As Good As It Gets

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

All I knew about the Pixies is that Kurt Cobain loved them and that they greatly influenced his music. Then in 2004 they reunited and I found out they were coming to my country, Slovenia. The tickets were sold out two months before the show. Everyone was excited. Of course, I had to learn more about them! I borrowed some stuff from a friend and heard a few of their "hits" - Where is My Mind?, Gigantic, Bone Machine, Caribou and Monkey Gone to Heaven. I liked them. 20th June 2004, the day of the concert. It's raining. The tickets were sold out, so me and my friends went to stand in front of the Krizanke (ex-)monastery, where they performed. I recognized the five songs I'd heard before and was happy that I went, even though the weather was bad.A few months later I saw this DVD in a second-hand shop. I didn't even know they had a DVD out. I bought it just to see how these guys look like when performing, since I could hear them live, but not see them.MAN, was I blown away when I saw the concert!! This DVD instantly made me a Pixies fan. It's still my favorite music DVD. Four casual looking people: -a bit (now a lot) overweight vocalist/guitarist Frank Black aka Black Francis -a Filipino lead guitarist, Joey Santiago -the nicest woman in rock history, bassist/vocalist Kim Deal -and the drummer, David Lovering totally rocked my socks off (like Jack Black would say). Frank Black shocked me with his vocal (screaming) abilities, giving raw, wild energy to the songs, swinging an acoustic guitar during a song and accidentally knocking off the microphone, but he also amazed me how he sang the softer, melodic stuff; Joey produced some wildest guitar sounds ever, attacking and shaking the guitar like an animal, rocking the amp, playing with his beer can...; David swinging high with his drumsticks; Kim keeping the groove with the simple bass lines, always smiling, and adding the magic with angel-like background vocals... WOW!The music is still today after two decades totally unique, very catchy and melodic with both acoustic and heavy guitars and some cool effects. Add some also totally unique and sometimes creepy lyrics by Frank Black and there you have it - the biggest underground band, a cult band, a band that influenced the most influential rock band of the 90's.The concert alone is well worth the money, but there's also a lot of other goodies: -the music videos -a nice short documentary about the Pixies with interviews with famous people, including the band members (except Kim) -"on the road" footage, capturing some cool moments while on tour, including lots of songs on various festivals and other venues.----------------------------------------------------------------The Tracklisting:***Live At The Town & Country Club 1988*** -The Holiday Song -Nimrod's Son -Bone Machine -Levitate Me -Ed Is Dead -Where Is My Mind? -Caribou -Something Against You -Hey -Gigantic -I've Been Tired -Vamos -In Heaven -Tony's Theme -Wild Honey Pie***Promo Videos*** -Monkey Gone To Heaven -Here Comes Your Man -Velouria -Dig For Fire / Allison -Alec Eiffel -Head On -Debaser***On The Road*** song extracts from: -Bone Machine -Wave Of Mutilation (Glastonbury Festival) -Debaser (Columbia Hotel) -River Euphrates / Vamos (Roskilde Festival) -Gouge Away / Vamos (Bizarre Festival) -Wave Of Mutilation (Oniro Club, Thessaloniki, Greece) -Mr Grieves -Blown Away (Hansa Studios) -Debaser (Live) -Where Is My Mind?***Gouge (Documentary)*** Appearances by: Bono, David Bowie, Thom Yorke and John Greenwood (Radiohead), Graham Coxon and Alex James (Blur), Fran Healy and Andy Dunlop (Travis), PJ Harvey, Tim Wheeler, Badly Drawn Boy, Chris Ollie (Six By Seven)----------------------------------------------------------------Definitely worth every penny if you like the Pixies, and of course, A MUST for real fans.One more thing... if you're new to the Pixies, every song gets better and better each time you hear it, and you'll be changing your favorite song quite often. Which is a good thing - you won't get bored with the Pixies anytime soon.:)