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"I wanna rock and roll all night"... or maybe not
C'mon baby light my fire. An angry mother (Lin Shaye) ignores the Surgeon General's warning and gleefully lights up using her son Sam's (Sam Huntington) Kiss tickets as aNow how Will jam see the concert? Contributed art
Detroit Rock City strikes a chord for metal heads, sour note for others
By Melody Ard Special sections editor
You don't have to be a Kiss fan to enjoy Detroit Rock City. But it helps.
Set in 1978, the movie by director Adam Rikin is a musical feast for fans of '70s and '80s heavy metal and includes songs from Kiss as well as AC/DC and Stivx.
Theater-going Kiss fans also are treated to cameo appearances by band members Paul Stanley, Ace Frenley, Peter Criss and Gene Simmons, who was also a co-po
who was also a co-producer.
In spite of the Kiss-craziness, anyone who has ever camped out or participated in a humiliating or bizarre radio station contest to win tickets to see their favorite band — whether that band was Kiss, Motley Crew or even New Kids on the Block — can relate to the plight of four high school boys desperate to see a Kiss concert in Detroit.
Film facts
Rating: R
Grade: B-
Where: Plaza 6, 2339 Iowa St.
Running time: 1 hour 35 minutes.
The friends, Hawk (Edward Furlong), Lex (Guisseppe Andrews), Trip (James De Bello) and Jam (Sam Huntington), purchased their tickets and arranged for transportation to Detroit on the train. However, when their plan was discovered by Jam's mother, the boys' dreams go up in smoke when she uses the coveted tickets as a cigarette lighter.
In spite of the setback, the enterprising students win four tickets in a radio contest and set
Tickletless and penniless, they set out separately for a chance to see the concert. Each has an equally strange and disastrous experience, including losing a stripping contest and getting caught in a robbery, but each comes away with a kiss — though not exactly the kind for which he was originally hoping. In spite of the experiences the boys find themselves in, all but one of the characters exhibits exactly the same personality he presented in the opening minutes of the movie.
Hawk is the tough-guy. Lex is the follower. Trip is the marijuana-provider and the brains behind most of the group's schemes.
Jam is the only character who seems affected by the experiences of the trip to Detroit. Ironically, his transformation from a boy intimidated by his overbearing mother to an independent
In the movie's only serious scene, Jam confronts his mother for her own hypocrisy. His mother, who tells Jam she is going to a church meeting actually goes to Detroit to protest the concert with the group Mothers Against The Music Of Kiss. Jam makes an example of her in front of the crowd and leaves her to join his friends.
Overall, the movie isn't thought provoking and is relatively predictable but seems to grab audiences with an abundance of slapstick comedy, since the dialogue itself is not particularly funny.
Fortunately, creators kept the movie under two hours, making it just long enough to tell the story but just short enough to keep the audience from getting bored.
thinker willing to stand up for his beliefs has very little to do with Kiss.
If you're not a fan of heavy metal or physical comedy, you would probably be happier spending your movie dollars elsewhere.
Fast-paced Lola pushes cinematic boundaries
By Brendan Walsh Kansan movie critic
The young and beautiful Lola (Franka Potente) receives a frantic call from her boyfriend, Manni (Moritz Bleibtreu). He's just batched a major criminal act, resulting in a missing 100,000 marks that he must replace in 20 minutes, lest he face the wrath of his boss. Apparently somewhat dependent, definitely dumb-witted, he calls Lola looking for someone to bail him out of this mess. Lola runs to his rescue.
Stylish, stimulating and fast-paced, the German film Run Lola Run is perfect for those with short attention spans. Vibrant, attention-grabbing visuals make up for a relatively empty plot, giving viewers an intense, if not all together complete, film-going experience.
Wearing lime green pants, shrouded in flaming-red hair, blessed with more gusto than your average female lead, Lola bolts through Berlin with a vague notion of somehow gathering up a great sum of money and delivering it to Manni on deadline. Lola has split-second meetings with various personalities along the way. After each encounter, director Tom Tykwer shows that person's future through a series of snapshots that flash in succession to tell a life story. In this creative film, these vignettes are among its brightest moments.
Dramatic tension continues to rise at breakneck speed when Lola can't find a way to come up with the money. She finally dashes off to stop Mani before
Film facts
Rating: R
Grade: A-
Where: Liberty Hall, 642 Mass.
Running time: 1 hour 21 minutes
he does something irrational but is too late. Disaster strikes and the adventure is finished.
But hey, only 30 minutes of the film have gone by, and the movie ticket cost $5.50. Not to worry, Tykwer hits rewind and Lola gets another go at things. It's Sliding Doors meets Trainspotting.
Using the same basic plot several times made it easier for Tykwer to concentrate on the cinematic aspects of his film. Ambitious, innovative, but never cloying camera work makes each of Lola's runs entertaining. Bits of animation are mixed in with the real footage, giving an everything-goes aura to a movie that's already pushing boundaries.
The only real mistake is the pretentious opening scene. A crowd of anonymous people shuffles in such a way as to form the word "Lola," while a voice-over asks questions like "What is man's purpose?" and "What is the nature of humanity?" What? Looking to this movie for those answers would be like watching Spies Like Us for insights on the cold war.
That flaw aside, expect an entertaining, intense, movie-going experience. Don't be afraid of the subtitles. They can be a little distracting, but it's worth it in the end.
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