Levi Seacer, Jr. Movies
From Michael Moore's hometown of Flint, MI, to the movie-making capital of the United States, director Mike Wilson's inflammatory documentary travels across the country to hold the controversial Sicko director's allegedly questionable tactics up to the light for closer examination. Wilson is a filmmaker who wants viewers to question what they see and hear in the media, and he's willing to travel thousands of miles in order to highlight why you too should remain skeptical about Moore's motivations as a filmmaker. The result is a meditation on the American dream, and the manner in which diligence and determination can eventually pay off for the folks who aren't willing to let their dreams fade. Additionally, by speaking with such well-known media figures as Penn Jilette and John Stossel as well as a host of highly respected scholars, Wilson highlights how Moore manipulates interviews and statistics to serve his own personal agenda. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
Prince wrote, directed, and stars in this disastrous sequel to Purple Rain that equates differing musical styles with God, angels, faith, and the struggle between the spiritual and the earthy. Once again Prince is The Kid, still working his emotional damnedest to one-up Morris Day and his band, The Time. In this installment, the boys fight over the ownership of a nightclub called Glam Slam. Both are bequeathed half of the club in a will, and Morris and the Kid want to handle each of their halves differently. Morris treats his part of the club as a popular venue, playing music the public wants to hear, and it is a rousing success. The Kid, on the other hand, wants to bring spirituality into funk -- to make his point he even strikes a crucifixion pose. The result is a battle of the bands with The Time and The Kid jamming off of one another, battling for the souls of the two-drink minimum suckers. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi
- Starring:
- Prince, Ingrid Chavez, (more)
- 1987
- PG13
Following his disastrous sophomore film Under the Cherry Moon (1986), Minnesota-based rock star Prince hastily returns to the form and style of his classic motion picture debut, Purple Rain (1984) by directing and starring in this energetic concert film interspersed with dream-like visuals. Recorded in 1987 at gigs in Rotterdam, Holland, and Prince's hometown of Minneapolis (during the world tour supporting his new album of the same name), Sign O' the Times encompasses a wealth of diverse material, distinguishing it from typical, more straightforward examples of its genre. In addition to performing 13 songs, Prince throws into the mix a music video collaboration with Sheena Easton, sweaty dance interludes with his then-current paramour Cat Glover, and a rousing finale that makes a star of drummer-singer Sheila E. Less successful is an attempt to depict an unfolding narrative set amongst characters that seem to be bottom dwellers from society's seedy fringes, occasionally joining the band on stage. The story never gels into a definable structure and remains hallucinogenic, but the music is superbly performed and photographed and the songs are from an album considered by many to be a late-'80s classic. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi
- Starring:
- Prince, Sheena Easton, (more)
