Author Topic: POPCORN: 50 Years of Rock 'n' Roll Movies  (Read 14845 times)

Bondo

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Re: POPCORN: 50 Years of Rock 'n' Roll Movies
« Reply #60 on: January 03, 2011, 04:09:56 PM »
Do you want me to start pissing on the 80s crap you probably listened to? :P

I own two songs combined among the four artists you listed. The Cranberries however are awesome.

MartinTeller

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Re: POPCORN: 50 Years of Rock 'n' Roll Movies
« Reply #61 on: January 03, 2011, 04:21:07 PM »
The Cranberries are okay.

CSSCHNEIDER

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Re: POPCORN: 50 Years of Rock 'n' Roll Movies
« Reply #62 on: January 03, 2011, 06:30:57 PM »
I apologize for slacking on this.  I'm gonna try to knock out some more of these this week.



Girls Rock!
2007
Dirs. Arne Johnson, Shane King

I remember back in 2006seeing a trailer for this and thinking it looked cute and fun.  Seeing that it was available on Watch Instant made it a must for this marathon.  Having now seen it, I can say that while its heart is in the right place I'm probably not the audience it was made for.  I bet if you have a young daughter with a love for rock n roll she may be inspired by this, but it feels like 2 parts of a commercial and 1 part feminist boot camp.  I mean there is a scene where they are teaching all these girls self defense.  The scene is mostly girls kicking pads at crotch level yelling "NO!".  As if all men, 8 years old and up, are rapists.

As I mentioned above, I'm probably not the target audience.  Over the weekend, on New Year's Eve I went to a concert.  At the concert I met a very nice 16 year old girl.  She was standing next to me and we talked a bit.  What I learned is that behind eyes that told me she was passionate about some things, and the way she sang along at the top of her voice, punching the air, she certainly is a passionate person.  But she was so wary about sharing her opinions.  She had very little self confidence.  I just wanted to tell her that she has good taste, and to own her opinions.  This camp certainly does everything it can to empower the campers to grab a hold of their individuality, the personal voice and run with it.  I really hope that the girl I met will find her voice and courage in the way many of these girls did, she has a great personality and she's afraid to show it.

The filmmaking here is pretty standard.  Nothing noteworthy.  Nor are the subjects.  They're nice girls who all needed something like this, but the film fails to wow in the way other Rock Docs do, with music.  Which isn't there fault.  Most of the musicians never picked up an instrument until this camp, and with only 5 days to learn their instrument, form a band and write a song you can imagine how many of these songs are train wrecks.  Again, its unfair to judge them, I'm just stating the obvious.  There are glimmers of talent and you can see some of these girls really coming into their own, but the film is much more a "Girl Power" film than a Rock 'n' Roll film.  At times it feels like the music is a means to militarize young women.

Grade C-

Grade C-
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CSSCHNEIDER

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Re: POPCORN: 50 Years of Rock 'n' Roll Movies
« Reply #63 on: January 09, 2011, 09:05:01 AM »



Nowhere Boy
2010
Sam Taylor-Wood

John: Why couldn't God make me Elvis?
Julia: 'Cause he was saving you for John Lennon!

There are some pop culture icons that are so beloved and so important that if you make biopic about their lives it demands to be better than "OK".  It demands to be brilliant.  Nowhere Boy a John Lennon early days biopic is as middling and forgettable as they come.  Its such a shame. 

I can't claim to have any knowledge of the Beatles and Lennon other than through the music I enjoy.  I've read no books, watched very few docs on them and because of that I can't speak to any accuracy to the facts presented within, but it feels like the filmmakers were trying to be authentic.  Aaron Johnson is all beefed up for Kick-Ass and looks more like an adolescent dock worker instead of the gangly Lennon.  He's not bad at all in the film, and at times really lays it out there, but I never really buy him as John Lennon.

The best portions of the film are the live performances of the different incarnations of John's band.  The bands that would eventually become the Beatles.  DoP Seamus McGarvey infuses these performances with beauty and vitality.  They're pretty exciting though fleeting moments.  McGarney's work throughout is beautiful, soft and doing everything it can to evoke nostalgia, but the scripting and direction never take it beyond the realm of made-for-tv movie.  Its nice to see David Morrissey in more features and I hope he pops up more often, he's a great actor who makes the most out of a quiet and disapproving character.

This was a pretty big letdown because, as I said, if you're going to make a film about such and important character in the cultural lexicon, it better be amazing.

Grade C
Taste is discerning, not all encompassing.

It's Not What You're Like, It's What You Like

Know the Difference Between Arts and Crafts

"Pain is Temporary, Film is Forever..." --John Milius

Winner! BFCS Iconoclast Award 2007

FroHam X

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Re: POPCORN: 50 Years of Rock 'n' Roll Movies
« Reply #64 on: January 10, 2011, 04:18:13 PM »
Head
1968
Dir. Bob Rafelson
Written by Jack Nicholson
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I'm about the biggest Monkees fan you'll meet who's 28.  I grew up watching their TV series when it aired on Nickelodeon in the 80s and just loved them and their style and music.  Sure, they're a manufactured brand based on the Beatles but that's never bothered me.  But, Head is a film I've never been able to make it through.  This marks my third attempt, and for the marathon I didn't want to cheat so I pushed on through.  And it was tough.

My only response really is that I had fun with it. I cannot argue with any of your criticisms and I don't actually think it's a particularly good film, but I had a really good time with the weirdness and absurdity.
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