Kaffeine Buzz reviews independent and foreign films,
in addition to reporting the latest buzz behind Colorado's film festivals.

Metallica: Some Kind Of Monster (Joe Berlinger & Bruce Sinofsky)

This movie, whether you're fan of Metallica or not, is intriguing. Aside from the world of rock and roll, it's mainly based on the human dynamic, all the intricacies of how we deal with every day life (even though our every day life doesn’t come close to theirs). But most of all, it centers how we deal with each other, through good times and bad, in sickness and in health.

What makes it entertaining is that all the bickering, fighting, rolling of eyes that mostly happens between James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich is just plain funny to watch. Kind of like the rocker version of Jerry Springer without any flying chairs. At the same time irritating to see two grown men who've made millions doing "what they love" acting like spoiled children. Maybe they would have a different reality if they were still touring in a '75 Dodge van playing the Fresno Ramada Inn.

Directors Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky are best known for the movie that spawned the movement to Free The Memphis Three, " Paradise Lost." This movie was even more involved, shooting over 1200 hours of film over the course of hundreds of days, which were spent following these guys around with cameras and boom in hand.

Metallica's reputation over the years garnered them the name Alcoholica, and rightly so. This is what led James Hetfield to rehab and out of the band for over a year, leaving his bandmates with a big question mark above their head for that period of time. And during the whole course of the movie, a $40,000 a month (yea, that's right) shrink is there at their beck and call to help them work through all their big problems.

Shots of how and who they were back in the day gives us even more insight on the Metallica men of today, when all they had was a passion for music, free from all the egos, money and bullshit. Seeing how they lived and played, one wonders how they were able to pull off marriage and a family.

Their biggest bonding moments come along when they were actually writing music, deriving lyrics from something said off the cuff to a way to express their distain at a commercial radio promotion they're trying to get out of.

Again, I really liked this movie because it shows a side of these career musicians few of us rarely see. The directors kept us intrigued through all of the 2 hours and 15 or so minutes, and the packed house applauded at the end. I'm guessing most of them were Metallica fans, which says that they must have an unconditional love for this band.

Coming to Landmark Theaters, check www.landmarktheater.com for showtimes.

-Kim Owens, July 30, 2004