Due to extreme laziness I'm virtually retired from Ciao, although I'll still read and post the odd o...
Due to extreme laziness I'm virtually retired from Ciao, although I'll still read and post the odd op every now and then......
Member since:16.01.2001
Reviews:369
Members who trust:124
In the seventies , or was the eighties, I remember Cliff Richard appearing on Top of the Pops wearing a T-shirt proclaiming “I’m Nearly Famous”, or something akin to that sentiment. Well , aren’t we all. On Thursday 7th of June our band Spoon appeared at the Tyneside Irish Centre in Newcastle upon Tyne to raise money for Cancer research. A CD / Video CD will be available hopefully within the month (price to be decided) as well as T-shirts (see profile for design) (price 10 GBP if you would like one).
This is a pre amble to this op stating that nearly all lads would really like to be a rock star , if they could. I’m 44 and still hoping, though Spoon is probably as near as I’m going to get, still playing to a partisan crowd of 200 for a couple of hours gives you a great buzz..
So on to the op. “Almost Famous” is almost a companion piece to “High Fidelity” (based on the Nick Hornby book relocated to the US of A for the excellent John Cusack film).
Basically the story is that teen reporter William Miller (rumour has it for WM read director Cameron Crowe, but correct me if I’m wrong), lands a dream assignment to tour and report on up and coming band Stillwater, played musically by Pearl Jam (for Stillwater read Allman Brothers allegedly), for top rock rag Rolling Stone. He is exposed to the rock’n’roll lifestyle and at the same time has to produce the finished article for the magazine. Meanwhile he meets groupies (or rather Band-Aids) gets to know the band intimately and has loads of fun, circumstances conspiring for him to mess up his actual deadline assignment.
As well as all this we have his over protective , but well meaning mother , played superbly by Frances McDormand (Oscar in Fargo and wife of a Coen brother, there is no higher recommendation). When William turns up at a hotel on tour and there is a hand-written note waiting for him from MOM saying “DON’T TAKE DRUGS” you’ll get some idea of what William is going through. The film is a totally delightfully feelgood movie and if I had the chance to do what William did at 15 I’d have loved it. It never gets over sentimental, and although there are serious interludes the film never drags for a moment.
The music is excellent throughout, and by employing Pearl Jam as Stillwater we are provided with some excellent original music. “Fever Dog” may rip off Led Zeppelin’s “When The Levee Breaks” but at least it’s a decent song to rip off.
The soundtrack is excellent, it also has Lester Bangs, and is all in all an absolutely great movie.
The DVD features the music video for "Fever Dog", a behind the scenes featurette, the "Rollin Stones" articles and Theatrical trailers. Also check out Lizzii's op on the the DVD as it goes ito the story in more detail.
A thoroughly enjoyable movie.
This is Mikey Dred signing off for another week, I’m in Banbury for another couple of days. See you next weekend.
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Comedy - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring: Tessa Peake-Jones, Buster Merryfield, David Jason, Nicholas Lyndhurst
Comedy - Director: Richard Boden, Mandie Fletcher, Martin Shardlow - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Hugh Laurie, Miranda Richardson, Stephen Fry, Brian Blessed, Tim McInnerny, Tony Robinson, Rowan Atkinson
A nostalgic, bittersweet ode to the hedonistic rock 'n' roll days of the early ... more
1970s,Almost Famousis Cameron Crowe's most personal, deeply felt film (he even cowrote the original songs with wife Nancy Wilson). "Does anybody remember laughter?" asks one...
Postage & Packaging: £2.69 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Almost Famousis the movie Cameron Crowe has been waiting a lifetime to tell. The ... more
fictionalisation of Crowe's days as a teenage reporter for Creem and Rolling Stone has all the well-written characters and wonderful "movie moments" that we expect from Cr...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Advantages: Such an enjoyable tale. The acting is excellent. It always remains believable and funny. Disadvantages: You'll finish watching it and dig out your old guitar.
litebite 18.10.2001 (18.10.2001)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Almost Famous DVD
![Almost Famous [DVD] [2000]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/72158964.jpg "Almost Famous [DVD] [2000]")
![Almost Famous [VHS] [2001]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/83964453.jpg "Almost Famous [VHS] [2001]")
![Almost Famous [DVD] [2000]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/78501349.jpg "Almost Famous [DVD] [2000]")
Jun 17th, 2001
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![Almost Famous EP [Explicit] - Club Le Shark (MP3-Download)](http://images.ciao.com/ide/images/icons/no_pic_generic_S1.gif){kind=icon}
