Vinyl

Not sure what the last review was about, obviously saw a different film to me. I saw this at the Raindance Film Festival and loved it. A crowd pleaser that was great fun. Almost plays like a continuation of Quadrophenia, see Phil Daniels 30 years on. The young kid in it who plays Drainpipe is a face to watch out for. Considering this is obviously a low budget film the production is great. But it's the story that wins you over most of all. The humour reminded me of Full Monty. Nice to see the UK making films like this again. Want to watch it again and will buy the DVD when it comes out. Hope it gets released and does well so more like this get made.

Plenty of laughs in this file which is loosely based on a true story (and full of in-jokes for those in the know). It could easily have fallen into the trap of being predictable but it doesn't. It comes over as fresh, quirky and fun. The serious moments are very natural, not forced, the music is good and the young band are very easy on the eye for the younger viewers. For the rest of us, there's Phil Daniels as the ever-optimistic Johnny Jones and Keith Allen, looking typically curmudgeonly as Minto, plus some well-aimed swipes at the contemporary record industry. Very much in the tradition of Very Annie Mary or The Full Monty.

Sara Sugarman's music industry film "Vinyl" is built on a terrific premise, and the fact this dramedy originates from a true story makes it all the more ripe for this big screen telling.

Imagine: A long-in-the-tooth rock band is forced by the industry's relentless ageism to release music under the guise of being a much younger rock band. It happened in 2004, as Mike Peters of The Alarm put out music as The Poppy Seeds, along with a music video of lip-synching lads fronting the tune as if they were its proper creators. Sure enough, the tune got radio play. Gotcha!

In "Vinyl," Phil Daniels is the surly, aging frontman, and Jamie Blackley is the younger, fresher face aping the real band's music on camera. It allows for some great moments of both comedy and drama, and in equal measure. True, there is at times a sheeny, Austin Powers artifice to the film, which doesn't always accessorize with the music's scrappy emergence from the cast-off lot. But at its heart is a great story brought to a truthful life on screen, and with terrific competence. "Vinyl" is an underrated, understated success.

Not the be confused with the 2016 TV show, 'Vinyl', directed by Sara Sugarman, is a quirky obscure 2012 musical comedy movie, which is a fictionalised version of the famous 2004 music hoax by 70's punk rockers, The Alarm to expose the ageism that unfortunately plagues the Music industry.

In this loose retelling of the story, Johnny Jones (played by Phil Daniels, who you may remember from the classic Blur single, 'Parklife') who was in the vintage punk band, Weapons of Happiness reunites with his old band mates after the funeral of a friend. They then get back together for a drunken jam session the following night, and come up with a very ear worm-ey tune, with the potential to be a big hit called 'Free Rock And Roll'. The only problem is, nobody wants to sign these middle-aged rockstars to a big major label, so Johnny has the idea of hoodwinking the bigoted big record companies by hiring a bunch of teenagers to front a fictional band to lip sync to their music, and coincidentally enjoy quite a bit of success!

Despite it being done on a very low budget, and the whole film feeling like it was filmed and edited on a consumer grade turn of the millennium camcorder (not sure if this is intentional to go with the punk aesthetic), the script is very funny, and the acting, for the most part is pretty good. I also feel the title the movie is sort of misleading, as vinyl records have basically nothing to do with the plot of the film, and I think it would've been a lot more successful if it had been called 'Free Rock and Roll'.

It might look cheap, but it's a film with a lot of charm - as the old saying goes, don't judge a book by it's cover! Interestingly, the late Terry Jones from Monty Python fame was a fan of this film.

And before I go, after you watch this movie, I guarantee you that you will get 'Free Rock and Roll' completely stuck in your head - I'm honestly quite surprised it wasn't a hit in the real world, as it's probably on the catchiest songs I've ever heard in my life!

Free Rock and Roll! Free Rock and Roll! Free Rock and Rooooollllllll!!!!!!!!!

I managed to catch Vinyl at the Santa Barbara Film Festival. Wasn't expecting much from it as I'd not read anything about it and didn't recognize any of the cast. But I was so happy that I saw it. It was such a pleasant surprise. And it was based on a true story which made it feel even more charming. It follows an old British rock group trying to break back in to the music scene with no luck. So they audition and create a younger group who mime to their songs and become successful. The songs are great especially the main song, I guarantee you'll be singing it for days after you see it. A real crowd pleaser. Would love to see it again. Hope it comes out soon.