Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny (2006)

Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny

2006

Starring: Jack Black, Kyle Gass, Jason Reed, Ronnie James Dio, Meatloaf, Tim Robbins, Ben Stiller

Directed By: Liam Lynch

For those not in the know, Tenacious D is a band that goes back to the late 90's. Started in Tim Robbins' comedy troupe, Jack Black and Kyle Gass decided they had more in common that just music... they also wanted to form the greatest band on the earth. It's quite possible they achieved their goal. After launching their efforts on HBO as a short-lived series featuring short films and skits combined with original music, Tenacious D then went on to make a platinum selling debut album.

The Pick of Destiny (or POD as listed on the soundtrack album to save space) tells the ficticious origin of Tenacious D and their quest to become the greatest band in the world. Before we go any further, this movie is done in the way of "rock opera" mixed with "dick & fart" jokes. In other words, it's kind of like an explicit Blues Brothers. If you don't like Tenacious D or that type of film, don't even bother, because you won't get that type of humor and enjoy yourself. If you do "get it", then by all means, watch this fucking movie.

The movie opens with a young JB (short for Jack Black) rocking out an explicit song in front of his overly religious parents (dad played by Meatloaf). His dad tears down all of his rock posters and tells him that rock 'n roll is of the devil. So, young JB prays to Ronnie James Dio (of Black Sabbath fame-- post Ozzie) to give him the answer. Dio informs JB that he must go to Hollywood to persue his dreams, so JB sets off, thus putting the film in motion. He leaves as a young boy and finally arrives in Hollywood as an adult.

Strolling down Venice Beach, JB runs into KG (Kyle Gass for short), who is rocking the acoustic guitar like nobody's business. JB convinces KG to teach him the ways of ROCK, and thus sets the events of the film in motion. After a mediocre response to their first gig, JB and KG try and figure out what the key to "rock" is, thus bringing to light that there is a "pick of destiny". The pick is part of Satan's tooth and has been passed down for ages so that one may "rock" in an unholy and supernatural fashion.

So, the two set off to find the Pick of Destiny, which happens to be locked up tight and heavily secured at a museum for Rock 'n Roll. The film finally culminates with a showdown between The D and Satan in an epic "Rock Off", showcasing who is the better at rocking.

The movie isn't without it's flaws, but they are only minor. My biggest gripe is that the movie was a tad bit short, and at 97 minutes, it feels that some parts are rushed and not fleshed out enough. However, like I said above, if you like "rock opera" and Tenacious D, you're going to blow a load in your pants at the sheer awesomeness of this movie.

The acting is absolutely hilarious. With an excellent soundtrack by The D, Jack and Kyle rock out the whole movie while interweaving comedic bits throughout. The music tells the story for the most part, but it's the performances that bring about how passionate these two are about their music. It doesn't matter if the lyrics are filled with profanity and humor, it's the spirit of the music that brings about the essence of what's trying to be portrayed. I would have to say that this is Tenacious D at their comedic best.

The rest of the film is filled with virtual no-names in supporting roles, but they do their job of basically portraying nobody's, so it's all good. The cameos on the other hand are brilliant. Ronnie James Dio, Meatloaf, Ben Stiller, Collin Hanks, Tim Robbins, and Dave Grohl fill the movie with off beat cameo performances that don't overshadow any other actor and only elevate how influential The D has become in Hollywood. The Tim Robbins cameo is probably the best, and it will suprise you at just how "straight" but funny his performance is.

The script, as I touched on above, feels rushed in a few spots, but nothing too bad. It's very, very funny, and filled with comedic gags that are completely original and gags that touch on some of The D's older skits. It's a good mixture of old and new and only true fans of The D will catch everything.

The direction is simply... mediocre. Nothing out of the ordinary, but nothing bad. Liam Lynch has been friends with JB and KG for years, so he basically just turned the camera on and let them do their thing. This is good, because it's The D's movie, but he also brings nothing really new or original to the table. It's shot like a typical comedy that's mixed with the style of a rock opera. I feel he just studied The Who's Tommy and The Blues Brothers, and just turned the camera on for The D. I'm not bashing, but instead just trying to make a point that he brought nothing new or fresh to the table. He didn't do bad, just average.

The editing is really good, but it's a comedy, so there's no flashy cuts or anything like that. It's all simple cuts and it works.

The special fx are great, and this is mainly because it's a comedy, so what special fx there are, they aren't cheap or cheesy looking. They fit, and that's that. It works. I will say this, there is a part where JB uses his "member" to turn off a security system, and it's probably the most realistic looking fake "member" I've seen used in a comedy. Yes, I said his "member". I could only imagine what the fx artist was thinking after he read the script. "You want me to create what??"

Overall, Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny is a classic. Though Hollywood and most film critics will bash this movie because of their own ignorance, I had a blast watching it. I felt that it did The D justice without watching them "sell out" in the process. It was a hilarious ride of a movie, and though I wish it would have been a tad bit longer, it was great. I really have no complaints and would only have to nit-pick it to death to even begin being mean. This movie had serious balls, and I'm not just talking about JB's "member".

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Saw 3 (2006)

Saw 3

2006

Starring: Tobin Bell, Shawnee Smith, Angus Macfayden, Bahar Soomekh

Directed By: Darren Lynn Bousman

Well, well, well. We're at number three, sequel number two, just two years after the release of the first Saw movie. Now, I'll admit, I liked the first movie and thought it's mind-fuck ending was very refreshing in today's horror films. Then came number two. I loved the movie and found it more entertaining than the first, although the ending wasn't as messed up, it brought the two films full-circle. And along came number three...

Basically, if you haven't seen any of the movies and don't want to be spoiled about anything, stop reading right here or skip to the bottom of the review for the rating. If you don't care or are just morbidly curious, continue on with me. I rarely hate to give spoilers away, but seeing as it's vital to the understanding of the first two films as well as the third, I'll explain what I can without giving too much away. I'll say this though, YOU HAVE TO SEE THE FIRST TWO MOVIES TO KNOW WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON!!!! If you haven't seen them, well then you're about as lost as President Bush in the White House.

Saw 3 opens with a murder..torture scene. What relevence this scene has with the rest of the movie is beyond me, but seeing a guy get ripped apart by chains is pretty cool. Then, the lady cop from the second movie (name escapes me) investigates the murder and figures out that it can't be Jigsaw, because he didn't give the option for escape. Then, with complete randomness, the cop is kidnapped, dunks her hand in acid to get out of a trap, and then has her ribcage torn from her body. Thus ending any type of police action or investigation. From there we find out that Jigsaw, having escaped the clutches of the law in part 2, is dying from some type of blood clot on the brain. So he and his assistant Amanda kidnap a female doctor and hold her hostage so that she can keep Jigsaw alive while he does one final test.

Here is where I stop giving out spoilers and just go with the review. This is the basic plot, you know keeping Jigsaw alive so he can pull one final number on someone, but the movie is filled with so many flashbacks that you'll soon question what the hell you're watching. Is this a Saw movie or something directed by Penny Marshall? While the flashbacks serve a point (which is to show what happened "behind the scenes" in the first two movies and set up an emotional and unusual plot device for this film), they become a little much and you just find yourself waiting for someone to get mutilated. Which, by the way, isn't that why people go see the Saw movies? To see someone get hacked to pieces?

While the movie has gore in it, there isn't a whole lot compared to part 2. In fact, it seems as if someone turned down the gore dial for this one. Then once the gore dial was turned down, the emotional and sappy dial was turned up several notches. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but considering the overall arc of the first two films, this one seems somewhat out of place. While I won't get into the emotional aspects, I will say that they feel forced and should have been toned down for such a movie.

The acting in the film wasn't bad, but I've seen better. It seems the acting from the first film was probably the best of the series, but here it could have been a lot worse when I think back on it. The overall acting was decent at best, but what sticks out in my mind is Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) and his performance. He did a great job in part 2 and just continues his twisted performance here. Nothing that is knocked out of the ballpark or stands out as phenominal acting, but decent all around the board.

The script is a little weak, especially considering how rough part 2 was on the old stomach. The dialogue in some scenes comes across as sappy and watered down, but overall, it's a fairly solid script. My only real problem was the added emotional sub-plot mixed with the 2 million flashback sequences. The "twist" ending isn't really here, and if it was, I missed the twist. The only real twist involves how the characters are all related, so if you pay attention, you'll see it coming from about ten minutes in. So here, the setup is alright, but the payoff is kind of lame and convoluted. I will say that I've seen worse from the first sequel in other franchises, so I can't be too harsh from the second sequel in the Saw franchise.

The directing is ok, but I felt that Darren Bousman had it together a little better on the second film. As you may or may not know, this is his second Saw film, so maybe he got a little bored. Anyway, it's a stylish looking movie, but nothing spectacular or anything we haven't seen already from Hollywood in the last five years. Plenty of smash-cuts, fast-cuts, and fuzzy ass dissolves make Saw 3 have the appearance of every other trendy horror..Hollywood film in the last several years. I can't really put all the blame here on Bousman, but ultimately it was his picture, so who else takes the bullet besides the director? Certainly not the Best Boy or Key Grip (watch the end credits of any movie if you're fucking clueless as to what these are). All in all, I feel that he did a better job with Saw 2, but did a decent job here.

The special fx..gore wasn't really anything to write home to momma about either. While it was cool in some sequences, other sequences didn't feel as well thought out as they probably should have been. Ok, let's put someone in a trap and pull out their chest. How can we do this? Ok, how about this.... Sounds good, we'll do it. That's probably the extent of the conversation just before filming the chest ripping scene. Anyway, the gore fx and makeup weren't bad. They were actually pretty good fx, however some of the circumstances..situations surrounding them made it come across as poorly planned.

All in all, Saw 3 is a good finale to the series, but could have been better. A lot better. The only thing puzzling me is the way this one ended, there shouldn't be anymore Saw movies. Then I read today that Tobin Bell (Jigsaw) was signed on for a 4th and 5th movie. This saddens me because I feel that they might start getting progressively worse as they go along. So, next Halloween I guess we'll get to see, SAW 4: THE RETURN OF JIGSAW!!! Why, God, WHY CAN'T THEY JUST END IT AND LET IT BE???

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