Invisible Rock and Roll

AIR GUITAR NATION

Alright, I finally did it. Kyle's latest challenge was for me to watch "Air Guitar Nation", a documentary about the world Air Guitar Championships. And I have to say, it couldn't have been more perfect timing for a film like this, as I have been on a documentary kick for the last month or so thanks to my streaming Netflix. I've watched everything from conspiracy theories on 9/11 to searching for Big Foot and an in depth look at the Waco fiasco of the early 90's. So the mood was right for me to see a film like this and have my wits sharpened to the "genre" I suppose. So here goes nothing.

Pros: Told a story from beginning to end in a linear fashion, was shot in real time with the events, zero narration (not always a pro or con, just really worked well with this particular film), fun subject.

Cons: Tried to slip in a political message very subtly, could have went a little deeper into the history of the event.

Now that that is out of the way, lets dig in. I was pretty impressed with this film overall. It took a light-hearted subject, air guitar, and made it real. I became attatched almost immediately to the contestants, particularly C-Diddy, who happens to be one of the two main focuses. He was very charismatic and one hell of an Air Guitarist. The story begins with two men who traveled from New York City to Finland in 2002 to check out the Air Guitar World Championships, only to realize that it was a really large event with zero participation from the United States. They went over there with an initial goal of taking air guitar lessons from the "worlds greatest" and left with the inspiration to spread the hysteria in the US.

They organized a national competition in the US with regional qualifying being held in New York City and Los Angeles. New York City is where we meet C-Diddy, and his soon to be foe Bjorn Turoque (Born to rock, very clever). C-Diddy is an Asian American who sports a cape and Hello Kitty backpack across his chest, while Bjorn was more of the classic rock and roll look. The two couldn't be more different. While C-Diddy had charisma, a certain charm, and great sense of humor, Bjorn seemed very desparate for the spotlight and immediately assumed he was a star. He was a very hard person to like, and had a very large mouth to match his ego that he instantly found when the cameras started rolling. I got my revenge with him when it was revealed later on in the film that Bjorn was an actual guitarist in the past in a series of not-so-good bands, thus the desperation for attention.

This contrast between the main characters couldn't have worked out better for the film. It was almost like I was watching a movie, and as I type now its hard for me to call them "people" instead of "characters". From start to finish I was very interested in what was going to happen next, and at the same time I got a lot of good laughs from the actual performances on stage. Its crazy how serious some of these people take it, with even one person saying that air guitar is the last true art form known to man, in complete seriousness. I know right?

I did have one discrepancy with the film. As the US nationals finished up and the contestants traveled over seas to Finland for the world championships, some of those interviewed talked about how the championships were for more than just air guitar bragging rights, and that it was also a chance for many countries to unite and laugh and have fun together and bring a sense of peace in an otherwise hostile world. Thats true, thats not my problem. My problem was when one of the American contestants said something along the lines of 'the rest of the world kind of thinks we're bad people right now' and they immediately flashed a picture of George W Bush on the screen. Now my political views are irrelevant at this point, so without giving too much away, I'll just say that Air Guitar contests are hardly a platform for political propaganda, and that's one thing I've grown to despise in a lot of modern film. Politics have a place and time through any outlet, whether its film, music, TV, radio, or anywhere else, but knowing when to display it is key. I wanted to watch this film to laugh, and learn about Air Guitar culture, not find out that the film makers are anit-Bush. I'll get off my soap box now.

Overall, I enjoyed the film, despite my last novel, err paragraph. It had great progression, footage, people, and an entertaining subject that allowed me to laugh and at the same time learn a little bit. I'll go ahead and say I liked it, definitely.

Now, my turn to challenge Qile. Since I have been on a documentary kick lately, and I was just challenged to a documentary, let me not stray from that path. My challenge for Kyle is a documentary called "The Journey".


I saw this documentary in college, and I have to say, for me, as far as film is concerned, it was like the first time I heard Bob Dylan sing "The Times They Are A Changin". And anyone who knows me, knows that is saying a lot. Its a very inspiring documentary about one mans journey across the country trying to figure out what he is doing. I won't give too much away, and I hope you enjoy this one Qile. If you have trouble finding it, it is on Netflix and it was made by Eric Saperston. Enjoy.

-Nick

Collinwood's Mother is Whore

Niq's first challenge to me was to watch a movie called, "Welcome to Collinwood." I had never seen or even hear of this movie for that matter. Let just me just say that I never expected what I got. I thought this would just be a simple comedy with no big name stars in it, and I would get a few laughs. This was a poor mans version of Ocean's Eleven for me. Which is not a bad thing. You have to start somewhere right?

First of all, you can't go wrong when you have William H. Macy, Sam Rockwell, Michael Jeter Luis Guzman, and THE CLOON. Which by the by, for me the Cloon's performance in "Welcome to Collinwood", for me is like Brad Pitt's performance in "True Romance" he just doesn't smoke. Sporting a plethora of tattoos, the constantly paranoid character really made the movie for me, he was one of my favorite parts!

..........Enough about the Cloon, he is not the focus here. I am going to take a page from Niq's, (sorry I laugh every time I write Niq because of it reminds me of Sisqo for some reason.....probably the Q) and talk about the Pros and Cons.

Pros: This movie is good for some laughs, GREAT casting, the dialogue is really good, quick movie

Cons: Tried to put a love story in a heist movie...I just don't think those go together. (It still worked though)

Like I said earlier I think of this movie as a poor mans Ocean Eleven because these thieves are not the brightest.....No where near the caliber of a Danny Ocean. But hey there is always a platform to start. Louis Guzman's character is sent to jail where his cellmate, a "lifer" tells him of a huge score. Needless to say things don't go quite as planned. This is where Sam Rockwell, (I will watch anything he is in) enters the picture. He puts a team together to try to pull off the heist, and obviously has been hit too many time in the head from his boxing career, because even with the most simple heist, he finds a way to make it incredibly difficult. The team is assembled with five guys. One of them drops out, one of them turns gimp, and one of them is Isaiah Washington, which for you ladies.....yup thats Dr. Burke. This group think more big picture and not so much about the small details, which you see through out the whole movie.

I don't want to give too much away, but I have to say I plan on watching this movie at least Five more times. There are some quick lines in there that just make you laugh, and i'm sure this movie gets more funny every time you see it. I will leave this review with my favorite line from the movie........

"Leon: Put your damn pants back on!
Toto: I can't, I'll catch pneumonia! "

Link to trailer....

Now.........the moment Nick has been waiting for, for the last 36 hours.......Nick, my challenge to you is to watch.....wait for it.......

Air Guitar Nation.....Now i have never seen this movie, but it looks funny. You should get a kick out it....Hell one might say you might rock out to it! Ya never know.

Black Dynamite: Hilarious Obscurity

Well, well, well, here we are. Its time for the first review from the Movie Swappers. This is my first formally written review of anything in my life, well, other than a few papers I b.s.'ed in college, so be gentle.

Black Dynamite

Kyle's first challenge was for me to watch Black Dynamite, and I have to tell you, I was less than excited at first. However, Kyle mentioned that he thought I would love this movie, and I gotta say, he was right. Now before I dig in and review the hell out of this movie, let me preface by saying this. My intentions here are not to assign a star rating, or one through ten rating of a movie. My goal is to tell you my opinion of the movie and the elements that define it. The only "ratings" I will be handing out will be simple. I either like it, or I don't like it, and maybe a few tweeners, but the rest is up to you to watch the movie and judge for yourself. If you want to take stock in what I say, you're probably very wise (wink face made with punctuation marks). Without further ado, here goes.

Pros: Slight use of gratuitous nudity, poorly executed choreographed fighting, great one-liners, jive talk, exploding cars before impact, great character names, and line delivery.

Cons: I just heard about this movie yesterday.

I loved this movie. Just over 24 hours ago, I had no idea it even existed. Why do I love it? This movie is what it claims to be and nothing more; A silly spoof comedy. Never once did this movie get up its own ass, or try to sprinkle in a "message" between its ridiculously hilarious fight scenes or dimwitted dialogue. And for that, I stand and applaud (hope you caught that Josh).

Here is what you should know, this movie is about a vigilante of sorts in the black community of the 70's. It takes a satirical angle on movies like "Shaft" or "Superfly" from the 70's, and succeeds. The main character, Black Dynamite, kicks ass and bangs chicks, all while maintaining his mission to clean up the mean streets and rid them of drugs and violence. Black Dynamite sets out to avenge his brothers death on the streets, and treks all the way to the White House eliminating scum bags.

You should also know that if you go into this movie yearning for substance and seriousness, you will be let down immediately. The people that set out to make this movie must have said, "lets make a movie that is hilarious, action packed, and dumb as hell", and if they did indeed say that, well then its a huge success. It is a movie designed to make people laugh, nothing more, nothing less. The difference between this movie and others like it, is that it stayed funny all the way through. Secondary character, Bull Horn, had me cracking up every time he was on camera. He tries to say really profound things while rhyming. Plus Tommy Davidson and Arsenio Hall showed up in the movie, all the more reason to like it.

I could go on and on, but I don't want to spoil it for you. I've named all these reasons why I love this movie, so to balance things out I'll pick one bad thing. The acting is admittedly floating at or below average most of the movie. To be fair though, I'm not so sure that wasn't what they were going for. As I watched it, it was noticeable, but it never seemed to distract me. But that's the only "beef" I have, and its not really a beef.

Alright, let me wrap this up. As for my "rating", I'll definitely say I like it. Take it at face value and expect a laugh and you won't be disappointed. I couldn't tell you who the lead actor is, but he was damn funny and one hell of a martial artist. I'll look for him again, after I find out who he is on IMDB.


Nooooooooooow..........my turn to challenge Kyle. The moment I've been waiting for.

My pick for Kyle, or Qile, is............................................................(drums please)

WELCOME TO COLLINWOOD

I love this movie, and as far as I know, only two of my friends have ever seen it. Its a comedy about a bunch of small time criminals in Cleveland, starring Sam Rockwell, William H Macey, Luis Guzman, and produced by George Clooney. If I had to make a list of my favorite 25 movies, this one undoubtedly would be in it. Much like most of my favorite comedies, by the third time you watch it, you pick up all the little nuances you missed the first two times and it becomes three times as funny. I hope you enjoy this one Kyle, as I look forward to quoting it with someone who knows what I'm talking about.



-Nick Hall

Dynamite's gonna make it all right!

To give you some insight on myself I, like Nick, love to watch and quote movies. My name is Kyle, and my stage name is Qile (pronounced Kyle). Well over half of the conversations that Nick and I have together stem from quoting movies. I wouldn't say I have a specific genre that I love the most. Of course I like comedies.....who doesn't? Who doesn't like to laugh? I,like Nick have tried to branch out in movies and broaden my pallet. I've dug into some 60's and 70's movies but most of my "classic" films come from the 80's and 90's. I still cry every time Goose dies, or whenever Rudy gets into the game. Don't act like you don't. I'm not a huge fan of a movie just because of who made it, except for when it comes to Mel Gibson...."Say what you want about Mel Gibson, but the son of a bitch knows story structure." Braveheart is my all time favorite movie. It has everything you could possible want in it...Anywho, on with the show!

Nick, challenge numero uno.......

Black Dynamite!

I really think you will like this movie. From IMDB, "This is the story of 1970s African-American action legend Black Dynamite." So have at it Nick.....Let me know how it goes!

Movie Swappers: What We're Watching

Let me start by offering some insight to what you will be reading. Kyle Truitt, and myself, Nick Hall, have decided to start this blog after being inspired by another blog on here called Video-Volley. So be sure to check them out as well. The premise is simple, two people share a blog and and propose a movie to one another to watch. This movie should be one the other has not seen, but not necessarily a pre-requisite by rule. After watching the movie, the challenged person blogs his thoughts on said movie and then proposes a movie for the other to watch. From there, it continues to go back and forth. Oh no I've gone cross-eyed. Simple enough?

So, lets get to know your writers. My name is Nick Hall, as I stated above. You can call me Nick, but my stage name is Niq (pronounced Nick). I consider myself somewhat of a movie buff, although my strength lies mostly in modern film (80's and up). I have branched out in the last year and tried to sprinkle in a few older movies here and there to broaden my spectrum. I believe I can out-quote nearly anyone. I watch more comedies than anything as far as genre's are concerned, but I am a huge Martin Scorsese fan. I enjoy a good action movie, but I don't indulge in the fantasy/action section very often. I value writing, and dialogue above all, which is why I am drawn to the Coen Brothers films, they seem to have a niche for wonderfully witty dialogue. I could go on and on, but I won't, well, I might.........no, I won't. This is my first blog experience, but something I've thought of doing for a long time, and what better subject than movies. I was going to do a video blog, but I brought sexy back last summer and the visual stimulation would deter viewers from the purpose of the blog, so enjoy our words. Kyle will have his profile and first challenge up shortly.

-Nick