Before Michael Cera’s latest film hits cinemas, Movies.ie recommends the following flicks…
If a John Hughes teen flick comingled with some sick alternative rock band, the result would no doubt be Nick and Norah. First, there’s Nick (Michael Cera), a nerdy musician who just got his heart stomped on by his now ex-girlfriend, Tris (Alexis Dziena). Then there’s Norah (Kat Dennings), a nerdy prep school co-ed who is questioning pretty much all of her assumptions about the world. These two have just GOT to get together–and together they do. Through a chance encounter in the Big Apple, which leads them on an all-night quest to find a legendary band’s secret show, Nick and Norah discover they might share more than just a love for the same infinite playlist… Before Nick and Norah grace our screens this weekend, Movies.ie recommends the following music inspired pics:
HIGH FIDELITY
A male-perspective confessional about being an adult–but not acting like one-High Fidelity is Rob Gordon’s story (John Cusack), the thirtysomething owner of Championship Vinyl, a record store in the suburbs of Chicago. Rob is in the throes of a difficult breakup with his girlfriend Laura (Iben Hjejle), and he creates a list of the ex-girlfriends who qualify as his Top Five Worst Breakups, then tracks them down one by one. At work, Rob’s relationship with the geeky guys who help run the store, Dick (Todd Louiso) and Barry (Jack Black), is hilarious and juvenile: The three espouse encyclopedic knowledge of records while making lists of everything from the Top Five Side 1s and Track 1s to the Top Five Songs About Death. Director Stephen Frears works from a script based on the 1996 Nick Hornby novel of the same title. Frears integrates Cusack’s signature goofball antics and gives him a series of talk-to-the-camera, Ferris Bueller-style monologues that Cusack delivers with personal ingenuity
EMPIRE RECORDS
A small record shop provides the setting for this youthful comedy that centres on the workers there as they try to help poor Joe Anthony LaPaglia), the manager who really wants to buy the place, recoup his losses after his well-meaning, but dim-bulbed employee Lucas (Rory Cochrane ) steals his savings and loses it all in Atlantic City while trying to increase it twofold at the gaming tables. If they cannot come up with the loot, the mega-chain Music City will buy it.
200 CIGARETTES
Set in Manhattan on New Year’s Eve 1981, this comedy features a revolving cast of characters fumbling their way around the East Village on their way to and from various parties. As the night gets underway, two girls from suburban Long Island, Val (Christina Ricci) and Stephie (Gaby Hoffman), fall in with a crew of punk rockers, while the bubbly Cindy (Kate Hudson) has a date from hell with the aloof Jack (Jay Mohr). As others are added to the mix, the night only gets weirder. The film also stars Janeane Garofalo, Ben Affleck, Casey Affleck, Courtney Love, Dave Chappelle, Paul Rudd, and Martha Plimpton. And watch out for appearances by Elvis Costello and David Johansen. The film’s time-capsule soundtrack features Blondie, the Cars, the Go-Go’s, Bow Wow Wow, the Ramones, Kool & the Gang, Roxy Music, Elvis Costello, Nick Lowe, and more
ALMOST FAMOUS
Cameron Crowe’s semiautobiographical flick that tells the story of a teen journalist, William Miller (Patrick Fugit), who goes on the road with an up-and-coming rock band called Stillwater. Though Miller’s mentor, legendary rock critic Lester Bangs (portrayed with humor and heart by Philip Seymour Hoffman), cautions him not to befriend the musicians, Miller takes it a step further and befriends both the band and the Band-Aids–the girls who hang around with the band because they love the music. Miller is in for a wild ride around the country, to thrilling concerts and debauched backyard parties, living the life many 15-year olds dream about. He discovers that beneath the glittery facade of rock stardom are sometimes bittersweet life lessons and mild doses of heartbreak. More impacting are the friendships he finds with his glamorous travel companions. Newcomer Fugit is the perfect William Miller: baby-faced, slightly gawky, and an awestruck observer. Kate Hudson sparkles as Penny Lane, the leader of the Band-Aids, and Frances McDormand delivers a stellar performance as Elaine.
Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist is in Irish cinemas this Friday, Jan 30th