Hard Core Logo (1996)

Wow! Such a good movie.

A Major Disappointment

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

If you listen to punk rock, especially if you listen to early 80's punk rock and are perhaps a fan of the Canadian punk band D.O.A you'll probably enjoy this movie a heck of a lot. If you are not into that punk rock scene, you will still enjoy the drama, the pathos and the fun, it is a well made movie with believable characters and a logical plot.I won't put a spoiler in this review but it is a fine plot that is taken from the real life of small bands who face the struggle of remaining true to their indy roots and the inevitable changes that life forces all of us to deal with.We cannot stay the same, friendships change and sometimes it is for the better but most of the time it doesn't feel that way, we yearn for simpler times....

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 *****

According to this website, "This is Spinal Tap" was released in 1984. That movie was a satire of Heavy Metal Rock Stars. It was funny, and it had at least a few good tunes that were actually written by the actors who played the band. So, in a way, they were a real band.All I see in this movie is that 12 YEARS LATER, someone decided to try to jump on what was hardly a bandwagon; the success of "This Is Spinal Tap" hardly created a new genre.This is what I expected when I first rented the film, as I love Punk music, among many other genres. About 30 minutes into the film, I had to turn it off as I realized that what I rented was exactly what I expected and GOT: Just someone trying to jump on the bandwagon or milk someone else's cash cow.And there was nothing to laugh at, either. I expect Something to keep me at least remotely intrigued to watch more of this. But, there's nothing. No jokes, no idiocy, no nothing.Fortunately, I only lost one dollar of my money and half an hour of my time watching this feeble attempt to copy a film from 12 years before it was made. This feeble attempt is even worse than "Mac and Me" (feeble rip-off of E.T.), "Battle Beyond the Stars" (one of the many feeble rip-offs of Star Wars), as well as many others.This is not a satire; this is a Rip-Off of a Satire!!!And a weak one at that.

What can you say about a movie like Hard Core Logo? It's awesome, but more than that, it is so realistic it makes the hair on your arm stand on end. When I first saw it, I didn't know who Hugh Dillon was. I didn't know that was really him singing and he is the lead singer of the Headstones. He plays the most perfect paranoid rock star personality I've ever seen. And Callum Keith Rennie... he deserved an Oscar for his part. I've seen almost everything he has been in and Hard Core Logo really breaks the bank. Not only does he have the physical gorgeous perfection down, but he also has the gorgeous perfect mind to go with it. They are both just excellent.But, at it's core, Hard Core Logo is a love story, be it in an unconventional fashion. It's the love between two life-long friends that brings the band back together one last time, and the jealousy between them that ultimately rips them apart. This is displayed with Joe Dick's final act because he knows Billy is going to play with Jenifur, which will break his promise to play with Joe forever. Joe knows he will never get Billy back so he shows Billy, "If I can't have you, I don't want to live." It's a story of passion, devotion and jealousy that just leaves you sad, because it had to end the way it did. This is one of those movies that everyone needs to see at least once, just to realize that love doesn't always have to involve sex and lust, that love can be just as passionate between friends.