The doc Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me gives the viewer a complete and exhaustive look at one of the most influential rock groups to ever commit their particular genius to vinyl. I myself was late to the game only discovering the Memphis quartet in the ‘80s while spinning discs on a college radio station. Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me unwinds in an exclusive screening Monday, December 9 at 14 Pews microcinema.

Big Star consisted of Alex Chilton (formerly of The Box Tops), Chris Bell, Jody Stephens, and Andy Hummel. The doc informs us that when Chilton sung lead on The Box Tops hit “The Letter” it was only the second time he’d been recorded. Bell died in a car accident at age 27. Chilton and Hummel passed in 2024, the former dying just days before a Big Star reunion concert at that year’s SXSW.

Part of the pure joy of watching films like this is the inspired feeling that the music evokes. Several songs are recalled: how they were recorded or when they were recorded or why they were recorded. Thanks to docs like this the uninitiated can learn a little bit more about the history of rock. Big Star’s three studio LPs are out there just waiting to be discovered.

– Michael Bergeron

On March 27, at 7pm, 14 Pews will screen Compliance. Compliance first appeared at the Sundance Film Festival last year in January. Before the movie concluded a number of audience members had left the theater, utterly appalled. After the credits rolled, the remaining critics hammered the film’s cast and crew with indignant questions, accusing them of being unethical by making a film like Compliance. Cast and crew defended the extreme content of their work on the premise that the film clearly claimed to be “Inspired by True Events.” They had sought to bring attention to a disgusting series of crimes that occurred in over 30 states. Judging by the audiences’s outrage, the makers of Compliance did just that.

Compliance purports to shed light on several occurrences in which an individual, posing as a cop, coerced young women into performing sexual acts. In the film, a burnt out manager of a fast-food restaurant, Sandra, is contacted by one Officer Daniels, informing the employer that he has received reports that one of her workers stole money from a recent customer. The suspect, a confused and bratty teenager named Becky, is already at odds with Sandra. Once Officer Daniels arrives, Sandra and the trusted authority accost Becky in the restaurant’s office. After Becky’s purse has been turned inside-out, Officer Daniels commands Becky to remove her clothes, professing that such a step is necessary to conduct a proper search. Becky is forced to remain exposed with nothing to cover her but an apron. Only after Becky has been manipulated and taken advantage of under threat of jail time, is Officer Daniel’s exposed as a fraud. In the aftermath, Becky attempts to sue the fast-food franchise.

Despite Compliance’s opening night the film has received positive reviews, overall. The cast includes Ann Dowd (Sandra), Dreama Walker (Becky), and Pat Healy (Officer Daniels). Dowd’s performance is especially appreciated by critics; she received the National Board of Review award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Sandra. Director Craig Zobel brought Compliance’s raw, obscenity to the screen by carefully studying dozens of court cases and witnesses’s accounts similar to incidents in the film. As you’ve probably concluded, viewers discretion is advised.

For more information, visit www.14pews.com