The Boat That Rocked

Funny and nice bubblegum about the golden sixties, which inadvertently depicts the revolutionary era so correctly and ironically that it brings itself down. Over time, Curtis falls into a stereotype and the repainted visual serves the symbols of the 1960s completely devoid of any provocativeness and sex appeal. Nevertheless, excellent actors and a great soundtrack keep this ship afloat, although the bloated finale is noticeably embarrassing [70%] (16/06/2009)

Who would have thought that the director of "Love Actually" would make another film that would be an absolute hit. Richard Curtis, however, discovered his directorial ambitions in his old age, caught hold of them, and added great scripts that he had already written before, and he made two brilliant films. "About Time" is literally the prototype of a beautiful, funny, and sad romantic film, an intelligent film that simply must inspire. And it literally grabs you by the heart. Additionally, there is a pleiad of great British actors. The same applies to "The Boat That Rocked". Great script, solid direction, and excellent actors, who have changed quite a bit compared to "Love Actually". But Bill Nighy stayed, and it's a good thing. The same goes for Emma Thompson, whose role is truly minimalist. What is the whole thing about? It's about the fact that in the 60s, the British government simply did not tolerate rock 'n' roll, and it could only be broadcast on a ship that was anchored outside British territorial waters. People listened to the station because they simply loved rock 'n' roll. And who wouldn't love it. Curtis created an amazing mosaic of destinies, which is powerful, but what is the most powerful is the music. Rock 'n' roll is simply the real music, and the songs that are played here are wonderful. The soundtrack is an amazing composition, and this alone is one of the basic positives of the film. I hope that Curtis will make more films that are not only funny but also clever. More: http://www.filmovy-denik.cz/2012/06/rockova-lod-cruise-diaz-shawshank.html (21/02/2013)

The Movie That Rocked... Love, Actually put you in a good mood through love, Christmas and relationships. The Boat That Rocked did the same (equal quality, even funnier, but less touching for obvious reasons) through sex, drugs and rock’n’roll. It also applies that Curtis could objectively be faulted for a lot of other things. It’s just that, the same as with Love, Actually any objections are swept away in that “feel good" tsunami. And yes, the vast majority of characters are just like Billy Mack, but damn, that doesn’t matter one bit, does it? In addition to this, extensive and wonderful use is made of Morricone, along with the rest of the absolutely marvelously chosen rock hits of that era. P.S.: Toward the end we see significant curtailment (primarily of Branagh’s storyline), but I hope that the DVD will include extras with cut scenes like we got with Curtis’ previous offering - this movie deserves it. (27/05/2009)

After the for me quite annoying Love Actually, Richard Curtis moves considerably closer to my taste, but he’s still not all the way there. The Boat That Rocked is an easygoing film, you can switch yourself off, swim among the sounds of nice songs for 129 minutes and never think of it again, because the story has nothing to remember. In short, a nice snack with a perfect cast. 7/10 (11/08/2009)

I see it as a patchwork of scenes, with a very fluctuating level of wit, rather than as an whole film. Curtis defines himself in the screenwriter column, but as a director with scissors in hand, he cruelly overreached. He doesn't even have time to introduce, let alone develop, this parade of exhibition exotics, and if it weren't for the cast, who carry the film mainly with their eccentricity and charisma, this would have been a failure on all fronts. If they make it into a three-hour S.E. Cut or a straight six-part series for TV, I’ll give it full stars. They way it is now, it’s a desperately boring two hours. (23/08/2009)