Hard Core Logo

This is easily all around one of the best Canadian films ever

made. Yes it is a mockumentary, yes it is follows around a rock band

(rockumentary) but for every other reason this really should not be

compared to Spinal Tap. It really isn't a comedy, although it has some great moments in it.

It's also not about a band "struggling with fame" which is what

EVERY OTHER rock movie is about (Almost Famous, That Thing

You Do, Spinal Tap, The Doors, you name it). Just four guys

holding on to a dream that should have faded years ago, all the

while trying not to kill each other. I always knew Hugh Dillon was really the lead singer for the

Headstones, so I realized it wasn't really a documentary but

thought Hard Core Logo the band might still have existed and this

was a tribute. Not the case, but that takes nothing away from the

movie. They say not to watch this movie if you're in a band because it'll

make you never want to play. At the same time, I think anyone who

has been in a band will appreciate it that much more picturing how

their little arguments would be amplified to 10 years later. It's an

overall great gut check to picture just ow much you love playing

music, especially if noone wants to listen.

I have enjoyed Bruce McDonald's previous road movies 'Roadkill' and 'Highway 61', both of which I recommend. 'Hard Core Logo' is another winner. I do feel that it has been incorrectly marketed as a punk Spinal Tap, which may disappoint first time viewers expecting something different. The movie shares a similar vague concept of a "rockumentary", but that's about it. 'This Is Spinal Tap' as much as I love it, was a bunch of comic scenes strung together and not much else. 'Hard Core Logo', while it has plenty of laughs, has much more ambition, and is ultimately a much more serious movie. The unexpected ending, which I won't spoil, takes it to a much different level.

So leave your preconceptions at the door, sit back and experience this superbly acted rock'n'roll morality tale(?) One of the best music related movies in YEARS!

Someone once asked me if I were stranded on a desert island and could only watch one movie for the rest of my life, what would it be? Without question, it would be this mockumentary gem from The Great White North. Cheers to all those involved: to Hugh, Callum, John, Bernie, and Julian, whose performances are all top-notch; to Noel and Michael, whose writing exemplify true Canadian talent and spirit; and to Bruce, who brought it all together beautifully. If you haven't seen this movie, FIND IT. You'll laugh, you'll cry, it'll move you.

Let's get it over with right from the beginning: the only thing that "This Is Spinal Tap!" and "Hard Core Logo" have in common is the documentary set up. While Spinal Tap was a comedy that - as the name of the genre "mockumentary" suggests - mocked the heavy metal scene, "Hard Core Logo" is a character study that takes an honest look at a band and life on the road. Actually, the whole framework is rather unnecessary in this movie as it serves no real purpose and characters didn't act like they were in front of a camera (unlike say "The Office", where people behaved as if they were aware of being filmed). Besides, the pictures are shot too beautifully anyway for this to feel like a real documentary. That's not to say "Hard Core Logo" isn't realistic, though. The movie gives us a quite real impression of being in a punk band, caught between different agendas, personalities, power struggles and the sheer need to survive. This is why, apart from a few moments that will make you chuckle, "Hard Core Logo" isn't really trying to be funny, either. Just like real life the tragic moments outweigh the comedic ones by far. The acting is great and the soundtrack is accurate, two very important things to make a movie about punk rock work. Apart from maybe the drummer the band members aren't over-subscribed and you can really see guys like Joe Dick or Billy Talent playing in actual bands (guess what, Hugh Dillon actually was the singer of his own band, The Headstones). "Hard Core Logo" works on every level and is very entertaining to watch, too. There are quite a few details in the story hinted at rather subtly, which you're probably not going to get the first time around, so a second or third viewing is recommended.

This is a dramatic comedy, and more than any other type of dramatic comedies, it''s dark and very real. Though there are quite a few jokes, many inside jokes, it melts into the tension of the four guys like a fast gliding bird would melt into a brick wall in a cartoon. Worthy to be a classic. Hugh Dillon is a great actor and has perfect chemistry with Callum Keith Rennie.