Director - Spencer Susser
Mum dies in a car crash, dad finds it hard to leave the sofa and TJ (Devin Brochu) their teen son is getting into all sorts of post-traumatic trouble. So far so American indie drama. Then Joseph Gordon-Levitt turns up as the title character. It's almost as if he’s stepped out of a totally different movie. Hesher is a potty-mouthed delinquent. You know this as he has long hair and looks perma-stoned. The whole thing never really gels. Levitt tries his best to act like he imagines those sort of people are, but comes across as a total caricature. Could have been good, Brochu is a real find, but the film just doesn’t work. Best avoided.
Director - Torbjörn Axelman
Made for Swedish TV Lee Hazlewood promo. Less a film/documentary than a series of shots of Hazlewood (in double denim and black cowboy hat) trotting around Sweden's Gotland on a black horse while tunes from his album of the same name play out. If you love the man then this is manna from Hazlewood heaven, if not then you’ll probably never make the effort required to see this anyway.
Director - Andy Capper
Unintentionally comical documentary focusing on the recording of the Snoop Dogg LP of the same name. For some reason Snoop has decreed that rapping is yesterday’s news and wants to make a Rasta album. So he heads for Jamaica and just for good measure changes his name to Snoop Lion. In-between scenes of people smoking dope (I swear Bunny Wailer was smoking some through a carrot at one point), we get future Spinal Tap moments such as Snoop talking about walking “amongst his people” from the comfort of his people carrier. Oh and Snoop must be the only person in history to smuggle ganja into Jamaica. If you’re looking for any sort of insight into Rastafarianism then forget it. For that watch Kevin Macdonald’s excellent Marley instead.
