This is 311's second movie, released after the making of From Chaos in the Fall of 2001. This one is obviously much more well produced than their first but in many fans opinions, the first will always be the best. This review will be kinda long so I can review the movie and the CD.
The Movie
"Has anybody here heard of a little movie we put out called Enlarged to Show Detail?" I'll break down what the movie has in separate parts.
Features:
The movie begins by showing 311 gearing up for a show, their pre-show getting loose part. Then it progresses into their 2000 311 Day celebration. This was very exciting to see (the mayor delared 3/11/00 officially "311 Day") what went into creating this atmosphere and show. Very well done. The Hive, where 311 lives/practices, is a feature, showing them jamming and rehearsing for tours. This is cool, especially the fact that they practice songs over 10 years old, like Freak Out, showing they don't take anything for granted and want to put on a great show. The next feature is them going to Japan to play. This is really nice stuff, because it shows the culture and their opinions on what its like to play in Japan. It also shows how drunk and high they can get, which is really funny stuff. In the background through the whole movie, a different 311 will be playing and I personally loved that Slinky and Right Now were being played behind the Japan feature. The 311 milk challange features a challenge to see who can chug a gallon of milk without throwing up. This isn't particularly all that great or interesting but has funny moments. What is really neat to see is their old school feature, taking the viewer back to their earlier days that the first ETSD didn't cover. VERY old days. Much of this movie is a tribute, to fans, small venues, their management and crew and another thing called the museum of tolerance. This is a great feature because it showcases how they take the museum of tolerance on their tour, helping to fight racism and spread the word, representing what 311 stands for. Finally, the KROQ weenie roast is a cool feature because it shows them jamming with Shaq on stage. While Shaq's obviously not the best rapper (its kinda rough as you may guess), the whole song isnt all that bad because the whole tempo and vibe gets taken up a major notch when he joins the stage to 311 jamming a new hip-hop tune. The crowd loves it.
The Band: unlike the first movie, which had each band member helping to describe the other, this feature really just shows them on tour, behind the scenes and stuff
tim-he's really just hilarious, always looking like he's high. but the moments that focus on him on stage are great, showing his pure joy for playing and stage presence
nick-not that great of a segment, showing some of Nick's funny moments and stage moments.
SA-very funny feature. SA has alot of funny scenes with him doing voices and random stuff. What's great to see is his body movement...he's always moving, especially on stage (doing robot motions during Hydroponic).
Chad-Chad's section is absolutely fantastic because he's the funniest out of all of them. This guy is constantly doing hilarious faces, voices, sounds, whatever. He has incredible voice range! Even during his playing, he'll look at the camera with the craziest looks on his face. Of course, the best part is his drum solo during Applied Science, talking about how it developed from being just him to including the whole band.
Pnut-his section isn't all too spectacular, showing him behind stage alot just acting crazy but funny. His stage movents are the thing to pay attention to during the film, they're priceless.
The Live Music:
Feels so Good-from 311 day, different Pnut solo
Freeze Time-in japan and much like their 311 day 2004 show, very nice
What Was I Thinking-whole song, very cool to watch
Applied Science drum solo-features the whole band doing beats along with Chad. Without a doubt, a highlight for anybody to see.
Sweet Child of Mine-cover song from their Halloween show, very funny to watch because they mess up
Superman-cover from their Halloween show too, you see them rehearsing in the van, very neat
Psycho-with Shaq
Music Videos
Transistor, Prisoner, Beautiful Disaster, Come Original, Flowing(along with making of), You Wouldn't Believe(along with making of), I'll Be Here Awhile
The Bonus CD
Dancehall-Soundsystem Outtake. Begins with a cool Sexton beat then comes in with distorted guitar(s) and bass. The song itself has a mellow-dramatic feel to it, as does much of Soundsystem, and it's not their best. The intro becomes the verse using chord progressions and Nick takes care of the verses in his mellow singing manners(kind of reminded me of Freeze Time) and SA raps the chorus. I can see why this didn't make the final cut, because it really doesnt come up to par with their other songs. The ending with Nick and SA both rapping together really helped the song but overall it wasn't too great.
2.5/5
Bomb the Town-This definitely a better song. More upbeat and powerdrivin, an outtake from From Chaos I believe. Sexton raps off a nice drum roll in the beginning and the song bursts out. The song is powerfully driven through riffing verses for Nick and SA. The prechorus is off the hook as SA delivers some raps that are very tight. Then the chorus mellows out a bit but it's still rock. Mahoney has a very nice wah hook/solo in this one. This song really brought me back to believing they knew what was up again after hearing the more depressing Soundsystem, definitely one of my favorites.
4/5
Will the World-a short, mellow instrumental, sounding like it's in a minor key. Sexton does some interesting drum work and the guitar although it sounds like high notes being played on bass) solos slowly through most of it. Somewhat sad sounding but nice melodies and guitar lines.
3/5
We Do It Like This-Like the title may indicate, this songs pushes right into your face with a really, really funky Sexton drum beat. The guitar and bass riff through as Nick and SA trade off their raps. I didn't quite find their raps to be up to par, I can see why this is an outtake once again. Their raps seemed kinda forced, not flowing. But the greatness of this song lies in it's beats and funky guitar/bass riffs. Then the chorus is just huge, making the listener really get into the music as SA and Nick really get in your face, saying "We Do It Like This!"
3.5/5
Dreamland-very chill instrumental like Will The World. This one has a much nicer positive sound. The song is just really laid back, with Nick's guitar just playing reggae chords in the background and Mahoney doing some impressive soloing. Very light.
3/5
I'll Be Here Awhile-a much newer side to 311 is this acoustic number, penned by an acoustic guitar and Nick and SA singing. It's a much mellower version of their From Chaos song, soemthing they havent done before. Sounds more true to the heart. I really liked how this sounded and I didn't think I would. I was afraid because I didn't know how Nick and SA's vocals would come out in the open without the presence of bass, drums, etc. behind them. The song really evoked an emotional response from me. Sounds like we're all just sitting around a warm campfire at night sharing a common love for music. I give them props simply because they broke free and did something they hadn't done before.
4/5
Overall, the Movie gets a 4.5/5 and the CD is a 3.5/5
