Dance Flick (2009)

Genre: Spoof/Comedy/Drama/Musical

Starring: Shoshana Bush, Damon Wayans Jr., Essence Atkins, Affion Crockett. Shawn Wayans, Amy Sedaris

Spoof movies are usually the kinds that you would want to watch once and forget for the rest of your lives. A sudden out-break of dance movies (High School Musical, Step Up, You Got Served) has prompted this hilarious break dance that intends to laugh at every other musical movie there is. Megan White (Bush) is an amateur ballet dancer who moves to the inner-city from the suburbs. She finds it difficult to adjust to the new life and has a lot of misadventures. She befriends Charity Uncles (Atkins) who is a single mother with very bad parenting skills. Her boyfriend and the father of the child, Baby Daddy (Wayans) has abandoned the child and spends very little time with him. Thomas Uncles (Wayans Jr.) the younger brother of Charity, is stuck for a street gang lord to whom he owns a lot of money. Thomas and Megan fall in love with each other and Thomas intends to teach her how to dance on the street and forget about ballet. This review itself might sound outrageous but that is because the movie is just like it. Stupid humour and a plot that can harldy be called a plot forms the basis and foundation of this movie. If you have seen one spoof movie, you have seen them all. It would be good fun for those who have seen the movies in question and can do with a bit of humour, but everyone else might feel a bit out of place.

Thumbs up: Good spoof

Thumbs down: Random scenes that are only created to spoof some movie

Rating: 5.0/10

Singin' in the Rain (1952)

Genre: Comedy/Drama/Romance/Musical

Starring: Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds, Donald O'Connor, Jean Hagen, Millard Mitchell

The genre listed above is a big personal turn-off. People frolicking around, singing and dancing with the added melodramatic romance scenes is simply not my cup of tea. The fact that this movie turned out to be far more enjoyable than I had imagined, speaks a lot for itself. Set in the year of 1927, when movies were still silent and the new trend of 'talking pictures' was classified by many to be a passing trend that doesn't hold any water. Don Lockwood (Kelly) and Lina Lamont (Hagen) are a hugely successful on-screen duo who have created many famous romantic saga's. Don is a noted dancer, singer and performer whereas Lina has nothing but attractive looks. Her shrill and squeaky voice makes her a misfit for a talking picture but at the same time the studio management has a contract with her on which they cannot go back on. Kathy Selden (Reynolds) is a theatre artist who knows the challenges when it comes to acting while talking and believes that actors in movies are not true actors at all. When Don and Kathy meet at a party, they are both at disagreement over each others thoughts about acting but still find a connection between themselves which makes them fall in love. The movie is filled with energetic performances, mostly danced and sung by Gene Kelly himself. The overdose of music may not go down very well with many, like me, but there are still a few select performances where the moves are marvelous and anybody would appreciate it. Singing and dancing apart, the movie beautifully showcases the evolution of movies and the hilarious challenges that directors, producers and actors had to face alike. A good entertainer where one can easily skip the singing and dancing and move on with the movie.

Thumbs up: Good humour by O'Connor, fabulous song sequences

Thumbs down: Too many songs for the average person to enjoy

Rating: 8.0/10

Rock of Ages

Here's a movie for you if, and only if, you are a 80s child or maybe if you are a die-hard rock fan. Based on the musical of the same name, this film adaptation casts Tom Cruise as Stacee Jaxx, a rock legend whose similarities with Guns 'N' Roses front-man Axl Rose are a bit uncanny. A story about a small town girl arriving in Hollywood and falling in love with a city boy, almost instantly, remains the weakest point of the film. Granted Julianne Hough playing Sherrie and Diego Boneta as the city boy Drew are both vocally talented, but their on-screen chemistry leave a lot to be desired. Amidst a number of rock ballads and a few rock songs, the cast go about falling in love, rediscovering themselves, and saving the "last" rock institution left on the sunset strip, The Bourbon Room, owned by Dennis Dupree (Alec Baldwin) and his right-hand man Lonny (Russell Brand).

It's probably the versatility of Tom Cruise that takes the audience by surprise and also manages to be the saving grace of the film. His vocal talents and screen presence is simply outstanding and in stark contrast of the roles that he normally performs. While most of the other characters are grossly underdeveloped, it seems that only Tom Cruise and Paul Giamatti as Stacee Jaxx's manager Paul Gill are the two actors really enjoying their roles.

Rock of Ages is a great excuse to get together with your high school chums, but unfortunately due to the whole lovey-dovey storyline it ends up choosing songs that have been done to death in film earlier or even covered by the cast of Glee. I was glad to hear Tom Cruise take on Def Leppard's "Pour Some Sugar On Me" as his opening number for it remains one of the most underrated rock songs from the time.

The remaining cast of Catharina Zeta-Jones as the Mayor's wife out to shut down The Bourbon Room, Malin Ackerman as the Rolling Stones reporter interviewing Stacee Jaxx, Alec Baldwin and Russell Brand go about with roles that have very little meat to them. While Lonny would have been a character that was right up Russell's alley, it seems he holds back owing to the fact that the film was rated 12A so it could appeal to a wider audience. Alec Baldwin and Catharina Zeta-Jones bring nothing new to their characters portraying toned down versions of acts they have done before in films or TV series.

Rock of Ages has its comic moments, but isn't laugh-out-loud funny. It has foot tapping rock music, but not songs that would want you to stand up and sing and dance in the aisles. It has performances that shine, while others that just don't leave any impact. In the end it remains a walk down memory lane, one that starts with Guns 'N' Roses' Paradise City, and should have in all honestly ended with Sweet Child O' Mine, but alas that is not the case.

Rating - 3/5      

          

Iron Maiden: Flight 666 (2009)

Genre: Documentary/Musical/Drama/Adventure

Starring: Bruce Dickinson, Steve Harris, Nicko McBrain, Dave Murray, Adrian Smith

Band tours are very typical in the manner in which they are executed and so are the concert movies that are made thereafter. Tour locations, clippings of performances, behind the scenes footage and interviews with various persons is the norm. Iron Maiden's Somewhere Back In Time World Tour in 2008 was special, not because of the songs or the style but because of the manner in which they were going to execute it. Bands usually have to pay huge travel bills on world tours for carrying bulky cargo along with the long line of essential crew members. Iron Maiden decided to innovate and combine the two by modifying a Boeing 757 which could carry both the crew and the cargo on one airline with lead vocalist Bruce Dickinson piloting the plane. In its first leg, the band toured 4 continents, 12 countries and 21 cities which took 45 days and thousands of miles to cover. The band covered remote cities that other mainstream bands can never even think of. From large metros like Los Angeles, Tokyo and Mumbai to Bogota, San Jose and Moneterry, the band covered a wide array of locations unheard of and unimaginable. They toured almost every South American country in its first leg and later went to tour USA, Western Canada, Europe, parts of Asia and once again toured the countries of South America that they previously left behind. This documentary focuses on the first leg of the tour, before they began the USA tour. The movie starts off on an interesting note, highlighting their attempts at fulfilling this landmark achievement. As the movie progress, it becomes hugely repetitive with similar footage in every city, showing crazy fans and head banging maniacs with excerpts from band members. Its a great watch for maiden-heads and rock fans, whilst others can still attempt at watching it and realise the marvels of the rock and roll circuit. Irons up!

Thumbs up: Fantastic footage, adrenaline rushing performances

Thumbs down: Repetitive format that gets to you after a while

Rating: 7.1/10

Metallica: Some Kind of Monster (2004)

Genre: Documentary/Musical/Drama/Biography

Starring: James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett, Robert Trujillo, Bob Rock, Phil Towle

The world most popular heavy metal band, Metallica was facing a crisis and were at an all time low in their career during the year 2001. The band hasn't toured in three years and just as the band was about to regroup for their 8th album, bassist Jason Newstead decided to quit the band. Newstead was apparently not satisfied with the direction the band was heading in and was unhappy that band leader James Hetfield wasn't allowing Jason to undertake side projects. Hetfield himself was battling drug and alcohol abuse and went into rehabilitation just months after the band started recording. Hetfield was away for over a year and drummer Lars Ulrich along with lead guitarist Kirk Hammett were annoyed with his continued absence and lack of information. The band had previously hired a therapist, Phil Towle with whose help they wanted to get over their differences, improve performance and get rid of all the negativity. The band started recording once Hetfield returned and band producer Bob Rock filled in as bassist for the album recording until a new bassist, Robert Trujillo, was taken on the band. Metallica has ever since risen out from the ashes and retain their No.1 spot till this day. The documentary focuses on intra-band disagreements, the verge of the band breaking up, their battle with Napster, the making of St. Anger, selection of Trujillo and the eventual album release. It focuses on most of the core areas that any fan would want to know about Metallica and clearly reveals all the ups and downs that the band went through. Don't be mistaken that the movie is only for metal-heads. Apart from the blaring music that would smack a smile on the die-hard fans face, any other person would appreciate the movie and revelation of the functioning of a band. A must watch for fans and recommended for everyone else.

Thumbs up: Great portrayal of every aspect, personal as well as professional, of each band member

Thumbs down: A boring mid-section after a strong start and an equally strong end.

Rating: 7.4/10

Chicago

Chicago, 2002
Directed by Rob Marshall
Nominated for 13 Oscars, Won 6

Synopsis: It's 1920's Chicago. And Velma Kelly (a famous star, tease, cabaret singer and sister act), and Roxie Hart (a wanna-be star, wanting to be the next Velma) are both throw into death row for committing murder. Velma, for killing her sister and husband who she found going behind her back together, and Roxie, for killing the man she was cheating with who lied about making her a star. The two are competing for fame and publicity, and also sympathy, that will keep them from being hanged for their crimes, through the use of lawyer to many a female murderer, Billy Flynn. But the road to innocence is littered with lies, betrayal and deceit.

Once again, I didn't know much about this film. I went into it thinking it was the rise of Catherine Zeta-Jones and Renee Zellweger to fame, through Richard Gere. While I was wrong, I certainly wasn't too far off the mark. I was shocked when I saw Roxie Hart (Zellweger) shoot her lover. I was confused to where it was going, but was completely interested.

The film uses, in my opinion, I unique use of it's music. All the musical numbers are set on a stage, cabaret-lounge style, and is intermingled with reality. The numbers are almost the inner feelings and voices of the characters, and take place in their heads, showing us what is almost literally going on. The story itself wasn't a musical. There was no singing in the actual jail, or in the courts, etc, but all was taken place as a metaphorical telling of the current circumstances, sweeping back and forth between the two, which I found quite clever!

Additionally, I was very impressed with Renee Zellweger and Catherine Zeta-Jones. Both are very talented women, and blew me away. I was a little nervous when I saw Renee on the cover because I've seen her in very few movies, and the ones I've seen she's a very serene, sensible character. It was interesting to see her in something so completely different and to completely own it. She was so believable in her innocent yet not-so innocent role. She's also a very talented dancer and singer, and having read she had no formal training in either before the film, I'm quite impressed. Similar to Ms. Zeta-Jones, she is a very talented singer and dancer.

While seeing women dance around sexy in underwear, essentially, is not really my thing, I still think it was done quite well. It was a true satire of putting on a show for the media, and no matter what the truth is, as long as it's entertaining the media will swallow it whole and ask few questions. One particular number that really enticed me was the Ventriloquism number. It was cleverly done, and was very telling, but also very satirical in the way that Billy Flynn and other "entertainers", per se, control the media.

I really liked this film, and I give it a lot of credit since none of the three leads are professional singers or dances. The costumes were great, and the music and dancing was simply fantastic. I have very little negative to say about this film. It was really well done!

8/10

The Dirty Picture (2011)

Genre: Drama/Musical/Biography/Romance

Starring: Vidya Balan, Naseeruddin Shah, Emraan Hashmi, Tusshar Kapoor, Rajesh Sharma

Does sex sell? Well at least India's queen of melodramatic soap operas intends to find that out. A true-life story of a South-Indian porn star, the movie explores how sex was used, and might still be used, to sell a movie. Ironically the movie itself employs conservative Vidya Balan to shed everything that covers her to add enough oomph to the movie to make it more appealing to audiences. Reshma aka Silk (Balan) aspired to be in the movies and ran away from home to head towards Madras where she wished to realise her dreams. Film producer Selvaganesh (Sharma) discovers her and her willingness to reveal everything on screen and decides to feature her in some songs opposite the super-star of South-Indian cinema, Suryakant (Shah). Surya is notorious for his affairs with young aspiring actresses and satisfies his sexual desires with Silk who in the meantime gets a lot of movie offers due to her 'friendship' with Surya. Contemporary director Abraham (Hashmi) wants to reach Hollywood and hates using sexuality and 'spice' to sell his movies. Although he makes fabulous films that win him awards, it does not get him any money at the box office. Suryakants brother Ramakant (Kapoor) is attracted to Silk after a fallout between his brother and her and tries to romance her. The movie aspired to shatter Indian mainstream cinema with Balan's three-inch-deep-cleavage with truckloads of sex and vulgarity to reveal the inside on-goings of the industry. Sadly the only focus of the movie seems to be Balan and every other characters presence being very rigid and structured. Enter, do your bit, and move out of the script all together. Since the focus has been on Vidya Balan throughout, her transformation from rags to riches has been shown with a steady evolution. Even her appearance, gradual weight-gain, and puff on her right cheek were taken care of and shown with subtlety. If its Balans navel and exposed thighs that you aspire then the movie beckons for you, else go watch something else.

Thumbs up: Vidya Balan and the focus on her character, Awesome dialogues add humour

Thumbs down: Poor piecing together of the plot, poor supporting cast performance, predictable and a bit boring

Rating: 5.6/10

An American In Paris

An American In Paris, 1951
Directed by Vincente Minnelli
Nominated for 8 Academy Awards, Won 6.

Synopsis: Jerry Mulligan is a struggling American painter, living in Paris after being a soldier in WWII. He gets discovered on the streets by a rich young woman, who decides to sponsor him, and get him set up with exhibitions and meet important people to become successful. But she's got more on her mind that Jerry's art. At the same time, Jerry has swooned for a French girl named Lise, who is already engaged to an acquiantence of Jerry's, though neither of them know this- yet. But, as we all know, it's going to happen eventually, and the situation will be quite comical indeed.

I watched the movie Singin' In The Rain for the first time about a month and a half ago, and absolutely adored it. The tap dancing, laughing hysterically at Donald O'Connor's antics, and may or may not have been swooning over Gene Kelly. SInce then, I've watched it once or twice more, and still love it. So naturally, when I was looking over the list of Oscar Winning Pictures, and looked into what An American In Paris was about, I was excited to see it was a musical- and Gene Kelly was in it!

I quickly made a reservation at the library for it (along with a couple others) and was eager to watch it. I snuggled into bed and watched this movie on a rainy night with my mother, glad for someone to watch a movie with, because I find I can hardly ever sit through a movie by myself. But I digress.

The story itself, unfolded quite nicely and quickly (though not too quickly). We are introduced to the three main men quite quickly. Jerry Mulligan, Adam Cook (Jerry's friend, another American in Paris) and Adam Cook's good friend Henri Baurel, a cabaret singer, and Lise's boyfriend/fiance. Not ten minutes later, have we met the two main women; Milo Roberts, the rich young woman who takes a liking to more than just Jerry's painting, and Lise Bouvier, the young dancer who works at a perfume shop, and is with Henri.

The situation quickly sets itself up. We open on the film with Henri telling Adam Cook about this woman he is in love with. We learn about Lise, without realizing she is to be a main player in the film. Then we see Jerry and Lise encounter each other for the first time at a smoky nightclub.restaurant. Jerry is instantly drawn to Lise, while he is out with Milo and some friends shortly after Milo and Jerry meet when she purchases 2 of Jerry's paintings. Lise is resistant, but Jerry is persistant, while Milo is still vying for his attention.

I quite enjoyed this film. It was a light-hearted romantic-musical-comedy, with some brilliant situational irony (you can just imagine what is happening at this point), dance numbers and okay songs. While I didn't think the music was mighty fantastic, I thought Gene Kelly was great. He was really convincing as a poor painter, and played obvious, adamant, and happy-go-lucky lover, so well.


Newcomer Leslie Caron (Lise) was also really good. While I didn't much care for her character, she's an extremely, extremely talented dancer, if nothing else. She really holds her own next to Kelly (I'm just biased because I love tap dancing, though I can't do it myself) and the 17-minute long finale was really quite something. She's a very very talented woman.


While I enjoyed this movie, I didn't love it. I thought the dancing was great, the music was so-so, Gene Kelly looked great, and the storyline was pretty good. While I enjoyed it, I know there are several other musicals that didn't win Best Picture I liked much better, though it was decent, and cute.

Rating: B

Walk the Line (2005)

Genre: Drama/Musical/Romance/Biography

Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Reese Witherspoon, Ginnifer Goodwin

A true-life narration of Johnny Cash (Phoenix), one of the most influential American musicians of the 20th century. He took up music much to the objection of his father and married his childhood sweetheart, Vivian (Goodwin). His creative lyrics and voice soon saw him soar to new heights. He met June Carter (Witherspoon) a fellow country musician and they both instantly became good friends. Johnny's rising fame and fortune started putting him with the wrong people and it was only a matter of time when coke and alcohol took over his life. Multiple convictions for possessing illegal drugs and a strained marriage with Vivian put Johnny's life in complete jeopardy. Most of the movie revolves around Cash's rise to fame and his notorious drug addiction. The music featured in the movie is foot-tapping and makes the music lover want to explore Cash's genre of music. Performances are brilliant and Joaquin Phoenix is exceptional. Reese Witherspoon looks stunning throughout the movie and the duo make a great on-screen pair. The focus only Cash's rise as a musician and the subsequent drug addiction is the only focus of the movie due to which it fails to explore other side of Cash's younger life, like the huge forest fire that his tour bus had initiated. A great biographical and musical movie that is entertaining and enjoyable.

Thumbs up: Great music and great performances

Thumbs down: Could have explored more aspects of Johnny Cash's life

Rating: 7.0/10

Nine (2009)

Genre: Drama/Romance/Musical

Starring: Daniel-Day Lewis, Penelope Cruz, Marion Cotillard, Judi Dench

Coming from the director of Chicago, this musical entertainer promises to live up to the name of its predecessor. Rome, 1965, famous director Guido Contini (Day-Lewis) has announced a new movie. Contini is finding it increasingly difficult to come up some inspiration for this movie, and although the film exists on paper, it does not in the maestro's head. To make things worse, his married life with a once famous actress Luisa (Cotillard) is on flimsy grounds and he seeks sexual respite with Carla (Cruz). Everything coupled together make his life one big mess, as if it wasn't already from the beginning. The movie somehow fails to bring out the song and dance the way Chicago did and fails in more than one aspect. It has some nice dance moves and a huge sex-appeal but that's about it. The performances were indeed good, but not enough to cover up for the movies flaws. Daniel-Day Lewis looks amazingly different from his previous hit There Will Be Blood and his brilliant performance does little to make the movie more appealing. An average entertainer which could have been much better

Thumbs up: Performances
Thumbs down: Storyline not good enough

Rating: 6.0/10

Crazy Heart (2009)

Genre: Drama/Romance/Musical

Starring: Jeff Bridges, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jack Nation

An alcoholic veteran country singer, Bad Blake (Bridges) has taken the road, performing at various towns and cities. Cigarette's and whisky being his only companion, he befriends and later falls in love with a young Santa Fe journalist, Jean (Gyllenhaal). Bad's friendship extends to Jean's son Buddy (Nation) and the three are all set to become a nice happy family. Bad's affinity for alcohol gets the better of him and circumstances give Bad and Jean a new outlook on how things have happened over the past few months. The story has nothing which makes you want to sit right till the end or wait to see what happens. Its simple and sober, apart from Bad and Jeff Bridges' phenomenal acting makes him a deserving recipient for the Oscar. The country music played in the movie may not be to the liking of all and hence puts the movie on dicey grounds. A good watch but not an entertainer.

Thumbs up: Jeff Bridges
Thumbs down: Slow, music not to everyone's liking

Rating: 7.0/10

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)

Genre: Crime/Drama/Romance/Musical/Thriller

Starring: Johnny Depp, Helene Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman, Timothy Spall, Ed Sanders, Jayne Wisener

19th century, Fleet Street, London. Benjamin Barker (Depp) is a happily married barber with a prosperous business. The corrupt Judge Turpin (Rickman) has his eyes on Benjamin's wife and puts Benjamin in prison in an attempt to seduce her. Once out of prison, Benajmin takes on the name of Sweeney Todd and returns to his old residence. His neighbour, Mrs Lovett (Carter) tells him that his wife consumed poison and his daughter Johanna (Wisener) is being kept locked in Judge Turpin's house. He wants to seek revenge for his family and decides to lure Judge Turpin to his saloon to get a shave and cut his neck open. One would realise that most of the characters in the movie are common with Harry Potter but it is merely a coincidence and nothing more. The musical narration of the story was better explored in Chicago which used dance and background music more effectively, something which lacked in this movie. The Lyrics, however, are worth reading with subtitles on and takes on a nice rhythmic motion. Watching Johnny Depp and the other cast singing is not quite bad and their efforts should be appreciated. The movie doesn't have a very strong plot to narrate but Johnny Depp's mere presence take it to new levels.

Thumbs up: Johnny Depp and other performances
Thumbs down: Songs could have been used more effectively, slightly weak plot

Rating: 7.2/10

Michael Jackson's: This Is It (2009)

Genre: Documentary/Musical

Starring: Michael Jackson, Kenny Ortega

The man who invented the 'moon walk', the epitome of all dance forms, the legend, Michael Jackson. For more than a decade, he stayed away from stage performances and his life was marred by controversies. He finally decides to make a public appearance once again at a concert in London in the month of July in 2009. June 2009, preparations for the concert were in full swing and barely weeks before the eventful day, MJ lost his life. It was a tragic day for the world and for the millions of fans who loved his music. A video recording of the rehearsals was being made which was to a part of the concert. That same recording took the form of this movie. The movie is like any other behind the scenes story of an event and doesn't hold any major significance. It perhaps would have been better if it retold the story of MJ's life with all his ups and downs, major concerts, biggest hits etc., instead the movie focused only on the making of the London concert. The movie is a must watch for any die-hard MJ fan, but for anyone else, it is highly avoidable.

Thumbs up: Michael, the legend
Thumbs down: Doesn't include past life

Rating: 6.1/10

You Got Served (2004)

Genre: Musical/Drama/Romance

Starring: Omarion Grandberry, Marques Houston, Jennifer Freeman, Christopher Jones, Steve Harvey

David (Omarion) and Elgin (Houston) head a gang which go around competing in street dancing competitions to earn some money. They seem to be unbeatable and when they get challenged by Wade (Jones) an uptown rich youth, they immediately accept without hesitation. Predictably, they lose the competition and when David starts dating Liyah (Freeman) Elgin's sister, their friendship sours. One thing leads to another and the two best friends now don't see eye to eye with each other. When a mega national level dancing competition kicks off, the two friends form their own gang to battle it out for the title. However, they also have to face their previous adversary, Wade and his team. The movie treads on an old and overused 'test of friendship' story and every move is predictable. The movie is a must watch if you want to learn some serious dance movies. One can gain access to a whole amount of insanely amazing hip-hop dance moves which is indeed the only highlight of the otherwise boring movie.

Thumbs up: The dance moves
Thumbs down: Overused story and poor casting

Rating: 3.9/10

The Soloist (2009)

Genre: Musical/Drama/Biography

Starring: Jamie Foxx. Robert Downey Jr., Catherine Keener

A stunning true-life story of Nathaneil Ayers Jr. (Foxx) a schizophrenic homeless who has a rare skill with musical instruments. LA Times reporter Steve Lopez (Downey Jr.) bumps into Nathaneil while he is searching the streets for some unique story to write on. After a short story of his life finds itself in the LA Times, the people of Los Angeles start sympathising with him. A very unique relationship is formed between Steve and Nathaneil, which Steve dispises but yet cant do anything about it and wants to continue to help him. Jamie Foxx does a splendid job in the movie. His appearance and execution of the role has brought him into a different league altogether and i wont be suprised if it gets considered for an Oscar. The movie did all the right things but yet did not manage to bring out the sort of emotions that it should have. The movie definitely needs more drama if it needs to create an impact

Thumbs up: Jamie Foxx's Oscar-worthy performance
Thumbs down: Less-dramatic and hence less impactful

Rating: 7.0/10

The Boat That Rocked (2009)

Genre: Drama/Musical/Comedy/Romance

Starring: Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Bill Nighy, Tom Sturridge, Nick Frost, Rhys Ifans, Chris O'Sowd, Rhys Darby

In 1966, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBS) was the only radio station in all of Britain and it only played 45 minutes of music every day. Radio Rock is a fictitious radio station that sprang up which played only rock n roll all day and night. The station was on a boat docked in the North Sea, in international waters in order to prevent being intercepted by the government of UK. Carl (Sturridge) is a young fellow who was sent by his mother to the boat so that his life may improve. 'Marvelous mistake' are the words by Quentin (Nighy) the radio boss. Pirate radio is filled with 8 insane DJ's who live off music day in and day out and have done perhaps the most outrageous things ever. The government, however, is not happy with the success of Radio Rock and forms a new law in order to shut it down. The movie is not actually based on a true life event, although the movie might convince you of their existence. The first half more or less revolves around the daily happenings on the boat with their eventual fall. The movie is slow and a little too long. There would be many occasions for you to laugh at but the movie is still a little unexciting. Not quite good as one would have expected it to be. It is a highly recommended watch for all music fans, especially rock and roll.

Thumbs up: Amazing performances by the entire cast and wonderful depiction
Thumbs down: Slow, a little too long and uneventful

Rating: 6.9/10