Pirate Radio / The Boat that Rocked

I just finished watching The Boat that Rocked (Pirate Radio -US title), and it was AWESOME! It came out a while ago in the UK and was recently released in America. It takes place in 1966. As the beginning of the film states, it was a period of time when some of the best Rock and Roll was being made, but only about 45 minutes was played every day on BBC radio. The film focuses on one radio station that chose to defy the government...Rock Radio!

The film itself was very simple. What makes it awesome is the wonderful soundtrack and the amazing ensemble cast. Philip Seymour Hoffman played the Count, Bill Nighy played Quentin, Kenneth Branagh played Sir Alistair Dormandy, Gemma Arterton played Desiree, Jack Davenport played Dominic Twatt, Rhys Ifans played Gavin Cavanagh, Talulah Riley played Marianne, and Emma Thompson played Charlotte. I was really pleased to see a lot of actors that are relatively unknown in the States. Tom Sturridge played Little Carl, Rhys Darby played Angus Nutsford, and Tom Wisdom played Mark. Some of my favorite actors from British television also made appearances. Nick Frost played Doctor Dave, Katherine Parkinson played Felicity, and Chris O'Dowd played Simple Simon.

I would definitely recommend this film to anyone. It is definitely a must-see!

Doubt

I just saw Doubt, and actually I must say that I was not extremely impressed. The problem is that I have seen so many absolutely amazing movies recently. The bar, for me, has been raised to quite a height. The acting was very good. In fact, the acting was wonderful. This could be expected with such an stellar ensemble. I felt that Amy Adams and Philip Seymour Hoffman were especially good. The film was probably supposed to provoke further thought on the subject matter, any ideas that the film brought up left my head completely after the viewing. Above all, I love the time right after I see a really good film. Usually, I am left with all of these thoughts and questions. With Doubt, it just didn't happen for me. I don't know what it was. Something about the film left me unmoved.

Does any one disagree? I welcome opposing viewpoints in the comments.