Aneesa Wardle
The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.
Mandeep Tyson
The acting in this movie is really good.
Candida
It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.
RustyShacklefordd
Death from Above 1979 is in my opinion one of the best bands currently out there as of now. Which is why it's such a shame that this documentary ends up being just barely an average one. The first 25-30 minutes of the film is actually really good. We get the backstory of the band along with some rare footage and interviews of musicians and celberities talking about how much of an influence that the duo actually had on the Canadian punk scene. However, everything after that following the bands reformation and recording the next album is rather dull. The studio footage just isn't that interesting and neither are the duo outside of their music. A big reason for this is the fact that despite being focused around a very unique band, the film presents itself a very ordinary style. A documentary tackling a topic like this needs to have it's own unique style to prevent itself from feeling like any old documentary and that is where this fails. There is some cool footage of the band at the end performing their first show since their reformation, but it's not worth sitting through the entire thing to get to.Even at a very short 73 minutes, it becomes apparent at the halfway point that the makers behind this struggled to find enough material to fill the runtime. It's not without it's moments and does have some pretty interesting footage and interviews, but the whole thing just feels like a wasted opportunity that should have belonged in the hands of someone more experienced with this genre of filmmaking. Unless you are a die-hard fan of this band, I'd recommend passing on this one and putting your time forth into watching a better rockumentary out there. This one brings very little to the table.
Egor Golobokov
At first I was interested in this film as a big fan of Death From Above 1979. Unfortunately, I have never been on their live performances, and I'm interested to know how it was and how two men were able to so quickly achieve success this unusual music. But then I realized that this film is not about music, but about the relationship between two people who are standing next to each other. About people's attitudes in the music group. The film clearly shows the history of relations between Jesse and Sebastian for a long period. Well the atmosphere of the time. The path to fame and fall. Good music, good people, good movie. I will be happy to review this movie again.
David Ferguson
Greetings again from the darkness. By definition, documentaries tell us the story of something that has already happened. The best ones expose a great story, and it usually boils down to how interesting we find the subject. The Canadian Punk duo Death From Above 1979 has a history that is both entertaining and a bit unusual - even within the music industry.Between 2001 and 2005, the band performed 546 live shows around the world. And then it was over. Bandmates Sebastien Grainger (drums and vocals) and Jesse F Keeler (bass, keyboard, backing vocals) melded their creative flow into an incredibly energetic live experience. They were in perfect sync onstage, and audiences responded.Filmmaker Eva Michon (Grainger's wife) provides us with interviews from music executives, members of other rock bands, and especially Grainger and Keeler. We learn of their influence, and also witness their conflicting insecurities and musical confidence.Their first full album "You're a Woman, I'm a Machine" sold 100,000 units in 2004, but the follow-up "The Physical World" wouldn't be released for a decade. The reason for the delay is the crux of this band's story ... they broke up! It seems clear the two band members grew apart creatively, causing a crack in the friendship. They quit speaking, even while on tour. In 2005, they were opening for Nine Inch Nails at Madison Square Garden, and a few weeks later they went their own separate ways.Grainger finally reached out to Keeler in 2011, and the band reunited with an invitation to play famed music festival Coachella. A surprise show at SXSW in Austin was shut down by the cops after the crowd spun out of control. The video here is the best we see, and certainly more exciting than the actual footage from Coachella.The reunion just doesn't play well on screen, and it robs the film of it's core moment. The interviews are insightful and the photos and early footage are excellent. All that's lacking is a wow moment. Still, fans of the band will be all over this, while those unfamiliar will find it interesting enough.
