NipPierce
Wow, this is a REALLY bad movie!
ChicDragon
It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.
ltlgrvr
Kurt was always amazing, his life experiences, views, art and musical talents. His one fault was his choice of life companion. He deserved so much more, it's a shame he did not know that. CL is and was so destructive, they lived like junkies, everything with her was "Junkie!" Growing up in the late 60's & 70's was interesting in many ways good and bad. Music in the 80's & 90's was AWESOME. With Nirvana the world was changing and music had evolved to sensational new heights for all fans including myself. Bleach is great, the next step! Who? I believe is given. Why? CL in my views. Case not reopened? It should be, finally once and for all put to rest.
Ivan Lafayette
I saw this documentary for what it is. A documentary. I wasn't trying to find evidence of anything or validation of whatsoever. I lived my teens with Nirvana for the better and for the worse. Many times for the worse. This documentary is not proof of talent, it's not proof of drama per se, it's not proof of anything but a good montage of Kurt's personal and private contribution to the analysis of his own pitfall.Why I rated it 7? I knew already all that was reported in this documentary, but some stuff from his own hand made me go back in time. Travel through the mist of memory. This is not authentic but a collector's item because, and just because, people love collecting stuff. For the remedy of these new teenagers who didn't know Kurt's personal drama, here it is the 257th version of what we all know so far, i.e., a broken family triggers a broken personality, a society living off of prejudices creates an unbearable experience for empathetic kids, drugs are a false remedy and kill you (not eventually - but always). There are many ways of dying, and this is just another one, hereby portrayed in his persona with Montage of Heck. Listen to his music rather than watching drama documentaries, it will do you better.
Mary June
A sad exploitation of a talented man. As a film sanctioned by his estate, it was clear this was only part of the story and only the part that they wanted to put the spin on. What a disgrace to paint Kurt Cobain as nothing but suicidal long before the success of Nirvana. The 2 1/2 hour documentary is tolerable for only about the first hour. After that, the backstory of Kurt Cobain is polluted by the relationship choice he made and a highly biased or third-party influenced (or paid for?) fallacy that this young man, despite having fulfilled his goal of being a recognized musician and having the possibly unexpected pleasure of being a father, wanted nothing more than to die. The snippets from his journals seem taken very much out of context, again to push the idea this man was suicidal for years, and the Pink Floyd "The Wall"-esque animations are cheesy and make this overly-long film a burden to continue to watch until the end. The saddest part for me was watching Kurt Cobain's mother and father, who both rejected him and would not allow him to live with him while he was a teenager, snivel about their loss. You didn't want him then, but you want him now? Many authoritative sources have debunked some of his mother's statements in this film. Very sad. Others who knew him personally adamantly have denied events portrayed in the film, even as the words came from Kurt himself, the sources noting that Kurt was quick to embellish or make up stories to cause subterfuge in the rampant media coverage at the time of his popularity.Also very telling is that Krist Novelic was interviewed for the film but not Dave Grohl due to "scheduling conflicts." In other words, he did not want or was not invited to participate and some PR firm concocted a reason for his absence that some may choose to believe. Watch the first hour to see some precious moments of Kurt as a youngster, skip the last 90 minutes unless you enjoy being manipulated.
ecmelton-186-105049
Some will complain that the documentary doesn't focus enough on Nirvana, and there's a very good reason for that. It's not a documentary about Nirvana; the film is intended to provide a more intimate look at Kurt Cobain as a person and provide insight into his more private and guarded moments. In that respect it is pretty successful. Nirvana's history is very well publicised, and the film assumes it's viewers are already fans that know a lot about the band (Why else would you watch a movie about the band's frontman?) The films biggest selling point is that for the first time a director had the full cooperation of Cobain's family and access to the archive of materials he left behind, much of it had never been seen by the public eye before. These include home movies dating back to him as baby, behind the scene footage, and audio recordings. There is also going to be a companion book dedicated to never before seen photos and other materials that were unearthed. Unfortunately, it's not as exciting as it sounds. There may have been information I had never heard before, but none of it was surprising or profound. It all falls in line with what you would expect if you knew anything about Kurt going in. (I'm sure some people will disagree and say they found it shocking, but I didn't.) That being said the archival materials were well utilized and had a good presentation that fit into the story that was being told. It was nice to see them even if it was an over- hyped aspect of the movie.From a technical standpoint the film really is a marvel. The animated transitions were a great way to incorporate the drawings and doodles that littered Kurt's notebooks. There are also scenes featuring puppetry and stop motion that are also inspired by his art and/or song lyrics. These are all really cool and actually provide more insight to his artistic style and writing process than you would think. Additionally, several segments are entirely animated, and they look beautiful. Doing this is much more captivating than just just showing people talk about events or have a voice-over with a slideshow of pictures. It was a very good choice, and adds a lot to the viewing experience. The film's soundtrack features live Nirvana recordings, covers and remixes, as well as music by other artist that fit the scenes, such as the Buddy Holly song that plays over his parents home movies from the '60s. This is well executed and I particularly love the violin rendition of "Smell Like Teen Spirit" that was used to mimic an orchestral score in the longest animated sequence. Overall the film is an energetic and seemingly honest look at Kurt Cobain and the man he was. It was well made, entertaining, and a worthwhile documentary that stands head and shoulders above any other documentaries about him.
