The Runaways (2010)

Best movie of this year hands down!

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

There are better movies of two hours length. I loved the actress'performance.

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

The Runaways is a good movie with a reasonably well developed plot and a stellar cast. The performances are hands down what makes this movie, Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning have an electric chemistry that is both powerful and believable from beginning to end. The highlight for me was certainly Michael Shannon, who had a very enforcing, engaging delivery as Kim Fowley, stealing every scene he is in and integrating the films overall theme perffectly. I was, however, disappointed that the movie was not properly biographical, I would like to have seen the bands actual career develop, but it takes a lot of leaps instead and passes over pieces of information that should be vital to the plot of their story. It also makes a lot of stylistic cinematography choices that, although intriguing and well shot, felt like the crew was trying too hard to make this film different. The story itself is really not that interesting and the way that they tried to compensate for that seemed a little desperate to me. Fun while it lasts, but forgettable. In no way perfect, The Runaways is still an enjoyable journey that fans of this group or these actors should certainly check out. Explores the relationship between Joan Jett and Cherie Currie as they form their band The Runaways. Best Performance; Michael Shannon

Recruited for what would become a pioneer all-female hard rock band in the 1970s, two teenagers have to contend with whether to promote their music or sex appeal as per the wishes of their eccentric music producer in this film based on the true experiences of the title band that propelled Joan Jett to fame. The film is based on the memoirs of the band's lead singer, Cherie Currie, and the film is mostly spent on the dynamics and rising tensions between Joan and Cherrie, with Dakota Fanning and Kristen Stewart both convincing in the respective roles. Fanning has some particularly good moments towards the end as all the fame gets to her head and a final conversation between the pair provides a perfect note for the film to end on. In order to focus on these two big personalities, the film uncomfortably ignores the other three members of the band though, all of whom are so lightly developed that they remain completely interchangeable throughout. The fact that Cherie's family background gets such a large focus over Joan's when they are equal protagonists does not quite sit well either. Never to mind, the film is well paced enough that there is rarely a dull moment with Michael Shannon stealing every scene he is in as the band's off-the-wall producer with the craziest twinkle in his eye as he gets them to practise playing while food is thrown at them (!) and as he keeps going on about all negative publicity being good. There is also a lot to like about the girls' determination to succeed in a traditionally all-male industry no matter what it takes.

What does one say about a movie that's really good but could have been a great?First off. Why was it really good? Well because The Runaways were the first all female rock band that wrote their material and played their instruments. The fact they were charismatic eye candy was a bonus for us males - so God bless'em for that. That makes this an important movie.This type of genre tends to fall flat on its face, especially for musicians, when an actor is cast that can't play their respective instrument or mime the vocals. So when Joan Jett (played by the very gifted Kristen Stewart)is playing the guitar and singing, it appears authentic. Didn't hurt that Kristen resembles Joan Jett either.Dakota Fanning is another gifted actress. Only difference is she exudes a wholesomeness that should have banned her from playing the role of Cherie Currie. But she handled it like a true pro. Folks. we're talking," Sex, Drugs, Booze and Rock N Roll." Plus, she sings amazingly well on these tracks.Casting Elvis Presley's granddaughter as Cherie's twin sister Marie was a great choice. The role was small but gave her the opportunity to mix- it-up with the pros and shine.Now.How could it have been made great? Well,simple; more emphasis on the other band members, especially Joan Jett. The story line leaned too heavily on Cherie's family life leaving me wanting to know more about the other group members family life. I still don't know diddly-squat about Lita Ford's life. We actually get to see Sandy West's Mom's horrified reaction after Kim Fowley comes to their home. And as for Joan's family life? Well forget about it. Not a peep.And I don't recall the bass player, Robin, played by Alia Shawkat from the sitcom Arrested Development having any dialogue! We see they played in Japan. But did they play at CBGB's ? It desperately needed that kind of balance.It would also have been nice to show a photo of the real-life Runaways in 1976 that morphs into how they look today, just before the ending credits. Cliché? absolutely. Relevant? Very much so. BTW, the peeing on a guitar scene did happen according to Joan and the group it happened to was ( drum roll,please ) RUSH !As a final note, the commentary is not to be missed. It has Joan Jett, Kristen and Dakota dishing out morsels of interesting background info. It too is rated R because of Kristen's penchant for whimsical profanity

What does one say about a movie that's really good but could have been a great?First off. Why was it really good? Well because The Runaways were the first all female rock band that wrote their material and played their instruments. The fact they were charismatic eye candy was a bonus for us males - so God bless'em for that. That makes this an important movie.This type of genre tends to fall flat on its face, especially for musicians, when an actor is cast that can't play their respective instrument or mime the vocals. So when Joan Jett (played by the very gifted Kristen Stewart)is playing the guitar and singing, it appears authentic. Didn't hurt that Kristen resembles Joan Jett either.Dakota Fanning is another gifted actress. Only difference is she exudes a wholesomeness that should have banned her from playing the role of Cherie Currie. But she handled it like a true pro. Folks. we're talking," Sex, Drugs, Booze and Rock N Roll." Plus, she sings amazingly well on these tracks. Casting Elvis Presley's granddaughter as Cherie's twin sister Marie was a great choice. The role was small but gave her the opportunity to mix-it-up with the pros and shine.Now.How could it have been made great? Well,simple; more emphasis on the other band members, especially Joan Jett. The story line leaned too heavily on Cherie's family life leaving me wanting to know more about the other group members family life. I still don't know diddly-squat about Lita Ford's life. We actually get to see Sandy West's Mom's horrified reaction after Kim Fowley comes to their home. And as for Joan's family life? Well forget about it. Not a peep.And I don't recall the bass player, Robin, played by Alia Shawkat from the sitcom Arrested Development having any dialogue! We see they played in Japan. But did they play at CBGB's ? It desperately needed that kind of balance.It would also have been nice to show a photo of the real-life Runaways in 1976 that morphs into how they look today, just before the ending credits. Cliché? absolutely. Relevant? Very much so.As a final note, the commentary is not to be missed. It has Joan Jett, Kristen and Dakota dishing out morsels of interesting background info. It too is rated R because of Kristen's penchant for whimsical profanity.