I was put off from seeing this for so long because of the negative reviews I'd read of it. Turns out, the movie is actually pretty good (at least I thought so). I think the shortcomings the reviewers were referring to have more to do with the movie being based on Cherie Currie's Neon Angel novel than anything else, thus the focus on Cherie and Joan Jett over the other members of the band. That said, during the update at the end it seemed downright cruel to leave out the others. The only ones mentioned were Jett, Currie and manager Kim Fowley. Even though I kept up with The Runaways back in the 70s thanks to frequent coverage in the likes of Circus and Creem it wasn't until years later that I actually heard any of their music. In fact, I don't recall them getting any airplay in my area. Of course, when Joan Jett's solo career took off, "I Love Rock n' Roll" was nearly inescapable back in the early 80s so I'm much more familiar with her work than I am with anything by The Runaways. That said, my unfamiliarity with their work didn't get in the way of enjoying the movie at all. So many movies about rock n' roll tend to get it all wrong but that isn't the case at all here. Kirsten Stewart's portrayal of Joan Jett is uncanny. Dakota Fanning also does an excellent job of playing Cherie Currie but it's Stewart that steals the show.
It was a shame that they didn't tell about the rest of the band...Lita Ford is still rocking:
Sandy West, the drummer, died in 2006 from lung cancer that spread to her brain:
I liked the movie because I grew up in Southern CA in the 70's and Whiskey a GO GO was the happening spot.
I even did my hair that "white blonde" in my senior year like Cherie's...oh those were the days....
Re: Last Film Watched?
Posted: June 13, 2011 5:29 pm
by Tiki Torches
BahamaBreeze wrote:
Tiki Torches wrote:
I was put off from seeing this for so long because of the negative reviews I'd read of it. Turns out, the movie is actually pretty good (at least I thought so). I think the shortcomings the reviewers were referring to have more to do with the movie being based on Cherie Currie's Neon Angel novel than anything else, thus the focus on Cherie and Joan Jett over the other members of the band. That said, during the update at the end it seemed downright cruel to leave out the others. The only ones mentioned were Jett, Currie and manager Kim Fowley. Even though I kept up with The Runaways back in the 70s thanks to frequent coverage in the likes of Circus and Creem it wasn't until years later that I actually heard any of their music. In fact, I don't recall them getting any airplay in my area. Of course, when Joan Jett's solo career took off, "I Love Rock n' Roll" was nearly inescapable back in the early 80s so I'm much more familiar with her work than I am with anything by The Runaways. That said, my unfamiliarity with their work didn't get in the way of enjoying the movie at all. So many movies about rock n' roll tend to get it all wrong but that isn't the case at all here. Kirsten Stewart's portrayal of Joan Jett is uncanny. Dakota Fanning also does an excellent job of playing Cherie Currie but it's Stewart that steals the show.
It was a shame that they didn't tell about the rest of the band...Lita Ford is still rocking:
Sandy West, the drummer, died in 2006 from lung cancer that spread to her brain:
I liked the movie because I grew up in Southern CA in the 70's and Whiskey a GO GO was the happening spot.
I even did my hair that "white blonde" in my senior year like Cherie's...oh those were the days....
Yeah, I'd read about Sandy West and figured that she (as well as the other band members) would be included in the update at the end of the movie. I get that the focus of the movie was on Joan Jett and Cherie Currie because of Cherie's book but it seemed more like a FU to the other members than anything else. They also just chose one character to play the bass player when in reality, they went through several. One of them (I forget who now) even refused to cooperate in the making of the movie. In my research I also discovered this documentary about the Runaways that came out in 2004 which someone has uploaded to YouTube. I've been told it goes into much more detail than The Runaways but on the downside, Joan didn't participate in it.
Re: Last Film Watched?
Posted: June 13, 2011 5:59 pm
by JollyMon66
Joe Dirt last night
Re: Last Film Watched?
Posted: June 13, 2011 5:59 pm
by BahamaBreeze
Tiki Torches wrote:
BahamaBreeze wrote:
Tiki Torches wrote:
I was put off from seeing this for so long because of the negative reviews I'd read of it. Turns out, the movie is actually pretty good (at least I thought so). I think the shortcomings the reviewers were referring to have more to do with the movie being based on Cherie Currie's Neon Angel novel than anything else, thus the focus on Cherie and Joan Jett over the other members of the band. That said, during the update at the end it seemed downright cruel to leave out the others. The only ones mentioned were Jett, Currie and manager Kim Fowley. Even though I kept up with The Runaways back in the 70s thanks to frequent coverage in the likes of Circus and Creem it wasn't until years later that I actually heard any of their music. In fact, I don't recall them getting any airplay in my area. Of course, when Joan Jett's solo career took off, "I Love Rock n' Roll" was nearly inescapable back in the early 80s so I'm much more familiar with her work than I am with anything by The Runaways. That said, my unfamiliarity with their work didn't get in the way of enjoying the movie at all. So many movies about rock n' roll tend to get it all wrong but that isn't the case at all here. Kirsten Stewart's portrayal of Joan Jett is uncanny. Dakota Fanning also does an excellent job of playing Cherie Currie but it's Stewart that steals the show.
It was a shame that they didn't tell about the rest of the band...Lita Ford is still rocking:
Sandy West, the drummer, died in 2006 from lung cancer that spread to her brain:
I liked the movie because I grew up in Southern CA in the 70's and Whiskey a GO GO was the happening spot.
I even did my hair that "white blonde" in my senior year like Cherie's...oh those were the days....
Yeah, I'd read about Sandy West and figured that she (as well as the other band members) would be included in the update at the end of the movie. I get that the focus of the movie was on Joan Jett and Cherie Currie because of Cherie's book but it seemed more like a FU to the other members than anything else. They also just chose one character to play the bass player when in reality, they went through several. One of them (I forget who now) even refused to cooperate in the making of the movie. In my research I also discovered this documentary about the Runaways that came out in 2004 which someone has uploaded to YouTube. I've been told it goes into much more detail than The Runaways but on the downside, Joan didn't participate in it.
A Film About the Runaways is a documentary directed by Victory Tischler-Blue (who, as Vicki Blue, played bass with the group) which deals with the ups and downs of the band's career. A number of the group's better known songs do not appear in Edgeplay, due to the fact that Joan Jett refused to cooperate with the making of the film or allow her songs to be used on the soundtrack.
There was talk about Cherie and Joan doing a limited tour last year, this year, but I haven't heard anything more about it. I have seen a few YouTube videos of Cherie and she is still rocking, maybe even BETTER than she did in the 70's.
Re: Last Film Watched?
Posted: June 13, 2011 6:18 pm
by BahamaBreeze
JollyMon66 wrote:Joe Dirt last night
Did you make it to the end?
Re: Last Film Watched?
Posted: June 13, 2011 6:48 pm
by Big Green PH
Rock 'n' Rolla. it was kind of like all the other Guy Ritchie films that I have fallen alseep during, curled up next to a bottle of rum
Re: Last Film Watched?
Posted: June 13, 2011 6:59 pm
by pbans
"It's Complicated"
More like...."It's Mediocre"
Re: Last Film Watched?
Posted: June 13, 2011 9:20 pm
by Wino you know
Last night (actually, 1:00 AM this morning) at home.
Re: Last Film Watched?
Posted: June 13, 2011 10:06 pm
by sonofabeach
Surprisingly good. The effects would have been great at the theater in 3D.
Re: Last Film Watched?
Posted: June 14, 2011 4:06 am
by Parrothead27330
Pretty Good. Hoped for a little more comedy in it. Robert Duvall, Bill Murray are great as usual
Re: Last Film Watched?
Posted: June 14, 2011 10:27 am
by Lightning Bolt
Parrothead27330 wrote:
Pretty Good. Hoped for a little more comedy in it. Robert Duvall, Bill Murray are great as usual
Definitely a quiet gem of a film, the comedy is more of a knowing nod kind of smile.
Duvall was on the edge of an Oscar nomination for Felix Bush... a great character!
Re: Last Film Watched?
Posted: June 14, 2011 3:33 pm
by sonofabeach
We just watched Battle: Los Angeles and loved it. We should have seen it on the big screen but never got around to it. The Blu Ray came with a demo for the upcoming PS3 game Resistance 3 and my son has been playng it over and over today.
50 kajillion times better than Skyline which is what I judge all crap movies by.
Re: Last Film Watched?
Posted: June 14, 2011 10:32 pm
by sonofabeach
We just got back from Super 8. To me the first hour was rather boring, especially when compared to other movies I've recently seen.
The ending was kinda lame and it did not live up to the hype for me. Wait for the dvd.
Re: Last Film Watched?
Posted: June 14, 2011 11:04 pm
by buffettbride
In the spirit of hockey season, The Mighty Ducks.
Re: Last Film Watched?
Posted: June 15, 2011 5:13 am
by Parrothead27330
sonofabeach wrote:We just got back from Super 8. To me the first hour was rather boring, especially when compared to other movies I've recently seen.
The ending was kinda lame and it did not live up to the hype for me. Wait for the dvd.
Dangit! Thought this would be a good one.
Re: Last Film Watched?
Posted: June 15, 2011 5:15 am
by Parrothead27330
Only took a couple years to get around to watching.
Re: Last Film Watched?
Posted: June 15, 2011 8:59 am
by sonofabeach
Parrothead27330 wrote:
sonofabeach wrote:We just got back from Super 8. To me the first hour was rather boring, especially when compared to other movies I've recently seen.
The ending was kinda lame and it did not live up to the hype for me. Wait for the dvd.
Dangit! Thought this would be a good one.
It was good but we've just being seeing so movies lately and this is probably me & my wife's least favorite of them. My son loved it.
Re: Last Film Watched?
Posted: June 15, 2011 11:21 am
by maid memories
sonofabeach wrote:
Parrothead27330 wrote:
sonofabeach wrote:We just got back from Super 8. To me the first hour was rather boring, especially when compared to other movies I've recently seen.
The ending was kinda lame and it did not live up to the hype for me. Wait for the dvd.
Dangit! Thought this would be a good one.
It was good but we've just being seeing so movies lately and this is probably me & my wife's least favorite of them. My son loved it.
It had more of a Goonies/ET vibe than Aliens, but it was a hybrid of all three. I still enjoyed it.
Re: Last Film Watched?
Posted: June 15, 2011 11:58 am
by sonofabeach
maid memories wrote:
sonofabeach wrote:
Parrothead27330 wrote:
sonofabeach wrote:We just got back from Super 8. To me the first hour was rather boring, especially when compared to other movies I've recently seen.
The ending was kinda lame and it did not live up to the hype for me. Wait for the dvd.
Dangit! Thought this would be a good one.
It was good but we've just being seeing so movies lately and this is probably me & my wife's least favorite of them. My son loved it.
It had more of a Goonies/ET vibe than Aliens, but it was a hybrid of all three. I still enjoyed it.
Goonies meets Cloverfield. The film maker kid did kinda remind me of Chunk...lol
Re: Last Film Watched?
Posted: June 15, 2011 12:03 pm
by Tiki Torches
I trust the opinions of friends but sometimes you just have to see a movie for yourself since we all have different likes and dislikes. I've seen some of the professional reviews, heard JJ Abrams on Fresh Air, etc. so my interest is piqued.
Saw this last night and thought it was pretty bad. The special effects and action sequences were in the pocket but some of the situations and dialogue just didn't fit. I realize it's hard to be realistic given the premise of the movie and a huge part of it is the suspension of disbelief but some scenes were laugh out loud bad and not in a good way.
