WasAnnon Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

Macerat It's Difficult NOT To Enjoy This Movie

Loui Blair It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

Catherina If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

fedor8 Any time a movie comes out that displays the full extent of Henry Rollins's stupidity, I'm all for it. But...Less pathetic attempts at trying to be pretentious about this retarded scene would have served this documentary better. Just the way this movie starts, with its ridiculous and predictable anti-Reagan, pro-Leftist malarkey (including a drawn-out, utterly pointless scene of Reagan's inauguration), pretty much sets the tone for much that follows. Fortunately, politics does not end up as the central theme. However, the fun aspect of such a scene, i.e. the humorous anecdotes, should have been more in the forefront. After all, the scene pretty much consisted of a bunch of semi-intelligent reprobates, so what's this nonsense about trying to inject seriousness into the "message" these ignorant juveniles may have had? Who cares about their anti-Reaganism? What the hell do they know about economics, Communism, or foreign policy? On the one hand many of the people here talk about how different they were from the mainstream (which musically they unquestionably were), yet on the other hand, we've got one ex-hardcore band member telling us proudly how ALL bands of the era wrote anti-Reagan songs. How dull. So, in a sense, anyone in that scene was just as CONFORMIST - within the scene - as the masses of people in the so-called mainstream society.Nevermind the fact that some of these "punks" were sons and daughters of wealthy/well-off upper- and middle-class families. (The Asian guy's father is a SENATOR.) What the hell did THEY have to bitch about? Life was tough on them? Their daddies didn't buy them cars for their 16th birthdays? I love these momma's boys punks. "Tough" on the outside, insecure little losers on the inside.There are many familiar faces, if one is/was in touch with the scene, several interesting stories, and yes, some anecdotes. What the movie lacks is a relaxed, unpretentious attitude. After all, we're not discussing rocket science here. And while most of the people interviewed have low IQs, many of them are charismatic and have interesting things to say (as long as they steer clear from politics). And while I was grateful that an attempt was made to get so many main HC personalities into the film, I was a bit annoyed by the inclusion of Flea from the RHCP and Duff from Guns'n'Roses. What do THESE clowns have to do with the hardcore punk scene?? I couldn't care less that they like(d) HC. I also thought the inclusion of Moby was just to sell theater tickets. His relevance in HC (or any other "relevant" type of) music is pretty much around zero.The documentary is interesting throughout, I'll give it that, if well short of fascinating - which it should have been, considering that it's about a fascinating scene. A little too polished, perhaps, too. If you want to see a thoroughly enjoyable film about a(ny) hardcore scene, watch "N.Y.H.C.", which is just FUN, no pretensions about anyone changing the world i.e. Marxist dogma being spouted care-freely (and ignorantly) by semi-literate near-junkies. It is a terrific documentary that will have you feeling both nostalgic and rolling with laughter.There are quite a few bands presented here that I knew from name only (Minor Threat, for example), and some that I'd never heard of before, so from that aspect it was quite interesting, as well, giving one a chance to check out some highlights from that era that one might have missed out on. However, just like nearly every HC fan will feel some of his favourite bands were left out, so it is with me. I could not understand why the Suicidal Tendencies and D.R.I. play such a tiny role here! Especially the latter: D.R.I. was one of the most successful and (subjectively speaking, of course) best HC bands of that era, and of the era that followed (late 80s, early 90s).All in all, well worth a watch, but simply because there are very few documentaries on the subject so one is forced to watch whatever one is being offered.For more of my music-world rants, go to: http://rateyourmusic.com/collection/Fedor8/1

philler2 I remember reading a review of American Hardcore in one of the weeklies in Portland. It stated something to the extent that if you know hardcore, you will not learn anything and if you know nothing about hardcore, you won't learn much. I can't agree more.As someone that has a fair amount of knowledge of the history of the American Hardcore movement, I don't feel like I learned much new about hardcore. And, I have talked to others that know little about hardcore and they had a hard time tracking.I was also surprised about some of the things that were missing. How could Maximum Rock n' Roll be left out? Maybe the Dead Kennedys were left out because of all the legal stuff going on with them now or maybe because a lot of old punks don't like them now. I know there is only so much room and info someone can squeeze into two hours, but it is hard to see how certain things were left out of it.I think it was a good attempt. The director should have made a better decision and either make it a movie for someone that knew nothing or a movie for the more advanced viewer. Still, if you are a fan of hardcore or you are perhaps a younger viewer that has some interest in the hardcore punk movement of the early 80's, it is worth renting.

D A A blistering, frothing era of misfits and outcasts venting their collective frustrations into a punk hardcore genre feels underwhelming here in it's attempt to reminisce about being a part of that anti-musical scene. Interviews with many of the underground's more respected (something I would not have any knowledge to debate) original hardcore members consume the majority of this basically constructed mass recollection, and while the punk attitude (with a side of bitter old geezer) flies fast, proud, and hard in the varied lineup of interviewees, little insight is gleamed during the repetitious bickering- largely made up of many of these "real punks" insisting that they have rocked harder then you ever will. A healthy contempt for mainstream normalcy would obviously be a precursor to any working punk band's ethic, but constant negativity and elitism masking for edgy commentary proves that time has not been kind to many of these rock warriors. Proving the exception to this stereotypically shallow attitude, the filmmakers do manage to find a few contrasting punks who offer to take powerful themes these raw, unbridled, often violent bursts of creative energy they helped pioneer and contextualize it in a way that is actually inspiring to someone who wasn't directly involved in this scene that supposedly died in 1986. Amongst a dazzling (though certainly dizzying as well) wealth of never before seen low quality footage showing these erratic outbursts of sound from numerous bands documented here, an initial grip this music may have around your adrenal gland will slowly become as repetitious as their interview counterparts. An interesting glimpse into a radical time for young American music, but lacking most of the depth to make this truly relevant to all but hardcore Hardcore fans.

trance-4 I'd rather not be in Philadelphia..... But this film couldn't have been made without the Philly HC scene. Which seems to get almost no mention - except brief footage of YDI - a short interview with "Fat" Howard and some musings from Chuck Treece. The majority of the live footage in this flick, however, was from Philadelphia. Owing to the video skills of Steve "Eye" - and Rich "Spunky" Stankiewicz (who are credited). It was sick seeing the amount of Philly shows that i attended - that were made part of this documentary. Trying to spot myself in the crowd stopped, though, when they showed footage of Die Kreuzen playing in Jeff Jenkins' basement -(called the "West Side Club" )- and I see myself clearly - 20+ years younger - screaming into the mic with Dan. Anyway..........Here in Philly - we may not have had the same amount of nationally recognized bands as DC, Boston or even NYC - but the scene was F---'n STRONG!!. Plus - due to the geographic location - Philly was often the meeting ground for bands from DC and Boston. I enjoyed this film thoroughly - especially the coverage of how the Straight Edge scene developed in Boston into an almost Nazi Regime. Just watching Al spout at a press conference that he better not see you drinking at the shows - had me on the floor rolling... Oh well - none of us were very well behaved - and thank god for that.I am not sure how much the general public are going to be interested in this film - since almost no mention is made of the great Punk Icons of today - like Green Day and Good Charlotte. Well, thats for another day - Carson Daly please answer the call - the Youth are waiting.