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Movie Blog: Sound Unseen Plugs In, Amps Up

Remember that scene at the beginning of Back to the Future when Michael J. Fox's time-traveler Marty McFly plugs his guitar into Doc Brown's two-story amplifier?

That rush Marty got as he was sent careening into the opposite wall of the garage may compare favorably to the feeling some Twin Cities film and music fans are getting now that Sound Unseen 12 is turning it up to 11.

The mini fest brings that many films -- eleven -- to the Trylon Microcinema in south Minneapolis and, now, the Ritz Theater in Nordeast.

Bringing the noise this time around will be screenings of music-centric movies both classic and brand spanking.

In the former category is a 25th anniversary (where does the time go?) showing of Alex Cox's punk landmark Sid & Nancy. Gary Oldman (who this fall may ride Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy to his first, very due Oscar nomination) stars as the Sex Pistols' volatile Sid Vicious, whose relationship with Nancy Spungen (Chloe Webb) is depicted with all the restraint you could guess would apply to the pair.

Sid & Nancy - Trailer by MovieTrailerMonkey on YouTube

In the latter category is almost everything else on the program, including a documentary about Sigur Ros, which (in case you aren't familiar with the band) couldn't be more starkly opposite on the musical spectrum from the likes of the Sex Pistols. In Inni (which is Icelandic for "inside"), certifiable alien life form Jonsi and his band of stately 16 RPM rockers invite you to take a journey into what I guess must go through their minds every time they perform "Svefn-g-englar."

Dig further back into the '90s and you'll probably turn up Britpop stalwarts Pulp. They're represented here by the new documentary The Beat is the Law: Fanfare For Common People. I couldn't screen it ahead of time, so no word on whether William Shatner's cover of "Common People" is discussed.

PULP : THE BEAT IS THE LAW - FANFARE FOR THE COMMON PEOPLE trailer for Pulp Documentary Film by sheffieldvision on YouTube

If there's a sleeper crowd-pleaser in the lineup, my guess is A Drummer's Dream certainly contends for the crown. Why? Everyone loves a drummer. Especially drummers themselves.

A Drummer's Dream :: A Film By John Walker :: Trailer by johnwalkerprods on YouTube

You can check out all the showtimes and ticket information at the Sound Unseen website.

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