Taking Woodstock (2009)
Taking Woodstock (2009) — Far out, man. I dug it. While I don’t think I would have made a very good full-time hippie (I like bathing too much) I do sometimes feel cheated that I missed the whole free-spirited 60s thing. I think I would have had an awesome time at Woodstock. Unfortunately it happened 15 years before I was born. But that’s really more cultural editorializing than a movie review so I’ll get on with it. The movie isn’t great but it is diverting. Demetri Martin does pretty well although the character doesn’t seem that far away from what he’s done before. Henry Goodman is by far the best performance in the movie as Eliot’s (Martin) father. Also good are Emile Hirsch as a shell-shocked Vietnam vet and Liev Schreiber as a wisdom-dispensing trannie. Imelda Staunton I felt really overplayed her role as an overt Jewish stereotype. The way the concert came together was very interesting and the impact it had on the state of New York (apparently it was declared a disaster area). This isn’t a movie someone needs to necessarily run out and see but if you have some free time it’s an interesting story told well. The only Ang Lee movie I’ve seen and disliked was Sense & Sensibility and to be fair I was 9 and not into Jane Austen (I did like Hulk a lot even though most people seemed to hate it). This film isn’t one of his masterpieces but it definitely goes in the “win” column. But like how do you win at art, man? It should just be free and… um, okay I’ve run out of ways to mock hippie talk.
Persistence of Vision 