TheDome81

Let me come right out and say it: I'm a life-long Detroiter and alway go out of my way to see any movie that has anything remotely tied to this fair city. So this one went right into my viewing queue. And it did not disappoint.

The film takes place in the late 90s, at the hight of the garage band era. Now you have to remember, Detroit is one great music town. Whether it's jazz, or good ol' rock and roll. The whole punk movement was started by our very own MC5! But I digress.

The main theme is about two rival groups, Hot Freaks and Bull Roar. The two bands have a heated rivalry as they both head down to South by Southwest to perform. It's a fun roadtrip/buddy flick with plenty of amusing encounters along the way. And the drummer's dad, who has his share of medical problems, is along for the ride.

I really enjoyed the film from beginning to end. I thought the acting and storyline were both great. I especially like the fact that the drummer was in advertising. I'm a former copywriter myself and could relate to his encounters at work. I would have loved to have told my employers to "Shove it!" like he did. But alas, I had to put bread on the table.

Anyway, if you looking for a fresh take on the road trip genre, be sure to check out this fine flick!

--MovieJunkieMark.

Let me say right off, the movie wasn't bad. But when I see all the 9 and 10 star reviews, I get suspicious. Then I look who did the reviews and I find that almost all of them are from people who have only reviewed exactly one movie. Could they possibly be friends and family of the actors or the film crew? Ya think?

Anyway, the film is rated on IMDb as a 7.3. Heck, "Gone with the Wind" and "Lawrence of Arabia" only got an 8.3! Come on folks!

So the movie wasn't bad. Unfortunately, it had a hard time figuring out just what it wanted to be. There were about three different stories going on at the same time. And none of them really got resolved in the end. It seemed to get lost.

The acting and the writing weren't half bad. Except the lead actor, Corb Lund spent about 2/3rds of the movie staring at the ground with his hand over his eyes. Overall, it was an okay film. It seemed a bit long to me. They could have easily cut 20 minutes or so out of it.

--MovieJunkieMark.

Not sure exactly what to make of this little film. It was funny in parts and it was depressing in parts. But I guess overall, it was fairly entertaining. The story is about a young jazz guitarist who changes his name when he was in high school to Jazzen. Because he's a total jazz nut. He's devoted to the genre, especially the fusion side of jazz. He worships artists like Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock.

He wakes up one day from a dream that foretells him that he has a month to live. That's when his life starts to unravel. His band gets together for a recording session. At first, things go okay. But then he gets it into his head that he wants to go where no jazz musician has gone before. In other words, totally unlistenable avant garde Ornette Coleman-type jazz. He starts to have a nervous breakdown. He gives crazy directions to his bandmates that are off the wall. He wants to make the most avant garde album ever.

It's sort of funny, but sort of sad as well. He keeps spinning further and further out of control and out of his mind. That's all I'll say about this little indie flick.

==MovieJunkieMark.