If anything, at least, “Times Square” is a remarkable time capsule of the titular New York block. In 1980 before Giuliani sold the city to the highest bidder to turn it in to Disney World, Times Square was a rough area with porn theaters and dark corners every which way. Director Moyle is able to film New York brilliantly, with a lot of great wide shots and dolly shots of the corners of New York and the setting for the film. In the film we meet Pamela, the mentally ill daughter of a local politician who is hell bent on cleaning up Times Square for the mayor. When she’s locked up in the hospital for mental evaluation, she meets street girl and musician Nicky, a rebellious and raucous punk rocker who is carried away by police after trashing a vehicle.
Author Archives: Felix Vasquez
Amazing Journey: The Story of The Who (2007)
From their early days as The Detours, the friendship between Townshend and Daltrey, and their inevitable struggles along the way with Keith Moon, Paul Crowder’s “Amazing Journey” is the fantastic story of The Who and how they were formed into this opposite teaming of talented musicians. Like “The Kids are Alright,” Crowder examines the foursome as a more than human rock band whose music was only half of what made them so incredible on stage.
Detroit Rock City (1999)
Adam Rifkins’ “Detroit Rock City” is the movie in the vein of “Rock n Roll High School” that seeks to unabashedly pay tribute to the magic of KISS and how they inspire four guys to travel across the country and break the law for them. Because they’re so fucking awesome, you see. Hawk (Edward Furlong), Lex (Giuseppe Andrews), Trip (James DeBello), and “Jam” (Sam Huntington) are four of the most hardcore KISS fans alive and are preparing to travel to Detroit to see the band in concert. Sadly, Jam’s Conservative Christian mother discovers the tickets he and his friends bought, and burn them. Anxious to find more tickets, the foursome win a call in contest but are so excited they hang up on the DJ before they can give them their names, disqualifying them.
Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains (1981)
“The Fabulous Stains” is the classic story of a movie that was pushed in to the margins and rose to become one of the most elusive cult classics of all time. This is the classic story of how sometimes movies can avoid being cast out in to obscurity because of a strong fan base. “The Fabulous Stains” is a very strong rock and roll drama about the rise and fall of a band known as the Stains due to dubious circumstances. The drama originally tested poorly in audience screening, and the studios basically released it in a limited run, and the movie was almost never heard from again. That is until it began to replay over and over on late night cable television in America, and often on the legendary rock show “Nightflight.” Over the years, the movie’s repeated airings earned it a huge cult following. Especially from young women that viewed “The Fabulous Stains” as something of a statement about owning their sexuality.
The Beatles: Eight Days A Week – The Touring Years (2016)
Not many directors are able to capture the “mania” in Beatles Mania, but director Ron Howard is not only able to capture how much the Beatles ruled the world, but how their influence continues to echo in new generations. “Eight Days A Week” isn’t so much about the entire story of The Beatles, but more about their tumultuous days following their debut in America and how hellish it was to perform live. The Beatles were so popular that performing live became too much of a burden for the “fab four.” The audience was so rabid, in fact, that they just stopped performing live altogether since the people in the crowd spent more time screaming and charging the stage than actually listening to the music they were performing.
Wayne’s World (1992)
I grew up during the second golden age of “Saturday Night Live,” and I admit that I never saw why so many people loved “Wayne’s World.” Even with the knowledge of what public access TV is years later, the sketch was always very one note to me. That said, we were lucky enough to get the feature film adaptation on VHS when it was released in stores, and it became an instant favorite. The movie itself was a hit, but “Wayne’s World” is a genuine childhood favorite mainly for breaking out of the single setting trappings and expanding the universe of Wayne and Garth. Mike Myers and Dana Carvey are back as the hosts of the public access TV show that celebrates all kinds of random humor and appreciation of hot women.
Rock ‘n’ Roll High School Forever (1991)
If you want to experience a movie where you’ll begin to think you accidentally slipped some acid, “Rock ‘n’ Roll High School Forever” is that movie. A very loose sequel to the 1979 original movie, rather than the follow up being a tribute to an iconic punk band, it’s another dated teen comedy about high schoolers committing pranks because they can. There just isn’t much about this movie that makes a lot of sense. And the fact that nothing here makes the slightest bit of sense is a distraction from the notion that the movie has no narrative behind it. Nothing happens here, but the movie does attempt to continue perpetuating the idea that Corey Feldman is still some kind of rebel who works to his own tune.