Best movie ever!

A Disappointing Continuation

If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

I've been a Beulah fan for many years since I first heard If We Can Land a Man on the moon... until their last album, Yoko. I didn't know much about the band and didn't care to learn that much at the time. I liked the music and that was good enough for me because it was entertaining and did what music was supposed to do. Watching this movie was a bit of an eye-opener to see what the band behind the music I've been listening to for years is really like.I agree with the other comment on this board about how front-man Miles Kurosky is sort of bi-polar, seeming like a nice enough guy at times, inviting fans on stage and also coming across as an complete self-righteous a$$-hole other times.I wouldn't like to base a man on a 1.5 hour movie because it would be unfair. I'll give Miles Kurosky the benefit of the doubt and assume he's a nice guy even though he probably isn't. Calling someone a "fagg0t" doesn't really help admire him. Neither does his self-righteousness when a venue doesn't immediately meet his requirements and he's ready to cancel the show and disappoint his fans who have paid to see him. Miles Kurosky is pretty much summed up when the movie opens with his rant against Bob Dylan and why Kurosky's music is better than Dylan's.The incident involving a politically-charged discussion between the band and a fan doesn't help them look too positive either. From what was shown no one was blaming the band for the war in Iraq and to assume so is completely thick-headed and lame. From what I saw a fan invited the band into his home and they basically treated him like crap and mocked him afterward. Not cool. Fans make your band.What's good about this movie? The music. I'm not really interested in the band themselves and their quirks or their interested in porn magazines and homo-erotic behaviour between shows. The music is what this movie is about and it's great to have all these live shows on one disc so I could really enjoy this band.If you like Beulah and you want to watch some excellent live performances then watch this movie. If you're interested in their eccentricities then you might also enjoy it.

In the summer of last year, I was lucky enough to meet Miles Kurosky (lead singer of Beulah) after a Beulah show and I was blown away by how nice he was---not only to me, but to my girlfriend as well who blurted out that she didn't really know much about the band.He was really so kind and gentle that I had to throw away all my preconceived notions of what Miles Kurosky must be like. Because anyone who is into the band and who has done any reading about them at all knows that Miles is arrogant, rude, opinionated, mean, etc...Or so the stories go, anyway. So while I didn't expect him to spit on us or anything, I wasn't prepared for just how nice he was.And so I went into this documentary wondering about who Miles Kurosky really was. And, man, to his credit, he really lets it all hang out; warts and all, it's all there.Don't even bother trying to figure him out (or, if you do, please let me know what you come up with!), because I don't think you can.What to make of a guy who in one scene is so concerned with his band mates making a little bit of money that he himself takes on the huge task of road managing and then in another literally slaps one of his band mates silly because he doesn't drive exactly the way Miles thinks he should? Or what do you make of a guy who in one scene refuses to do an encore because he thinks the crowd isn't cheering loud enough and then in another invites a small gang of underage kids to a club for a free show because they can't get into the over-21 rock club? You could do this thing almost forever with A Good Band is Easy to Kill. It's one of those movies that gets under your skin and keeps you thinking about the characters for a long time after. And it's not only about Miles (I focused on him out of personal interest), but the whole entire band.(MILD SPOILER)If this movie works for you, as it did me, then you'll find yourself in the end moved beyond words. When Miles tells the appreciative hometown crowd in San Francisco, "Hello. We're Beulah. We're from San Francisco," chills spread across my neck as I finally learned to understand what exactly the song "You're Only King Once" (the one that is playing underneath this scene) really means.(END SPOILER)What a rush. Any other stupid rock documentary would have had Miles telling you, "when I wrote this song, I was trying to come to terms with blah, blah, blah..." Instead, Beulah had the good sense to create a documentary which, like their music, assumes the audience are intelligent beings who "get" it.Now if I could just "get" Miles Kurosky...

The movie starts off fast with a beautiful rant by Miles, the controversial "F--- Bob Dylan" moment. I played this back ten times at least. I'm certain that he's not so much talking about Bob Dylan the man, but Bob Dylan the icon.To believe that Dylan can do no wrong is maddening. To believe that Radiohead can do no wrong is maddening. To believe that John Lennon can do no wrong is maddening.Star worship is maddening. So maddening, in fact, f--- 'em all. Get it?There's so much to love about Beulah and about this movie. The songs that are in the movie sound amazing for a documentary about an indie band. And while Miles does steal the show with his pontificating, everybody shines.Case in point: when the t-shirt guy lists all the things he does on tour I was laughing so hard I nearly choked. Later, when he shows off everything he owns I again nearly died. But when their roadie poses the question of which member of the Vanderslice band they'd all like to sleep with, that is the funniest thing I've ever seen.Miles' melancholic statement that closes the movie seals the deal. These bands that we love so much do leave us much too quickly. It's up to us to seize the day and make sure that we appreciate them--and all beautiful, fleeting things--while they are still here.

I first heard of Beulah in November of 2001 while I was sitting in the Riviera Theatre anxiously awaiting Cake's entrance from behind the stage. No backup band was advertised but, instead of my cowboy hat and white shirt wearing heroes, Beulah emerged. Within ten minutes time, this impatient Cake fan was won over by their performance. Maybe it was the melodies or maybe it was their enthusiasm, but, whatever it was, they were quite hypnotic. That weekend, I went out and bought their CD, "The Coast is Never Clear." It was a good purchase because I still listen to it today, and there are numerous albums that I cannot say that about. Due to my favorable evaluation of the band, I was excited to see that a documentary had been released concerning them. Happily, this weekend I had a chance to view it.Unfortunately, the movie does not make a good impression initially. During the introduction, the lead guitarist and leader of the band, Miles, began disrespecting Bob Dylan, a man who truly, unlike most of today's entertainers, deserves the title of artist--if not poet. Miles states that his new CD is superior to "Blood on the Tracks," and his rationale for why this is true was even more comical than the statement itself. He thinks the fact that he put more "emotion" into his work makes it better. Hardly. Emotion has absolutely no correlation (actually, in my opinion, it has a negative correlation) with musical quality. He further offended the fans of the greatest songwriter in the history of rock & roll by saying "F--- Bob Dylan." I almost turned off the DVD right there.I'm glad I didn't though as, despite its inauspicious beginning, it turned out to be an interesting documentary. After the first thirty minutes of banal equipment moving and tire changing, A Good Band is Easy to Kill improved immensely. Other than Miles, the band, the chief subject of the film, seem to be a group of mature, authentic, and likable fellows. It's too bad that the lead guitarist gets so much of the spotlight as he's the only one whose personality grates, yet I should mention that he was the only person who made me laugh out loud. I laughed with him as he complains on his cell phone that they are being force to play in a "living room." He then complains that "a bunch of hippies are having a cooking class in there" and don't have intention of clearing out so the band will have enough time to get ready.The scene in which they get into it with an effete, trendy Canadian is absolutely priceless. The camera pans to a self-righteous pseudo-intellectual fan who succeeds in spoiling an after concert party by reflexively bashing America for the most irrational of reasons. It seems all we do is declare wars. Ah, no. Since World War II, what has his country done for anybody? They act like they're the conscious of North America but their government doesn't care about anyone, especially the citizens they're supposed to be serving. Their legislators are devoted to taxing the people into poverty. At their current rate of spending, they'll achieve third world status by 2050. Enjoy! Although, we should all be grateful to Canada for showcasing to the world that socialized medicine is an inefficient, corrupt, people-killing mess.Anyway, in the scene, one of Beulah guys points out how irrational the priss's views happen to be because he hates war but then wants to declare war on capitalism. He said, I think you're a bit confused, war can't be good and bad at the same time. Young Pierre Trudeau has no answers. Another band member later said that this heroic anti-corporate guy had an entire place crafted from IKEA stuff, which, as we know, sells products that are not 100% derived from the efforts of unionized labor. I don't know of too many other performers who would stand up for our nation under any circumstance, and even fewer who would ever consent to have their defense filmed for the sake of posterity. Bravo! The live concert sequences are the strongest part of the documentary. The were extremely entertaining and they illustrate that these musicians possess considerable ability. Indeed, the venue footage is riveting. My favorite scene is where they allow some 17-year-old fans to come in early to see them practice as their age barred them from being present for the actual show. The youths are amazed at their proximity to Beulah and were as appreciative as could be. It was a very nice, and sincere, moment. It's always pleasurable to see entertainers take a heartfelt interest in their supporters. The way that they brought audience members up to dance and play the tambourine on stage further illustrated their connection to their admirers.A Good Band is Easy to Kill may lack the polish of Wilco's I Am Trying to Break Your Heart but it's definitely worth your time.