Anvil! The Story of Anvil

15 Documentaries on Oscar Short-List; ANVIL!, WE LIVE IN PUBLIC, and CAPITALISM Not Among Them

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: November 18th, 2009 at 9:37 pm

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences today released their list of the 15 films in contention for this year’s Best Documentary Feature Award.  Of these fifteen films, only five will be nominated for the award.  While there are some deserved, if unsurprising, inclusions such as Food Inc. and The Cove, what’s more interesting are the films that didn’t make the cut.  I am bummed that Anvil! The Story of Anvil didn’t make it in but I think those guys have finally achieved the fame that always eluded them and while an Academy nod would’ve been nice, this movie got out there and did its thing.  I’m more upset about the We Live in Public, which won the Grand Jury Prize award in the U.S. documentary category at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.  I get to see these smaller, independent films around this time of year because of screeners sent to critics and now I have no idea get to see this.

But I am over the fucking moon about the snub of Capitalism: A Love Story.  The documentary branch screening committee saw right through Michael Moore’s “timely” documentary (timely if you haven’t turned on the news since September 2008) for the poorly manipulative, lazily research, condescending piece of crap that it was.  Now I don’t have to worry about that garbage taking up a slot that I hope goes to Every Little Step which is one of the best films I’ve seen this year.  Hit the jump to see all 15 documentaries on the short list.

ANVIL! THE STORY OF ANVIL! DVD Review

by Gil Kellerman    Posted: September 26th, 2009 at 7:22 pm

Anvil! The Story of Anvil! is the most entertaining behind the scenes look at a heavy metal band since This is Spinal Tap, which is saying a lot.  In fact, the two movies are so similar, one could easily assume Anvil is as fictitious as Spinal Tap.  But it’s not.  Funny, heartbreaking, inspirational and insightful, Anvil! The Story of Anvil! is a true, uncompromising look at a shot of near-stardom. My review after the jump:

Keanu Reeves Guilty of HENRY’S CRIME

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: August 31st, 2009 at 9:36 pm

Keanu Reeves is known for many things.  He’s so zen that many consider his brain is on stand-by.  He will always be known for fantastic action movies like “Point Blank”, “Speed”, and “The Matrix”.  I also know him because I come to his defense every time someone says he can’t act and then I have to tell them to watch “The Gift” even though I don’t think it’s a very good film but I think Reeves is one of the few positive contributions.

But I wouldn’t say Keanu is known for comedy.  Oh, he’s had some hilarious films but I’m pretty sure movies like “Johnny Mnemonic”, “The Watcher”, and “Chain Reaction”, weren’t intentionally comedic.  Now it looks like Keanu is going to try and make us laugh with “Henry’s Crime”.  Find out if you can enjoy Keanu without irony after the jump.

ANVIL! THE STORY OF ANVIL Movie Review

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: May 14th, 2009 at 8:56 pm

The world, especially in the realm of creative enterprise, is not a meritocracy.  Deep down, we’d like to believe that we inhabit a fair and just universe where those with the most talent and devoted work ethic will meet with the most success.  But that’s not how the world works and the bigger question becomes what you do to keep chasing your dreams when you can do everything right and still meet with failure.

“Anvil! The Story of Anvil” is one of the most inspiring and uplifting documentaries in recent memory because it is the story of two talented rockers who refuse to be defeated by life dealing them a shitty hand.  The film opens as metal legends like Slash from Guns N Roses and Lemmy from Motörhead sing the praises of an unknown band named “Anvil”.  We see how Anvil rocks the stage at the Super Rock Festival in Japan in the Summer of 1984 and they keep the company of bands like Scorpions, Whitesnake, and Bon Jovi but the question is why did those bands succeed while Anvil fell into obscurity?

Except the answer to that question isn’t really that important.  While I’ll admit I have a continuing curiosity as to what happened in the twenty years between that festival and when the film was shot and whether their lack of success was due to mistakes on their part, disasters beyond their control, or a mixture of both.  But ultimately, that answer is irrelevant because to do so would try to put Anvil back into the realm of a fair and just universe.  We could cry “Oh, if only they hadn’t done this!” or “If only this evil person hadn’t screwed them over!” and we do get hints of what went wrong throughout the film (the lack of a talented manager, getting screwed over by record labels), but that’s all about looking back when what makes “Anvil!” such a powerful film is that it’s about looking forward and fighting for your dream rather than 20/20 hindsight.

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