Sunday, November 22, 2009

Review: Pirate Radio

Pirate Radio (US)
The Boat That Rocked
(UK)
Good Morning England
(France)
Radio Rock Revolution
(Germany)
<--Phillip Seymour Hoffman as "The Count"

It's Only Rock and Roll, but I liked it!

I'll be brief; I liked the movie. I'm glad I went to a theater to see it, and I would recommend it to people who remember what it was like, when listening to the radio late at night held some sort of magical power.

This film will not win any Oscars, nor should it. It is filled with technical inaccuracies, and at times is clichéd and predictable. I personally do not believe that it will ever be possible for people to be 'transported' or 'beamed' from place to place, but I still enjoy watching Star Trek.

What is true is that at the height of the 'British Invasion,' the BBC barely allowed any broadcast of rock 'n' roll. It is this spirit of liberation that infuses the music, and the experience of watching the movie in a theater with other fans of rock.

This is not a movie for cynics; save your money and don't go!

1 comment:

Bob Mc. said...

Pretty good review, Geoff. We saw it last night too. Did I like it? You bet - some likeable characters and the music played loud in a theater setting is always a high. If you like the music and the times, no reason to avoid it at all, but it won't change your life. I was disappointed in some of the inaccuraccies you note - some of the songs seemed a little later than 1966 - "Tell It Like It Is"? Of course chances are things were released in G.B. before here,too!