Rating: Summary: What's not to like? Review: I watched this movie the other night, and since then I've been trying to figure out why the critics disliked it so much. I think maybe they were expecting a meaningful rock & roll film like "Almost Famous," which "Rock Star" definitely is not. As the Amazon reviewer says, it's a popcorn flick, but (unlike standard Julia Roberts/Meg Ryan fare) a good one. It's much funnier and more intelligent than I expected, moves quickly, and has some good songs (you should enjoy them well enough even if you're not a metalhead--which I'm not). Marky Mark--sorry, Mark Wahlberg--gives a great performance and lip-synchs convincingly. I'm not sure if the movie gets all the heavy metal details right, and Jennifer Aniston's performance could have been gutsier (she plays the same "nice girl" in every movie), but on the whole, this is a fun, entertaining movie that both men and women should enjoy.
Rating: Summary: Angry Inch Review: pathetic movie.When will Hollywood get that Mark Whalberg CANNOT carry a movie, especially when the script is bad.
Rating: Summary: I knew these guys in college.... Review: Mark Walhberg plays Chris Cole, the lead singer for a "tribute band" honoring that mega-band, Steel Dragon. Cole has immersed himself in the life of their lead singer and goes so far as getting piercings from his girlfriend/manager Emily Poule, Jennifer Anniston, to emulate Steel Dragon's lead singer. Chris' lowest day comes when his band rebels and kicks him out. They are more interested in performing their own music and he wants to continue honoring Steel Dragon. Why would he want to take a chance on his own music when he knows this hard pounding rock is the best? His highest day comes when he gets a phone call from Steel Dragon's lead guitarist. It seems that some groupies who were currently "partying" with the guitarist had made a tape of one of Chris' performances. This just happened to coincide with Steel Dragon dumping their lead singer. Before he can fully process it, Chris and Emily have flown to the audition, and now he finds himself as the lead singer of his favorite band. After a shaky start, Chris fully establishes himself as their lead singer and his dream is fulfilled. That is until Emily moves off on her own. Chris drowns his sorrow in a full tilt dose of "sex, drugs, and rock and roll" living the life of every aspiring heavy metal singer and only slowly begins to realize the ironies of living your dream. If the sound of screaming guitars, power chords, synthesizers, and vocals doing things the human voice wasn't meant to do, frequently come from your cd player...this movie is for you. If you remember fondly the big hair of the 80s, the leather and spandex clad musicians, and the term "GlamRock"...this movie is for you. I thoroughly enjoyed this one as did, much to her surprise, my wife. Walhberg looks like a kid in a candy store when he is up singing with the band and as an actor, he continues to get better and better. Don't stop watching when the credits role either. Walhberg is talking at one point during the credits and "Marky Mark" bursts forth from the depths for a brief bit that is hysterical. Jennifer Aniston actually did a decent job in this oneplaying someone other than "Rachel". The music was what really drove the movie. I'm not necessarily talking about the actual performance but the pursuit of music. It was evident in Cole's heart that is what truly mattered to him and he was really only alive when on the stage. The actual performance was fun. I know many of the 80s Rock Icons are on the sound track as is "Steel Dragon". I haven't decided yet if this will be part of the collection but I am strongly leaning towards buying the soundtrack.
Rating: Summary: LIVIN THE LIFE I WAS BORN TO LIVE! Review: This is a rockin movie! Mark Wahlberg looked so sexy with those leather pants and jacket of Steel Dragon. The movie is about a man who idolizes Steel Dragon-his own band kicks him out of their group and he gets to sing with Steel Dragon! Soon hes living the rock star life:trashing motel rooms-getting wasted and getting laid. Mark Wahlberg has to be my favorite actor! His performances is good in everything he is in-even the perfect storm-another movie that I love! I thought that Jennifer Aniston was a waste,it seemed that all she did was whine. I hate her. I would recommend this movie to anyone who likes rock and roll-or just Wahlberg. LONG LIVE ROCK & ROLL!
Rating: Summary: Actually, captures '80s big hair metal fairly well... Review: I'd read a couple of reviews of this movie, which praised Mark Wahlberg, but panned Jennifer Anniston. I watched it one (very rare) cloudy afternoon and thoroughly enjoyed it. It was good enough so that when my wife came home that night and watched it, I watched it again and STILL liked it. OK, as rock movies go, this isn't the greatest one of all time. I think Cameron Crowe's "Almost Famous" captured the essence of the early '70s rock scene than this did of the '80s, but this movie did a credible job, especially the musical score. Ratt? Ted Nugent? What a hoot! The story's a male rock fan Cinderella story, when the lead singer of a heavy metal "tribute" band that does "Steel Dragons" covers gets hired to replace the former lead singer of the band, whose departure really isn't handled with much finesse. Jennifer Anniston is kind of one-dimensional, but Mark Wahlberg gets into his role as the young man given a chance to live the rock 'n' roll star's fantasy life. Naturally, the machine that is the music industry wears him down and he walks away and finds his way back to Anniston, who conveniently had moved from the boondocks to Seattle to open a coffee shop in Seattle (how cliche!) in the late '80s and early '90s. Wahlberg's character ends up seeking his musical muse in Seattle and, well, you put the flannel and the emergence of grunge together and the oh-so-perfect timing of Wahlberg's character seeking a "new vision" musically in Seattle in the early '90s... Yeah, so the end is kind of corny. Still, this isn't a bad way to kill 106 minutes. Most of all, after Perfect Storm, Three Angels, and other great roles, this confirms that Marky Mark is truly now Mark Wahlberg, actor. And he's quite good and has a lot of range. It'll be fun to watch his career develop...
Rating: Summary: Enjoyable and funny film Review: This film is really enjoyable and funny. I wish it were available here in my country too. My musical taste is quite wide, from the music earlier performed by the main role actor of this film to the music on the soundtrack of this, even if these styles differ from each other strongly. Many songs on the soundtrack of this film have relations to some dates in my personal history too. And Mark Wahlberg really is the man for this film, even if his original musical style differed from the music performed in this film.
Rating: Summary: Real 80s Rockers Make It Work Review: I missed this one at the theater, but bought it on DVD. Sound is excellent. The Steel Dragon tunes are awesome and in my opinion make the movie work. Stephen Herek and crew did a great job putting together Jason Bonham, Jeff Pilson, and Zakk Wylde on percussion, bass, and guitar (respectively) along with vocalists Jeff Scott Soto and Mike Matijevik to form an actual band. STEEL DRAGON would make a great 80s style rock band and these talented musicians make the songs work. I have already ordered the soundtrack. If you enjoyed the "larger than life" concert productions of 80s style bands with melodic and driving tunes, you will enjoy the movie and soundtrack of Rock Star. Oh yea, Mark Wahlberg does a fine job along with the other actors holding down the plot of the movie which showcases humor and melodrama mixed with the wild "lifestyle" of many major rock bands. Still, the music makes the movie and the concert scenes are the most powerful. I give it five stars for the music.
Rating: Summary: A dissatisfying film Review: I find Rock Star to be disappointing. It centers around the '80s hard rock music scene. Chris Cole--played by Mark Wahlberg--has a day job that consists of fixing photocopiers. At night, he is a vocalist for a tribute band, Blood Pollution, that performs songs by the popular group Steel Dragon. Subsequently, he is contacted by Steel Dragon, does the audition, and becomes their new singer. The first hour of Rock Star shows promise but becomes tedious afterwards. The flaws are a thin plot and cardboard cutout characters. While the acting from the cast is not bad, the problem lies with their characters not being fleshed out enough. The facets I like are the music, cinematography, and concert scenes. Even though Rock Star sports good aspects, it is not a solid movie. Rock Star is 106 minutes. I actually give it 2.5 stars.
Rating: Summary: This flick needs Viagra Review: Don't waste your time with this one...The "dramatic" scenes of band members arguing are laughable. I was an 80's big-hair rock fan, and I still didn't like the movie. Marky Mark once again shows his one-dimensional acting prowess (did his facial expression EVER change in Planet of the Apes?). Rent "This is Spinal Tap" instead.
Rating: Summary: Fun but lacks emotional core Review: Based loosely on the true story of Tim "Ripper" Owens, an office-equipment salesman from Ohio who was chosen to fill the empty spot left by Rob Halford when he quit Judas Priest, Rock Star is an energetic but shallow morality tale about a fast ascent to rock stardom during the onslaught of 80's buttrock. The movie asks an interesting question about the legitimacy of building one's fantasy life around someone else's actual life, but it never delves too deeply into the cultural quagmire it mines for its story. Instead, it is more than content to follow a carefully prescribed course that tracks Chris's rise and fall as a rock superstar. A large part of the story involves the effects of Chris's new life on his girlfriend and manager, Emily (Jennifer Aniston). I'm sure you can guess what happens.....And while Rock Star is hardly as insightful as either Almost Famous or Oliver Stone's tribute to The Door's, the look and sound of the movie is accurately obnoxious, with the ranks of the film being populated by veterans of Ozzy Osbourne’s band, Dokken and Bonham. The film certainly know's how to have a good time. Indeed, that the film wasn't afraid to include a snippet of the Seattle scene that would usher in the pop-culture wasteland of the 90's demonstrates its unaffected charm.
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