just watched pj20 the movie

foursymbols

Just back from screening in Dublin & all I can say is subloodyperb!!! Worth the wait & hype, brilliantly done to cover 20 years & poignant in places!!! Loved all the live footage & the Singles Launch Party was hilarious!! Absolutely skint & my visa has taking a hammering this month but deluxe DVD will be ordered tomorrow...

i shit and i stink

bicyclejoe wrote:

As a huge fan of both Pearl Jam and Cameron Crowe, I was disappointed. My review in this morning's The Oregonian (the film critic "couldn't put two Pearl Jam songs together" so he asked the biggest Pearl Jam fan in the newsroom to review "PJ20"):
http://www.oregonlive.com/movies/index. ... on_cr.html

SPOILER ALERT - JUST WANNA REPLY TO THE REVIEW***

I think you missed the point big time on all three of your gripes in your review:
- Roskilde was dealt with in adequate detail without being dwelt upon to the extent that it became a way of engendering too much emotion into the audience to make them relate more to the film. It would have been easy to do a 5 minute piano montage but it was done right, it was emotional without being over the top.
- Addiction. Again it's too easy to buy the audience with that rock n roll cliche, the typical story of sex drugs and rock n roll. And I expect that people working a recovery program don't generally throw their stories out on motion pictures. It's kind of a rule. It was touched upon and that is appropriate enough without us needing to pry into the details of another person's personal issues.
- The fact that we really don't know what happened with the drummers is part of the joy of following the band. Do we really need the answer to every question? i thought that glossing over it again was a nice kind of in-joke and I don't really want a warts and all account of what happened. Sometimes it's good not to know something. The mystery adds to the attraction.

And, lastly, calling it a fanboy flick: To expect a guy who has been with the band since their second show, who put them in a film he made and has been commissioned by the band to make a documentary for them to not make a film praising the band in all ways is pretty naive. What on earth did you expect?!

ziobradipo

I liked that Crowe is not giving his personal judgement over the band, he is making the PJ talk during all the movie, he's making us see what they think about them, and how the story go during the years, they are judging them selves, it's not a advertisement ov PJ, and that's why I love them! Not trying to convince anyone, always fighting for the fans!

Squeaky_Sarah

Just watched the PJ20 film in London. You can definitely take your parents if they're interested in music, but there is an atmosphere of being part of club.The tour round Stone's house was funny and he looked a bit incredulous during the Ticketmaster debacle. Great to find out that the tracks I like from 'Singles' are all actually Mother Love Bone ... well I didn't live in Seattle in 1988! The footage of the film party is hysterical.

solihullslim

Just got back from seeing it in Newcastle and enjoyed every minute!

It's not often that a cinema full of us "reserved" English people breaks into spontaneous applause at the end of a film

Chrisilein

just came home from the Vienna PJ20 screening! First, it was awesome to see so many fans in Vienna sharing the same passion...The movie was great and we enjoyed every single second! I'm really looking forward to the deluxe DVD edition in late october. There is only one small complaint! 120 minutes wasn't enough...time went so fast and I think that the part from 2000 to the present was too short...

All in all a wonderful evening with a lot of talking afterwards and so many people with a big smile on their faces!

danny

awesome!

WASTID

Superb.

Animal in a cinema.... Hard to just sit there tapping your foot!!!

It will no doubt bring back memories to most long term fans. Personally, the way the touched on Binaural reminded me of how it was a time when I was close to becoming a casual fan of theirs... But it slowly reined me in deeper as the years moved on from there.

Thanks for 20 years - well about 17/18 years for me personally!

BeeGirl Syd

Nobody else could have made this film... Cameron Crowe is the man! I had a smile from ear to ear watching the film. The PJ lads should be very proud!!

ziobradipo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHEYs0CMe4U

It gives the idea of PJ...

Spencer

It was okay. It's certainly Cameron Crowe's version of what Pearl Jam is - and that doesn't necessarily tally with how I feel about the band. The inclusion of the Kurt Cobain stuff felt overblown and exploitative - it really had little to do with the band or the story. The film really left the impression that Ten was the only important album the band had made, it didn't engage with the rest of their catalogue in any substantial way. To me, the years 1994-2003 are the band's most fascinating and least-documented...and they were largely skipped over.

It was good and a very enjoyable way to spend 2 hours, but I won't be in a hurry to see it again.

groovyf

I've come out of that buzzing like I left a concert. What a blast... with some great old footage.
I laughed at the "Drummer Story"

Mikee J

I thought the bit about how the band started as Stones band and has become Eds was very interesting.....

dades

Fucking AWESOME

Loulou

Saw PJ20 last night, husband and I raced down the very front, dead centre where noone else was. WE LOVED IT!!!!! Nearly cried about 5 times, laughed heaps through it too, just a freakin fantastic movie. Will definately be getting this on Blu-ray. Big thanks to Cameron Crowe and to PJ for such a great movie.

goldrush

I've tried to post here a couple of times but each time I've been lost for words and it's just turned into babbling nonsense! I was totally blown away by the movie, I laughed hysterically, cried, laughed some more, cried some more.

It reminded exactly why I love everything about this band - thank you PJ and thank you Cameron Crowe

Eraserhead

The Bushleaguer bit is my fave part. Amazing film. Saw it in Toronto and just come back from the screening in Manchester.

bicyclejoe

i shit and i stink wrote:

bicyclejoe wrote:

As a huge fan of both Pearl Jam and Cameron Crowe, I was disappointed. My review in this morning's The Oregonian (the film critic "couldn't put two Pearl Jam songs together" so he asked the biggest Pearl Jam fan in the newsroom to review "PJ20"):
http://www.oregonlive.com/movies/index. ... on_cr.html

SPOILER ALERT - JUST WANNA REPLY TO THE REVIEW***

I think you missed the point big time on all three of your gripes in your review:
- Roskilde was dealt with in adequate detail without being dwelt upon to the extent that it became a way of engendering too much emotion into the audience to make them relate more to the film. It would have been easy to do a 5 minute piano montage but it was done right, it was emotional without being over the top.
- Addiction. Again it's too easy to buy the audience with that rock n roll cliche, the typical story of sex drugs and rock n roll. And I expect that people working a recovery program don't generally throw their stories out on motion pictures. It's kind of a rule. It was touched upon and that is appropriate enough without us needing to pry into the details of another person's personal issues.
- The fact that we really don't know what happened with the drummers is part of the joy of following the band. Do we really need the answer to every question? i thought that glossing over it again was a nice kind of in-joke and I don't really want a warts and all account of what happened. Sometimes it's good not to know something. The mystery adds to the attraction.

And, lastly, calling it a fanboy flick: To expect a guy who has been with the band since their second show, who put them in a film he made and has been commissioned by the band to make a documentary for them to not make a film praising the band in all ways is pretty naive. What on earth did you expect?!

Thanks for the feedback. As you can see, they didn't give me much room to expand on my thoughts (it had to fit in a 5-inch rail in the paper -- that's brief).

As a long time fan, I found nearly nothing in the film's narrative surprising or revealing. (I did love seeing the moment Eddie overcame his stage fright in a wave of rage). I was at that show, but I didnt realize at the time what I witnessed. As a devote fan of Pearl Jam, I wanted the answers to those mysteries revealed -- finally. The fan deaths seemed shoe-horned into the film. As a fan of Crowe, I had hoped he would provide more journalism than propaganda. I already know why I love this band. After 20 years, I wanted to know something new, something that would contribute to my multideimensional connection with the band.

Marcus Maximus

I found as a movie lack luster, this i or PJ fans there isnt really a rollarcoaster ride, i did enjoy seeing the old footage

Indifference09

Loved it, plenty of goosebump moments too, Release, Eddie finding his voice, Roskilde.

Also gave me some more persepective around the Temple of the Dog reunion at Alpine Valley.

Help make that weekend even more special

-Emma-

Dan C wrote:

-Emma- wrote:

This will sound a bit random, but when there was a clip of a lighthouse and surfing in the movie it looked very familiar to me, then a few seconds later Stone said something about it being the first year they went to Australia.

Obviously lighthouses don't exactly look distinct, but it would be kind of cool if it was the lighthouse i'm thinking of.

was it barrenjoey?

Yep, that was the one I was thinking!

GD274660

What a great movie.

When Stone was saying how it used to be him and Jeff making the big decisions and writing the songs...and now it's so clear that Ed leads the way......pointed out to me that Stone is the glue.

How many bands not only survive a power shift like that? Much less get BETTER. Shows to me how Stone and Jeff are both humble musicians who put the band ahead of any ego.

Bands don't stay together this long, this good, this significant.

If Stone didn't see the big picture and understand Ed, they wouldn't have made it to Matt Cameron, much less PJ20.

You da' man, Stone.

northcountrygirl

Wow...next best thing to being there in person. I just realized, again, why I love this band so much...At the same time, a bit of nostalgia, for the music, the people of my past. But looking forward to more music and more concerts...it just feels so good to listen to this band! Thank you guys!!!! Made me laugh, made me remember but most of all, made me love your music even more!

Pat2976

I just got home from the movie. I will be ordering the deluxe dvd!

gewhite524

The best.............I loved how the spirit of the band was carried through. The boys have never compromised. Love that about them. Worship at the altar of Pearl Jam. They are the best!!!!

intodeep

i just got home from seeing it in Atlanta and it was really cool. Kind of reinvigorated my love for the band. It had kind of waned a little lately but seeing that makes me want to go back and listen to all the albums again.

I have an old VHS that they used the same Mother Love Bone footage for this is the only other time i've seen that video which is cool

Paulina87

willc431994 wrote:

fuckin sick...enjoy people.

+1 loved it....awesome movie!!!
made me wanna see them live again even more now

sparky_fry

Won the lottery, front row!!! Great movie

Jen07

Truly amazing movie. I've always loved their music but never really knew the band. Now i have such a better understanding, respect and love for them. Can't wait for more concerts and cds, although now they'll be even more emotional for me with my newfound knowledge. So much love.....

demetrios

I loved it.

Can't wait to see the added 4 hour bonus footage on the DVD/Blu-ray release!

*drools