Rock of Ages

I love Rock n RollThe poster promised nothin but a good time and the film lives up to its claim thanks to some nostalgic 80s music and some key sta... read more

I love Rock n Roll

The poster promised nothin but a good time and the film lives up to its claim thanks to some nostalgic 80s music and some key star performers.

Julianne Houghs love story with Diego Boneta is at the centre of this film. Probably catering to the tweens/teens but for me that track was the most boring part of the film. The ones who provided the good time were Tom Cruise, Russel Brand, Paul Giammati, Catherine Zeta Jones, Alec Baldwin and Tom Cruises man Friday monkey Hey Man.

If you have not grown up or heard the rock music of the 80s especially Def Leppard, Foreigner etc then this musical will bore you at times. The story is almost regaled to the background and you dont care about it as long as the song and dance featuring your favorite stars keep coming at you at regular intervals.

Tom Cruise as Stacie Jaxx is having a ball of a time playing the almost faded rock star. The last time I enjoyed Cruises performance was his teeny weeny role in Tropic Thunder. Russel Brand had the funniest lines in the film and it looked like it was all written by him. His song sequence with Alec Baldwin is LOL funny and looks straight out of Dostana. Catherine Zeta Joness track is half baked and I wished I could see her singing and dancing more than the two leads. The best thing to do after watching this film is to go home, play the soundtrack and sing out aloud while head banging like old times.

P.S Go with a group and you can do a karaoke while watching it as it comes with subtitles.

Word of mouth Sing Along, dance along to Rock that never ages.

Rating 3.5 (Good)

Ticket Meter Worth 200/- bucks
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No matter how hard you try, therell come a time when youll be inspired and questioned by an era long forgotten. Well, that era is now, and you get ... read more

No matter how hard you try, therell come a time when youll be inspired and questioned by an era long forgotten. Well, that era is now, and you get to see it in Rock of Ages, a jukebox musical turned cinematic attraction, directed by a choreographer turned director Adam Shankman (Hairspray). The film is an attempt to mine 80s culture to provide a nostalgic experience that you will savor guiltlessly.

Set during the late 80s in Hollywood sunset strip, the film tells the tale of two dreamers Drew and Sherrie, with a Hollywood dream who meet and fall in love. They land up a job at Bourbon Room, a rock temple for several rock icons. But, things change and its curtain call for Bourbon Room and theres hardly anything its owner Dennis Dupree can do to save it. Hope comes in the form of burned-out rock god Stace Jaxx, whose single performance can save rock-and-roll bar. So will Stace be able to save the Bourbon room or not forms the rest of the story?

The film resurrects a culture thats mostly stereotyped as hypocritical via a story of love, passion, redemption and sincere, unadulterated rage for Rock-N-Roll. When I say Rock-N-Roll, I mean in the fashion the real legends such as Guns N Roses, Twisted Sister, Def Leppard lived their lives. This means theres scarf-draped mike, overflowing booze, fur coat over shirtless tattooed torso, rock anthems, horny women, head bangers and a rock god with overzealous energy and a problem of his own. You put all this together, youre sure to have a set up that is sure to give your moneys worth. However, right when ROA appears to be exceptionally unique film, youd realize its just another burlesque-meets-glee type of films with added glamour.

With a run time little over two hours, (Yawnnnnnn) ROA is solely carried on the shoulders of Tom Cruise; his exuberance as the crazy, rock god takes the film to all new level. Having said that, youd also feel so many other highly talented actors of the likes of Alec Baldwin, Paul Giamatti and Catherine Zeta-Jones were completely wasted. Ok, lets not include Alec but nevertheless you dont get to see the Baldwin youve known or wanted to see.

Why did I say youll be inspired and questioned in the first line? Well, for a very simple reason that the film brings to memory some names that are considered gods in the music industry. These are artistes who didnt turn into rock legends overnight. It took them years of struggle and sincere dedication and thats definitely something you should be inspired of. However, the question that youll ask yourself at some point is why these men or should I say artistes very highly prone to all sorts of abuse. Reasons aplenty and we definitely can zero in on one. Toms role carries a similar aura as discussed above.

Alec and Russell provide you with the extra dose of laughter while the rest of the cast falls in place. One thing youll cherish the most besides loud music, drugs and everything else is love between Julianna and Diego and their love through the 80s when love was all about inconsequential expressions of affection.

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An musical set during the 80s rock scene in Los Angeles, Rock of Ages was a hit and miss for me from the start. Though I love the music from the 80... read more

An musical set during the 80s rock scene in Los Angeles, Rock of Ages was a hit and miss for me from the start. Though I love the music from the 80s I have never quite had a taste for musicals. Rock of Ages works for me primarily thanks to the songs and some spirited performances, everything else is blah at best.

Tom Cruises performance elevates the movie as his uber-cool Stacee Jaxx and Alec Baldwin gets some great lines; other than these two Paul Giamatti is the only one makes any sort of impression. Catherine Zeta Jones hams it up while Russell Brand plays himself yet again. The two main leads probably are the least affecting when it comes to their love story.

The set design is limiting and so is the scope but what really fails is the meandering storyline that just doesnt have the pull and leaves you utterly bored. This movie might be best enjoyed on television, wait for it then.
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Rock of Ages is a jukebox musical that wouldnt exactly be your best introduction to the genre. Pick Moulin Rouge! (2001) or Across the Universe (20... read more

Rock of Ages is a jukebox musical that wouldnt exactly be your best introduction to the genre. Pick Moulin Rouge! (2001) or Across the Universe (2007) for that. This is the kind of film you should watch after youve seen countless of musicals. Seen them over and over again. But even then I cannot guarantee if you will enjoy this film. It isnt exactly what you call a good movie. But its not a bad musical. The songs ARE the movie.

In India, we are accustomed to Bollywood musicals. The songs arent the story. Come on. They are for pee breaks, no? Or probably to go grab that little snack you've been thinking about since the past 45 minutes. Well, the truth is we arent conditioned to Hollywood musicals. Unless your childhood included watching them on VHS. The instant reaction for those who dont like Hollywood musicals or are not fundamentally used to actors singing in every subsequent scene will walk out. Believe me, at least 10 people walked out when I saw it. The American audience, on the other hand, will definitely lap it up.

If you are a fan of 80s metal, if you are a fan of Def Leppard, Journey, Foreigner, Bon Jovi, Poison, Starship etc, this movie is for you. As for me, it was literally the music that saved this movie. It made the movie infinitely enjoyable. My favorite includes Tom Cruise and Malin Akerman singing Foreigners I Want Know What Love Is. There is also a duet between Russell Brand and Alec Baldwin which made me cheer, laugh and sing along at the same time. Did NOT see that coming.

Tom Cruises performance is spot on. He doesnt strike a single false note. He gets the hair, the moves, and the attitude down to a T. The two young leads are strictly okay. The story is supposed to be fashioned around their journey but if I sit down to write the plot down, you will decide to not to watch the movie. The factors that govern this decision are mentioned above (also below). Rock of Ages is drenched in artifice. If only the artifice was amplified. More fake and in our faces and it would be a great movie.

You know when you go for karaoke, nobody can really sing well? Most are just shouting, mumbling some of the lyrics away. But theres hardly anyone in that bar who isn't having fun. You can bet that it would be a fun night anyway. Rock of Ages is exactly that. The poster confirms - "Nothin' but a good time". As a movie, it doesnt know how to sing. But its surely having fun. I cant say this with absolute certainty but if Catherine Zeta-Jones can find some redemption in the end, you too will end up at least humming Dont Stop Believing by the end of the movie. It may not be a good movie, but it sure knows how to finish like one. view less

Adam Shankman's film adaptation of the Broadway musical of the same name is an awkward melodrama wretched with ridiculous cliches that potentially ... read more

Adam Shankman's film adaptation of the Broadway musical of the same name is an awkward melodrama wretched with ridiculous cliches that potentially steals away the entire vibe of "tribute-to-rock" , - something the film desperately aspires to be. So when you aren't keenly trying to analyse or rather ridicule, the contrived love story between an up-and-coming rock musician and a waitress at The Bourbon joint, the one thing to keep you sufficiently engaged is Mr. Tom Cruise. It may not be entirely the story of Stacey Jaxx, who he essays, but for the screen-time which has been (rather haphazardly) devoted to him - he is pure fun of the slapdash-doped-out-rockstar variety with shades of Slash. Since it is a Hollywood musical, when you expect the characters to deal with the conflict in a rational manner, they break into an abrupt song, which is hilarious at times, suitable only occasionally while never really fitting in plausibly. While Stacey Jaxx' sly manager Paul Gimamati shrewdly gets him to perform at the flagging Borbon Room run by a haggard Alec Baldwin, a number of complications and misconceptions arise which involve a Rolling Stones' reporter fling with a depressed Stacey Jaxx, the upcoming musician breaks-up with his girl for he suspects she slept with Stacey Jaxx, which in turn forces her to abandon her own dreams and become a stripper! There's also a parallel gay-affair (between Russel Brand and Baldwin) which is used as an inadequate sub-plot. The story then further tries to explore themes of loneliness and tough-life through a string of distantly related characters while lines like, "Swallow your Tears" and "Harden your Heart" punctuate the fading dramatic power. Scenes featuring Cruise and the Rolling Stones' reporter are the funniest as well as the most poignant of the lot, while others are overtly superficial and simplistic at times. There are occasional humorous situations but they mainly involve the entire stereotypical rock attitude in situations or Catherine Zeta Jones'Patricia character who is a closet junkie of rock but is trying hard to get the "filth" out of town as her pseudo-modernistic mentality dictates. Adam Shankman could have made the film a lot more watchable had he not cluttered it with laughable melodrama and had dedicated some thought to the films' structure. At one point, we don't even realize where the film is headed as the principal story breaks open and parts of it become independent of it; untidily coming together in the sanguine climactic performance. This is Rock of Yawn.

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