Rating: 
Summary: People who liked this: check for carbon monoxide leaks
Review: I got this because it said "punk rock spinal tap" on the packaging (attributed to the NY Times). Neither are true. I couldn't enjoy this movie on any level. It wasn't funny, it didn't seem to have any story and the characters (I can't honestly say I really gave it them a whole lot of thought after the worst half hour of my life aka the first half hour of this movie) just seemed like charicatures of people you'd avoid because they were boring and useless. I had no idea this movie was Canadian when I got it but about five minutes into it I had a feeling and started wishing that Joel or Mike, Crow and Tom Servo were in the lower right corner to help me through this disaster. In a word, terrible. I almost felt bad after reading how much people liked this movie in the other reviews posted here, but I have to wonder, am I insane or are these guys friends with the people who made this abomination.
Rating: 
Summary: It's about f---ing time this film saw an American release.
Review: I had to buy this movie through an Internet auction on VHS. I loved it. There has never been a movie involving Rock and Roll this good. Unlike Spinal Tap, director Bruce McDonald is taking this concept and using it for serious drama. I don't think you have to be in a band to really feel this movie's spirit and identify. I encourage everyone to see it, and I defy anyone to not be affected by it. It's good to see it getting the DVD treatment it deserves, and courtesy of Quentin Tarantino no less. We all know he's a man who knows great film. Hopefully, his endorsement will help get Americans to rent it (and eventually buy it).
Rating: 
Summary: PUNK?
Review: I have just finished watching this film for the 1st time. I was a little concerned when i saw the 2 long haired "punks" in the fictional band on the cover. After watching the film i am disappointed. Joe Dick and Billy Talent pull off the punk attitude convincingly enough, but the other two members of the band are a schizophrenic hippie and an 80's era hair metal drummer. At one point in the film the band members all drop LSD, and in some satanic/hippie orgy slaughter a goat with a chainsaw, and drink its blood. Pointless... I bought this film expecting an accurate portrayal of punk rock history. Other than very brief appearances by Joey Ramone (R.I.P.) and D.O.A., there was nothing punk rock about this film... If you aren't a punk purest, and want to see a decent rock and roll road trip film, this is for you. If you want to see a film about punk rock, don't waste your time on this.
Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful movie... but what's up with the DVD?
Review: I love this film. Its emotional impact is roughly similar to that of watching a car accident in slow motion -- it's horrifying, and you keep hoping that what you see as the inevitable isn't going to happen, but it does, and you can't look away...This is not a hilarious comedy, despite what the back of the box may lead you to believe. But it is definitely worth one viewing. Or several. I'd be lying if I denied that a lot of my enjoyment from the film comes from the amazing twisted chemistry between Joe Dick and Billy Tallent. They're wonderfully dysfunctional together. It didn't hurt that I already knew Hugh Dillon from his band the Headstones and Callum Keith Rennie from Due South, either. That was, in fact, how I found out about this film. But I digress. Note to people who are interested in this film because Quentin Tarantino's name is on the box: he didn't direct it. His only involvement with it, as far as I know, is liking it enough to get it a US release. I love this film, but the DVD is bad. First off, the only extra is the trailer. That's very disappointing, especially since I read an interview where the director talked about how he wanted to do a commentary track with Hugh Dillon and include four or five deleted scenes. Even the Canadian VHS release had a music video. Also I know there was a making-of special that could conceivably have been included. And they could've even added Bruce McDonald's music video for the Headstones' "Cemetery," as it's a great song to sing over the closing credits -- you'll see why. I would recommend not looking at the images for the chapter stops until after the film. The final one, "Salute," (sic) spoils the ending. But my main problem with the DVD is that over half of the titles that are supposed to appear onscreen in white are missing. This includes the names of the bands onstage at the Vancouver show, the word "Git-tah" during Billy's solo at the Vancouver show, the song titles at the Edmonton show, and pretty much all of the time/date references. That lack messes up a lot of the movie. For example, right after Joe tells them to be at the van at 6 am, and you see shots of them waiting, there should have been numbers indicating 6:15, 7:00, 7:30, etc, to show that they finally left four hours later. Also, one of John's monologues makes a comment about how a certain time, I think, 3 am, relates to something. The something, when it happened, was not marked as 3 am, and thus, we lose that foreshadowing. Plus, in general, it would be nice to know when the events in the film happen. I know these words and numbers should be there because they were there in the Canadian VHS release. Oh, one particularly bizarre loss of text: I think it was the Calgary show. On the VHS tape, as they come up on the city, the words "Calgary, Alberta" appear onscreen, timed with a sound effect. The words stay on screen a couple seconds, then are replaced with two repeated Chinese/Japanese characters. On the DVD, the sound effects are there, the characters are there, but the English text is missing. How odd. The picture is much brighter on DVD than on my VHS tape, which is nice, and all the black and white interviews are now sepia-toned or blue. I don't recall the VHS release having this, but I could very well have really funny color settings on my TV. I am editing this review to mention that the part with the gun in the "music, no coke" conversation is still there. I had misremembered when it was. So there probably are no editing differences. My verdict is: if you already own the Canadian VHS, don't throw it out. But if you haven't seen it, buy the DVD. I'm just a slightly obsessed fan, and you probably won't notice any of this. The film itself is still superb.
Rating:
Summary: Not a comedy, but a worthwhile film
Review: I think the most important thing I can tell you before you see this movie is that it is NOTHING like 'This is Spinal Tap'. The fact that the word 'hilarious' is written three separate times on the cover of the DVD shows that who ever did the marketing for this movie 1) did not watch the film 2) has a poor vocabulary. That being said, I think this movie is worth watching at least once. (The replay value is a little low.) Like 'This is Spinal Tap', 'Hard Core Logo' is also a mock documentary. But instead of being so preposterous that it's funny, the characters are heartbreakingly realistic. From the moment Joe Dick sets out on this road-trip, things begin to spiral downward, leading inevitably to the last scene. I do not thing this movie could have ended any other way. I did not think 'Hard Core Logo' was an easy film to watch, but it did leave me thinking about it a day later. There were a few funny moments, but this movie was not a comedy, not even a dark comedy. Although the characters all seem to be experiences various form of narcosis, instead of laughing, I felt pity. This movie is about how the band members of 'Hard Core Logo' refuse to lose gracefully. No quiet 'Crossing the Bar' for them. And their leader, Joe Dick, would only settle for blood and flames.
Rating:
Summary: Not a comedy, but a worthwhile film
Review: I think the most important thing I can tell you before you see this movie is that it is NOTHING like 'This is Spinal Tap'. The fact that the word 'hilarious' is written three separate times on the cover of the DVD shows that who ever did the marketing for this movie 1) did not watch the film 2) has a poor vocabulary. That being said, I think this movie is worth watching at least once. (The replay value is a little low.) Like 'This is Spinal Tap', 'Hard Core Logo' is also a mock documentary. But instead of being so preposterous that it's funny, the characters are heartbreakingly realistic. From the moment Joe Dick sets out on this road-trip, things begin to spiral downward, leading inevitably to the last scene. I do not thing this movie could have ended any other way. I did not think 'Hard Core Logo' was an easy film to watch, but it did leave me thinking about it a day later. There were a few funny moments, but this movie was not a comedy, not even a dark comedy. Although the characters all seem to be experiences various form of narcosis, instead of laughing, I felt pity. This movie is about how the band members of 'Hard Core Logo' refuse to lose gracefully. No quiet 'Crossing the Bar' for them. And their leader, Joe Dick, would only settle for blood and flames.
Rating:
Summary: Cheap Gimmicry
Review: I was almost able to forgive this film it's glaring inconsistencies. I kept waiting for it (and the Director) to make up it's mind. Is this a comedy, a human drama or what? Besides getting so many details wrong (gobbing???) this film just rang false from end to end. However the (psuedo) tragic ending was nothing short of a betrayel. It seemed just like a cheap quasi-Tarantino-esque mechanism. It is amazing how so many directors resort to shock becuase they are unable to provide content.
Rating:
Summary: There is a superior, special edition DVD out there...
Review: If you go to Amazon's Canadian branch (at www.amazon.ca), you can order the much superior version of this classic movie. Here's what you get:
A few years ago, Miramax released a bare bones DVD of Hard Core Logo, but now Bruce McDonald has re-released his movie with a new transfer (strangely full-frame as opposed to the 1.85:1 aspect ratio of the Miramax disc) and a new and improved 5.1 surround soundtrack.
First up is the rowdy audio commentary between Bruce McDonald, actor Hugh Dillon and the screenwriter, Noel S. Baker. McDonald and Baker dominate the track at first, but then Dillon gets more vocal (or is that drunker?) as the commentary progresses. There are a lot of interesting observations from all the participants. Initially, Dillon wasn't interested in doing the movie because he felt that most rock 'n' roll films didn't get it right but McDonald convinced him that this one would be different. What makes this commentary such a treat to listen to is that it's obvious that everyone involved hasn't watched the film in years and that they're having a blast revisiting it. They are all clearly proud of the film and aren't afraid to poke fun at it and themselves.
Also included are the obligatory cast and crew biographies and the theatrical trailer that was originally on the Miramax DVD.
Another new feature are two music videos: one for Dillon's band, The Headstones and the other for Hard Core Logo, which parodies A Hard Day's Night (the band in ridiculous wigs runs away from their fans) and features clips from the movie.
Fans of Canadian music will be happy to know that the tribute CD-with actual Canadian rock bands covering the songs of Hard Core Logo-is also included. For those that think Bryan Adams, Celine Dion and Avril Lavigne sum up Canadian music, think again!
In keeping with its DIY roots, the DVD booklet is designed and written like an independent punk rock fanzine that is a nice added touch.
Rating:
Summary: This is not like Spinal Tap.
Review: Ignore the quotes on the front of the video that say "the punk rock spinal tap." and "hilarious!" and possibly the fact that you found this in the comedy section of your video store and you may get something out of this darkly humorous and mostly tragic mockumentary of a dissolved punk rock band who decide to do a reunion tour in tribute to a wounded punk legend. I went in to this film thinking "spinal tap" and comedy and that made me initially disappointed with HCL, but if you go into it knowing what you're going to get - a story about the downfall of a band because of breakdown in relationships, drug addiction, depression, and greed with some light humor in spots - then you'll at least have a chance to appreciate it. The acting by the two leads: Hugh Dillon (Joe Dick, vocals) & Callum Keith Rennie (Billy Talent, lead guitar) is the high point of the film. They make the whole thing more believable. I recommend giving it a chance, just don't expect Spinal Tap.
Rating:
Summary: Influencial film to those who value raw looks
Review: Personally influenced by Oliver Stone I found the movie 'The Doors' held a significant parallel to 'Hard Core Logo'. Simply put both movies revolve around drug/substance enduced journeys. For the Director of either film however, I think it is fair to say that their ultimate vision was not to be interpreted as just another drug movie. I mean really how many times have we seen that? But again, the use of substances for the time periods of each film were very much a fabrication to rock stars lives. HCL has a raw feel to it, the grainy picture and exposure in some parts I feel don't lesson it's value only strengthen its foreshadowing. HCL chronicles a road trip that a pseudo-rock/punk band take accross Canada performing in various pubs and concert halls. A very surprising ending, similar to the climactic tragedy in the french film 'Hate'. The only poor extension to the plot line in Hard Core Logo was the use of travelling. This device used in writing to push a film along and keep it going, to me is a sell-out. 'Tail Lights Fade' and 'Road Trip' are recent films that have pulled the same stunt. I understand for budget purposes the idea is fitting, it's feasable, but stylistically it could be done better. In all Hard Core Logo uses Canada's low population and beautiful, vast diversity to accurately portray the struggles and journeys of each characters life in a realistic setting.
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