DVD Reviews

Forward 13: Waking Up the American Dream

Cinema Libre Studio

Street: 01.21

Patrick Lovell found himself like many other Americans in the wake of the economic downturn in 2008— jobless and out of a home.  Inspired by his own challenges and the roadblocks he encountered as he tried to regain control of his life, Lovell set out to figure out how so many people had been so adversely impacted by the economy, the housing bubble, big oil, and other dark and evil factions surrounding the Occupy Wall Street movement throughout the nation.  Lovell has a very down-to-earth tone throughout the film, which makes him very easy to connect with.  Lovell’s journey and conversations make it terrifyingly easy for him to find links between wealth and power in several industries that have a crippling hold on the American people and our ability to succeed.  Forward 13 provides a vast view of how interconnected corruption is in our own government and huge corporations while maintaining a positive and humorous overall tone. –Ben Trentelma

 

Metallica: Through the Never

Blackened

Street: 01.28

Maybe it isn’t Metallica’s answer to Quadrophenia, but it sure looks like their backhanded entry into the exclusive pantheon of stadium bands creating on-screen rock n’ roll fiction. Given the band’s propensity for (yuk!) "monstrous" on screen-drama, they’re mostly secondary characters here, and it works. Through the Never follows Skip, a roadie on an urgent mission for the band, who finds himself in an ever-growing surrealistic adventure bigger than he imagined. Of course, this is all punctuated by a massive ‘Tallica concert with all the lights, canons, million dollar cameras and technical whistles you’d expect. Maybe the story is corny, and that’s alright. While the story does lend the music some visual gravity, it’s mostly secondary to another stellar Metallica performance. The music and lightshow spectacle, though indulgent, keeps the viewer permanently engrossed in the concert happenings, and though salty fans still embittered with the haircuts and cowboy ballads may be too far gone, many of us can still appreciate a chill-inducing version of "Orion." Disc Two contains some extra goodies like music vids, interviews and some film festival Q&As, but nothing essential. Perhaps "one of the great concert films" is hyperbolic, but Through the Never is certainly worth the time and eyeballs of any Metallica fan, young and old. -Dylan Chadwick 

 

Mystery Science Theatre 3000: Volume XXIX

Shout! Factory

Street: 03.25

If you’re a hardcore collector of the MST3K series, chances are you’re going to purchase this DVD whether we recommend it or not. With enough films to make nearly 50 volumes of this kind, it’s surreal and astonishing we’re only at number 29 for a show that has been so successfully popular with sci-fi and comedy fans alike. Much like every MST3K collection, you’ve got four incredibly terrible films, two from the Joel Hodgson era and two with Michael Nelson, where they make fun of the films they’ve been dealt with the dry wit of robots Tom Servo and Crow. Of the four, the best of this series has to be The Thing That Couldn’t Die, a Universal “classic” with enough pauses to give the crew too many one-liners to rattle off here. Aside from new introductions from Hodgson, you get a chat with the show’s resident artist Steve Vance as part of the several bonus features spread across all four discs. This may not be the most ideal set for new fans to jump in at, but its definitely one of the funnier sets they’ve put together and will be a fine addition to the shelf of other MST3K collections. –Gavin Sheehan