Tied for the best movie I have ever seen

it is the rare 'crazy' movie that actually has something to say.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Good Vibrations offers a perspective we rarely see in movies from the same period – the punks and their leader Terry Hooley display a rather adorable innocence. Hooley and the young members of bands such as Rudi and the Outcasts were dealing with a different world than their more famous counterparts in England, such as the Sex Pistols and the Clash. Brought up with the Troubles, these rockers are looking more to avoid political trouble. Compared with the intimidating likes of Johnny Rotten, their attitude seems practically welcoming. There are no lips, noses and ears harpooned with safety pins, no talk of toppling the towers of political corruption and no swastikas. Very refreshing to find a movie with such heart.

Went to see the film in the lighthouse cinema in Dublin today. I have to say it's great to see a film that brings light on the troubles. It's a sign of the times when a movie like this can be shown today and have great appeal.All I could think of when watching this was of how if you had to sum up how Northern Ireland and the Republic feel about the troubles it would be to this day how this film feels. At the end of the day it took serious subjects and brought out the good that happened over the past few decades.Never the less what happened then was a tragedy and will inevitably always be remembered as a tragedy but it's great to see the likes of these films dealing with that sense of community that they had back then. A few years ago if I was asked "The first thing that comes into your head when you think of Northern Ireland?", most people would say the troubles but over the past few years tourism and the talent that comes out of that country is overwhelming and this is a prime example of how much Northern Ireland has to offer and I'll be sure to keep an eye out for Lisa Barros D'Sa and Glenn Leyburn's future work. I also happen to be studying the same course the dop (Ivan McCullough) is studying so crossed fingers I can do work half as good as this.****** This is a note for the filmmakers. Went to see the film and saw Jim Sheridan. Asked for his opinion and said he thought it was great. ******

War, poverty, desolation.When everything looks dismal and negative, how can one escape and persevere? Through music of course.Terri Hooley had the answer to the misery of his time. By opening a record shop and encouraging locals to create new music he provided an antidote to the gloom and became instrumental in establishing the Belfast punk scene.Some thought he was mad, but creativity and madness go together and without any regard for consequences he just stormed ahead driven not by materialistic ambition but out of love for music.An inspiring bio faithfully brought to the big screen, that effortlessly brought a much needed smile to the audience.

The Good Vibrations movie is presented as a biopic about the life of an Irish music scene veteran Terri Hooley. The movie tells the story of the record store-owner, who opened up shop at the height of the Belfast civil rights conflict in the 1970's and the latter stages of the punk scene. Actor Richard Dormer plays the role of Hooley in the Glenn Patterson and Colin Carberry-written movie. The movie might be worth seeing as an anthropological curiosity, but, as a fully-formed feature film, it's lacking in all key categories. Plot is ignored in favour of chunks of key moments in Hooleys life which is presented as legendary. Yet for the most part the portrayal is unremarkable - and legendary only in terms of the myths he propagated around himself, so the whole biopic promotion seems pointless. His life long association with the music industry was only as a fan and amateur protagonist. Yet the film hangs his legendary status not only on the myths but also on the fact that he stumbled upon a band (the Undertones) and passed them on to a U.S. record major whereby they achieved moderate success. Attributing the success to Hooley rather undermines the ability of the band themselves. I am not accusing the Directors Lisa Barros D'Sa and Glenn Leyburn of being socially irresponsible, because, as filmmakers, their responsibility is to present their vision, not to teach a history lesson. However, by adopting this approach, they rob the movie of potential dramatic tension. Good Vibrations becomes a sporadically interesting glimpse into the rather tame and parochial world of music nerds. Those wishing for a full-on, comprehensive look at the Punk era will be disappointed. The Directors do have some good ideas that result in a few inspired scenes, but the story - at least what there is of a story - is flaccid, and the characters are porously presented and developed. The directors may sympathize with them, but they never get the audience to that point. There is also some lazy film making, the flying scene sequences stir memories of similarly bizarre moments in The Big Labowsky. It's possible that Good Vibrations' target audience (old punks and hippies now in their 50's to 70's) will adore this movie. David Holmes' music supervision is likely to give the film short-lived cult status among record collecting nerds and may be seen as an interesting but embarrassing period piece.