Review of HBO Documentary, Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck

If you are a fan of Nirvana or are just interested in rock documentaries then you should check out this one. I have been a fan of Nirvana since their album, Bleach which an old friend had brought back from one of his many visits to Ithaca, NY. He always was in the know about the latest and coolest music, and introduced me to a lot of great bands. So when I heard there was a documentary about Kurt Cobain's life I had to see it.

The movie goes into detail about Kurt's life and how he grew up as a child of divorce, and as a troubled teen who moved around from relative to relative. These events are said to have influenced his love for music, and his artistic spirit. They featured interviews with family members, and former friends who knew him before he became famous. It also featured some of his notes/journal writings, and while i had previously seen these in books it was fun to see some of them animated.  It was fun seeing how kooky and artsy he was. You really get the feeling for how he felt being an outsider in high school, and I could relate to him better.  It was also interesting hearing about the early band practices, and touring. But when it got to the part of his history featuring Courtney Love it felt awkward, and I found it odd how casual she was about being filmed nude,and giving permission for this footage to be seen in this film. Especially watching the home movies that feature a baby Francis Bean...I really found it disturbing, and thought to myself that usually we would be bored by watching someone anyone ...a random strangers home movies. But because they were rock stars we are intrigued and watch them. I felt a little lack of respect for them upon seeing these, as I feel that these were private moments that never should have been shared with the public. It was a nice and somewhat tpuching tribute to one of rocks icons, and even with the negative emotions I felt near the end of the film I would still recommend others who are fans of Nirvana to view it. I rated it 4 out of 5 stars on Netflix.

 

The Normal Heart Film Review: Early HIV/AIDS History

This film debuted on HBO on May 25th of 2014, and I guess it was based on a book of the same name., which was also a Broadway play.

I watched half of this on the premiere night, and DVRed the rest to watch the following day. This movie had an all star cast, such as Mark Ruffalo, Julia Roberts, and Jim Parsons. It is somewhat based on the authors life, and people he knew. The main theme of this film is the development of AIDS epidemic in the early '80's, and the fight by certain individuals to get the public to notice. It was also to get the healthcare community to react, and look for a cure. This was a very touching movie, and now it is hard to imagine, just how frightening this must have been at the time. I do remember growing up and how wide spread the fear of getting this virus affected everyone, and how at first they thought only gay men could get it. I think the actors did a great job of convincing the viewer of just how traumatic this time period was. Even if this film didn't have an all star cast I still think this would have been a good film, but I think having these actors will help to get more people to watch this film.

Just like the virus does not discriminate based on sexual orientation I do not think that you have to be gay to enjoy and get something from this movie. This movie is very sad at times, and there is a lot of deaths, but that was the main point in getting the public to respond to this epidemic. There is strong sexual content, so if certain things bother you perhaps you can fast forward through those parts. I have rated this film 4 out of 5 stars, and recommend everyone to watch it.