Nas: Time is Illmatic

I saw a Nas doc on Amazon Prime so I checked it out. It's about the making of one of the greatest hip-hop records of all time. One of the greatest debuts by any artist...ILLMATIC.

Yeah, it's pretty dope. If you dig Illmatic then watch this doc. If you don't...wtf?

Dear God No!

Motorcycle Movie Night kicked off in an absurd and sickening fashion. Dear God No! is an over the top modern exploitation flick. It pays homage to a bunch of classic biker flicks, rolls them together, and puts its own legitimately unique spin on it.

It's almost impossible to fault. It's so good at what it's supposed to do. The dialogue is hilarious, the plot is bone-headed, the music is good, and the violence is over-the-top. But the one place it loses points is crucial...the fucking bikes! They all have some sweet rides but you don't see them after the first ten minutes or so of the movie. So that's my only gripe.

But back to the violence. I said it was over-the-top. It is INSANE. I've never seen anything quite as sick as some of these scenes, and that's saying something. Best watched in a group of light-hearted individuals. Not recommended for date night w/ the missus.

I'll Sleep When I'm Dead

I've never listened to Steve Aoki, but I know who he is. Ex-hardcore dude turned world famous DJ. Son of Rocky Aoki aka the founder of Benihana. But all that doesn't matter cuz I like documentaries and I like learning about people/things I don't know about.

Netflix puts out some good original programming. They're legit. My eyeballs fucking hurt right now so this has to be brief. This is a good doc. Well done. Mad respect to Steve's work ethic. Homeboy cracked 300 shows in one year. That's absolutely insane. He seems like a real nice dude and he makes a lot of people happy.

Entertaining doc. Check it out.

The Hurt Business

I liked Generation Iron and I'm looking forward to GI 2. This doc is by the same dude. It's a quality documentary about the history of MMA. It's well produced with really good editing. They interview a lot of the heavy hitters like Ronda, Jon Bones Jones, Rashad Evans, Randy, Tito, etc...

The doc covers women, men, champions, and has-beens. There are interviews with team owners, gym owners, ref's, announcers, owners, Bellatore and UFC. It's definitely well rounded.

Definitely worth a watch. It's not just a hype machine. It plays devil's advocate and looks at brain injuries and isn't afraid to throw some dirt around. Good stuff. This guy makes legit sport doc's. Thumbs up.

The Smiths – Under Review

I've been going down a rabbit hole of music documentaries offered on Amazon. I watched this Smiths doc even though it looked a little bootleg. It was probably made for TV. Whatever, it was still interesting even though it was more of a B or C production.

Morrissey did a LOT of hip gyration in the Smiths. That's my takeaway.

Looking forward to reading the Johnny Marr book. That's been getting good reviews.

Stone Roses - Made Of Stone

Ahhh, now here's another gem. Shane Meadows directed the amazing This is England. And he's the man behind this doc. He does the Roses proud.

This is a look into the history of the Stone Roses, but with a focus on their 2012 reformation and come-back gigs.

There's a decent amount of archival footage as well us a ton of new stuff. But the best thing about this documentary is you can tell Shane is a through-and-through fan. He put a lot of detail into it. And the editing is just electric at times. He does an awesome job on the live footage. He captures the mood of the crowd, their emotions, with the mood and energy coming from the band. It's a perfect marriage.

This isn't a definitive oral or visual history of the band by any means, but it certainly captures a spirit of revival. It's a very enjoyable watch.

Highly recommended.

Slash: Raised On The Sunset Strip

So I just watched the Oasis doc and it was fucking brilliant. This Slash doc is quite the opposite. It's fucking bollocks.

Slash is the guitarist who made me want to play guitar as a kid. He's the reason I play Les Pauls and Mockingbirds. He's THE MAN. But boy did he get shafted with this flick.

It's made by Guitar Center. Do I really need to say more? It's basically a shitty infomercial for Slash's newest band.

There's no artistry in this flick. No passion. Just low budget corporate crap.

Oasis: Supersonic

This is one of the best music documentaries I've seen in years. Gotta be the best doc I've seen in 2016.

This Director knows what's up. There was so much effort and so much detail put into this film and it really shines through. The editing is great, the inclusion of lots of rare archival footage is great, it's just a really top-notch production. Even though I don't know anything or give a rat's ass about Amy Winehouse, I'd see the doc he did on her on the strength of this one alone. He's a great story-teller.

Supersonic charts the origins and insane ascension of Oasis from their first gig through to their second album. It's really cool that the doc is so limited in scope because it means you don't get some super compressed timeline of all their albums and exploits. It's just the first 3 or 4 years or so.

It's no secret that Oasis is literally my favorite band of all time. I think Noel is the greatest song-writer of our generation and definitely one of the top 10 song-writers of the last 100 years.

Highly recommended doc. You should watch this. And they should make more that chart the rest of the band's history in segments.

Stoked for the probable reunion in 2017.

Get Thrashed: The Story of Thrash Metal

Went over to JJ's house with some good veggie food and watched this flick again. Clearly in a thrash mood lately.

For being as Italian as J is, he didn't have any olive oil in his house. WTF.

Murder in the Front Row

The only thing I regret about buying this book is that I didn't buy it sooner. It's literally been in my Amazon wishlist since it came out in 2011. I just finally pulled the trigger.

Do you love early Metallica, Slayer, Exodus, Megadeth and Testament? Of course you do. So buy this god damn book. It's about 300 pages of photos from the early 80's in San Francisco. Lots of sick live shots and a good helping of candid photos from soundchecks or just hanging out.

Tight blue jeans, no belts, sleeveless shirts, bulletbelts, Flying V's, Explorers, Bichs, Mockingbirds, Les Pauls, white sneakers and bangs. It's all there.

If Bazillion Points puts it out, it's pretty much essential. Don't wait five years to get this. Hit the lights!