Stone
03-27-2006, 07:23 AM
My wife and I hit the local arts coop to see this movie about The Minutemen (a one-time showing in Grand Rapids). My wife had never heard of The Minutemen before last week, so this was all new to her (except she did listen to a bit of Three Way Tie (for last) beforehand just to see what they were like). The place had a short reception before the show with some beer and snacks and a raffle (we didn't win anything).
On to the movie. In short, I thought it was great. There were many, many interviews with a lot of different people. And, Mike Watt and George Hurley (especially Mike Watt) had a lot of input and literally drove his van around with the camera rolling to show where certain events happened during the life of the Minutemen. The movie also showed a bunch of live performances, which was really cool since they were like short interludes (ya know, 45 seconds to a minute long, most of them) between the interviews. They also covered each recording (album or EP) and discussed it and what was going on at the time. Ian McKaye, Henry Rollins, Keith Morris, Greg Ginn, family, friends, and many others offered their impressions and memories about The Minutemen. It ended after a short piece about D. Boon's death and how it impacted people (especially Mike Watt).
I very much enjoyed the movie, especially since the surviving members of the band had such a big part in it. Having said all this, my wife found it somewhat interesting, but got bored with it, having no previous knowledge of this band or their work. I would say if you are a fan (even a casual fan), this is a great movie to see, but it probably won't be all that interesting to a non-fan.
http://www.theminutemen.com/images/wejam_000.jpg
On to the movie. In short, I thought it was great. There were many, many interviews with a lot of different people. And, Mike Watt and George Hurley (especially Mike Watt) had a lot of input and literally drove his van around with the camera rolling to show where certain events happened during the life of the Minutemen. The movie also showed a bunch of live performances, which was really cool since they were like short interludes (ya know, 45 seconds to a minute long, most of them) between the interviews. They also covered each recording (album or EP) and discussed it and what was going on at the time. Ian McKaye, Henry Rollins, Keith Morris, Greg Ginn, family, friends, and many others offered their impressions and memories about The Minutemen. It ended after a short piece about D. Boon's death and how it impacted people (especially Mike Watt).
I very much enjoyed the movie, especially since the surviving members of the band had such a big part in it. Having said all this, my wife found it somewhat interesting, but got bored with it, having no previous knowledge of this band or their work. I would say if you are a fan (even a casual fan), this is a great movie to see, but it probably won't be all that interesting to a non-fan.
http://www.theminutemen.com/images/wejam_000.jpg