LCD Soundsystem leader James Murphy has always come across like a fantastic man on record and in interviews, so imagine how crush-worthy he is in Shut Up and Play the Hits, in which he reflects on his music career to date as LCDSS’s final show approaches. Exuding the kind of cool that comes from humble self-consciousness, Murphy’s answers to writer Chuck Klosterman‘s guiding questions touch on his love of art and community as he illuminates some of the feelings behind his decision to end LCD at a creative zenith. The footage from the Madison Square Garden show is emotional, and you will probably tear up for the 1,000th time during a live rendition of “All My Friends”.
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I had to exit the V/H/S screening about 30 minutes into the feature, not wanting to be the second case of someone passing out during the horror anthology. Ti West is the best known of the directors, but he’s in fit company with David Bruckner, Glenn McQuaid, and others. The premise finds a group of violent guys hired by an unknown person to retrieve a videotape from someone’s property. They are the kind of people you hope meet a horrific fate, and by the end of the first segment, it’s pretty much a given that will happen in time. I hope the demon who looks like a wicked version of River from “Firefly”/Serenity factors into the overall narrative, because gross males need to be disposed of properly. Like her, I am a delicate creature; shaky-cam and hyper-editing are no good for my flora. Perhaps I will have to watch this one segment at a time. There was applause after the first chapter, something I’m sure never occurred once during The Devil Inside‘s opening weekend.
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Beats, Rhymes and Life was one of the best documentaries to emerge from last year’s festival, and it fared well in theaters, too. Ice-T‘s Something from Nothing: The Art of Rap does not seem destined to mirror that success. As co-director and interviewer, the guy who wrote “Cop Killer” and espoused the pimp lifestyle sure does conduct a series of stale interviews.
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Also somewhat zzz is Bones Brigade: An Autobiography, a documentary on the pioneering skateboard crew that included Tony Hawk and Steve Caballero. Of course the 1980s footage is ace and might inspire you to pull out your old Independent Truck Company t-shirt, but director Stacy Peralta made a classic with Dogtown and Z-Boys, and Bones doesn’t achieve the same level of greatness by default.