Strong and Moving!

Perfect cast and a good story

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Best movie of this year hands down!

Let's get it over with right from the beginning: the only thing that "This Is Spinal Tap!" and "Hard Core Logo" have in common is the documentary set up. While Spinal Tap was a comedy that - as the name of the genre "mockumentary" suggests - mocked the heavy metal scene, "Hard Core Logo" is a character study that takes an honest look at a band and life on the road. Actually, the whole framework is rather unnecessary in this movie as it serves no real purpose and characters didn't act like they were in front of a camera (unlike say "The Office", where people behaved as if they were aware of being filmed). Besides, the pictures are shot too beautifully anyway for this to feel like a real documentary. That's not to say "Hard Core Logo" isn't realistic, though. The movie gives us a quite real impression of being in a punk band, caught between different agendas, personalities, power struggles and the sheer need to survive. This is why, apart from a few moments that will make you chuckle, "Hard Core Logo" isn't really trying to be funny, either. Just like real life the tragic moments outweigh the comedic ones by far. The acting is great and the soundtrack is accurate, two very important things to make a movie about punk rock work. Apart from maybe the drummer the band members aren't over-subscribed and you can really see guys like Joe Dick or Billy Talent playing in actual bands (guess what, Hugh Dillon actually was the singer of his own band, The Headstones). "Hard Core Logo" works on every level and is very entertaining to watch, too. There are quite a few details in the story hinted at rather subtly, which you're probably not going to get the first time around, so a second or third viewing is recommended.

According to this website, "This is Spinal Tap" was released in 1984. That movie was a satire of Heavy Metal Rock Stars. It was funny, and it had at least a few good tunes that were actually written by the actors who played the band. So, in a way, they were a real band.All I see in this movie is that 12 YEARS LATER, someone decided to try to jump on what was hardly a bandwagon; the success of "This Is Spinal Tap" hardly created a new genre.This is what I expected when I first rented the film, as I love Punk music, among many other genres. About 30 minutes into the film, I had to turn it off as I realized that what I rented was exactly what I expected and GOT: Just someone trying to jump on the bandwagon or milk someone else's cash cow.And there was nothing to laugh at, either. I expect Something to keep me at least remotely intrigued to watch more of this. But, there's nothing. No jokes, no idiocy, no nothing.Fortunately, I only lost one dollar of my money and half an hour of my time watching this feeble attempt to copy a film from 12 years before it was made. This feeble attempt is even worse than "Mac and Me" (feeble rip-off of E.T.), "Battle Beyond the Stars" (one of the many feeble rip-offs of Star Wars), as well as many others.This is not a satire; this is a Rip-Off of a Satire!!!And a weak one at that.

I was taken for a 3000 mile ride that simply rocked. The band portrayed reminded me in many ways of bands I have been with in the past; they set the scene very believably and the writer deserves several pats on theback. The punk scene was captured well, as were the rigors of touring & staying together and focused on a common interest. The plot developed quite well, and the characters were simply dead-on. I liked thedocumentary aspects, the way they included the 'crew' in shots. And kudos to the twist at the very end. Brilliant picture.

What can you say about a movie like Hard Core Logo? It's awesome, but more than that, it is so realistic it makes the hair on your arm stand on end. When I first saw it, I didn't know who Hugh Dillon was. I didn't know that was really him singing and he is the lead singer of the Headstones. He plays the most perfect paranoid rock star personality I've ever seen. And Callum Keith Rennie... he deserved an Oscar for his part. I've seen almost everything he has been in and Hard Core Logo really breaks the bank. Not only does he have the physical gorgeous perfection down, but he also has the gorgeous perfect mind to go with it. They are both just excellent.But, at it's core, Hard Core Logo is a love story, be it in an unconventional fashion. It's the love between two life-long friends that brings the band back together one last time, and the jealousy between them that ultimately rips them apart. This is displayed with Joe Dick's final act because he knows Billy is going to play with Jenifur, which will break his promise to play with Joe forever. Joe knows he will never get Billy back so he shows Billy, "If I can't have you, I don't want to live." It's a story of passion, devotion and jealousy that just leaves you sad, because it had to end the way it did. This is one of those movies that everyone needs to see at least once, just to realize that love doesn't always have to involve sex and lust, that love can be just as passionate between friends.