorus is not in lip sync which is disturbing at times.

On a performance level, there are oversights that are okay in a Hollywood film, but not in a serious music presentation. Mr. Guttenberg conducts with one arm in a cast. Owning this DVD means you are stuck with his momentary affliction for the reasonable life of the disc. Then, contralto Vermillion insists on constantly looking at the music as if she were uncertain of the words. That is annoying since the text in the Bach work is extremely simple. Nevertheless, Bach wins. The music is glorious and the musicianship phenomenal.

I give this DVD two stars overall because it misses the opportunity classical music lovers seek. The technology is available to bring a real life performance into our homes for years of enjoyment We are entitled to ask: where are the interactive elements of DVD? No tour of the fabulous church? No interview with the conductor, orchestra personnel or soloists? No "sound-bites" from upcoming DVDs? Still, musically, the performance is excellent. Music: 4 stars. Production: 2 stars.

The performance combines precision, passion, and imagination, and the conductor deserves the credit. Many numbers and passages are freshly thought out. The opening Kyrie is urgent. The Christe is joyful. You think the second Kyrie is an exercise is archaic counterpoint? Listen to this! The violin soloist in the Laudamus Te leaves the competition in the dust. The Crucifixus is searing. The Et in Unam is actually sung with conviction, as are the other "dogmatic" numbers. The soloists (especially Vermillion) are superb, although the Bass (Quoniam only) is a little grainy.

Alas, nothing is perfect. The dynamics seem compressed, but this seems a general problem with DVDs. (Maybe this is attributable to an origin as a telecast, but I don't know.) Occasional details in the mid-base get lost, as does the solo high trumpet on occasion (but at least the trumpet doesn't overwhelm the others). The locale is lovely, and the performers are (by and large) a pleasure to look at, but there is no information about locale or the performers. One wonders why the conductor's arm is in a cast. The camera focuses on each fugal entry in a tiresome fashion. This work might benefit from split-screen, multiple screen, and overlapping image techniques.

The story focuses on a young man discovering a horrible secret about his family when they host a party of flesh melding, limb swapping madness for a bunch of mutants (or something like that) and then discovers his true purpose there.

The story is weak, the acting is third-rate, but the effects of joined bodies and malleable flesh are not bad. I've seen worse excuses for a horror movie, but then I've also seen many better. This is a good example of a movie where the story is written to match special effects thought of in advance.

This plays out as a typical teen movie, with a gorgeous cast that the camera ogles at every opportunity. Given what is to happen later the almost constant sexual references are perhaps relevant. However, given the fact that there isn't a solid ending in sight and the sheer gratuity of much of what's here, it's hard to concentrate on any message that Yuzna may have been trying to get across. Indeed, even if its basic message of 'society will devour itself' is a fine central idea but if a movie is going to serve up incest then it should at least explore it.

The acting isn't important, with a lot of bland yet beautiful faces on display. There are some truly eye-popping special effectsn though and nobody will forget the gross-out finale due to how distasteful it is. It's definitely an interesting film but purely because of its ending. Apart from that there's little of note.