Rating: Summary: Mr. Black is the next Chris Farley! Review: I was suprised at how much I enjoyed this movie! Jack Black's insane and all-out hilarious ways to entertain reminds me alot of how Chris Farley used to act. I was such a big Farley fan. Actually, I still am. Now, after watching School of Rock, I'm a Jack Black fan, too!A down-on-his-luck former rocker (Mr. Black) desperately needs money. Gets a call from a prep school, saying they're in great need of a subsitute. Dewey takes the name of his friend, Ned (who is a sub) and he's off to teach...a fifth grade class. But he doesn't want to teach at all. He'd rather rock...and bring the kids into it, too! School of Rock is totally original, hilarious, and entertaining. I'd love to see it again!
Rating: Summary: Why has my daughter become obsessed with David Geffen? Review: I love when a formula movie actually makes an attempt to be clever. With "School of Rock," director Richard Linklater and writer Mike White have taken the "inspirational teacher" movie and turned it on its head, thank God. This movie is hilarious, offbeat, filled with interesting characters and a cool, consistent message that sometimes you learn more by "sticking it to The Man." Jack Black, the film's star, deserves much of the credit for the film's success. He's fall-on-the-floor funny and, as a true musician, he's able to convey his character's passion for rock 'n' roll with tremendous intensity. The advice you see him giving the fifth-graders in his charge is actually useful and avoids annoying cliches. Another plus is that the movie knows its rock music, recommending Yes, Rush and Led Zeppelin over modern pop. And the film's finale is awesome, complete with an ending that once again goes against movie tradition. I highly recommend this.
Rating: Summary: Great Entertainment Review: My husband and I saw this movie and we loved it. It brought back memories of the rock we used to listen to. Jack Black was awesome (and creepy at the same time!). There were also some lessons learned. This was a great movie to sit back and enjoy. We laughed so hard because we could relate to some of the references. It would be a great family movie for kids 13 and up.
Rating: Summary: MORE THAN 5 Stars! A wonderful movie for all ages!!!!! Review: As I said above this movie is indeed a movie for all ages. The rock and roll part of the movie will be aimed more toward the older generation or teenagers who like Jack Black and rock music, but this is a very nice movie for the whole family to see. It is rated PG-13 but it's not Austin Powers PG-13 it's kid-friendly PG-13. Jack Black is a great actor and should be recognized more for his work. He was great in the movie Orange County (written by Mike White who co-stars and wrote the script for this movie) and he was good in Shallow Hal. Let's just hope he becomes a bigger star because he is really funny, plus he's got a very funny rocker voice that is just really cool! The kids are really the stars of this movie and they are all really good actors and musicians. Critics love this movie and I think everyone else will enjoy it too. NOTE TO PARENTS: Looking for a good movie for the kids (ages 10 and up) with no sexual content and mild language, The School of Rock is for you! PERFECT MOVIE! MUST OWN WHEN ON DVD!!
Rating: Summary: Best performanc of the year--or so Review: This is one of the best movies I have ever seen. If you think this is a kid's movie, get with it, I'm 57. Jack should win the Academy Award for this performance. You keep expecting the movie to get dull or drop into another 'fart' sequence, but it never happens. Strong from start to finish. Kids are great- they don't overact-they defer to the master-Jack. Don't miss this one.
Rating: Summary: Not bad, not great. Review: Not a bad movie, nothing outstanding either except for the concept. I enjoied it enough to keep watching and wondering what would happen next, but I doubt I'd want to see it again. Shallow Hal remains Jack Blacks best work to date. School of Rock would be at a distant second.
Rating: Summary: Ladies and gentlemen, Jack Black! Review: Ever since "High Fidelity," it was apparent that Jack Black was a superstar in the making. With "School of Rock," his stretch limo has officially pulled up to the Beverly Hills Hotel. Combining John Belushi's squat body and manic energy with Jack Nicholson's hyperkinetic eyebrows and Dennis Quaid's diabolical grin, Black can get more genuine laughs just entering a room than Adam Sandler can with a movie full of toilet jokes. "School of Rock"--directed by Richard Linklater from a script by Black's friend and co-star Mike White--is a star vehicle for Black, and while it's no masterpiece, it does display Black's talents to maximum advantage. Black plays Dewey Finn, a down-and-out rock guitarist who cons his way into a substitute teaching job as a way to earn some badly needed dough. His overachieving young charges--almost all of whom are musically talented--he sees as a way to get himself back into the rock world, and in the process of turning them into a rock band he and they learn some wholesome lessons about teamwork, friendship and the need to keep believing in your dreams. Black's fast-talking, cannonballing charisma underlines the genuine sweetness of the tale while effectively undercutting the potential saccharine content. White--who plays Black's nerdy roommate--contributes a script that expertly combines kid-friendly situations with tart adult wit. There is also excellent support from Joan Cusack, as the school's anal-retentive principal with a secret passion for Stevie Nicks, and from a classroom full of gifted young musicians (especially Maryam Hassan, a pint-sized Aretha Franklin). The audience at the screening I attended--ranging in age from prepubescent to late middle age--roared with laughter. Mr. Black, you have arrived!
Rating: Summary: Enroll in the "School of Rock" Review: Finally, a movie to get excited about. "School of Rock" may be no incredible aesthetic achievement, but it's a hell of a lot of fun. It makes you smile without realizing, and it'll tickle your funny bone every few minutes. It might be the only movie I've been to where everybody randomly applauded at certain times, simply because you really start to care about the characters and what they're doing. Jack Black might be goofy, but he's a true star; he's got that special something that just endears him to an audience. This is certainly his film, but everybody gets their chance to shine, especially Joan Cusack in a great performance as the principal, Ms. Mullins. Her Stevie Nicks scene is truly funny and touching. This is certainly Hollywood: the good guy wins, the bad guys have a change of heart, everybody's happy in the end, and sometimes that is exactly what you need from a moviegoing experience. A little rock and roll and a lot of heart are all you need to "stick it to the Man!"
Rating: Summary: Schooled by Jack Review: I thought this was a surprisingly good movie. Jack Black plays his enthusiastic rock and roll self, much better I think than his older attempts at romantic lead or cynic. His unique take on most topics contrasted well with the preppy fifth-graders he was matched with. I thought the chemistry of all of the characters was great, and that Joan Cusack was great as the principal. Definitely time wellspent in the theater.
Rating: Summary: Jack Black was born to play Review: And weren't we all? An egotistical, disolute rock musician, Jack Black's Dewey Finn seems the most unlikely candidate for teacher at strait-laced Horace Green Prep School. But by the end of the movie, it's clear to even the most reticent of the parents of the children he's taught that he's had an amazingly positive influence on the life of these young people, establishing self-confidence, skills and enthusiams in students whose previous experience learning experience had been designed to make them sheep. I want to be part of his class! Rock on!
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