Chevron's spill has killed thousands already.

There’s a rumble in the jungle, folks.  It’s a David and Goliath battle, and it’s the subject of Joe Berlinger’s excellent new documentary Crude: The Real Price of Oil.  If you’ve ever been a little angry knowing you’re getting screwed at the pump, while oil companies boast record profits, year after year, this movie will let you see what it really means to get screwed by Big Oil.  If you don’t know enough to even be pissed off about it all, just google, ‘Record Profits.’  You don’t even have to type in the word ‘Oil,’ because the first hits go directly to stories about the oil industry’s big profit bonanza.  In May of 2009, Chevron’s annual report boasted record profits for the fourth consecutive year, with ‘profits of $18.7 billion’, just as crude oil prices climbed to their highest levels in 26 years.  But don’t let me bore you with all the numbers, people.  There’s a story in this movie that’s much more fascinating than Chevron’s amazing ability to screw us all at the pump.  Crude is more about Chevron’s costly efforts to screw people out of their basic human rights, in the most criminal way possible.  If a Documentary is not your idea of an action packed summer flick, keep in mind that Crude offers a treacherous villain, a large number of innocent victims, mass disease, and even murder.

Guess who owns Texaco? Chevron!!

 But here’s the kicker: This story isn’t make-believe.  How’s that for a twist?  Granted, there are subtitles, and the pace is a little slow at times, but I challenge you action fans out there to find a fictional villain as scary as the real ones on display in this film. Just imagine a landmark court battle between Chevron and the indigenous people of Ecuador, fought over oil drenched jungle soil, where thousands of people and animals have died, thanks to what’s been referred to as the ‘Amazonian Chernobyl.’  Think big and dirty.  Big as in a spill roughly the size of Rhode Island, and dirty as in ten times worse than the Exxon Valdez disaster.  That’s what this fight is all about.  Fighting in the green corner, coming in at a significant size, and financial disadvantage is our lovable underdog, Pablo Fajardo.  Fajardo is an Ecuadorian lawyer living in a two-room shack, still battling on behalf of the disadvantaged people of his country, even after thirteen years without a ruling from the courts.  During those first few years, Pablo’s brother was murdered when the bad guys hired to kill Pablo got all mixed up, and tortured the wrong guy to death.  Hmm… I wonder who might want Pablo dead?  Fighting against Mr. Fajardo, in the dark and slimy corner, is Chevron, with their endless scare tactics, resources, and spin campaigns, hiding behind their army of lawyers. 

Pablo Fajardo talks into the cameras.

It’s pretty disturbing to watch all the well-paid Chevron representatives speak on behalf of the company in this movie.  These people don’t bat an eye.  Even when they’re exposed to the laundry list of human rights violations their company is responsible for, even when the evidence is completely obvious, these people still find a way to put the money where their mouthes should be.  What’s maybe the most disturbing thing about Crude though, is the fact that Berlinger worked on this film for three years, and there’s still been no verdict in the case, thanks in large part to the company’s efforts to stall proceedings at every turn.  Tack those last three years on to the thirteen that Pablo and his friends have been fighting against Chevron, and you’ve got a total of sixteen years.  Which begs the question: How many angry, dying, indigenous Ecuadorians does it take to prove that Chevron should clean up the enormous toxic mess they made?  How many skin rashes, cancer cases, stomach infections, and dead relatives do these people have to suffer through to get a little justice?  Well, watch the movie, decide for yourself, and get back to me.  I’ll be stringing together every red cent I’ve got so I can afford another gallon of gas, but rest assured, I won’t be buying that shit from Chevron.

There's something worth seeing behind the lens in this film.

If you love music, if you’ve ever been passionate about something, or if you ever just wished you could be a fly on the wall, Rock Prophecies (presented by the Samsung Memoir™) will connect with you.  I caught an advance screening of the documentary at a Capitol Records release party and left both inspired and enthralled.  But don’t just take my word for it.  Directed by John Chester, the film has garnered audience awards at festivals in Maui, Dallas, and Nashville already this year.  The film will screen at Hollywood’s ArcLight Cinemas between August 7th and August 13th, before hitting more stops on the 2009 festival circuit.

Robert's shot of Led Zeppelin in Honolulu-1969.

What powers the film throughout are the photographs and amazing life experiences of Mr. Robert M. Knight.  Robert was at the Capitol Records screening I attended, and after fielding questions from the crowd, then getting mobbed by admirers, he was kind enough to let me talk with him for a few minutes.  On screen, in person, and during our subsequent taped interview, Robert’s compelling photos and stories seem to have a way of creating a captive audience time and time again.  As a rock photographer for the better part of five decades, the guy has collected a few good stories, to say the least.  But there’s an amazing amount of discretion and integrity on his part, with regard to the stories he won’t tell, and the photos he won’t sell.  He’s captured some of the earliest and most iconic images of the Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, and Led Zeppelin, right up to current artists such as Green Day, Sick Puppies and Tyler Dow Bryant.  As a result, the film is filled with amazing images, and the kind of stories you might actually wish were your own.  But these aren’t kiss and tell type stories.  On the contrary, there’s no real gossip in the movie.  It becomes clear early on in the film, that the relationships he’s built and kept with the musicians in his life depend upon a well developed trust.

One of Robert's early Rolling Stones shots.

That doesn’t mean that the stories and photos on offer aren’t the stuff of dreams though.  Nowhere is that made more obvious than on the big screen, where Chester and co.help Robert’s images take flight in mysterious ways.  If you ever wished you could watch Jimi Hendrix play live, or just hang out with Led Zeppelin, before the rest of the world knew who they were, you might want to see this movie.   The filmmakers do a great job of allowing the viewer to actually travel through the photographer’s images in the film.  As for how that part works, well, you’ll just have to see the film to know what I’m talking about.  The quality of the images, the mesmerizing movement through them, and the cinematography all combine to create a multilayered visual effect that is technically impressive.  But it’s Robert’s life long love for the music, and his genuine excitement about the artists he photographs, that really provides the emotional uplift for the viewer.  If it’s been a while since you’ve seen a movie that inspires, this might be just the ticket for you, as it’s worth the price of admission and then some.

Robert's wife Maryanne took this great shot of her husband and Slash

After watching Grey Gardens, it’s safe to rank Hollywood as the runner up for the place where dreams go to die. The real champion of this title is the estate of Edith Bouvier-Beale and her daughter Edie Bouvier-Beale, strategically sequestered in the Hamptons, in the only area isolated enough to contain the psychological fumes emanating from what is known as Grey Gardens. Now, just to avoid confusion, this film is not to be mistaken with the more recent butchering starring Drew Barrymore as Little Edie and Jessica Lange as Big Edie. The original documentary, which, for some reason, just had to be turned into a narrative version with the abovementioned street cred seeking actresses, is a stark tale of the two women who are best known as Jackie Kennedy’s kooky, uncleanly aunt and cousin.

A glance at the most neurotic mother-daughter relationship of all time

One of the many moments of drudgery in the Bouvier-Beales' lives

Behind the scenes of the documentary

 Other than that, the interactions of the Bouvier-Beales are few and far between, restricted to two unnamed guests who appear for a celebration of Big Edie’s birthday. This particular scene of the film is another solemn depiction of how detached from real life the mother and daughter pair has become. Filling their days with essentially nothing, Big Edie generally sits in her bed looking at the scant memorabilia from her failed singing career while Little Edie tans out on the deck (an exercise that never seems to change the pigments of her skin).

Solitude redefined

This is the best documentary I have ever seen. Anvil is the real life Spinal Tap, the ones that never made it.  You are rooting for these 50 year old rockers from beginning to end. I am a Metalhead and I hadn’t heard of them until this film. If you like Metal – go out buy their albums – they deserve the money.

Lips and Robb love each other...when they aren't at each others throats!

Now back to the movie review. The story follows the remaining two original members,  Steve ‘Lips’ Kudlow and Robb Reiner, as they set out on a European tour based off of what some crazy European fan set up. Europe is the stronghold of metal so they should be loved over there right? Some shows are packed while many others are not. They miss trains, have to sleep in their tiny camper, everything that could go wrong does, and you just feel for these guys. There is an incident towards the end in Prague, where they don’t get paid for a full set, and during one gig five people show up and one dude just headbangs from his chair.

After that month long debacle, they return home to Canada in search of the right people to produce their 13th album. They get the producer and the cash but no label wants them, so they sell it themselves like true metalheads. Then in the third act they get a call to play a show in Tokyo for hundreds of screaming fans, which makes you leave the theater feeling Anvil might actually make it yet on their own terms.

In a long line of band documentaries, Anvil, stands out because they weren’t on top of the world. It’s better then Some Kind of Monster because Metallica didn’t need to come back from bass player Jason Newstead’s departure; they have millions or dollars. Kudlow has to work as a school cafeteria distributor, so the sense of urgency and perseverance is there through out the film. It’s funny, sad, inspiring, awesome, and brutal all rolled into one.

Lips and Robb still got it after all these years. Nice Crocs

The reason they are still struggling isn’t because of their sound, it’s because they never had the right people in their corner with them; they have had only the love and support of their families and fans. In the beginning, they have famous metal players singing their praises, which left me was upset at those artists for not helping Anvil out by bringing them on tour, although they claim to love the band.

Kudlow and Reiner are the two best characters a documentary maker could ask for. They are also the nicest people to ever come out of Canada who deserve fame and fortune. Even if you don’t like Metal, go see this film. You can’t hate these guys – they can teach us all a lot about being humble. It’s a great story about humanity and being true to the ideals you grew up with.

Two metal horns way up for this one. Find it when it rolls into your town or wait for the DVD.