PIRATE RADIO Movie Review
November 13, 2009 by Eric
Filed under Movie Reviews
Pirate Radio will be released to theaters this Friday November 13. The movie stars Bill Nighy, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Kenneth Branagh, Nick Frost, Rhys Ifans, Gemma Arterton, Emma Thompson, January Jones, Jack Davenport, and directed by Richard Curtis.
Washington Post
In town to introduce a preview screening of "Pirate Radio," writer-director Richard Curtis ("Love Actually") described his comedy about a boatload of renegade DJs who broadcast rock-and-roll from a ship anchored off the coast of England in the mid-1960s as only "partly true." Read More.
Blog Critics
I remember the first time I watched a Richard Curtis film. I was 14 years old and I sat down with my grandma to watch a little film called Four Weddings and a Funeral which then went on to receive a Best Picture nod. I have always been just as interested in who made a movie as much as I was interested in the final product. Read more.
Film School Rejects
If you know me personally, or read anything I write, you know that I worship the 1960s and the music of the time. I grew up behind the seat belt of my dad’s Chevy Silverado, driving around town with the Oldies station blaring out songs about Brown Sugar tasting so good, My Guitar Gently weeping, and People Trying to put down my father’s generation. I fell in love with grinding guitars, amps that never worked quite right, and the homemade sound of just trying to be louder and more soulful than the guys who were just on stage. Read more.
Read the synopsis and watch the trailer below.
Pirate Radio Synopsis: THE BOAT THAT ROCKED is an ensemble comedy, where the romance is between the young people of the 60s, and pop music. It's about a band of DJs that captivate Britain, playing the music that defines a generation and standing up to a government that, incomprehensibly, prefers jazz.
In 1966 – British pop music's finest era – the BBC played just 2 hours of rock and roll every week. But pirate radio played rock and pop from the high seas 24 hours a day. And 25 million people – over half the population of Britain – listened to the pirates every single day.
PIRATE RADIO Movie Clip With January Jones
Check out a clip of the new movie PIRATE RADIO featuring January Jones from Mad Men. Pirate Radio also stars Bill Nighy, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Kenneth Branagh, Nick Frost, Rhys Ifans, Gemma Arterton, Emma Thompson, Jack Davenport, and is directed by Richard Curtis.
Pirate Radio Synopsis: PIRATE RADIO is an ensemble comedy, where the romance is between the young people of the 60s, and pop music. It's about a band of DJs that captivate Britain, playing the music that defines a generation and standing up to a government that, incomprehensibly, prefers jazz.
In 1966 – British pop music's finest era – the BBC played just 2 hours of rock and roll every week. But pirate radio played rock and pop from the high seas 24 hours a day. And 25 million people – over half the population of Britain – listened to the pirates every single day.
Recently expelled from school, Carl (Tom Sturridge) has been sent by his mother to find some direction in life by visiting his godfather Quentin. However, Quentin is the boss of Radio Rock, a pirate radio station in the middle of the North Sea, populated by an eclectic crew of rock 'n' roll DJs.
They are led by The Count (Philip Seymour Hoffman) - big, brash, American, god of the airwaves, and totally in love with the music. He’s faithfully backed up by his co-broadcasters Dave (Nick Frost) - ironic, intelligent and cruelly funny; Simon (Chris O’Dowd) - super-nice and searching for true love; Midnight Mark (Tom Wisdom) - enigmatic, handsome and man of few words; Wee Small Hours Bob - the late night DJ, whose hobbies are folk music and drugs; Thick Kevin (Tom Brooke) - possessor of the smallest intelligence known to mankind; On-The-Hour John (Will Adamsdale) - the newsreader; and Angus 'The Nut' Nutsford (Rhys Darby) - possibly the most annoying man in Britain.
Life on the North Sea is eventful. Simon finds the woman of his dreams and is married on the boat…only to be left by his bride the next day. Gavin (Rhys Ifans) returns from his drug tour of America to his rightful position as greatest DJ in Britain and, in doing so, clashes with the Count. And Carl discovers the opposite sex and who his real father is.
Meanwhile, pirate stations have come to the attention of government minister Dormandy (Kenneth Branagh) who is out for the blood of these lawbreakers. In an era when the stuffy corridors of power stifle anything approaching youthful exuberance, Dormandy seizes the chance to score a political goal and The Marine Broadcasting Offences Act is passed in an effort to outlaw the pirates and remove their ghastly influence from the land once and for all.
What results is a literal storm on the high seas. With Radio Rock in peril, its devoted fans rally together and stage an epic Dunkirk-style hundred boat rescue to save their DJ heroes. Some things may come to an end, but rock 'n' roll never dies.
Pirate Radio will be released to theaters on November 13 2009. Check out more photos below.
PIRATE RADIO New Movie Photos
Check out new photos of the movie PIRATE RADIO starring Bill Nighy, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Kenneth Branagh, Nick Frost, Rhys Ifans, Gemma Arterton, Emma Thompson, January Jones, Jack Davenport, and directed by Richard Curtis.
Pirate Radio Synopsis: PIRATE RADIO is an ensemble comedy, where the romance is between the young people of the 60s, and pop music. It's about a band of DJs that captivate Britain, playing the music that defines a generation and standing up to a government that, incomprehensibly, prefers jazz.
In 1966 – British pop music's finest era – the BBC played just 2 hours of rock and roll every week. But pirate radio played rock and pop from the high seas 24 hours a day. And 25 million people – over half the population of Britain – listened to the pirates every single day.
Recently expelled from school, Carl (Tom Sturridge) has been sent by his mother to find some direction in life by visiting his godfather Quentin. However, Quentin is the boss of Radio Rock, a pirate radio station in the middle of the North Sea, populated by an eclectic crew of rock 'n' roll DJs.
They are led by The Count (Philip Seymour Hoffman) - big, brash, American, god of the airwaves, and totally in love with the music. He’s faithfully backed up by his co-broadcasters Dave (Nick Frost) - ironic, intelligent and cruelly funny; Simon (Chris O’Dowd) - super-nice and searching for true love; Midnight Mark (Tom Wisdom) - enigmatic, handsome and man of few words; Wee Small Hours Bob - the late night DJ, whose hobbies are folk music and drugs; Thick Kevin (Tom Brooke) - possessor of the smallest intelligence known to mankind; On-The-Hour John (Will Adamsdale) - the newsreader; and Angus 'The Nut' Nutsford (Rhys Darby) - possibly the most annoying man in Britain.
Life on the North Sea is eventful. Simon finds the woman of his dreams and is married on the boat…only to be left by his bride the next day. Gavin (Rhys Ifans) returns from his drug tour of America to his rightful position as greatest DJ in Britain and, in doing so, clashes with the Count. And Carl discovers the opposite sex and who his real father is.
Meanwhile, pirate stations have come to the attention of government minister Dormandy (Kenneth Branagh) who is out for the blood of these lawbreakers. In an era when the stuffy corridors of power stifle anything approaching youthful exuberance, Dormandy seizes the chance to score a political goal and The Marine Broadcasting Offences Act is passed in an effort to outlaw the pirates and remove their ghastly influence from the land once and for all.
What results is a literal storm on the high seas. With Radio Rock in peril, its devoted fans rally together and stage an epic Dunkirk-style hundred boat rescue to save their DJ heroes. Some things may come to an end, but rock 'n' roll never dies.
Pirate Radio will be released to theaters on November 13 2009. Check out more photos below.
PIRATE RADIO Movie Photos
Check out photos of the new movie PIRATE RADIO starring Bill Nighy, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Kenneth Branagh, Nick Frost, Rhys Ifans, Gemma Arterton, Emma Thompson, January Jones, Jack Davenport, and directed by Richard Curtis.
Pirate Radio Synopsis: PIRATE RADIO is an ensemble comedy, where the romance is between the young people of the 60s, and pop music. It's about a band of DJs that captivate Britain, playing the music that defines a generation and standing up to a government that, incomprehensibly, prefers jazz.
In 1966 – British pop music's finest era – the BBC played just 2 hours of rock and roll every week. But pirate radio played rock and pop from the high seas 24 hours a day. And 25 million people – over half the population of Britain – listened to the pirates every single day.
Recently expelled from school, Carl (Tom Sturridge) has been sent by his mother to find some direction in life by visiting his godfather Quentin. However, Quentin is the boss of Radio Rock, a pirate radio station in the middle of the North Sea, populated by an eclectic crew of rock 'n' roll DJs.
They are led by The Count (Philip Seymour Hoffman) - big, brash, American, god of the airwaves, and totally in love with the music. He’s faithfully backed up by his co-broadcasters Dave (Nick Frost) - ironic, intelligent and cruelly funny; Simon (Chris O’Dowd) - super-nice and searching for true love; Midnight Mark (Tom Wisdom) - enigmatic, handsome and man of few words; Wee Small Hours Bob - the late night DJ, whose hobbies are folk music and drugs; Thick Kevin (Tom Brooke) - possessor of the smallest intelligence known to mankind; On-The-Hour John (Will Adamsdale) - the newsreader; and Angus 'The Nut' Nutsford (Rhys Darby) - possibly the most annoying man in Britain.
Life on the North Sea is eventful. Simon finds the woman of his dreams and is married on the boat…only to be left by his bride the next day. Gavin (Rhys Ifans) returns from his drug tour of America to his rightful position as greatest DJ in Britain and, in doing so, clashes with the Count. And Carl discovers the opposite sex and who his real father is.
Meanwhile, pirate stations have come to the attention of government minister Dormandy (Kenneth Branagh) who is out for the blood of these lawbreakers. In an era when the stuffy corridors of power stifle anything approaching youthful exuberance, Dormandy seizes the chance to score a political goal and The Marine Broadcasting Offences Act is passed in an effort to outlaw the pirates and remove their ghastly influence from the land once and for all.
What results is a literal storm on the high seas. With Radio Rock in peril, its devoted fans rally together and stage an epic Dunkirk-style hundred boat rescue to save their DJ heroes. Some things may come to an end, but rock 'n' roll never dies.
Pirate Radio will be released to theaters on November 13 2009. Check out more photos below.
NANNY MCPHEE AND THE BIG BANG Movie Trailer
Check out the trailer for NANNY MCPHEE AND THE BIG BANG starring Emma Thompson, Ralph Fiennes, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Maggie Smith, Rhys Ifans, and directed by Susanna White.
Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang Synopsis: In Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang, Oscar winning actress and screenwriter Emma Thompson returns to the role of the magical nanny who appears when she's needed the most and wanted the least in the next chapter of the hilarious and heartwarming fable that has enchanted children around the world. In the latest installment, Nanny McPhee appears at the door of a harried young mother, Mrs. Isabel Green (Maggie Gyllenhaal), who is trying to run the family farm while her husband is away at war. But once she's arrived, Nanny McPhee discovers that Mrs. Green's children are fighting a war of their own against two spoiled city cousins who have just moved in and refuse to leave. Relying on everything from a flying motorcycle and a statue that comes to life to a tree-climbing piglet and a baby elephant who turns up in the oddest places, Nanny McPhee uses her magic to teach her mischievous charges five new lessons.
Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang will be released to theaters on March 26, 2010. Watch the trailer below.
AN EDUCATION 8 Movie Clips with Peter Sarsgaad
Check out 8 clips from AN EDUCATION starring Peter Sarsgaard, Carey Mulligan, Alfred Molina, Dominic Cooper, Rosamund Pike, Cara Seymour, Olivia Williams, Sally Hawkins, Matthew Beard, Emma Thompson, and directed by Lone Scherfig.
An Education Synopsis: It's 1961 and attractive, bright 16-year-old schoolgirl, Jenny (Carey Mulligan) is poised on the brink of womanhood, dreaming of a rarefied, Gauloise-scented existence as she sings along to Juliette Greco in her Twickenham bedroom. Stifled by the tedium of adolescent routine, Jenny can't wait for adult life to begin. Meanwhile, she's a diligent student, excelling in every subject except the Latin that her father is convinced will land her the place she dreams of at Oxford University.
One rainy day, her suburban life is upended by the arrival of an unsuitable suitor, 30- ish David (Peter Sarsgaard). Urbane and witty, David instantly unseats Jenny's stammering schoolboy admirer, Graham (Matthew Beard). To her frank amazement,he even manages to charm her conservative parents Jack (Alfred Molina) and Marjorie (Cara Seymour), and effortlessly overcomes any instinctive objections to their daughter's older, Jewish suitor.
Very quickly, David introduces Jenny to a glittering new world of classical concerts and late-night suppers with his attractive friend and business partner, Danny (Dominic Cooper) and Danny's girlfriend, the beautiful but vacuous Helen (Rosamund Pike). David replaces Jenny's traditional education with his own version, picking her up from school in his Bristol roadster and whisking her off to art auctions and smoky clubs.
Under the pretext of an introduction to C.S. Lewis, David arranges to take Jenny on a weekend jaunt to Oxford with Danny and Helen. Later, using an ingenious mixture of flattery and fibbery, he persuades her parents to allow him to take their only daughter to Paris for her 17th birthday. David suggests that his "Aunt Helen" will once again act as a chaperone. Jack and Marjorie do not know that Jenny has chosen the date and place to lose her virginity.
Paris is all that Jenny imagined it would be, sex with David somewhat less so. On her return to Twickenham, Jenny's school friends are thrilled with her newfound sophistication but her headmistress (Emma Thompson) is scandalised and her English teacher Miss Stubbs (Olivia Williams) is deeply disappointed that her prize pupil seems determined to throw away her evident gifts and certain chance of higher education.
Just as the family's long-held dream of getting their brilliant daughter into Oxford seems within reach, Jenny is tempted by another kind of life. Will David be the making of Jenny or her undoing?
An Education will be released to theaters on October 9, 2009. Watch the 8 clips below. You should also check out the trailer and pictures from An Education.
AN EDUCATION Movie Pictures
Check out some new pictures from AN EDUCATION starring Peter Sarsgaard, Carey Mulligan, Alfred Molina, Dominic Cooper, Rosamund Pike, Cara Seymour, Olivia Williams, Sally Hawkins, Matthew Beard, Emma Thompson, and directed by Lone Scherfig.
I've been looking forward to seeing An Education for quite a while now and I thought I would share some additional pictures for it. You can watch the trailer here.
An Education will be released to theaters in LA and NY on October 9, 2009. Check out more pictures below.
AN EDUCATION Movie Trailer
Check out the trailer for AN EDUCATION starring Peter Sarsgaard, Carey Mulligan, Alfred Molina, Dominic Cooper, Rosamund Pike, Cara Seymour, Olivia Williams, Sally Hawkins, Matthew Beard, Emma Thompson, and directed by Lone Scherfig.
Back in March, I posted some pictures from An Education and was really interested in watching the movie, especially since Peter Sargaard is in it. Now having seen the trailer, it's not exactly what I was expecting, but I'm still looking forward to seeing it.
An Education will be released to theaters on October 9, 2009. Watch the trailer below.
An Education Synopsis: It's 1961 and attractive, bright 16-year-old schoolgirl, Jenny (Mulligan) is poised on the brink of womanhood, dreaming of a rarefied, Gauloise-scented existence as she sings along to Juliette Greco in her Twickenham bedroom. Stifled by the tedium of adolescent routine, Jenny can't wait for adult life to begin. Meanwhile, she's a diligent student, excelling in every subject except the Latin that her father is convinced will land her a place at Oxford University where she is dreaming of going.
On a rainy day no different to all the others, her suburban life is upended by the arrival of an unsuitable suitor, 30-ish David (Sarsgaard). Urbane and witty, David instantly unseats Jenny's stammering schoolboy admirer, Graham (Beard). To her frank amazement, he even manages to charm her conservative parents Jack (Molina) and Marjorie (Seymour) and effortlessly overcomes any instinctive objections to their daughter's older, Jewish suitor.
Very quickly, David introduces Jenny to a glittering new world of classical concerts and late-night suppers with his attractive friend and business partner, Danny (Cooper) and Danny's girlfriend, the beautiful but vacuous Helen (Pike). David replaces Jenny's traditional education with his own version, picking her up from school in his Bristol roadster and whisking her off to art auctions and smoky clubs.
Under the pretext of an introduction to C.S. Lewis, David arranges to take Jenny on a weekend jaunt to Oxford with Danny and Helen. Later, using an ingenious mixture of flattery and fibbery, he persuades her parents to allow him to take their only daughter to Paris for her 17th birthday. David suggests that his 'Aunt Helen' will once again act as a chaperone. Jack and Marjorie do not know that Jenny has chosen the date
and place to lose her virginity. Paris is all that Jenny imagined it would be, sex with David somewhat less so. On her return to Twickenham, Jenny's school friends are thrilled with her newfound sophistication but her headmistress (Thompson) is scandalised and her English teacher Miss Stubbs (Williams) is deeply disappointed that her prize pupil seems
determined to throw away her evident gifts and certain chance of higher education.
Just as the family's long-held dream of getting their brilliant daughter into Oxford seems within reach, Jenny is tempted by another kind of life.
Will David be the making of Jenny or her undoing?
AN EDUCATION Movie Pictures
Check out some pictures from AN EDUCATION, which stars Peter Sarsgaard, Carey Mulligan, Alfred Molina, Dominic Cooper, Rosamund Pike, Cara Seymour, Olivia Williams, Sally Hawkins, Matthew Beard, Emma Thompson, and directed by Lone Scherfig.
An Education was in competition this year at Sundance and I heard a lot of great things about it.
Check out more pictures and the synopsis for An Education below. Unfortunately, the film does not have a US release date yet.
THE BOAT THAT ROCKED Trailer
Check out the trailer for THE BOAT THAT ROCKED starring Bill Nighy, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Kenneth Branagh, Nick Frost, Rhys Ifans, Gemma Arterton, Emma Thompson, January Jones, Jack Davenport, and directed by Richard Curtis.
The Boat That Rocked will be released to theaters on August 28, 2009 and on April 1st in the UK. Watch the trailer and read the synopsis below.
