Actuakers One of my all time favorites.

AnhartLinkin This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

AshUnow This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Portia Hilton Blistering performances.

forkerouac The second best Canadian movie of all time. (The best is Going Down the Road.) Here is why Hard Core Logo ranks so high: 1. It moves. Canadian movies in general are terribly, terribly slow. Hard Core Logo is 100 miles per hour. 2. It deals with places/contexts that other Canadian movies don't, i.e., it is not about growing up in a small town. 3. The heroes, although they are in a band, aren't a group of teenagers trying to make it big. They are "grown-ups," at least in terms of years on the planet. Their struggle, their demons aren't glossy. 4. This is existential stuff. The main characters' struggles aren't confined to the world of music, or to a small sub-culture of it. Pigeonholing the movie as a music movie or as a comedy in the style of Spinal Top misses what is really going on here. This isn't a comedy, not even a black comedy (which is usually code for a comedy that isn't funny.) Instead, here you get to see Sisyphus -- right at the top of the mountain.

Andy (film-critic) Hard Core Logo never made it off the ground. It was a simple idea badly executed and finalized by a rushed statement about the music industry. Director Bruce McDonald has crafted, well … crafted is too decent of a word, he has actually jumbled together a mess of a film that attempts to give us that raw, cutting edge, emotion that demonstrates that corporations don't own the music we listen to. Actually, I am not sure that was the point at all with this feature, in fact, I am not sure I quite understood what anyone, from the actors to the director himself, was trying to accomplish with this devastating mockumentary. From the high-school theater acting to the rushed ending, you feel lost and used throughout the course of this entire film. You want to witness both the high points and struggles for this band, but it is extremely hard when you care nothing about the band from the beginning. We have seen the punk band film recreated in Hollywood over and over, and this takes no new punches. Sure, the "spitting" is gross, but does that really define a character? I wanted unique characters that brought with them a passion and a history, not just clichéd moments that could be witnessed outside of every coffeehouse in America.To begin, the story. Where was it? What was the central focus of this film? It was nothing more than a rehashed version of The Blues Brothers, but instead of Jake insinuating that religion forced the band back together, we have Joe Dick demonstrating that corruption and popularity keep the world floating in a circle. The sad part is that there is no direction. Director Bruce McDonald tries hard to show the raw power of this band, but instead just creates cheap realism bounded by a confusing structure. McDonald, as both the director and "voice of God", intervenes too often in this film giving us this fake sense of truth. Unlike the Christopher Guest films, we are reminded often that a camera crew is following this band. While McDonald may be attempting to make the point that punk rockers hate the publicity and media hype, it seems as if the members of "Hard Core Logo" want nothing more than to be ever-present on the camera. It is a genuine slap in the face for true revelers of the punk rock genre. I feel as if McDonald embarrassed both this genre and those punk rockers. Either he didn't do his homework, he didn't care about the topic, or he just was trying to recreate the excitement of This is Spinal Tap, but he failed. This film from the beginning scene never worked due in a major part to the lacking story and structure, but also because of the poor choice of actors to helm this project.If this was to be a comedy, as boasted on the cover of the DVD, than one could safely assume that there was going to be actual bits of humor laced between the storyline. I am here to confirm that there was nothing funny about this film at all. I don't believe I uttered one minuscule chuckle through the entire journey. It just wasn't funny. I do not doubt that audiences were rolling around with laughter during the "huge" cliché drug sequence, but to me it just seemed so forced and recycled that by that point in the film my mind was controlled by apathy. I didn't care. The actors were completely devoid of their characters. When I watch a film I expect to see an actor bring something new to the table with their character, or better yet, at least bring their character to the table, but in Hard Core Logo, nobody did. I kept seeing actors playing the part of the punk rock band members. I witnessed no back-story dedicated to understanding these members of the band prior to this failed reunion tour. I witnessed nothing that placed my heart with this band as they traveled through Canada searching to rebuild their status. Thanks to the poor direction of Bruce McDonald (and the complete lack of meaty characters), nothing felt honest, real, or even emotional about these guys.Finally, another issue with this film is that it feels dated. I realize that with documentaries or even mocumentaries there is an understanding that perhaps years from now you will look back and laugh at how much the world has changed. Sadly, with this film, it began in a Goodwill Store, and never quite found its historical value. There are better films out there that depict the punk rock era than Hard Core Logo. I was hoping to remember some of my youthful tunes and the power of disrespecting a corporate nation, but with this film I just felt cheap. I felt dishonest about the true nature of a very innovated music movement.Overall, I thought this was a horrible film. Those that have quoted the ending as being fantastical, I would wonder how they were able to fully develop themselves into these characters. The director was poor, the production was generic, and the full disrespect to the genre of punk rock was hitting me so hard in the face I nearly wanted to get angry at this film. I guess I did have some emotion with this film, but not what McDonald wanted to convey. I do not suggest this film, but instead think that you should go out and find your old NOFX albums or Rancid album and truly enjoy what this genre of music has to offer.Grade: * out of *****

Snark Out Boy This Is Spinal Tap (1984) is generally regarded as the quintessential rock 'n' roll mockumentary—a hilarious look at the inept trials and tribulations of a heavy metal band. On the opposite end of the spectrum is Hard Core Logo (1996), a no frills balls-to-wall look at a fictitious punk rock band. Where Tap is a funny satire, Logo has a much darker undercurrent that gives it an unpredictable edge.Retired for some years, legendary Canadian punk rock band, Hard Core Logo reunites for a one-off benefit concert for their mentor, Bucky Haight who supposedly had both legs amputated after being shot by a crazy fan. The gig goes so well that the band's charismatic lead singer, Joe Dick convinces everyone to go on a mini-tour across Western Canada with a documentary crew tagging along for the ride. It takes no time at all for all the old gripes and grudges to resurface, most significantly, the fact that lead guitarist, Billy Talent is close to signing on with Jenifur, an MTV-friendly band that has made it to the cover of Spin magazine. This doesn't sit to well with Joe who comes from the old school of punk rock that refuses to sell-out to major labels or appear in glossy corporate magazines. As the tour progresses, the friction between the band members becomes more palpable until it achieves a critical mass.Hard Core Logo is the third film in Bruce McDonald's informal rock 'n' roll road movie trilogy that started with Roadkill and Highway 61. While something of a minor sensation in Canada, McDonald's films have been largely ignored in the United States, due mostly to lack of proper distribution. This changed somewhat with Logo when Quentin Tarantino saw it a film festival and liked it so much that he bought the US distribution rights under his Rolling Thunder vanity label.There is a certain raw vibe that permeates Logo and this is perfect for its rough around the edges subject matter. The unrefined attitude is due in large part to the presence of Hugh Dillon as Joe Dick. Not a professional actor but rather lead singer of the Canadian blues punk bank, The Headstones, Dillon's lack of formal training gives his performance a certain unpredictability that is perfect for his character. He obviously drew a lot on his own real life experiences of being in a band and this makes everything he says and does that much more believable.The interplay between the rest of the band is also very well done. Callum Keith Rennie plays the gifted, low key guitarist who has clearly surpassed his bandmates, Bernie Coulson is the crazy drummer who seems clueless but knows what to do when it counts, and finally John Pyper-Ferguson is the terminally burnt out bass player whose road diary provides the film's voice-over narration. The way these guys joke and argue with each other—like adults who refuse to grow-up—is so good that it feels like they've really been in a band together for many years.Filmmaker Bruce McDonald keeps this all together with his solid direction. He has an excellent sense of pacing—the movie never gets boring—and he instinctively knows that the essence of any good rock 'n' roll movie is, as he puts it, "extremely loud music and cool shots." Cinematographer Danny Nowak uses the shaky, hand-held camera-work that documentaries are known for and he also shoots the band in cool slow motion shots that emphasizes their iconic status.Along with the aforementioned Spinal Tap and Cameron Crowe's Almost Famous, Hard Core Logo is one of the best fictitious rock 'n' roll movies ever made. It has a genuine appreciation for music and an acute knowledge of the conventions and clichés of the genre. Like Spinal Tap, McDonald's film isn't afraid to make fun of these conventions and like Almost Famous, there is an authenticity to how the band is portrayed and the music they make. Forget the Miramax version and hunt down a copy of this new special edition—it's definitely worth those extra Canadian dollars.

Infofreak I have enjoyed Bruce McDonald's previous road movies 'Roadkill' and 'Highway 61', both of which I recommend. 'Hard Core Logo' is another winner. I do feel that it has been incorrectly marketed as a punk Spinal Tap, which may disappoint first time viewers expecting something different. The movie shares a similar vague concept of a "rockumentary", but that's about it. 'This Is Spinal Tap' as much as I love it, was a bunch of comic scenes strung together and not much else. 'Hard Core Logo', while it has plenty of laughs, has much more ambition, and is ultimately a much more serious movie. The unexpected ending, which I won't spoil, takes it to a much different level.So leave your preconceptions at the door, sit back and experience this superbly acted rock'n'roll morality tale(?) One of the best music related movies in YEARS!