Metallica - Some Kind of Monster (2004)

Metallica shares their feelings

Filmed for about two years during the making of the poorly received album "St. Anger", "some Kind of Monster is a healing journey into the hard-beating heart of rock & roll" (-Jeff Shannon). Lol. Right. This is where they got a lot of material for the cartoon comedy series on Adult Swim, METALOCALYPSE. Seriously, it is. Check out the first season. And it's impossible to not think of the classic mockumentary THIS IS SPINAL TAP, the parallels with it getting a little odd.

This up-close, intimate journey of self discovery and blah, blah, blah makes you wonder if having kids and sobering up is a good idea. I tempted to say, NO, stay drunk and unmarried. Above all, stay hungry and motivated or take a break. But what we see here is natural and to a large extent inevitable. It's just the way it goes. SOME KIND OF MONSTER is a great portrait of over the hill men that happen to be in the most successful metal band of all time, going through what appears to be a midlife crisis. Some say it took guts for them to allow themselves to be filmed like this, in all these personal, awkward situations over a period of years. I'm not so sure THAT much courage is what it required with egos of this size. In this age of reality TV and everyone exposing themselves on the internet, is it that big a deal? Besides, it could be good for your career right? But they do expose themselves, warts and all.

One of the weirdest characters is the $40,000-per-month "performance enhancement coach" Phil Towle. He's in much of the film wearing these sweaters and he's actually named Phil. Phil seems to think he's in the band after awhile, at one point submiting lyrics. METALLICA in group therapy is the main focal point.

You are witness to some entertaining scenes 'like a fly on on a wall' as they say. Former band member from back in the day Dave Mustaine's misty eyed apperance... I'd argue that courage on his part. That moment was a long, long time coming. BUT this scene brings up the issue of editing. Mustaine now considers this the "final betrayal" claiming that parts of the conversation with Lars were not shown. We meet the band's families and see them as sons and daddies, see them struggle in the studio, deal with long time bassist Jason Newsted's departure, get a new bassist, deal with various situations, hang out with their stuff, sell a Basquiat painting...

Overall, an entertaining portrait of a famous rock band worth checking out even if your not a huge Metallica fan. (Or haven't been for years.) Definitely in the top several best rock n roll documentaries.
October 2, 2008

So-so

The documentary film Metallica: Some Kind Of Monster is an example of a not so good piece of art about a subject that is not so good. Don't get me wrong, I'm a Metallica fan, and not one of those morons who refuse to grow up and believe their early thrash songs that sound all alike are somehow artistically superior to their later songs with melody and lyrics with a little more depth. It's just that while the filmmakers and band members hoped to do a film of `great depth', which the commentary tracks harp on, the truth is that the members of the band are unwittingly close to the Spinal Tap territory inherent in any such venture. Basically, after bassist Jason Newsted left the band in 2001, over artistic differences, lead singer James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich warred for control over the band's future, while lead guitarist Kirk Hammett pretty much sat on the sidelines. Eventually, the band hired a $40,000 a month counselor named Phil Towle, not even a real shrink, to tell them things that any twelve year old could figure out.
Hetfield is an addictive sort, whose terminal machismo landed him in rehab, after doing a Ted Nugent impression, by going to kill bears in Siberia, then bleating over missing his son's first birthday, Ulrich is an artistic poseur, truly befuddled at the supposed `meaning' of gold trim in terrible Basquiat paintings, which he later sells off for several million dollars, and asking such probing queries as `Where does art begin? Where does it end?', and Hammett simply doesn't know how to cope with either, in between vacuously staring in camera and declaring himself egoless,. Add in do-nothing producer Bob Rock, for what would eventually become their St. Anger CD, and the makings for a great comic film are there, in spades....
September 18, 2008

The Monster Family

A couple years back a film friend of mine put this film on his must-see agenda. He's a documentarian, so I didn't understand how a pop doc could stoke his interest. I said, Yeah, I thought about it, but there were a couple of other movies at the festival that seemed more my style. I liked Metallica, but a doc? I asked him what I thought was the obvious, "So you're a Metallica fan?"
"No," he laughed self-consciously. He's not really into metal. He's more into worldbeat, Celtic music, and other esoterica. Some jazz, but not U.S. based. Very much into the international scene.
When he gave his feedback after the show, I expected him to give the hardline critical response and tell me at best it was pretty good, maybe overhyped. But his face lit up and burst into enthusiasm, envy, pride. It was so well done, it was just "amazing" he said. As a doc Director who'd been nominated for an Emmy, that was quite a compliment. He did mention "This is Spinal Tap" and for me, that kind of killed my interest. I'd seen that movie many many years ago, but it didn't stick in my mind as something that I could still remember years later as something unforgettable in some way.

I heard buzz about "Some Kind of Monster" by a variety of critics, etc., after its initial screening at film festivals nationwide. That it was progressive, like nothing people had seen before, blah blah.

I watched "Some Kind of Monster" when the DVD arrived. I was surprised to see 2 discs, and insert of material.

I held my breath for the overhype that was likely fanning the film. Ever the skeptic. A film about a band going thru therapy?

But it wasn't really about that. Hour after hour, I was riveted. In the film Lars mentioned it was really about relationships. It was that, and more. My impression of the film up til I sat down, and even listening to my friend's effusions was that it was a documentary about a band. I can't recall the "This is Spinal Tap" movie, but my recollection is that this is the case of apples and oranges. If the film had been buzzed less about some people going thru therapy than a story about a band family, then I probably would've seen the movie sooner not later. I can relate to that.

I watched the film and the bonus CD of outtakes in one whole day. We're talking hours upon hours. It was that riveting, compelling, candid. I bought another CD for a friend who is a long time Metallica fan and occasional guitar player/drums player but he, for some reason, hadn't seen the film. Maybe it was the mention of the band going thru therapy that turned him off.

It's an inspiring tale of a family getting their act together and pushing beyond their limits of current excellence and accomplishments. Being vulnerable and open to growing pains. When you're at the top, you don't have to go down. You can expand your horizons. Sometimes the music or your art or whatever you're possessed about possesses you and becomes bigger than the creators. A la Frankenstein or some other non-human machine. You risk being overcome if you don't take control and get grounded. Recover your humanity. For artists, sometimes they can get caught up in the craft, consumed even, even glorified for having been consumed.

This was an up-close look into the lives of a family of musicians and how they got their house in order. Healed the parts. Got the humanity back. I don't think I've ever seen such candid, raw exposure like that from giants among us to whom others look up to as larger than life, bigger and better than human. Goliath. Fighting the monsters within them and between them.

It was touching and horrible to see the struggles. Viewers could see their own humanity. You hope and pray that the musicians find their way back home. To realize why they came together, the joy in their craft, even in the hard work. Labor of love.

It was almost like watching a married couple go thru counseling. We all know or have met people married for years, and are dumbstruck with near horror when we hear that divorce is looming on the horizon as a possible final solution to whatever ails their union. Counseling is no longer the last resort for marriage, it's sometimes a healthy maintenance requirement. As with anything, if you wait til it's nearly too late to make things better, it probably is too late. So for that, it's inspiring to see a family of musicians doing whatever they can to stay together, whether times or good or bad, practice does make perfect, and good habits like bad ones become hard to break.

In the movie, you see the band getting into healthy living. Making peace with some demons. The singer James, you find relief in his having a father figure in his life who's positive after years of being without something he needed. Lars has his father, apparently comes from money, and is very business oriented, practical, so you don't feel a whole lot of sympathy when he's complaining about people not going all out for him on his birthday. He's got the wife, the house, megamil sideline art deals, he had a fully intact family, he was revered and a big fish in a small town, him and his whole family. But James used music to escape and channel emotions. Like so many in the states, music, sports, etc., other creative or athletic activities were something positive avail to even those who had very little. It's almost like a source of hope and faith.

Both Lars and James have families-wife and kids. I've heard it said that when men have their own kids, they begin to make peace with their own childhood. They rise to the challenge. If their childhood was less than what they'd like, there's the need to do better by their own kids, for some. And for some who had good childhoods, a need to keep up the legacy.
I've heard that in growing up and into their own families, some men will 'put away childish things' and concentrate on their home life. It was incredible to see married men trying to navigate a home life with a lifestyle that's not necessarily home-life friendly. It was touching to see the men include aspects of their home life, their wives, their kids.
Being the heroes in their home.

With every challenge comes the opportunity to rise above and have a rebirth. Or not. Growing pains. If it takes a long time to develop bad habits, it surely takes some time to undo them. With people all over the world showing support and hope, the Metallica family remains intact, and gives back yet again to its legions of fans, old and new. We're all in this together. United a house stands, divided it falls. The world itself can be some kind of monster. We have to maintain our shared humanity, keep our eyes on the prize.

A decades long relationship that has weathered many tests, trials and tribulations, how can you grow there? take note. August 4, 2008

interesting portrait of has-been rockers

Let me agree with everyone who thinks Metallica's best music is far, far behind them. I also agree with everyone who thinks one or more members of the band are self-important or whiny.

I think those things help make this documentary great. It's far more interesting to see an aging, past-its-prime gang of rockers dealing with issues like family, keeping clean, and learning to talk with people you disagree with instead of shouting, walking out, punching, or self-medicating, than it would be to watch a bunch of drunk and high 20-somethings live the sex, drugs and r&r fantasy. These are weak, flawed men, just like all men. Possibly more so than usual, as they are artists, and artists are (neccessarily) a little more sensitive and introspective than the average person. Notice I didn't say BETTER people, or NICER people, possibly the exact opposite. At times I got a headache, feeling like I was in the room with them during one of their painful b****-sessions with Combover Guy, and I consider that good filmmaking. Not only did I feel like I was actually there, but I was involved with the characters deeply. Not to sat I was rooting for them, just personally involved. That's a powerful illusion for a film to create, and a rare one.

They might kid themselves and eachother, but I don't think they're kidding the camera. It seems like a very genuine portrayal. And as much as many of you rip on them for their weaknesses, try to imagine how heroic and manly YOU would come off with cameras following you around for two years. I admire them for exposing themselves like this, it took guts. January 30, 2008

Good Rock Documentary

I thought this was a pretty cool documentary. It was entertaining even if you aren't a fan of their music. It was cool watching the guys interact and try to hold it all together thru all the b.s. that has come into their lives and into their group dynamic.

I recommend it. January 18, 2008

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