Lemmy (2010)

I'm no Motorhead fan but Lemmy was a must watch because i love the rock biography. I love the Slash autobio, with it's tales of that kook Axl Rose and knocking on death's door but going on to play a great show; the shit-talking about other rockers. Basically living vicariously thru these people. No, they don't detail the time they had a 24hr stop over in Deluthe but life isn't like that. We only remember the sweet victories and the crushing failures.
But what a life, Lemmy has lived. As one fan proclaims in this 2hrs of rockumentary joy, 'when the bomb drops, the only living things left will be cockroachs and Lemmy'. It's just a great insight into such an enigmatic man. There's not much of the making-amends for bad shit in the past- it's not the kinda deal. The tone is Lemmy is awesome-if they interviewed any one who didn't think so... They didn't make the cut. The only bit that's slightly like that is the bit where Lemmy is with his son and his son, who's in the band and is kinda meek and totally reverent to his old man, has to listen to his father shit-talk his mother and then hear his father tell the world that he was mainly into her for the casual sex... But that's the only moment like that- the rest is either talking heads interviews of people reminding us how awesome he is or it's showing us how awesome his life is, driving tanks, jamming with Dave Grohl, shooting the shit with Billy Bob
Thornton. I think the Billy Bob chat is my favorite bit cos Billy doesn't come across as the dick you or I might imagine.
I really want to share all the all the remembrances and stories from Lemmy but i'd be spoiling them... I will say that the guy from Megadeth reminicing about going to the Sunset Bar and Grill and watching the man playing one of those motorcycle coin-op's in coochy-cutters is as illuminating as that sounds. Only a joyless fool wouldn't want to hear about that. If in the unlikely event, i went to see Megadeth and the even more marginal situation, where i was introduced to this guy and he asks me what i thought of the show, i sternly tell him to never mind THAT shit- tell us about Lemmy's short shorts.
I guess what you learn about Lemmy is that he's a well-educated guy, who loves slot machines and World War memorabilia (either one). In every other parallel universe, if would be the guy propping up the bar, on the sick but in this one, he's the world's greatest bass player.
I'll admit 2hrs is too long for this sort of thing and it doesn't really continue the great momentum of the 1st 30mins but it's a great story of a well-lived life, comprehensively told. I'm not rushing out to buy any Motorhead records but i'd be happy to watch this all over again...

Faster (2010)

For what it is and it ain't much, Faster has some wierd ideas about redemption. Dwayne Johnson (still The Rock to you and I) plays a wronged man fresh out of the pen out for revenge on the various people responsible for killing his brother. So far so good right? Not the most original idea I know but I'm fine with that- violent revenge stories are normally urban Westerns and will be around even after cockroaches depart their mortal coil.
My beef with Faster is that it is so dour, it's no fun to watch. Revenge stories are best when they are communicating a cathartic thrill. Faster is fully prepared to use exploitative content like drug-use, severe violence and what a film ratings board might call 'themes of child rape and... snuff tapes' but at no point does it feel justified; it all just seems like cynical posturing to get the 'R' rating. Like for example, the guy is a getaway driver and finegles a sweet ride but there is only one car chase.  He's also dangerous prison fighter but all the killing is so blunt- usually by point-blank gunshot to people who don't really defend themselves; it's actually quite pornographic. Now these are bad people who are killed- snuff-filming statutory rapists and telemarketers but still it seems excessive. If I may digress- Faster had the same 15 rating that Easy A, the light vaugely-raunchy teen film, has and i usually think the BBFC get it right but you can't hold these films in the same age-suitablity range.
As for the acting- a mixed bag. The Rock does hurt and sullen between the aforementioned murders which is 'meh'-not bad, not great. Billy Bob Thornton is pretty good, actually a return to the Thornton of the 90's - goofy and swaggerless. Carla Cugino turns up and good like she usually is but the script lets her down.  Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje turns up at the end and I've loved that guy since HBO's Oz. He does alright here with the little help has to work with.
As you may have gathered this film is too light on action (shooting people in the face notwithstanding) to get away with a light script but for all the covoluted non-linear storytelling, the script is pretty featherweight; the big reveal at the end was telegraphed by the halfway point and there's the character of an assassin that's... urgh... i can't even bring myself to say what's going on with that guy but it's superfluous-he added nothing to the film and in fact, detracts from the thing because you hate him out of confusion.
I really expected better from George Tillman Jr at least. He made the Biggie biopic, Notorious and I thought that was pretty good- a servicable biopic which could have gone wrong a hundred ways but turned out fine. Here he fudges the pooch with a simple revenge story. I've seen better Dominic Sena movies. Faster is like a rip-off of a Dominic Sena movie, which is the most sussinct indictment I can think of.

I watched Faster (2010) at the cinema.
My 2011 in Movies will return with This Sporting Life (1963)...