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In case you haven’t seen the intro from my entry dated
1/26/19 (it’s in my archives whenever you want to read it), I’m no longer going
to review every single movie I see. I’m
going to review one, with the occasional bonus, and just give ratings for the
rest from now on (unless I decide to pick it up again in the future). You can always ask me why I gave the ratings
for the films without reviews though (via comments or the e-mail addresses
under the ‘About Me’ section).
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Slayer: The Repentless Killogy
It is probably an unwritten rule that one can’t truly call
themselves a metalhead if they don’t like Slayer; at least once in their lifetime. They never did become sellouts (like
Metallica, Megadeth, and countless others) from their arrival in the early
Eighties until their last album in 2015 (Repentless). You pretty much know what to expect when you
listen to a Slayer album. This film, or
music video/concert film more appropriately, is strictly for Slayer fans
only. If you don’t like Slayer, you will
not enjoy this “film” at all. The first
third does contain a revenge narrative, based on a three-issue comic book of
the same name (which I do own and was somewhat reminded of while watching),
accompanied by Slayer performing songs off the Repentless album. Basically it’s more than one music video in
which the music complements the narrative instead of vice versa. It is violent, for those that may care either
way (did you expect anything less with Slayer’s name attached?), and there are
a few recognizable genre faces (Danny Trejo, Bill Moseley, Derek Mears, etc.)
contained within. For the remaining
two-thirds of the 2-hour and 10-minute feature, you are treated to an entire
Slayer concert that occurred at the Los Angeles Forum in 2017. By entire concert, I mean that literally---from
the moment the band enters the stage to when they exit after the last
song. For those that have never seen
Slayer and would’ve liked to, this may be a good thing (they allegedly did
their farewell tour before Covid times, but I never believe bands when they say
that). No, it’s not the same experience
as actually being there physically, but it may be the next best thing. I, personally, prefer seeing concerts on TV
sometimes, because that way I can control the volume how I see fit, don’t have
to worry about crowds, and I have a better view of the concert itself, a more
omniscient view, if you will. As for how
their performance was in this film?
There were times when the sound quality was poor, but that could be the
platform I was viewing it on, and there were times I got bored if I wasn’t a
fan of a certain song (although that’s not much different than actually being
in attendance), but, for the most part, I enjoyed seeing the band perform some
of their thrash metal hits to an energetic crowd (as inevitable at metal shows)
in the comfort of my own home. I
physically saw Slayer in concert at least 2 or 3 times, but I’ve been a fan of
the band for over 20 years now. I didn’t
give this a rating, because, like I said, it is strictly for Slayer fans only
and even they may not be satisfied with just seeing a 40-minute music
video/revenge film and a 90-minute concert.
So, to Slayer fans, if you plan on watching this, just go in it for the
music and expect not much more. 1/29/2021
Bonus review:
Salt-N-Pepa
Biopic recently released on Lifetime covering from when the female
rapping duo met in 1985 to a live performance in 2005 in which they were
honored by VH1. I think it’s safe to say
that Cheryl (Salt) and Sandy (Pepa) are pioneers, considering it was pretty
much unheard of for women to be rappers in the Eighties; ironically, they never
intended to be rappers initially (which you’ll see if and when you watch). I can’t necessarily say I’m a fan of the
group, but I don’t dislike them either (“Push It” is a catchy song). I remember when their single, “Let’s Talk
About Sex,” first came out, and when they made an appearance in the John Ritter
film, Stay Tuned (“Start Me
Up”). Regardless of how you feel about
them, you can’t deny their presence in pop culture, especially if you’re aware
of the music industry at large. Other
popular hits have included “Shoop” and “Whatta Man.” I’m always interested in watching biopics and
I was curious about the story behind the “queens of hip-hop,” especially since
I knew very little besides the music beforehand. Like many biopics, parts did feel rushed (even
at a little over 2 hours) and the typical assortment of elements are included
(creative control issues, internal strife, bad relationships, life meditations,
etc.), but I did learn more than I knew prior (regardless of how much truth
there was to it all, like usual) and I don’t really remember being bored. Plus, Mario Van Peebles, an actor/director
with many credits to his name, helmed it and the real Salt-N-Pepa were
executive producers, so there has to be enough credibility to it, no? 1/31/2021
Other
movies I've seen and their ratings (see above):
Come Play >>>EH
Cruel Summer >>>OK/G
Warda >>>EH/OK
(In Arabic with subtitles)
---Sean O.
2/1/2021
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