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PLEASE NOTE: Michael D's is currently in READ ONLY MODE. Anything submitted will simply not be written to the database.
Lots of stuff is still broken, but at least reviews can now be looked up and read.
Limp Bizkit-Kick Some @$$ (Unauthorized) (Warner) (1999)

Limp Bizkit-Kick Some @$$ (Unauthorized) (Warner) (1999) (NTSC)

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Released 6-Nov-2000

Cover Art

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Details At A Glance

General Extras
Category Documentary Game-Trivia
Rating Rated M
Year Of Production 1999
Running Time 51:05 (Case: 48)
RSDL / Flipper No/No Cast & Crew
Start Up Menu
Region Coding 1,2,3,4,5,6 Directed By None Given
Studio
Distributor

Warner Vision
Starring None Given
Case Amaray-Opaque
RPI $34.95 Music Ron Anderson
SKAT


Video (NTSC) Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame Full Frame English Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio None
16x9 Enhancement No
Video Format 480i (NTSC)
Original Aspect Ratio 1.33:1 Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures No
Subtitles None Smoking Yes
Annoying Product Placement No
Action In or After Credits No

NOTE: The Profanity Filter is ON. Turn it off here.

Plot Synopsis

    If I was ever wondering about whether I am a victim of the ever-quickening generational transitions, this documentary is proof that despite being on the right side of 30 (even if only just), I've got no idea what the crazy kids are up to these days. I can even go so far as to call myself something of a fan of Rage Against The Machine, but in light of the fact that aside from eyebrows I sport nothing in the way of facial hair, there is nothing of metal protruding from any areas of my face, abdomen or genitalia and any colouring of my skin is quite natural, I'm afraid I'd be refused entry into a Limp Bizkit fan club

    This feature kicks off with a fairly dire warning: "This documentary contains no music or performance by Limp Bizkit". In fact, it contains no footage of the band at all, and the only images of the band on show are still photographs or artistic representations. The bulk of the programme features interview footage with former Limp Bizkit guitarist Rob Waters, John Jenkins (who produced their first demo) and local Jacksonville D.J. John Goodman. The rest is made up of some fairly lame and pointless interviews with gushing fans waiting to enter a gig, as well as some identities even more remotely connected with the band than those listed above, such as journalist John Citrone, Fred Durst's ex-girlfriend Sage, and other former crew.

    The documentary charts the band's humble beginnings in Jacksonville, Florida, through their lucky break when Fred Durst tattooed various members of Korn and dropped them a demo tape, through the release of their first album to... well... now. The whole thing reeks of "cash-in", which may as well have been emblazoned on the cover rather than the word "Unauthorized" which currently is. There's hardly enough material here to sustain an 8 or 10 minute music channel segment let alone a fifty minute documentary, and without any music or footage of the band themselves, what is there is pedestrian at best.

Don't wish to see plot synopses in the future? Change your configuration.

Transfer Quality

Video

    The transfer is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1, and is therefore not 16x9 enhanced. It is presented in NTSC format, so your equipment will need to be capable of displaying NTSC in order to view this disc. The bulk of the footage is shot on video, with the occasional sequence that looked like some sort of stock skateboarding footage shot on film. The image is a little lacking in detail, which is probably something inherent in the NTSC formatting rather than a transfer issue.

    The image was also a little soft throughout. Grain wasn't a problem, with the exception of some of the still images used that were inherently grainy, however shadow detail was quite poor. The colour palette was a little washed out, with nothing in the way of vibrancy on show, giving the entirety of the feature a somewhat drab look. Blacks were a little on the dirty grey side as well. Some chroma noise was apparent in some of the still images (see 5:28 for an example), as well as some cross colouration at 8:48.

    There were some MPEG artefacts to be seen, with aliasing also being an occasional problem, especially with the rims of John Goodman's glasses and on a stripe on his jumper. It also occurs at 29:15 on that perennial culprit, venetian blinds. Film artefacts are almost totally absent with the exception of those added for reasons of style, and a glitch at 21:33 which was certainly present in the source tape.

Video Ratings Summary
Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    I listened to the sole Dolby Digital 2.0 audio track which was fairly bland at best, with a fairly narrow soundstage, akin to a mono track. With the exception of a crackle and pop at 6:13, the track was fairly clean. There was, however, some distortion generated by a couple of screaming fans who got a little too close to the camera.

    The dialogue was always clear and easy to understand, which wasn't much of a feat in light of the fact that most of it was delivered in interview situations. Audio sync was not a concern.

    The incidental music by Ron Anderson was eminently forgettable, whilst the additional live music provided by Skat was derivative at best, and downright bad at worst.

    Being a Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack, there was no action from the surrounds or subwoofer.

Audio Ratings Summary
Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Extras

    Not much here to speak of.

Menu

    A static and silent menu, featuring a shot of the band.

Trivia Game

    Taking the form of a multiple choice quiz, a correct answer generates a clip from the feature that provided the requested information, and an incorrect one produces a "bzzzzztt". I got six right out of a possible ten, and was asked "Are you really a fan" to which I replied "I never said that I was". I wasn't keen enough to repeat the quiz to find out what might happen if I got them all right.

R4 vs R1

NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.

    This is an all-region release, and on the basis that it is presented in NTSC, there is no compelling reason to prefer any one version over another.

Summary

    Limp Bizkit - Kick Some @$$ is a fairly uninteresting documentary about a band still fairly young in their development. In light of the absence of any footage or music from the band themselves, there's not much to see here unless you're keen to hear comment from people such as "The T-Shirt Guy". The video transfer was reasonable based on the low budget source material, and the audio mix, presumably designed for the limited range of most televisions, was shown up to be quite thin on my system. The extras weren't enough to detract from a fairly lacklustre presentation, and anyone other than the most rabid fans are sure to be disappointed.

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

© Anthony Curulli (read my bio)
Monday, December 04, 2000
Review Equipment
DVDToshiba 2109, using S-Video output
DisplaySony Trinitron Wega (80cm). Calibrated with AVIA Guide To Home Theatre. This display device is 16x9 capable.
Audio DecoderBuilt in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with AVIA Guide To Home Theatre.
AmplificationPioneer VSX-D608
SpeakersFront: Yamaha NS10M, Rear: Wharfedale Diamond 7.1, Center: Wharfedale Sapphire, Sub: Aaron 120W

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