Rock of ages
English (A)
Cast: Julianne Hough, Diego Boneta, Russell Brand, Paul Giamatti, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Malin Akerman, Mary J Blige, Alec Baldwin, Tom Cruise
Director: Adam Shankman
Remember 80s rock, performers with loud voices, flowing hair, huge crowds, power ballads and dope? Rock of Ages is a tribute to the genre's excess, especially Hair Metal and Glam Rock, and in its 120 minutes, features several songs of some of the best artistes, such as Guns N' Roses, Def Leppard, Bon Jovi, Foreigner, etc. The film feels like a never-ending music video and features an ensemble cast, probably rivalled only by Ocean's Eleven.
Based on a Broadway musical, the plot is about two small town kids, Sherrie (Hough) who aspires to be a singer, and Drew (Boneta), a busboy at a club who helps her when her suitcase with her music collection is stolen. They fall in love, almost split due to misunderstanding, but then patch up as their life takes a roller-coaster ride.
The club, where Sherrie and Drew work, is on its last legs. Enter Stacee Jaxx (Cruise), a rock god who agrees to perform to help save the club. The mayor's conservative wife, Patricia (Zeta-Jones) who hates Jaxx for personal reasons, plans to galvanise the church in an attempt to shut down the club.
There's Jaxx's sleazy manager Paul (Giamatti) and a Rolling Stone reporter Constance (Akerman) as well as Justice (Blige) as the owner of a strip club who provide additional entertainment. It's Dennis (Baldwin, as owner of the club) and Lonny (Brand) who are humourous, though it's the Cocktail dude that takes the cake. Cruise actually sings and impresses in his role.
Apart from the regular songs which the cast sings to, the background music features hundreds of other hits. A pity that the fan cannot savour them all, for the hits come in at a fast pace. Rock of Ages makes for an entertaining film, more so for the 80s rock fans.
English (A)
Cast: Julianne Hough, Diego Boneta, Russell Brand, Paul Giamatti, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Malin Akerman, Mary J Blige, Alec Baldwin, Tom Cruise
Director: Adam Shankman
Remember 80s rock, performers with loud voices, flowing hair, huge crowds, power ballads and dope? Rock of Ages is a tribute to the genre's excess, especially Hair Metal and Glam Rock, and in its 120 minutes, features several songs of some of the best artistes, such as Guns N' Roses, Def Leppard, Bon Jovi, Foreigner, etc. The film feels like a never-ending music video and features an ensemble cast, probably rivalled only by Ocean's Eleven.
Based on a Broadway musical, the plot is about two small town kids, Sherrie (Hough) who aspires to be a singer, and Drew (Boneta), a busboy at a club who helps her when her suitcase with her music collection is stolen. They fall in love, almost split due to misunderstanding, but then patch up as their life takes a roller-coaster ride.
The club, where Sherrie and Drew work, is on its last legs. Enter Stacee Jaxx (Cruise), a rock god who agrees to perform to help save the club. The mayor's conservative wife, Patricia (Zeta-Jones) who hates Jaxx for personal reasons, plans to galvanise the church in an attempt to shut down the club.
There's Jaxx's sleazy manager Paul (Giamatti) and a Rolling Stone reporter Constance (Akerman) as well as Justice (Blige) as the owner of a strip club who provide additional entertainment. It's Dennis (Baldwin, as owner of the club) and Lonny (Brand) who are humourous, though it's the Cocktail dude that takes the cake. Cruise actually sings and impresses in his role.
Apart from the regular songs which the cast sings to, the background music features hundreds of other hits. A pity that the fan cannot savour them all, for the hits come in at a fast pace. Rock of Ages makes for an entertaining film, more so for the 80s rock fans.