Vinyl (2012)

Wow, it was great to catch up with Phil Daniels after all these years! Living in the USA, I literally hadn't seen him in anything since I ventured into a Mpls. theater in late '79 for my initial viewing of "Quadrophenia". Oh, I'd heard him 'rapping' on Blur's "Parklife" and as the lead voice in "Chicken Run", but it was my first actual Phil sighting since the 70's! And I've got to say, he can still bring it as a lead actor. We're roughly the same age, so please keep it going, Phil. It's nice to see there's still hope for the over 55 crowd when you're getting plum roles, even if I'm still sitting here at this god-awful desk.As for the movie, I'm going with a six rating. I was unfamiliar with Mike Peters' 2004 hoax where he released a song under a pseudonym, but I'm glad he was able to pull one over on the music industry which ultimately led to this film. And I always liked The Alarm, even if they were slagged off as short-lived "U2 wannabes" in the states.

Vinyl- Director Sara Sugarman/ Written Jim Cooper, Sara Sugarman3/5 By Jonathan L HermittIndependent films are somewhat risky where they can either be a cinema gem or confusingly banal. I took the plunge with an indie comedy and discovered that my precious time hadn't completely been drained, staring into my laptop screen.In a peculiar genre emerges a small, low budgeted British off-comedy, Vinyl, lead by veteran actors such as Keith Allen (Minto) and Phil Daniels (Johnny Jones) and fresh, upcoming pretty boy Jamie Blackley (Drainpipe). Filmed in land of the Welsh, tells the true story of a 1980s band that ignites a media phenomenon by casting a group of young children to masquerade the hit single of the ageing eighties band. Raising awareness upon the issue of image, capitalising obsessed music labels and the ignorance of consumerism; projecting an almost satire objective. A cheeky little tale that manages to maintain one's attention throughout; alongside relevant subplots that plays large contributions to the main plot. Occasionally forced the odd chuckle and included spots of crude humour (the best kind) to give it that British edge. A deeper character development wouldn't have hurt the film, although there wasn't much complexity in the characters unless we dug...dug deep.The acting performances overall were mediocre, however Phil Daniels and Jamie Blackley did stand out from the rest of the group- this could be due to being scripted more speech, but the penultimate scene when both had to dig deep and find those tears was rather indicative of skill. The presence of tears weren't the indication but more the timing and control of the quantity were reflective of the characters and the respected reputation of Phil Daniels and potential of Blackley.Could it better? Of course.Regardless, sometimes that is the sacrifice of a low-budget film- needless to say, the film hasn't won the rights to boast although I wouldn't discard it completely.

In 2004 Mike Peters, a member of The Alarm - an ageing popular music ensemble - scored high in the hit parade with '45 RPM', released under the pseudonym of a teenage band called The Poppy Fields. That hoax is the basis for 'Vinyl', in which a band of washed-up rockers including Phil Daniels and Keith Allen accidentally produce the best music of their lives during a drunken session of 'jamming' (as I believe musical folk call it). But record companies aren't interested in anyone over the age of thirty, so the rockers hire a group of teenagers to mime to the song.There's nothing remotely new here: the characters are all two-dimensional (heartless young music execs, talentless kids etc), the plot follows well-trodden paths and the revelation of one of the kids' parentage is entirely predictable. But having said that, it's an enjoyable feel-good film... I just could have done without the frequent shots of Daniels without his shirt (and sometimes without his trousers, too). Ew!

I managed to catch Vinyl at the Santa Barbara Film Festival. Wasn't expecting much from it as I'd not read anything about it and didn't recognize any of the cast. But I was so happy that I saw it. It was such a pleasant surprise. And it was based on a true story which made it feel even more charming. It follows an old British rock group trying to break back in to the music scene with no luck. So they audition and create a younger group who mime to their songs and become successful. The songs are great especially the main song, I guarantee you'll be singing it for days after you see it. A real crowd pleaser. Would love to see it again. Hope it comes out soon.