Hard Core Logo (1996)

Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.

Best movie of this year hands down!

What a freaking movie. So many twists and turns. Absolutely intense from start to finish.

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

The second best Canadian movie of all time. (The best is Going Down the Road.) Here is why Hard Core Logo ranks so high: 1. It moves. Canadian movies in general are terribly, terribly slow. Hard Core Logo is 100 miles per hour. 2. It deals with places/contexts that other Canadian movies don't, i.e., it is not about growing up in a small town. 3. The heroes, although they are in a band, aren't a group of teenagers trying to make it big. They are "grown-ups," at least in terms of years on the planet. Their struggle, their demons aren't glossy. 4. This is existential stuff. The main characters' struggles aren't confined to the world of music, or to a small sub-culture of it. Pigeonholing the movie as a music movie or as a comedy in the style of Spinal Top misses what is really going on here. This isn't a comedy, not even a black comedy (which is usually code for a comedy that isn't funny.) Instead, here you get to see Sisyphus -- right at the top of the mountain.

Really interesting film for anyone familiar with the hardcore music scene that deals with the problems and moral dilemmas of a reunited band. The problem is the movie is mismarketed as a comedy. Humor in the movie is quite present though dark and dry (though still very funny). This movie is actually quite a bit better than spinal tap. It's not mocking a bad band of a genre, but exploring the problems of the scene by looking at what's viewed to be a good one. The only similarity between this film and spinal tap is the narrative framework, which is that of a documentary, though in this film, that device becomes less obtrusive, and in all honesty could have been removed. Also, this movie has much more of a human heart than a film like spinal tap or fear of a black hat (another movie that got lumped into the "mockumentary" genre). The big problem I think is that this movie is represented as a comedy, and it's as dramatic as it is humorous. Terrific ending too. Recommended to those who enjoy dark comedies and punk rock.

Didn't know what to expect from this film, but it was recommended by a friend who I spent lots of time with in the Melbourne punk scene, so I thought it would be worth a shot. Usually films about the punk scene are so off the mark, that no matter whether they are good films or not, people are usually so insulted by the 'fakeness' of them all, that they are disregarded by punk-rock fans. However, this film really manages to capture the punk rock scene to a T! The characters are likeable and realistic, the music is authentic, and the plot-line is so close to the reality of touring it is eerie. The relationship between the two main characters, (singer and lead-guitarist - a relationship that is often tense in most bands) gives this film something more than if it had just relied on the 'road-movie' genre to keep it moving. I really loved this film!

I have enjoyed Bruce McDonald's previous road movies 'Roadkill' and 'Highway 61', both of which I recommend. 'Hard Core Logo' is another winner. I do feel that it has been incorrectly marketed as a punk Spinal Tap, which may disappoint first time viewers expecting something different. The movie shares a similar vague concept of a "rockumentary", but that's about it. 'This Is Spinal Tap' as much as I love it, was a bunch of comic scenes strung together and not much else. 'Hard Core Logo', while it has plenty of laughs, has much more ambition, and is ultimately a much more serious movie. The unexpected ending, which I won't spoil, takes it to a much different level.So leave your preconceptions at the door, sit back and experience this superbly acted rock'n'roll morality tale(?) One of the best music related movies in YEARS!