It's Spinal Tap... no... wait - these poor bastards are for real. These Canadians played with Metallica, Slayer, Anthrax and a whole host of other reputable metal bands of the 80s, in fact, they heavily influenced some of them. So what happened? Well, eternal optimist Steve 'Lips' Kudlow and ever patient best bud Robb Reiner just didn't seem to get a break. Now recording their thirteenth album, 'This is Thirteen', the two not so known legends give it one last go.
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BACKBEAT (1993)
Certification15 Our Rating
The story of Stuart Sutcliffe, the fifth Beatle, is the basis for this superior bio-pic. In 1960 the Fab 5 set off for Hamburg, where they discover that sex and drugs go hand in hand with rock n' roll. But when Stu falls in love with Astrid, his close friendship with John Lennon and indeed his whole future, is threatened. A brilliant film.
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CADILLAC RECORDS (2009)
Certification15 Our Rating
This dramatic history of Chicago's Chess Records has a superb soundtrack(though it consists almost entirely of covers) and its insights into the relationship between white money making businessmen and poor black talent back in the stifling '50s more than makes up for its overwrought melodrama, historic inaccuracies and poor script.
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LET'S GET LOST (1988)
Certification15 Our Rating
Winner of an Oscar for "Best Documentary", this film (beautifully shot in black and white) recaptures the life and music of the late, great jazz trumpeter Chet Baker. The founder of the Californian school of "Cool Jazz" this film is in itself remarkably cool and stylish.
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RAY (2004)
Certification15 Our Rating
A mesmerising dramatisation of one of the kings, Ray Charles. Unsurprisingly the soundtrack is pure bliss, but it is Jamie Foxx in the title role that pulls everything together, an hypnotic performance of a music legend, through all his highs and lows, and one of those increasingly rare examples of a leading actor Oscar that actually makes sense.
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THE GLENN MILLER STORY (1953)
CertificationU Our Rating
It's all sweetness and light in this moving music biopic classic of Glen Miller's impressive rise to fame with June Allyson playing his childhood sweetheart and James Stewart outstanding as the man himself. It's got all the great arrangements from 'Pensylvania 6-500' to 'Moonlight Serenade', all scored by Henry Mancini in homage to Miller's style, plus Louis Armstrong makes an appearance playing 'Basin Street Blues' and Frances Langford does 'Chattanooga Choo-Choo'.
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THE SOLOIST (2009)
Certification12 Our Rating
A journalist in search of a story meets a mentally ill musician, Nathaniel Ayers, on the streets of LA and, through a succession of stories, attempts to better his and all the homeless community's lot.
This isn't just a sincere movie about community politics and the need to help the less fortunate, it's a vibrant telling of the basic insanity of city life adapted from the memoirs of LA Times columnist Steve Lopez.
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THE US VS JOHN LENNON (2006)
Certification12 Our Rating
Before Iraq, before the Bush Administration, before the Dixie Chicks, Bruce Springsteen, Pearl Jam and before Sir Bob and Bono.... there was John Lennon, the celebrated musical artist who used his fame and fortune to protest against the Vietnam War and advocate for world peace. Filmmakers David Leaf and John Scheinfield trace Lennon's metamorphosis from loveable mop-top to anti-war activist to inspirational icon as they reveal the true story of how and why the US tried to silence him. There are
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