Sunday Bloody Sunday
After an exhausting weekend of boy troubles, boy triumphs, visual overload and ponies, I started the week with a weakened immune system that allowed a nasty cold to come visit for a day and a half. I've beaten it into submission with the help of Airborne, bedrest, and tonight... a little bit of vodka.
What I meant to do earlier this week was share how blown away I was by U2 3D. My hero, Souris helped make this film come together and has been an amazing force in getting it recognized. I haven't been a fan of U2 since Jr. High. My best friend's boyfriend, Brandon, made me a cassette tape of War and Joshua Tree. It was back when a boy took time to make a mixtape... he drew on the cover, omitted songs that weren't tops, and delivered it by hand. I don't think I've given it a listen in more than 15 years, but it's still there in my collection of cassettes, never to be discarded.
Now, Souris' been pimping this film like there's no tomorrow, and yeah, we all know that everyone is supposed to come clean to loving to U2 at least once in their adolescence or young adulthood, but who, besides the schmucks that paid outrageous ticket prices for those concerts last year and paraded around those little white rubber bracelets, was ready to plunk down some green for a U2 cinematic experience? In the spirit of supporting a friend who I believe in, I agreed to go check it out for myself at the Arclight on Sunday. When the film premiered at Sundance, Robert Redford came out of his leather embossed, lambskin lined cave to attend the screening. My rule: if it's good enough for Robert Redford, it's good enough for me.
I had low expectations... Captain Eo in Tomorrow Land expectations, but this is NOT that kind of movie. The film jumps right into the concert experience and keeps you there. There are no cheesy 3-D gimmicks. There are big sweeping moments matched by intimate times on stage that lock you down for the whole film. The crowd is full of sexy, young, shirtless Argentinian boys (and girls - although, they mostly have their shirts on) and the enegry of this crowd is amazing. Even more amazing, is how it's captured.
You know how in Lord of the Rings, and all those other action films that followed, that have the giant scenes with mobs of people/soldiers/trolls/Occidentals that are surging a castle gate, or flooding across a giant expanse towards an enemy - you know how you're always like, whoa... that's soooo many people/soldiers/trolls/Occidentals... that looks really cool. Well, you get that in U2 3D, except the giant mob surging with energy isn't a bunch of digital heads bobbing around in an algorithm created by a team of 20 nerds. This mob is real. It's thousands of people moving without calculation, driven by the rythym and emotion of the performance on stage. The crowd undulates and explodes, and you feel that energy in your cushy theatre seat. There were times when I was tempted to take my 3D glasses off to see what it looked like without the technology, but I didn't ever want to miss out on what I was seeing. The woman who's been creating the visuals for their concerts is the director of the film, and you get the feeling that this film is the way she means for everyone to experience a live show.
Admittedly, I took a five minute nap-eroo between New Year's Day and Sunday Bloody Sunday... I'm still not U2's biggest fan (and my state of sleep deprivation, accented with a chugged cocktail on the Arclight patio didn't help), but I HIGHLY recommend checking out this film. The rest of the set after my nap was a knockout. I was rocking out in my seat for more than a song or two. If the idea of paying hundreds of dollars for a ticket to see U2 pisses you off, this is the way to go. You get lost in the magic of the film, you can have popcorn and an icee, you don't get bootlegged t-shirts shoved in your face, you don't have to smell anyone who's been standing around and sweating Coors light for the last two hours, and you get to experience the band in a way that you deserve to experience them.
Evan Hecox book signing at GR2 tomorrow. Should be good, and a mellow pre-cursor to his opening on Saturday (not at GR2). Anne Ishii in town this weekend. Cold on it's deathbed... the rest of this week could end up pretty sweet. Tomorrow Selma Blair is riding at the barn. I'm signed up for a ride in the early AM so I can stalk from afar. Life in LA....
What I meant to do earlier this week was share how blown away I was by U2 3D. My hero, Souris helped make this film come together and has been an amazing force in getting it recognized. I haven't been a fan of U2 since Jr. High. My best friend's boyfriend, Brandon, made me a cassette tape of War and Joshua Tree. It was back when a boy took time to make a mixtape... he drew on the cover, omitted songs that weren't tops, and delivered it by hand. I don't think I've given it a listen in more than 15 years, but it's still there in my collection of cassettes, never to be discarded.
Now, Souris' been pimping this film like there's no tomorrow, and yeah, we all know that everyone is supposed to come clean to loving to U2 at least once in their adolescence or young adulthood, but who, besides the schmucks that paid outrageous ticket prices for those concerts last year and paraded around those little white rubber bracelets, was ready to plunk down some green for a U2 cinematic experience? In the spirit of supporting a friend who I believe in, I agreed to go check it out for myself at the Arclight on Sunday. When the film premiered at Sundance, Robert Redford came out of his leather embossed, lambskin lined cave to attend the screening. My rule: if it's good enough for Robert Redford, it's good enough for me.
I had low expectations... Captain Eo in Tomorrow Land expectations, but this is NOT that kind of movie. The film jumps right into the concert experience and keeps you there. There are no cheesy 3-D gimmicks. There are big sweeping moments matched by intimate times on stage that lock you down for the whole film. The crowd is full of sexy, young, shirtless Argentinian boys (and girls - although, they mostly have their shirts on) and the enegry of this crowd is amazing. Even more amazing, is how it's captured.
You know how in Lord of the Rings, and all those other action films that followed, that have the giant scenes with mobs of people/soldiers/trolls/Occidentals that are surging a castle gate, or flooding across a giant expanse towards an enemy - you know how you're always like, whoa... that's soooo many people/soldiers/trolls/Occidentals... that looks really cool. Well, you get that in U2 3D, except the giant mob surging with energy isn't a bunch of digital heads bobbing around in an algorithm created by a team of 20 nerds. This mob is real. It's thousands of people moving without calculation, driven by the rythym and emotion of the performance on stage. The crowd undulates and explodes, and you feel that energy in your cushy theatre seat. There were times when I was tempted to take my 3D glasses off to see what it looked like without the technology, but I didn't ever want to miss out on what I was seeing. The woman who's been creating the visuals for their concerts is the director of the film, and you get the feeling that this film is the way she means for everyone to experience a live show.
Admittedly, I took a five minute nap-eroo between New Year's Day and Sunday Bloody Sunday... I'm still not U2's biggest fan (and my state of sleep deprivation, accented with a chugged cocktail on the Arclight patio didn't help), but I HIGHLY recommend checking out this film. The rest of the set after my nap was a knockout. I was rocking out in my seat for more than a song or two. If the idea of paying hundreds of dollars for a ticket to see U2 pisses you off, this is the way to go. You get lost in the magic of the film, you can have popcorn and an icee, you don't get bootlegged t-shirts shoved in your face, you don't have to smell anyone who's been standing around and sweating Coors light for the last two hours, and you get to experience the band in a way that you deserve to experience them.
Evan Hecox book signing at GR2 tomorrow. Should be good, and a mellow pre-cursor to his opening on Saturday (not at GR2). Anne Ishii in town this weekend. Cold on it's deathbed... the rest of this week could end up pretty sweet. Tomorrow Selma Blair is riding at the barn. I'm signed up for a ride in the early AM so I can stalk from afar. Life in LA....
posted by gr at
11:55 PM
Nice. I was never a huge U2 fan either but they are kinda hard to avoid. I like your review but u got 1 thing wrong....
Captain EO freaking ruled, at least before we learned how creepy Mike really was.
Get well soon!!! I missed you this weekend.
Captain EO was pretty rad. I guess what I was wondering was how far the technology had come along. It's definitely progressed. Feeling MUCH better. I submitted to the sickness and rode it out. Heading to Sawtelle now.
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