Scanialara
You won't be disappointed!
Listonixio
Fresh and Exciting
BelSports
This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.
KissEnglishPasto
...........................................................from Pasto,Colombia...Via: L.A. CA., CALI, COLOMBIA....and ORLANDO, FL TAKING (the Music Out of) Woodstock--OK, maybe my re-worked title is somewhat over the top. But then "Taking Woodstock" is a bit over the top, too! Hell, 1969 was over the top, wasn't it?! But who really cares! Come on, people! It's a Movie! Name ONE film set in 1969 that isn't a little overdone. I should know about Woodstock; I was THERE.......in spirit! Sadly, as much as I, and about 50% of Americans in my age demographic, longed to be present, we formed part of the 98%(of the half) who couldn't make it. The other 50%, incidentally, were probably praying for the earth to open up and swallow those 1/2 million music, marijuana and peace-loving souls. ("Nearly 500K attended Woodstock" -Wikipedia) Director Ang Lee has really amazed me. He has made...A) The film that best encapsulates, captures the true essence, of this great cultural benchmark concert and most extremely divisive moment in our nation's history since the Civil War! B) He has done this despite being someone from outside our American culture! C) He has managed to serve up what was, for me at least, the one of most entertaining and vibrant movies of 2009.Laughed so hard at times, I cried! I can't even REMEMBER the last movie that did that for me. Isn't that what movies are supposed to be all about? Demetri Martin is the late-twenty-something-good-Jewish-Still- live-at-home- son, who serves as the concert's catalyst. Martin renders his role with great finesse, aplomb and stand-alone chutzpah! (Check out his resume on IMDb: What a multi-faceted talent) But the real scene-stealer was a TOTALLY unrecognizable Imelda Staunton, as the Jewish mother from hell! She should have at the very least received an Oscar nomination! Fascinating "Woodstock" dichotomy: Martin's character is right there, in the center of the firestorm...and yet, NOT! What a great metaphoric irony for the millions of us, who were and weren't there, either! Despite a few flaws, Resounding 9*.....ENJOY/DISFRUTELA!Any comments, questions or observations, in English o en Español, are most welcome!
malarkeyt5
As I had just turned 10 the summer of Woodstock and lived on the West Coast, I was not able to go.... but have a fascination with the festival even now. I love the documentary "Woodstock", made in 1970, which is full of musical performances, interviews with attendees and with organizers. Some reviews of this movie complain that "Taking Woodstock" does not include enough music, however if the music is what you yearn to see/hear, do enjoy the documentary. Of the 30 or so bands who performed at Woodstock, fifteen or so are included in the documentary. If you want to learn the history of the event, this movie is ideal. I especially enjoyed seeing the clever ideas and ability to create a phenomenon. To think they were not sure if many wold attend... had some horrid weather... financial difficulties (these are alluded to in the documentary as well)... experienced nay- sayers and bad press... and yet, it truly ended as three days of Peace, Love, and Music.
robinski34
This was not the film that I was expecting, I guessed as much when I saw Ang Lee's name role past in the opening credits, and the notion was confirmed two hours later. I thought I was in for whimsical comedy and free spirited stoner philosophising, but the reality is somewhat different. In the end it is a more personal voyage of discovery for the central character, however once things are set in motion his involvement feels peripheral, and events happen around him, driven by others. There are some stand-out performances, Imelda Staunton is priceless as the protagonist's mother and she and the excellent Henry Goodman create a fascinating relationship that is central to the film. Demetri Martin's turn in the central role is rather low key by comparison, and that may be the problem, since everyone else seems larger than life, his performance gets lost in the 'far out' stuff going on around him. The hallucinogenic scenes are well done, and there is a brief burst of action, centred on Mr. Goodman, but largely the pacing is flat, and this does not help. Perhaps the most telling thing is that this is a 2 hour film about a music festival with almost no musical performances in it. I think that would confound most people's expectations. It certainly did mine.
rooprect
A movie about Woodstock with no Woodstock music. For the musicians & serious music lovers out there, that's all you need to know. Rent Jimi Hendrix - Wild Blue Angel instead.While this isn't a bad story on its own, I wanted to warn those of you who, like me, may be fooled by deceptive marketing into thinking this is a true story about the famous Woodstock concert. First, it's not true (we'll get to that later). But even worse, it has very little to do with the great concert and totally drops the ball by featuring no music from the event advertised in the title of the film.So if you're expecting to see/hear a nostalgic trip featuring music by Janis, Jimi, Ravi, The Who, The Dead, Jefferson Airplane, or any of the other entities that made up the soul of Woodstock, you'll be sorely disappointed. They aren't even a footnote.So what the heck is "Taking Woodstock" about? It's about a guy named Elliot Tiber who published a book in 2007 claiming that he was the one who made Woodstock happen. This claim has been subsequently refuted by the true concert organizer, Michael Lang, and the man on whose farm the concert was held, Max Yasgur. Both Lang and Yasgur are depicted in the film as friends of Elliot Tiber, but in reality they didn't know him, and Max has stated that he never met Elliot.All this is tolerable because, after all, this is a movie not a documentary. Some of the greatest films ever made took wild liberties with the truth, such as "Amadeus". But unlike "Amadeus" which is a powerful depiction of a man's vindictive struggle against god, "Taking Woodstock" is simply about some loser claiming he's more important than he is, giving us an autobiography of a rather uneventful existence by attaching himself to a grand event such as Woodstock.I repeat, the Woodstock concert is barely a footnote. Instead we get the rather common story of a boy who's coming to terms with his selfish mother, coming to terms with his homosexuality and coming to terms with drugs and hippy freedom. Director Ang Lee tries his best to keep us on the Woodstock topic by showing oodles of disorienting, 8mm hand-held shots of hippies and miscellaneous 60s chaos, but it can't cover up the fact that this is basically just an autobiography of Elliot Tiber.I'm told that this is a comedy. I suppose there were a few swats at humor, cutting to random weird scenes like a bunch of hippies stripping their clothes off and praying to a helicopter, or a bunch of hippies stripping their clothes off and shouting at a crowd of people. There's also a "comic relief" character who is a Vietnam vet suffering flashbacks of the jungle (yeah possibly disrespectful to Vietnam vets).If you want to see this movie you should head to your local Blockbuster where you can find this DVD for sale in the bargain bin for $2. It's entertaining enough to warrant 2 bucks but not much more.========ALTERNATE RECOMMENDATIONS========If you want to see a funny hippy movie, check out "Grand Theft Parsons", a dramatized "true story" of what happened to singer Gram Parson's body after he died.If you want to see an entertaining movie about an unsung hero behind the scenes of a famous event, look for the obscure Australian comedy "The Dish" about the lonely radio outpost that broadcast the moon landing in 1969.If you want a movie with some cool 60s music, see "Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas" or "Pirate Radio".And lastly, if you want to see a movie about a guy who wrote a book claiming to be something he's not, check out "The Hoax" about the man who claimed to have interviewed the mysterious Howard Hughes."Taking Woodstock" doesn't fit into any of the above categories, despite what the DVD cover promises. Instead it's an OK coming-of-age flick about a boy realizing his independence.
