ebolart

This documentary about the life of John Lennon is a little interesting in its early parts and more or less slanderous in the latter ones. It's most interesting features may well be the interviews with relatives of Lennon, who provide insights into his childhood and Liverpool days. But as time passes and more and more of the documentary is about what a terrible controlling person Yoko Ono is supposed to be the stranger it gets. In the end a cousin of Lennon even tells a story about how the Ex Beatle had sent a letter to his British family telling them he would return home "to take care of his real family again", just days before his murder. It would have been interesting to delve deeper into the delusions of these people, but the film is supposed to be about Lennon, and so it ultimately fails. Not because of the very negative stance towards Yoko Ono, but because the woman Lennon spent the last 13 years of his life with doesn't even get a chance to tell her side of the story.

A one sided, very opinionated documentary. For the Beatles info watch the Anthology series, and i am sure there are more balanced and insightful films about Lennon's later career as well. Nothing to get excited about.

This really doesn't do the blues justice. It starts out badly with images from the voyager probe and Blind Willie McTell (or was it Blind Lemon Jefferson? Someone blind anyway) apparently narrating from outer space (?) and telling us the life stories of various blues musicians. Corny as it is, this might be the visually most interesting part of this documentary. Afterwards the only thing to see is actors incompetently mouthing the classic tunes, filmed in fake 20s black and white intercut with the likes of Beck and Shemekia Copeland raping the same songs afterwards. This is a good device to show us why the old Blues greats were really so great, but it doesn't make for compelling viewing. There is hardly anything in here that could justify making it a film and not a radio play. Nobody should be forced to see these badly done reenactments. It's a shame for Wenders, Scorsese and especially for the Blues. Avoid at all costs.