Perry Kate Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Lollivan It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Tayloriona Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

Celia A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

mm-39 Hard Core Logo is one of the better Canadian independent films made. I liked Hard Core Logo and I do not like indie style films which says a lot. Another fake documentary which gets across as so real! Hugh Dillon, who is the lead singer of the headstones, added many real life experiences in the movie. One experiences what a van ride/tour for five days would be like! The Winnipeg meltdown, and the stage performance memorable. When Hard Core Logo plays, there is an real life performance. (Authentic) The movie's foreground is about a friendship between John Dic and Billy Talent. John is a real friend and is a in your face does not care guy. John Hates phonies, and is self- destructive. Billy is angry at John for wrecking his career, and wants to grow as a musician. One experiences a real friendship in the movie between the two protagonists, but as the movie progresses the past strains the relationship. Hard Core Logo show everyone uses everyone, and getting back stabbed. John the guy who does not actually care, does care and the unbreakable breaks. John gets broken and one experiences real pain/tears and a horrible ending. Seven out of ten stars.

walkinginmysleep2129 Hard Core Logo is a mockumentary about an aging rock band struggling through a tour. Having said that, it is nothing at all like This Is Spinal Tap. It is a million times better. Plus, it's Canadian. What's not to like? The film features excellent music that stands on its own very well. Any fan of punk music would enjoy it, certainly on that level. Headstone's front man Hugh Dillon gravelly vocals lend themselves perfectly to the music, leaving one to wonder why Dillon didn't make his way in the punk genre, as he seems perfectly suited to it. Or maybe that's just great acting.The four main characters, members of the has-been rock band Hard Core Logo, are each fantastic to watch, and could not be more different from each other. The mean-spirited and self-destructive lead singer Joe Dick is played to perfection by Dillon. After being aggressively pursued for the part by director Bruce McDonald, Dillon finally agreed to play the part after McDonald promised him creative input. Drawing upon his own experiences touring, Dillon creates a fascinating and sympathetic anti-hero. Joe Dick is not a good guy, as we realize in the course of the film. He is, however, totally committed to his dream and admirably gives his all in an attempt to realize it. Callum Keith Rennie brings a lot of subtlety to his role of Billy Talent, the above-it-all lead guitarist who humors his old friend while courting fame elsewhere. While the mentally unbalanced John Oxenburger and the flat-out stupid Pipefitter are both well-played, they stay in the background, giving excellent support to the unfolding dynamic between the two main characters.While Hard Core Logo is shot in documentary style, McDonald frequently strays from this for dramatic effect, for example, the acid trip scene. This combined with limited input or reference to the documentary crew makes for what is more of a straight-up drama than a mockumentary. The genre just provides some opportunity for interesting editing, such as the four-way split screen scene that would be difficult to fit into a conventional style film. Another example is a scene in which the band has a roadside argument in the early morning. All of the actors are seen in silhouette, preventing us from seeing their faces during an important and emotional scene. Such a stylistic choice would be hard to fit into a conventional film, but can be excused in the context of a documentary.Although this film, and all other rock-and-roll mockumentaries, will always beg comparison to the high standard, This is Spinal Tap, there really is no comparing them. Where Spinal Tap is slapstick and goofy, Hard Core Logo is smartly funny and primarily dramatic. Where Spinal Tap is over-the-top, Hard Core is small and real. Most importantly, where Spinal Tap is boring and unfunny, Hard Core is a fantastically well-written and acted look at strained friendships and dreams that will never come true.

Snark Out Boy This Is Spinal Tap (1984) is generally regarded as the quintessential rock 'n' roll mockumentary—a hilarious look at the inept trials and tribulations of a heavy metal band. On the opposite end of the spectrum is Hard Core Logo (1996), a no frills balls-to-wall look at a fictitious punk rock band. Where Tap is a funny satire, Logo has a much darker undercurrent that gives it an unpredictable edge.Retired for some years, legendary Canadian punk rock band, Hard Core Logo reunites for a one-off benefit concert for their mentor, Bucky Haight who supposedly had both legs amputated after being shot by a crazy fan. The gig goes so well that the band's charismatic lead singer, Joe Dick convinces everyone to go on a mini-tour across Western Canada with a documentary crew tagging along for the ride. It takes no time at all for all the old gripes and grudges to resurface, most significantly, the fact that lead guitarist, Billy Talent is close to signing on with Jenifur, an MTV-friendly band that has made it to the cover of Spin magazine. This doesn't sit to well with Joe who comes from the old school of punk rock that refuses to sell-out to major labels or appear in glossy corporate magazines. As the tour progresses, the friction between the band members becomes more palpable until it achieves a critical mass.Hard Core Logo is the third film in Bruce McDonald's informal rock 'n' roll road movie trilogy that started with Roadkill and Highway 61. While something of a minor sensation in Canada, McDonald's films have been largely ignored in the United States, due mostly to lack of proper distribution. This changed somewhat with Logo when Quentin Tarantino saw it a film festival and liked it so much that he bought the US distribution rights under his Rolling Thunder vanity label.There is a certain raw vibe that permeates Logo and this is perfect for its rough around the edges subject matter. The unrefined attitude is due in large part to the presence of Hugh Dillon as Joe Dick. Not a professional actor but rather lead singer of the Canadian blues punk bank, The Headstones, Dillon's lack of formal training gives his performance a certain unpredictability that is perfect for his character. He obviously drew a lot on his own real life experiences of being in a band and this makes everything he says and does that much more believable.The interplay between the rest of the band is also very well done. Callum Keith Rennie plays the gifted, low key guitarist who has clearly surpassed his bandmates, Bernie Coulson is the crazy drummer who seems clueless but knows what to do when it counts, and finally John Pyper-Ferguson is the terminally burnt out bass player whose road diary provides the film's voice-over narration. The way these guys joke and argue with each other—like adults who refuse to grow-up—is so good that it feels like they've really been in a band together for many years.Filmmaker Bruce McDonald keeps this all together with his solid direction. He has an excellent sense of pacing—the movie never gets boring—and he instinctively knows that the essence of any good rock 'n' roll movie is, as he puts it, "extremely loud music and cool shots." Cinematographer Danny Nowak uses the shaky, hand-held camera-work that documentaries are known for and he also shoots the band in cool slow motion shots that emphasizes their iconic status.Along with the aforementioned Spinal Tap and Cameron Crowe's Almost Famous, Hard Core Logo is one of the best fictitious rock 'n' roll movies ever made. It has a genuine appreciation for music and an acute knowledge of the conventions and clichés of the genre. Like Spinal Tap, McDonald's film isn't afraid to make fun of these conventions and like Almost Famous, there is an authenticity to how the band is portrayed and the music they make. Forget the Miramax version and hunt down a copy of this new special edition—it's definitely worth those extra Canadian dollars.

hypernode1 I love "Hard Core Logo", a fine black comedy. Hugh Dillon, Callum Keith Rennie, John Pyper-Ferguson, Bernie Coulson, and Julian Richings as Bucky Haight all did a great job portraying an aging band that never lived up to it's own ambitions. Frankly, I am so tired of "This is Spinal Tap", a film I liked the first two times I saw it. It wore thin on me all too quickly. I still love HCL, and that has to be because it is based on Michael Turner's book. Turner's own experiences in the Hard Rock Miners informed his writing and that legitimacy was kept in tact in the film. Also, from a Canadian point of view, I liked it because it was a straight up story and a straight up film. Far too often it seems that Canadian filmmakers feel that they have to go out of their way to make odd/disturbing films that just come across as pretentious and 'faux-Euro', or make films designed to pander to the lowest common denominator of the Hollywood market. MacDonald made his own film for himself and I for one am grateful.