Spikeopath Splendid slice of British Rock Rock Rockery. Vinyl is based about a Rock "N" Roll Swindle perpetrated by Mike Peters and his band The Alarm in 2004. With the record companies only interested in imaged driven bands with which to cash in the coin, Peters recorded a single and got some pretty youngsters to pretend it was their song. The record company bought it wholesale, with Peters and chums chuckling away until the reveal caused much mirth in the industry. So a sort of Milli Vanilli meets Blue meets The Sex Pistols!Film is based in Wales and features Phil Daniels, Keith Allen, Perry Benson and Christopher Roy Turner as the middle aged punkers who meet up at a friends funeral. Their band The Weapons of Happiness is a long distant memory, gone are the days when they opened for U2 and toured with The Buzzcocks. Hooking up for drinks after the service, the men, in spite of having different ideals in life, get drunk and lay down a jam session, that amazingly in the morning sounds rather ace. But with the record company only interested in image based bands like The Jammie Dodgers and Bling Bling, Weapons of Happiness can't catch a break, that is until lead singer Johnny Jones (Daniels) hits on novel idea...The whole film pulses with a sense of fun and vibrancy, the cast having a great old time of it acting up as a rock band past their prime but still carrying around a torch for the glory days. Their hangs ups and past differences are still there, and much of the comedy is derived from these scenarios. Once the youngsters arrive to be the fake face of the band, fronted by a superb Jamie Blackley, the age divide also provides scope for humour that is utilised fully. A running thread of Johnny and his frustrated partner (Julia Ford) trying to start a family, also provides mirth, while there's one or two surprises in the story as well.It's no rocket science movie, it's very lighthearted and directed breezily by Sara Sugarman. However, the caustic asides inherent within the narrative (prejudices of the music industry/hanging on to the past being good or bad?) do strike the right chords. The soundtrack is kicking, the "band's" song "Free Rock and Roll" beautifully catchy, the comic performances mightily strong, and the serious undertones never cloy the frivolity. From a Ramones/Buzzcocks/The Saints inspired hit single, to Daniels' ass! Vinyl is a winner and worthy of seeking out by music fans of all ages. 9/10

Jono Hermitt 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.

psimm66 Whats not to like about this great film? The soundtrack? Phil Daniels? Perry Benson? Seeing the music biz being caught with their pants down? That last notion is worthy enough as a plot for a movie but watching the story unfold with Phil Daniels leading the charge, as only he can with his 100mph attack on life, makes this tidy little film truly worthy of your time watching it. The story will make you laugh, it may make you cry and it will definitely leave you feeling good and glad you watched it. It is a fun caper that never takes its self too seriously yet succeeds in showing all of us that rock n roll should always be 'by the people, for the people and of the people'. If you grew up in the 70s or 80s you will love it and many of its touch points. If you are still "growing up" watch and learn. FREE ROCK N ROLL

panchita_jones I recently watched this film at the Newport Beach Film Festival. It is such a fun story with great music and acting. A lot of fresh new faces. I love when the underdog triumphs, as in this story. I'm sure there are a lot of guys out there like this main character: searching for recognition and acknowledgment in an industry obsessed with youth.You don't have to love punk music to love this movie. I was surprised to learn from the director, writers and producer at the Q&A afterward that this was all based on a true story about The Alarm and Mike Peters. It wasn't even over yet and I wanted to watch it again!I hope this film has a wider distribution in the United States. I'm not sure if or when there is a general release date.