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Summary: One of the Best Films About Rock!
Review: If you are a fan of 1970s rock n' roll then this is the movie for you.Cameron Crow's autobiographical film is both an homage and love letter to a bygone era.We follow William Miller (Cameron Crowe's alter ego)as he discovers both the backstage world of rock n' roll and a little about himself.He travels with the fictional band Stillwater (purportedly based on real life bands the Allmand Bros., the Eagles and Led Zepplin)to get his first big story for Rolling Stone Magazine.During these travels William must deal with his strong-willed mother, a groupie (though she denies this)named Penny Lane and various band musicians with massive egos.In the hands of a lesser director this story could have become a crass farce. Instead Crowe brings us a moving story about growing up.Special note she be made of the Oscar nominated performance by Kate Hudson.She has a very special presence in this film.Also,this film has a brilliant soundtract which features such '70s icons as Elton John, Cat Stevens,Lynyrd Skynyrd,Rod Stewart,and Led Zepplin.The extras on this DVD include a very interesting documentry on the making of the film.What is missed is a commentary track by Crowe,himself, which I think many of the film's fans were waiting for.If you are a connoiseur of rock n' roll from the '70s then buy this DVD!
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Summary: It's Not All That.....
Review: I'd rather mow the lawn than watch this again! The movie was slow going and not exciting in the least. A story about a musical journalist KID that rides along with a bad on tour and experiences life on the road. The movie is not all that!!! Those that gave this movie such high ratings haven't seen a good movie in a long time. Where's my lawnmower.....
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Summary: i can't get enough of "almost famous"
Review: This movie was soo great. Cameron Crowe did an exelent job showing how life was like for rockstars and journalists in the 70's. The movie had some funny parts, especially with the mother. if you haven't seen it, you should because it is worth seeing.
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Summary: An entertaining film.
Review: Cameron Crowe's latest offer, Almost Famous-as well as his previous works Jerry Maguire, Singles, and Say Anything-has been the story of love. A semi-autobiographical film about a young journalist, William (Fugit), bluffs his way to Rolling Stone for a writing assignment to go on tour with the up-and-coming band Stillwater. During William's assignment/adventure with the band, he builds a strong friendship with the group's guitarist Russell (Crudup), falls in love with a groupie Penny Lane (Hudson), and receives numerous embarrassing phone calls from his over-protective mother (Dormand). The film revolves around William, with well-written dialogues by Crowe, attached with emotional, dramatic, realistic and humorous subplots. After watching this film, you'll not wonder why Crowe loves to love writing about love.
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Summary: Why didn't Almost Famous win an Oscar for Best Picture?
Review: I am so sick of hearing that Gladiator won the Oscar for best picture (2000), when Almost Famous was also a nominee. I mean, Gladiator might've been OK in some ways, but it wasn't perfect. When it comes to Almost Famous, we have a perfectly entertaining movie. It's fun, sexy, and dramatic, yet we feel for all of the characters. All the characters are likable, plus there are funny moments that you wish that OTHER MOVIE (GLADIATOR) had. So if you want to see a more meaningful movie that should've won an oscar for best picture, see Almost Famous. A great DVD!
Rating:
Summary: Perfect
Review: The movie is perfect. For everyone that has been in a rock show or simply loves music and its power of getting in our hearts is a must see. It gathers art a piece of humor and of course, music. It can be extremely sweet as well as emotive and briliant. In a nutshell the dream of rock coming true. A must see.
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Summary: Missed Its Mark
Review: The tone of this movie left so much promise from all the trailers put out upon its release. When I finally rented it last weekend, I was quite dissapointed. The fifteen year old genius seems out of place on the road with the fictitious band Stillwater. This fifteen year old does not even have any passion for rock n roll music. He is just a good writer who happens to be underaged. The only reason he was into music was because his sister left him a handful of records.The comments about the rock n roll era being on its death bed and that Cameron Crowe arrived just in time for the death rattle is ludicrous. 1973 was the golden age of rock n roll as many styles of music were still considered cool. The road trip scenes were pretty interesting and the presence of the groupies seemed like they were depicted fairly accurately. However, the pace of the movie just dragged and dragged with little of consequence that was in any degree memorable. In general, this movie was not an all out disaster. However, it definitely missed its mark.
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Summary: Just How Many Stillwaters are There, Anyway?
Review: Rented this one last night on DVD, started watching it at about 9:45, fully prepared to pause it when Saturday Night Live came on. Well, that ...... not only didn't get paused, I ended up reading those priceless Rolling Stone Interviews until 3 AM! While not quite American Graffiti, it was still an excellant movie. I agree that the voters for the Acadamy awards were too busy fawning over Russell Crowe to give this one a fair shot, but that's ok, we the folks who really appreciate Almost Famous, know a good movie when we see one. I am only two years younger than Crowe, and this movie took me right back to the 70's, and rock's last blast. Now, here is my only criticism of this movie, and it is a serious one. By naming the fictional band "Stillwater", they have stolen the identity of the real 70's band of that name. The real Stillwater was Capricorn Records' stablemate of the Allman Brothers., Fronted by Wet Willie's Jimmy Hall, Stillwater had a hit with a song called "Mindbender" co-written by Buddy Buie of The Atlanta Rhythm Section back in 1977. Very cool song, the chorus, "My papa was a Gibson, my mama was a Fender, that's why they call me, Mindbender.." was sung through a talkbox, ala Joe Walsh and Peter Frampton. (I am surprized that Cameron Crowe overlooked or ignored that. Plus, in a search on ......, I have found another band named Stillwater, with a CD released in 1998. Hence, my opening question, Just how many Stillwaters are there? Well time to watch this one again, Almost Famous is 2 hours well spent. I think I'm gonna have to go out and buy this one.
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Summary: One of the best moves I have seen in a long time!
Review: This is defintily one of the best movies I have seen in a looong time! Despite what DREW Managery says. Me and MANY of my friends who were growing up in that generation, LOVED it. I feel Kate Hudsons character, Penny Lane, was just a girl who was in it for fun but got stuck falling in love with him. And that classic example he gave us, was not even an example. She was trying to be strong, and not show her true emotions. Doesn't he remember what she said in the car on the way to LA. Obviously he has no clue what it is to be a girl. The film may have not gotten to in Stillwater, but maybe that is because the film is based on a boy who loves music. Take it from someone whos best friends are in a band. All this stuff happens. From the groupies to the jelously to the hatred from just being around the same people to long. I guess thats why i loved this movie so much because i could totally understand all of it. So I feel don't listen to Drews opinion, this is a GREAT film, take the time to watch it!
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Summary: Awesome...........
Review: In the past 18 months I have seen two films which I absolutely adore......Almost Famous and Magnolia. When this movie was passed up for Best Picture, I was convinced that the flakes in LALA Land have no sense of what great picture making is. The acting.......Kate Hudson is remarkably talented. Her charisma and talent just oozed out of that screen. No one can accuse this lady of floating by on her famous parents reputations. Ditto for Frances McDormand. She never ceases to amaze me. Billy Crudup, Patrick Fugit, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, and the rest of the cast were equally terrific. Though the DVD was not the director's cut (which I will definitely buy when it is released), I was absolutely in love with this one. It's like dating a guy who is the best, but with each date or viewing I keep getting more infatuated. I've seen this three times now, and it just keeps getting better. The time test.....this would have been set around the time I was in college. A friend who is 15 years older than I saw this and had the same reaction. So did my 14 year old son and my husband. Keep up the good work, Cameron Crowe!
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