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The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

The second best Canadian movie of all time. (The best is Going Down the Road.) Here is why Hard Core Logo ranks so high: 1. It moves. Canadian movies in general are terribly, terribly slow. Hard Core Logo is 100 miles per hour. 2. It deals with places/contexts that other Canadian movies don't, i.e., it is not about growing up in a small town. 3. The heroes, although they are in a band, aren't a group of teenagers trying to make it big. They are "grown-ups," at least in terms of years on the planet. Their struggle, their demons aren't glossy. 4. This is existential stuff. The main characters' struggles aren't confined to the world of music, or to a small sub-culture of it. Pigeonholing the movie as a music movie or as a comedy in the style of Spinal Top misses what is really going on here. This isn't a comedy, not even a black comedy (which is usually code for a comedy that isn't funny.) Instead, here you get to see Sisyphus -- right at the top of the mountain.

It resembles "Spinal Tap" only in that it's about a fictitious rock band on its way down. This is a more ambitious movie, and its mood is much darker -- while it has its comic moments, it's not a film to watch when you're feeling down.This particular American viewer had no trouble with the Canadian references -- yes, we can tell Canadian cities apart and know exactly which Quebeckers the bassist was talking about. In fact, the Canadianness of the movie was part of its appeal, and I'm not just talking about the stunning scenery. I do have to admit overlooking the angle about Canadian musicians selling out to the American scene -- I was more attuned to the sellout on the personal rather than national level. Bands in the States lose musicians to L.A., too.At its core, this is a movie about friendship and betrayal, and in the end, betrayal wins. It's a hard, honest movie, not easy watching but worth the effort.(Parents, this one isn't for the kiddies -- lots of obscenity and some violence, though none of it is gratuitous to the story.)

I was taken for a 3000 mile ride that simply rocked. The band portrayed reminded me in many ways of bands I have been with in the past; they set the scene very believably and the writer deserves several pats on theback. The punk scene was captured well, as were the rigors of touring & staying together and focused on a common interest. The plot developed quite well, and the characters were simply dead-on. I liked thedocumentary aspects, the way they included the 'crew' in shots. And kudos to the twist at the very end. Brilliant picture.

I have enjoyed Bruce McDonald's previous road movies 'Roadkill' and 'Highway 61', both of which I recommend. 'Hard Core Logo' is another winner. I do feel that it has been incorrectly marketed as a punk Spinal Tap, which may disappoint first time viewers expecting something different. The movie shares a similar vague concept of a "rockumentary", but that's about it. 'This Is Spinal Tap' as much as I love it, was a bunch of comic scenes strung together and not much else. 'Hard Core Logo', while it has plenty of laughs, has much more ambition, and is ultimately a much more serious movie. The unexpected ending, which I won't spoil, takes it to a much different level.So leave your preconceptions at the door, sit back and experience this superbly acted rock'n'roll morality tale(?) One of the best music related movies in YEARS!