Friday 15 June 2012

This week's heat film reviews - Rock Of Ages, Cosmopolis and Fast Girls


This week the heat team grabbed their popcorn and Minstrels and headed to the pictures to watch the three biggest releases in Moviesville this week - Rock Of Ages; starring Tom Cruise and Russell Brand, Cosmopolis; starring Robert Pattinson and Fast Girls; starring Lenora Crichlow.

Here's what we thought:

Rock Of Ages
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Rock Of Ages

Starring: Julianne Hough, Diego Boneta, Tom Cruise, Alec Baldwin, Russell Brand
Director: Adam Shankman (CERT 12A, 123 minutes)

The plot: Movie adaptations of stage musicals have been hit (Chicago) and miss (Rent), but the biggest ever (Mamma Mia!) is a so-called “jukebox” musical, where a storyline is concocted to link already-popular songs. Which augurs well for Rock Of Ages, containing hits from ’80s hair-metal acts such as Journey, Def Leppard and Bon Jovi. Smalltown girl Sherrie (Hough) arrives in LA with big dreams and lands a waitress gig at rock club The Bourbon Bar, thanks to the friendship of fellow aspiring singer Drew (Boneta). Meanwhile, Bourbon owner Dennis (Baldwin) and duty manager Lonnie (Brand) are anticipating a big payday with a show by bonkers rocker Stacee Jaxx (Cruise).

What’s right with it? Hairspray director Adam Shankman has never worried too much about cool cachet – he just wants everyone to have a good time. This defiantly cheesy adaptation of the hit stage musical piles on the clichés and shoehorns in the hits as it hurtles to its giddy, feel-good climax. Cruise goes for broke as shirt-allergic Stacee; Baldwin and Brand bring the house down when they just Can’t Fight This Feeling; and the central duo of Hough and Boneta are rootably sweet.

What’s wrong with it? The numerous subplots – such as Catherine Zeta-Jones as a politician’s wife trying to shut down the Bourbon, and Rolling Stone hack Malin Akerman losing her bearings when she falls for Jaxx – may work fine onstage, but on film they lack a certain focus.

Verdict: As an alternative to this summer’s aliens and superheroes, Rock Of Ages is a big, silly, grin-inducing treat. 4/5 @charlesgant

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