Movies For Metalheads
This literally goes up to 11
An essential part of being a ‘metalhead’ is having a sense of humour, and just as important is the ability to make fun of one’s self – to both recognise and embrace the absurdities and cliches that exist within the rock and metal world and its lifestyles. It’s this ability that has lead to many of the films listed here being completely embraced by the alternative communities, and becoming firm favourites with rockers, goths and headbangers everywhere.
This Is Spinal Tap
Essential viewing for anyone who calls themselves a rocker or metalhead. Inventors of ‘going up to eleven’.
Basic synopsis – The misadventures of an 80s heavy metal band.
Cameos – Many recognisable faces from television/Hollywood make brief appearances, including Billy Crystal, Dana Carvey and Anjelica Huston.
Soundtrack – The band themselves.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088258/
Not featured in the film, but worth sharing….
Wayne’s World 1 & 2
Basic synopsis – In the first film, Wayne and Garth’s local cable TV show gets bought by a national company. In the second, the duo decide to organise a huge rock festival.
Cameos – Rock legends Alice Cooper and Aerosmith, Chris Farley.
Soundtracks – Queen, Tia Carrere (performing tracks from the films) and Jimi Hendrix, among others.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0105793/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108525/
Still Crazy
Basic synopsis – A British 70s rock band reunites 20 years later, despite unresolved issues amongst its members.
Cameos – Phil Daniels, Zoe Ball.
Soundtrack – Features music from its stars Jimmy Nail and Billy Connolly, among others.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0149151/
Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure/Bogus Journey
“Be excellent to each other, and…. party on dudes!!” – Abraham Lincoln.
Basic synopsis – In ‘Excellent Adventure’, the ‘Wyld Stallions’ duo travel through time collecting historical figures for a history report. Then, in ‘Bogus Journey’, our heroes travel through the afterlife and battle evil robot versions of themselves.
Cameos – Jim Martin, formerly of Faith No More, and Primus.
Soundtracks – Van Halen, Kiss, Extreme, Big Pig and Slaughter, among others.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096928/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101452/
Airheads
A pre-Mummy Brendan Fraser film, and the first time we see Adam Sandler and Steve Buscemi appearing together.
Basic synopsis – A struggling unsigned rock band highjacks a radio station, in an attempt to get their demo played.
Cameos – Late rock legend Lemmy of Motorhead, White Zombie, Chris Farley. Spinal Tap’s Michael McKean also stars as a radio DJ.
Soundtrack – Motorhead and White Zombie, among others.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109068/
Little Nicky
Some might see this as an unlikely choice; whilst not everyone is a fan of his films, this has always been a favourite of mine. Elements of rock music appear in many of Adam Sandler’s films, this being a prime example.
Basic synopsis – The Devil’s youngest son must visit the world above to prevent his brothers from taking over Hell.
Cameos – The man himself, Ozzy Osbourne as himself.
Soundtrack – POD, Linkin Park, Incubus and Filter, among others.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0185431/
Queen Of The Damned
Again, another that didn’t win critics over, but found a fanbase attracted by the music.
Basic synopsis – A centuries’ old vampire awakens in 21st century America, joins a rock bands as their frontman.
Cameos – Korn frontman Jonathan Davis appears briefly as a ticket tout.
Soundtrack – Five tracks written specifically for the film by Davis and Richard Gibbs, sang by frontmen from other bands (Disturbed, Static-X, Marilyn Manson, Linkin Park, Orgy), alongside various other tracks.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0238546/
School Of Rock
Basic synopsis – A substitute teacher introduces his young class to rock music, and turns them into a rock band.
Cameos – None.
Soundtrack – Tracks performed by Jack Black and the cast, alongside Cream, Led Zeppelin and others, with various classic rock bands featured throughout the film.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0332379/
The Crow
A cult favourite in alternative circles, its star Brandon Lee tragically lost his life during its creation. Three sequels followed, none of which repeated the same success as the original.
Basic synopsis – A murdered rocker is resurrected to seek vengeance on the Los Angeles underworld.
Cameos – None.
Soundtrack – Nine Inch Nails, Pantera and Stone Temple Pilots, among others.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109506/
If documentaries are your thing, track these ones down:
Other soundtracks worth checking out:
Singles (A who’s who of 90s grunge, including Pearl Jam, Alice In Chains, Soundgarden, Mother Love Bone and others)
The Crow 2: City Of Angels (White Zombie, Korn, Hole, Bush and many others)
Spawn (a album of techo-rock crossover collaborations)
Judgment Night (the legendary rap-rock crossover album)
Strangelands (Dee Snider’s horror, includes Anthrax, Pantera, SOAD, Sevendust and many others)
I Know What You Did Last Summer (Offspring, Korn, Type O Negative, L7 and others)
Alone In the Dark (a massive 2CD collection of acts right across the metal spectrum)
Last Action Hero (Alice In Chains, Def Leppard, Queensryche, Aerosmith and others)
One-line movie reviews
I may have cheated a little bit….
Recently, I set myself a challenge: write as many movie reviews as possible, using just one line. How well do you think I’ve done?
* SPOILER ALERT: he wins in the end – Rocky II-V
* It stars a French Scotsman and a Scottish Spaniard, and they can’t die because they’re really aliens – Highlander 1-2
* A dystopian future where policemen now come in tins – Robocop 1-3
* How to thwart an alien invasion using their own USB ports, and The Fresh Prince of Bel Air – Independence Day
* It’s ok, the dog actually survives (seriously though, who could you make a film where the dog dies??), you’re safe with this one – K9
* Nope, not falling for that! – Marley & Me
* This film is just a figment of your imagination and doesn’t actually exist; in the words of Tasha Yar, “It didn’t happen!” – Star Trek: Nemesis
* It’s got past the stage where it might be seen as tragic; he’s just being plain clumsy with his family now – Taken 3
* Seagal’s often clumsy with his famiy too – Any Seagal film.
* Can we watch Bill & Ted instead? – The Matrix
* Still waiting for that third Bill & Ted – The Matrix 2
* Bill & Ted…. just putting it out there – The Matrix 3
* Worst episode of Come Dine With Me ever – Red Dragon
* Did you know that if you watch the whole saga backwards, it becomes the heartwarming tale of an evil cyborg’s quest to become a real human boy? – The Star Wars series
* Know what makes me mad? Lack of closure. – Mad Max 3: Beyond Thunderdome
* Worst episode of Deal Or No Deal ever – Se7en
* Man solves evil Rubix Cube, gets worst facial piercings ever – Hellraiser
* Would’ve been better off with a Teddy Ruxbin, just saying – Child’s Play
* Although, if you’ve ever wondered what would happen if Charlie Sheen possessed Teddy Ruxbin…. – Ted
* Nine hours of proof that Gandalf doesn’t know any flight or teleportations spells – Lord Of The Rings
* They’ve managed to cross Independence Day with Wreck-It Ralph? – Pixels
* Imagine if after Home Alone, Kevin goes into Witness Protection with a new name, but grows into a bitter man with a more twisted imagination and thirst for vengeance – SAW
Hey Hollywood, what about M.A.S.K?
Time for another 80s renaissance?
Given all the remakes, reboots and movie adaptions of classic 80s/90s franchises we’ve had over the years (Transformers, He-Man, Turtles, Garfield, Thundercats, to name just a handful) I can’t help but wonder if the popular 80s cartoon M.A.S.K will ever get a turn? Is it about time it had a chance? Think it could work?
For those who don’t recall or are too young to remember – it told of the battles between the agents of M.A.S.K (Mobile Armoured Strike Kommand, the good guys), led by millionaire Matt Trakker, and the forces of V.E.N.O.M (Vicious Evil Network Of Mayhem), led by Miles Mayhem. These were fought with hi-tech transforming vehicles and each character’s unique weaponised mask, which gave the wearer powers such as levitation, laser beams/whips, heat rays, sonic soundwaves and holographic projections, among others.
Have a look at the intro here:
I had this one – Matt Trakker’s ‘Thunder Hawk’ vehicle.
Personally I thought this was one of the best toy/cartoon combos of the 80s, counting it amongst my favourites of the time. Whilst its true that previous efforts to update and/or transfer other franchises have been hit and miss (it can be argued that the GI Joe duo of movies are nowhere near as popular as the Transformers movies, and that the Thundercats reboot will never be as popular as the original), I’d still be curious to see how it could be transferred to the big screen, given a live action makeover for television, or just simply updated with a new series. It’s true that it’s very much a product of its time; it had an 80s-tastic stadium-rock theme tune (like many other cartoons of the time), end of episode “Remember kids, ___________” safety tips (similar to Inspector Gadget’s) and even main hero Matt Trakker often seemed to be powersuited with impossibly broad shoulders.
One Youtube user has even uploaded all the episodes – here’s the first, whilst it’s still online.
I’ve even thought of some casting suggestions for a movie, which are based partly on who’d work from a physical perspective, and partly on who I thought could fit into the role:
Matt Trakker – George Clooney (Maybe? He’s older than the character, but I think he could do it)
Alex Sector – Bryan Cranston
Brad Turner – Matt Damon
Dusty Hayes – Ryan Reynolds
Gloria Baker – Ellen Page
Miles Mayhem – John-Rhys Davies
Vanessa Warfield – Scarlett Johansson
Upon doing some research/image sourcing, I’ve found this site – turns out I’m not the only one expressing an interest! Check this out: http://www.agentsofmask.com/p/our-movie-pitch.html. They’ve come up with some good casting suggestions too.
It’s true that it could well turn out into a disaster, but with a good storyline and strong casting, added to the capabilities of today’s effects studios, it could potentially appeal to the fans of say, the current stream of X-Men or Marvel movies, and sit alongside Transformers as a successful revamp.
Image sources:
Logo – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M.A.S.K.
Thunder Hawk – http://www.agentsofmask.com/2014/09/toy-spotlight-thunder-hawk.html
thursdayaddams 