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The Crystal Method Film Company’s follow up to their 1997
box office smash Vegas is actually eleven short subject
action films, an unusual and unprecedented movie package.
Will Tweekend lift the movie business out of the summer
doldrums? Here is a review of each of the eleven stories featured
in the film.
"PHD"--Short on dialogue, long on sweeping futuristic
visual cinematography, "PHD" is an overly arty snoozer
that may have something to do with a line of robots designed
and programmed to perform surgery on humans. Or maybe not.
"Wild, Sweet and Cool"--Homeboy in love describes
the object of his affection, but she must be Canadian because
her identity is never revealed. Shot with riveting flair and
subversively sexy, "Wild, Sweet and Cool" grabs
your immediate attention and holds it firm to the very end,
despite the disappointment of never meeting the girl.
"Roll It Up"--Fast paced docu-drama about (what
else?) the life of a Los Angeles area carpet installation
man. Tom Morello of Rage Against The Machine
turns in a brutal performance as a man who tortures guitars.
Shot entirely on location at LAX.
"Murder"--Chatty by comparison to the first three
features, the suspenseful "Murder" maps the movements
of a female serial killer through the eyes and words of several
narrators.
"Name Of The Game"--Dizzying pastiche of hip-hop,
seamy nightclub characters, and the after-hours culture of
The Big City. LA oddball fixture Beck plays a mad scientist
cum turntable wizard in a wonderful cameo.
"The Winner"--Engaging sci-fi mystery that chronicles
one man’s descent into paranoia. "I know, know y’all
know what we gonna do now," he says to strangers on the
street as they back away from him in a mix of horror and confusion.
Stylish and powerful, "The Winner" is perhaps the
biggest winner in the Tweekend compendium.
"Ready For Action"--More style that substance,
but what style! "Ready For Action" is a cinematic
stunner that really isn’t about anything. Blows yer mind without
engaging it…guess that makes it Perfect Entertainment!
"Ten Miles Back"--Delightful animated tale of a
keyboard that thinks it’s a coronet. It gets lost on an island
of donkey children, eventually grows up to become a Steinway
piano. Sweet enough for children, yet sophisticated enough
to keep adults interested.
"Over The Line"--Lightweight farce about an unlikely
romance between an aging ex-roadie for the Alan Parsons
Project and a young, nubile twenty-something hairdresser/record
store clerk/club monger. Laughs galore.
"Blowout"--This one could’ve been a nitro-fueled
action pic about gangs of street smart youths who don’t exactly
race their super-charged muscle machines, but instead cruise
them up and down Melrose Avenue, trying not to hit any shoppers
or tourists…or it could be about the life of a Quality Assurance
Specialist at Firestone who goes on a rampage against Production
Managers at a plant in Michigan. Either or.
"Tough Guy"--When metallic insect-like robotic
killing machines swoop down like an electro-plague on an unsuspecting
Earth, only one man can stop them…the "Tough Guy."
Swaggers gracefully like a modern western should.
Don’t expect this bold and daring series to break any box
office records. These short features are not for everyone,
(no dick jokes, no farting bears, etc.) but while these films
are not exactly ahead of their time, credit must be given
to the producers at Crystal Method for creating a high octane
series of mini-noir classics that are as cutting edge as anything
else released to theaters during this ho-hum summer.
AND THE SOUNDTRACKS FUCKING RAWK!
Rated R for strong language and guitar violence.
— Jeff Noise
Track Listing:
- PHD
- Wild Sweet and Cool
- Roll It Up
- Murder
- Name Of The Game
- The Winner
- Ready For Action
- Ten Miles Back
- Over The Line
- Blow Out
- Tough Guy
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