Almost Famous

Rating:
Summary: Awful
Review: This movie was a total flop at the box office, and I'm not surprised. I thought it was thinly written, with only incidental events making up its thin plot. Every actor and actress in the film was bland as dishwater. It obviously meant a lot to Cameron Crowe, since it was basically his diary put to film, but, outside of himself and his family, this movie should be of little interest to anyone else. And one of the tiresome themes of the film was how ugly people are jealous of good looking people. I mean, who cares? At least who cares in the way it's presented here. And I did find the actor "playing" Cameron Crowe to be awful to listen to. He had the most grating goose-honk-like voice. And Kate Hudson wasn't much to look at, nor gave a very effective performance, I thought. Cameron Crowe's movies have always suffered from being too in love with incidental moments. But his best films have major and effective moments to keep your interest up. But ALMOST FAMOUS seemed to be made up of one incidental moment strung to another, making for a long dull and anemic movie. I was looking foward to this movie, since I'm a fan of classic rock. But that was the only good thing about the movie: the classic Led Zeppelin songs that played on the soundtrack now and again. I would have enjoyed this movie more if I had watched it with my eyes closed. This movie deserved to die at the box office.

Rating:
Summary: One of the Best Movies Yet
Review: I have seen this movie four times in the theatre and am not sick of it yet. It is truly an amazing movie filled with great rock and roll, acting, and theme. It is a must see for anyone, but especially for classic rock fans. Led Zeppelin, the biggest and best band of the 70's is featured through out the movie quite frequently. I hope to see many Oscar nominations on the way for Cameron Crowe and his actors in Almost Famous!

Rating:
Summary: The most inspring, real film of the year....
Review: This is one of the very few recent movies that made me walk out of the theater with a smile on my face. This is quite possibly one of the most beautiful, real, well-made, and inspring films I've ever seen. This film truly shows the beauty and joy that music and the love of music is. Newcomer Patrick Fugit manages to hold center stage in the most Oscar caliber performance filled film of the year. Kate Hudson and Frances McDormand are locks to get nominated for Best Supporting Actress and I would not be surprised if one of them recieves it. Fugit, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Billy Crudup, and Jason Lee are all worthy of Oscar recognition. Every performer in this film, even the ones with smaller parts (Zooey Deneschal, Noah Taylor, Bjiou Phillips, Anna Paquin, Fairuza Balk), give the most inspired performances ever onscreen. This is a truly beautiful movie. I strongly suggest it....

Rating:
Summary: Hold Me Closer, Tiny Dancer
Review: I got lucky to see this movie once, and I am thinking about to see it twice. It's not like a moral tale as some people want to describe it, but a beautiful story about how to grow up in society. The little kid finds hipocresy, corruption, lies and fake success in a medium also filled with love and friendship. The dycotomy of life, just exactly how it is. The music is beautiful, of course, and Zep could have been less egotistical and give a few more tracks to the soundtrack. Maybe it would be a good Idea to release an "Almost Famous - Led Zeppelin Songs In The Soundtrack" album, but maybe I am dreaming too much.

If you have not seen it yet, go.

Rating:
Summary: Brillant story of the 70s
Review: Wow!! This is a great movie. You'll laugh and be close to tears. Cameron Crowe has led a fascinating life and now enjoys an exceptional career in film. This movie and the stories written about it, allow you to see that the influence of his college professor mother may have developed a base of knowledge to springboard him into a writing career. Having enjoyed Crowes' masterpieces such as "Ridgemont High" and "Jerry McGuire", I'll always watch his work and feel privileged to have experienced his autobiography.

The movie itself has exceptional casting. Crudup as the rock star was perfect. Kate Hudson as the groupie added an innocent charm that really pulled the movie together and generates the emotional response from the crowd. And the newcomer who played a young Cameron Crowe really projected a sweetness of adolesence.

There's really two overlapping parts to the movie, his life touring with rock bands which is funny and amazing, and his family's stuggles with how he and his sister handle growing up. A less gifted writer would have just told the rock story. But the family story adds a charm to the movie and makes you think to some of your interpersonal battle with loved ones.

The surprise about this movie is why more people aren't going. I went with 6 other people and to a person, everyone loved it. Their ages ranged from 47 to 24 with most in their 20's. I write this as the box office results are coming in disappointing. Don't be confused. this is a great movie and will definitely be in my video library.

You'll like this movie if you like pop or rock music, or experienced the 70s and want to go back for a second look.

Rating:
Summary: Inspiring, Interesting, Important...the praise goes on & on!
Review: This movie is very different from all the other ones playing today and recently, which is part of the reason it is so good. The actors and actresses weren't chosen because they were famous or beautiful, but because they were great actors and actresses. The plot was original, fast-paced, and exciting: a fifteen-year-old boy follows his dreams of journalism by writing a piece on Stillwater for Rolling Stones magazine in 1973. This movie does a great job of chronicling the musical scene during the 70's, as well as portraying the journalism world accurately and interestingly. The main character is very easy to identify with, and the girl he loves is charming and a great actress. There was a very touching scene with the two of them in the hotel room, as well as several other telling scenes such as on the airplane ride and at the stranger's party. This movie reveals a lot about human character and life in general, and especially about music. I highly recommend this movie to anyone, especially those interested in music and/or writing. It will remind you of your passion and how important it is to follow it no matter what the cost. A very inspiring and uncommonly good movie.

Rating:
Summary: a complete wonder, a must-see
Review: i finally saw this film alone last night and it was raining and i have a horrible cold and afterwards, i had to wait forever to be picked up, but it was all so worth it because this film is absolutely brilliant...so many tiny, subtle scenes filled with such huge emotional value gave 'almost famous' this heartwenching beauty...and i actually cared about the characters which is a rarity now with a lot of the weak new films out and wishy-washy acting...all the performances were classic and some were certainly oscar-worthy...

it's amazing that patrick fugit (william miller) did not get top casting in the credits because, at least in my mind, he was the star....i can't believe i've never seen him before. he has such an intense honesty to his face that is hardly ever seen in actors his age (and it's great to know that he is a teenager because it's so silly when a character who's 15 or 16 is played by an actor 10 years too old)...i really hope to see him in other things.

kate hudson's luminous performance brought to mind a couple of wonderful old film's heroines (audrey hepburn in 'breakfast at tiffanys'; shirley maclaine in 'the apartment'). her stunning portrayal of penny lane brought a real depth to 'almost famous'. she has a childlike quality about her and, with even just a smile or glance, she stole every scene she was in...like william miller, the audience can't help but fall in love with her.

i expected not to like frances mcdormand's part as ms. miller, but i actually did. and i felt sorry for her and the all worry she goes through with being distant from her son for so long, having "rock 'n' roll" kidnap him...and the immense conflict in her mind; on one hand, really wanting her son to be happy and do what he's talented at, but on the other, desperately wanting him home. she's very realistic as a mother and, in spite of her different way of life, always has a very strong opposition to drugs and sex. it's good that she's not the bad guy for being the worried mother and, from what i took from the film, there are no bad guys. in that sense, 'almost famous' is unbiased..

there are so many amazing pieces in 'almost famous', both funny and touching. and the cinematography is gorgeous...amongst many other great scenes, who could ever forget the bus sing along or the ethereal "deflowering"? the only shame is that there were only 5 people in the theater, myself included. everyone should watch this film. it will steal your heart and by the end return it softened with love and music inside.

Rating:
Summary: One of the best movies of the year!
Review: Almost Famous-****-Rated R-Starring Patrick Fugit, Kate Hudson, Billy Crudup, Frances McDormand- Oh what a terrific movie. Almost Famous follows the path of a 15 year-old writer for Rolling Stone as he tours with the almost famous rock band in the seventies called Stillwater. Patrick Fugit plays the writer, named Wiliam Miller. While he is with them, he meets up with Kate Hudson, a groupie with the band. He falls in love with her, even though he knows that she'll be gone soon. Stillwater is your typical rock band from the seventies: Sex, Drugs, and Rock & Roll. It is warming to see William see things for the first time in his life and just look around in awe with gleaming eyes. One of the best scenes in the movie is when William's mother (played wonderfully by Frances Mcdormand) calls one of the members of the band (played by Billy Crudup) and disciplines him and says, "You still have substance left in you. Do something with your life." Russell, (Billy Crudup) the wild drunkun guy, can only respond with "Yes, Ma'am." Almost Famous is enlightening and provocative. This is a movie that you can sit down to in a bad mood, and emerge warm and happy. The music is also terrific with Simon and Garfunkel, Led Zeppelin, Cat Stevens, The Who, Yes, and Stillwater themselves all on the soundtrack. Simon and Garfunkel's America especially sets the mood in one scene near the beginning. There is terrific acting by all and a great plot. This is a true story of the director Cameron Crowe, who also wrote this movie. Crowe was actually a young reporter for Rolling Stone when he was 15. Cameron Crowe does a terrific job of bringing his story to life on the screen. He develops the characters so well that you actually feel like you are traveling through the Rock and Roll world with William Miller. Almost Famous is funny, touching, happy, enlightening, provocotive, and great in almost every way. There won't be a better movie this year.

Rating:
Summary: Almost perfect, if not downright perfect
Review: Wow. Finally a movie that got the early seventies right. After suffering through 25 years of botched references, crummy plotting and themes that run either to the sticky-sweet or to the satanic, at last we have a film that is true to its era and will be enjoyed by the millions of people who remember it fondly--and, I hope, by millions of younger people too.

The plot is pretty straightforward. A sexually naive but musically sophisticated 15-year-old talks himself into writing an article about a (fictional) 1973 rock band called Stillwater for Rolling Stone magazine. He goes out with the band on tour and has to wrestle with keeping his journalistic integrity intact in the face of his growing affection for the band. Along the way are various plot twists and sexual hijinks that I don't want to spoil--let's just say that the film is a rollicking good time but it never seems forced--it's very true to life and in my opinion captures the wide-open mood of the late sixties/early seventies in good spirit.

All the characters are great, especially Billy Crudup as the band's lead singer and Frances McDermott as the rock-hating intellectual mother. Try, just try to find a visual anachronism. I couldn't, and I'm usually pretty good at spotting a too-new car or clothing style or song. This is a tremendous movie, extremely satisfying, and I can recommend it to anyone who qualifies for its MPAA rating.

Rating:
Summary: Music
Review: People fight, people love, but there is always the music. A young William lead the most unordinary childhood one could imagine. Lied to even about his age, he tries desparetely to latch onto something real that he can identify with. Even at his young age his sister leaves from their mother's superimposed values on them and her reckless control. William writes for his school and is eventually noticed by an editor for a local music critque which Willima views as a mentor.

It begins when William is finally noticed by Rolling Stone and is asked to go write an article about Stillwater which is an up and coming band. He soon travels with the band and their "Bandaids" which is a petty euphimism for groupies. One in paticualr catches William, a girl who calls herself Penny Lane.

The movie is fair in the sense of camera work, sound, and shot selection. One thing that this movie has that is untouchable by almost any other movie is the writing and character's power. The characters, oh the characters... not one was left uninteresting.

The band themselves are the driving force behind the story and is the reason that the group keeps going to wherever they go. The band's lead singer is the typical man who went to music for stardom, even preplans how the fans will view him. He tries to act like he doesn't care and that is what the audience adores, but he is simply faking it.

The editor of the local magazine is what William becomes through his journey and he does this the hard way. William learns what this man has learned through experience and leanrs most importantly the number one rule that he was told. "Don't think that you are their friends."

Russel, the band's guitarist is the one that is what the lead singer wants to be. He is the famous band player and truly is what everyone wants, an easy going slacker. This is what brings much tension between the band memebers, the trueness of Russel. After a long fight and pain between the band was the best scene in the movie. The music brought them back together. In a bus together they play a song and they can't help it, the music gets in them and they sing together. The music brings them together.

Russel himself doesn't know what he wants yet goes simply on instinct in his decisions and that is what gives him his power and his weakness. One of the most important things that comes of this instictual life is an affection for Penny Lane, THE bandaid. The love between Russel and Penny seems as true as could be but it was a candy coat for Russel's instict. The tour had to end and everyone has to return to their respective homes and their respective lives. One part of Russel's life is his girlfriend back home. This to even more tension due to Russel's lack of reality.

Which brings us to the most interesting character of the movie, possibly of the year. The blue jean baby, the LA lady, the seamstress for the band. Penny Lane lived for the life of the band, not the fame that naturally followed them. She loved the music, not the thousands of screaming fans. Sh wanted to live in a fairy tale, and in her own mind was. She always talked about the real world, but never wanted to go back. She was the band's tiny dancer, she wanted to marry a music man. She was the tiny dancer for all of them, she is in them and always with them from then on. If you don't know what I mean, listen to Elton John's "Tiny Dancer", this song was written for this character. The song made a cameo but should have been a theme.

This was a powerful story about love, pain, but importantly life. Life in its rawest form from everyone's view.

Sorry, we have ANOTHER movie of the year now, "The way of the gun" moves down.