nwhoopfan
hopeless West Coast homer
- Joined
- Feb 16, 2017
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Some of these have come up in other threads, but there's gotta be tons of 'em. I'm not much into musicals, so I'll leave those for somebody else. Also plenty of documentaries/biopics about actual musicians, but I'll skip that too.
Most of these are dramas. A few comedies. Music might be central or it might be more on the periphery. I think in just about all of them the actors do their own singing, some of them also are really playing their instruments. I can appreciate that authenticity, even if they don't have great singing voices they are at least passable.
Begin Again (great performances and symbiotic relationship between Mark Ruffalo and Keira Knightley)
Sing Street (same director as above)
Rudderless (interesting dynamic between Billy Crudup and Anton Yelchin)
One More Time (Christopher Walken as a way over the hill, completely non self-aware crooner and Amber Heard as his estranged daughter; also a good performance by Oliver Platt as the family attorney/friend)
A Late Quartet (a bit melodramatic, but good performances by Christopher Walken, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Catherine Keener and Imogen Poots)
You're Not You (a bit of a stretch, but it does have a struggling songwriter who's making a mess of her life and finally finds something worth caring about; great performance by Emmy Rossum)
Pitch Perfect (silly but fun and endearing ensemble comedy; sequel was not as good and third one looks like it might be a trainwreck)
Band Aid (dramedy that was more drama than comedy; a bit uneven but I'll give lots of credit to Zoe Lister-Jones for writing, producing, directing, starring and cowriting all the songs, she must've poured her heart into this film)
Blink (thriller featuring some cool Celtic/rock music and Madeleine Stowe)
The New Guy (had to pick at least one movie featuring Zooey Deschanel singing, she's got a great voice; this was a goofy teen comedy but it was fairly fun)
Almost Famous (several great performances and the fictitious band sounds good)
Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (fake biopic featuring John C. Reilly; hit and miss but has its funny parts; I think mostly based on Johnny Cash but it takes swipes at plenty of other famous musicians)
This is Spinal Tap (popularized the mockumentary; "our amps go up to 11")
Josey and the Pussycats (this one got trashed, but it's actually a pretty decent satire about consumerism and following trends; the songs from the band are actually halfway decent send ups of bubble gum pop; probably the best part is the fake boy band at the beginning that is absolutely spot on)
Roadies (a tv series, not a movie; critics hated it and it was cancelled after 1 season, but I loved it; great ensemble cast, numerous cameos from real musicians, Imogen Poots stole the show)
I know I listed quite a few, but there's still tons more.
Most of these are dramas. A few comedies. Music might be central or it might be more on the periphery. I think in just about all of them the actors do their own singing, some of them also are really playing their instruments. I can appreciate that authenticity, even if they don't have great singing voices they are at least passable.
Begin Again (great performances and symbiotic relationship between Mark Ruffalo and Keira Knightley)
Sing Street (same director as above)
Rudderless (interesting dynamic between Billy Crudup and Anton Yelchin)
One More Time (Christopher Walken as a way over the hill, completely non self-aware crooner and Amber Heard as his estranged daughter; also a good performance by Oliver Platt as the family attorney/friend)
A Late Quartet (a bit melodramatic, but good performances by Christopher Walken, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Catherine Keener and Imogen Poots)
You're Not You (a bit of a stretch, but it does have a struggling songwriter who's making a mess of her life and finally finds something worth caring about; great performance by Emmy Rossum)
Pitch Perfect (silly but fun and endearing ensemble comedy; sequel was not as good and third one looks like it might be a trainwreck)
Band Aid (dramedy that was more drama than comedy; a bit uneven but I'll give lots of credit to Zoe Lister-Jones for writing, producing, directing, starring and cowriting all the songs, she must've poured her heart into this film)
Blink (thriller featuring some cool Celtic/rock music and Madeleine Stowe)
The New Guy (had to pick at least one movie featuring Zooey Deschanel singing, she's got a great voice; this was a goofy teen comedy but it was fairly fun)
Almost Famous (several great performances and the fictitious band sounds good)
Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (fake biopic featuring John C. Reilly; hit and miss but has its funny parts; I think mostly based on Johnny Cash but it takes swipes at plenty of other famous musicians)
This is Spinal Tap (popularized the mockumentary; "our amps go up to 11")
Josey and the Pussycats (this one got trashed, but it's actually a pretty decent satire about consumerism and following trends; the songs from the band are actually halfway decent send ups of bubble gum pop; probably the best part is the fake boy band at the beginning that is absolutely spot on)
Roadies (a tv series, not a movie; critics hated it and it was cancelled after 1 season, but I loved it; great ensemble cast, numerous cameos from real musicians, Imogen Poots stole the show)
I know I listed quite a few, but there's still tons more.