iriekingdom
What can I say? Young lads in love with music and in love with life itself... Emilia Clark more attractive than ever, Stone Roses tunes that stick to your mind, the feeling of that era in your face... Excellent. TOTALLY RECOMMENDED.
Spikeopath
It's May 1990, Great Britain, and The Stone Roses are about to play a monumental outdoor gig at Spike Island in Widnes, Cheshire. A bunch of teenage acolytes of the band, aspiring musicians themselves, embark on a journey to Spike Island whist at the same time embarking on personal journeys of the real life kind.Us Brits do like ourselves a coming of age drama set to the backdrop of musical importance. Mat Whitecross (Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll) taps into the era of Baggy Manchester, of a Northern Britain dominated by pills, thrills and romantic bellyaches. To many of a certain age The Stone Roses were "their" Beatles, a power pop foursome that rocked it big time, their influence on the British music industry is still being felt today. This in spite of their relatively short life span. Re: The Sex Pistols at Winterland, see The Stone Roses at Spike Island (in other words it was a pretty awful gig all told).However, the band are secondary to the teen angst narrative threads, to the scallywag japes and sexual growing pains. As Messrs Ian Brown and John Squire weave their chordal magic in the background, a bunch of spotty Herbert's with mad mac haircuts and iffy accents try and make sense of it all, of life, death, loves and hates. Music binds them together, but does anything else?It's all very formulaic stuff, but for those of the time, or for those with a love for how music can define your life, or at the least shape its direction, then this hits the requisite chords. It's funny at times and the cast are ebullient enough to carry the clichéd and thin material home, but come the finale you will be remembering the soundtrack more than the story itself. 6.5/10
FlashCallahan
Spike Island is the kind of film that makes you nostalgic. Very nostalgic. But that doesn't deter the fact that the story is something we've seen a dozen times before in this sub- genre of film.There's your group of friends, and they are an aspiring group who are desperate to get tickets to the titular event, featuring everyone's favourite band of the nineties, The Stone Roses.They all have their individual problems. Ones dad is dying, ones dad is abusing him, one fancies the girl, but she fancies the other from the group, so on, and so on.But it makes it an easy watch. Its funny in places, dramatic when it needs to be, and characters are ones you've seen in endless nostalgic movies.But it captures the early nineties down to a tee. The music was, and still is phenomenal, and The Roses music is used with the utmost respect that it deserves.So its a good nostalgia trip, albeit a little predictable, but would make a great double bill with Shane Meadows documentary.
cinematic_aficionado
The joy of being a carefree youth. This story focuses on four trouble making (according to some anyway) youngsters in Manchester and how they look forward to going to the gig of their favourite band, where it would be a highlight for all their lives. On top of that as they aspire to form a band themselves they even dare to dream giving a demo tape to their favourite band.Everything builds up to the day the gig is set to take place. My favourite moment was when the father of the four was dying in hospital and yet told his son not to be held back by his condition. They try hard, they put everything aside, they ignore all the barriers.The day finally arrives and with a myriad of obstacles, they somehow made it to the venue but turns out the promise for tickets/places did not come to fruition. Yet, they did not seem to care as they had a ball just outside the venue and it was the night of their lives which is the one thing that mattered.Quirky, witty and great fun to watch.
AD
