Spike Island

I didn't watch this movie for the Stone Roses reference, The Stone Roses are of no particular interest of mine, I have nothing against them it's just the music simply isn't my scene.

Having read reviews on here after watching this movie, I seemed to rate it more than many others and the factor which I believed allowed me to enjoy it more, was ironically, my non-existing interest in The Stone Roses. If you went into this movie solely on the basis that it is marketed with the Stone Roses i believe you would be disappointed. Spike Island is a run of the mill, coming of age, British indie flick. It's a very familiar story, Five lads from Manchester who are all in their last year of school travel to Spike Island in hope of watching the Stone Roses in concert. The usual story of falling outs, romance, friendship, loyalty and most of all growing up are covered in this movie. The Stone Roses are really a back story, a focal point of their interests but it is not relevant in the story or character development. The acting is good, but the characters lack any real substance. They all seem very clichéd and predictable, the manc accent is also overdone at times, we get that you're from Manchester, its based around the Stone Roses!

Overall Spike Island is a feel good, entertaining watch with good acting and a pleasant if not clichéd, storyline.

7/10

This film is set in England in 1990 and is about a group of friends in a band who desperately want to go to a Stone Roses concert and hand them a demo tape.

The first hour of the film offers very little, although the main character is struggling with his father dying. There seems to just be a bunch of hooligans running around having fun while waiting on a scalper to supply the concert tickets. Once the group actually get to the concert, the film picks up, but is almost over by that point.

The film is worth a watch if you are a Stone Roses fan (I am), an Emilia Clarke fan ( I am) or if you grew up in England in the early nineties ( I did not).

The UK is good at this...creating great cinema. Some of the drivel Hollywood is churning out at the moment (constant re-boots because they have frankly run out of ideas), makes you realise how good the UK film industry is at this game. I enjoyed this film immensely. One reason- I remember the time and music-I was 25 when this film was set, and I remember the big furore around The Stone Roses. I didn't fall for it myself at the time. I was (and still am) a big fan of New Order, and they for me were the greatest Manchester band, but fair play to the fans of the Roses, everyone likes different things. The film is a bright, very watchable, and at times funny experience, each character played very well. The film doesn't always follow the rules of predictability-I won't spoil it, but certain aspects could have turned out differently, but the writers didn't go down that route, and I found it better for it. All in all, if you like The Stone Roses it's a no brainer-see this film. Music fan? See this film. Great soundtrack too. 8/10.

'Spike Island' is clearly a labour of love: love for the '90s, for Manchester, and for the Stone Roses. These are loves which I share with the filmmakers. However, I have a feeling that this is what carried me through a great portion of the film. From the outset the cinematography is slick and fun, the cast are likable and solid, and it goes without saying that the Roses soundtrack elevates the film whenever it is utilised. The major downfall of the film is the script.

It's not terrible by any means, and is wonderfully funny and charming throughout. Unfortunately, it feels like a first draft for what could have been an excellent final film. It suffers from trying to cram in too much, which ultimately has the opposite effect and leaves the viewer feeling like we haven't really covered anything. All of the characters, even the protagonist, are extremely thinly sketched, each with different a Coming-of-Age cliché stuck to them in place of actual character development. The setting has been painstakingly reconstructed, and in a sense the aforementioned scantiness leaves us with an impressionistic, unfocused but very accurate glimpse of the time and place. Which is nice, but cannot sustain an entire feature film.

A major plotting fumble which could have been corrected in a redraft is that it drags on for far too long after the actual gig has taken place. This is the focus and the high point of the film. Afterwards it just feels like a slow decline in which you can't see the bottom, as the film wraps up the myriad plot strands which it never successfully committed us to in the first place.

The adulation also gets a little cringey at times, even for a film which was made with the purpose of adulation: lines like 'I feel like they made the record just for me.' 'Don't be daft, they made it just for me.' really could have been rewritten. I don't often roll my eyes to Stone Roses praise.

I've focused a little more on the negatives of the film than I wanted to, because after a single viewing those unfortunate flaws are what have left the biggest impression. The overall experience was positive, though. The timing of the release couldn't have been better. I'm glad the film was made, and I'm glad that I saw it. At the premiere, no less, where there was a lot of goodwill and anticipation from everyone, myself included. It's just a shame that I couldn't love it as much as I wanted to.

Drama, music. Fate itself prompted me to watch this movie, I was especially interested in the reviews - only three in Russian (two in Kinopoisk, one in Yandex), on IMDb - nineteen from the audience and thirty-one from critics. And I thought - why not look, the more Emilia Clarke starred here. I tried it - and did not at all regret the time spent. Until now, I am moving away from the pleasant impression that this picture had on me, but for now let me tell you my brief opinion - British cinema about musicians of the nineties. As in any picture, there are pluses that were pleasant, and cons that were a little annoying when viewing. Therefore, I intend to dwell on them in more detail and convey to you those thoughts and what I experienced. The preface turned out to be very short this time, so pour a cup of tea, sit back - go! So, the pros: 1. Musical atmosphere - one of the reasons for my interest in this picture was that I almost never watched pictures about musicians, and I even successfully missed the recent "Bohemian Raspoda", which, by the way, I do not regret, so viewing this picture became for me new experience in the movie - and it was great! The picture about the musicians of the early nineties is saturated with music a little more than completely. The film contains songs by the mega-popular (at that time) British band "The Stone Roses", the concert of which our heroes rush to the island of Spike Island. I liked the music, and all the musicians of The Stone Roses, and the characters of the picture, and the usual clockwork tracks. I conclude that I like paintings of a similar genre, and I will continue to watch them. If you can recommend something like that - welcome in the comments. 2. Youth style - the picture was created for youth, with its eternal problems of finding oneself, impudent and defiant behavior, problems in the family, misunderstanding, ambitions, naive dreams, craving for the forbidden. The target audience will definitely like the picture, as for the rest - is debatable. Personally, I haven't seen such youth films for a long time, the last thing I remember is the "Road Trip"of 2000, but now I won't watch this movie. 3. History - the picture tells us about a group of musician friends called "Shadow Caster", whose idols are "The Stone Roses". The guys commit bold acts and dream of getting to the concert of their idols in Spike Island, but as always, various difficulties arise. And if at first, the story seemed boring to me, where you shouldn't wait for anything interesting, then in the middle I noticed that I was starting to closely monitor what was happening, and closer to the final it was impossible to tear me from the screen. And the finale - so it turned out to be vital, as if someone did not relate to it. Well, the romantic line harmoniously screwed. This is not the best story told, but I liked it! 4. Dramatic moments - drama was added to the picture, and very strong, which will definitely cause an emotional response from the viewer. Actors at these moments really tried. There's nothing to complain about. And for those particularly impressionable, these moments can survive a tear, or even more than one! So cons: 1. Drugs, foul language and so on - since the picture is youth, then the language of communication among the heroes is the same. Here and there, and sometimes through the word slanderous words slip. Heroes use drugs, all of this is here, and not everyone can like it. Yes, this is due to the context, but when viewing the amount of it all was very annoying. And yet - the creators of the picture were clearly inspired by the works of Guy Ritchie, because the style, dynamic installation and some moments damn much resemble his early paintings. This is not a minus, but rather an emphasis on fact. Is it bad - no! Did it interfere with perception? A little about the main characters: 1. Tits performed by Elliott Tittensor is the charismatic leader of Shadow Caster, a young man at a crossroads whose dream inspires others. A born leader with a head on his shoulders. The song in his performance is a hymn to the generation of the nineties, and how many feelings! And what simple, but at the same time strong words! You have to listen to it yourself to feel it! Elliot did a great job with this role. He didn't even play - he lived as his hero! Well done! 2. Dodge performed by Nico Mirallegro - the most responsible member of "Shadow Caster" and a certain antithesis of Tits - a little reserved, timid, which, nevertheless, is the mainstay of the group and a talented musician. Those tests through which the Dodge passes are well known to me. We, creative people, sometimes need strong trials, because the emotions that they awaken can inspire us to create something new, extremely strong, which will go through the most callous holes and get into the heart. Niko is great! 3. Sally performed by Emilia Clark - a classmate of the band members, a young, romantic girl who loves music. Emilia, besides all the reasons, you were the one for which I looked at this picture, I decided to appreciate the acting. My findings are Amy! You know how to play when you want! Your pretty and romantic Sally turned out as it should. The image is classic and always working. I love your heroine Kate from "Last Christmas", and your Louise from "Me Before You", and your Sally from this picture - was a great addition to your piggy bank! Bravo! Good girl! Well done! Well, the conclusions that the picture brings are very instructive and truthful, although we have already seen it thousands and thousands of times, and we will see more than once, as long as there is a movie in the world! As a result, we have a drama about young, daring and talented musicians, whom fate leads to a mega-cool event, with excellent and atmospheric music, excellent acting, sunny Emilia Clark and with tearful dramatic moments. My rating is 7 out of 10 and my recommendation for viewing!