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35 out of 36 people found the following review useful: Slaters teen master class . . ., 7 May 2003 Author: 2cents from London, England
I loved this filmWhen I was 17 I first saw the second half of this movie on TV, the next day I scoured my local video shops to buy the film so that I could watch the first half.I know that sounds a little sad but I really felt that at the time this film was spot on. Parents do seem to hate you, it is incredibly hard to talk to a girl that you want to ask out and school is the last place you ever want to be. This film had the emotions just about right.I now see its faults but I still feel that it is an excellent movie to its targeted age group, everyone who ever wanted to "rise up in the cafeteria and stab them (teachers) with your plastic fork".I could fill this review with quotes, the speech on why teen suicide is a bad idea is up there with the "Am I funny?" scene in goodfella's.Christian Slater is excellent, apparently it's his favourite movie and you can see that he enjoyed making it. He does dark-teen like no one else, this is Nicholson at 16! In my humble opinion this film is at the top of the teen-flick chart alongside Heathers.Samantha Mathis makes an intriguing leading lady, she really gets her character spot on. Miss Mathis also provides one of the best sexual tension scenes ever in this genre. (it's all in the music)A young Seth Green also makes an appearance that I am sure he would rather forget, his acting is fine it's how he looks thats the problem !!This film is dark, funny and brutaly honest. If you are under 20 and still hate the world this will kill a couple of those boring 'too old to play to young to drink' hours.Highly recommended.
25 out of 27 people found the following review useful: Every teenager should see this film, 29 August 2003 Author: Idocamstuf from Greenville, NY
What a film!!, this is a film that very accurately represents how it feels to be unpopular, or the new kid in high school. Slater gained much respect from me for his terrific performance is Hard Harry, a new kid at a school where the staff don't seem to care about the students, Harry runs a pirate radio station as an anonymous student at the high school, and shares his feelings about the school, he gains a large following of students who feel the same way he does, but then trouble starts. This is a truly great film, with great performances, this is probably the "Rebel Without A Cause", for our generation. ***1/2 out of ****.
22 out of 24 people found the following review useful: Tale O' The Twister, 1 June 1999 Author: David A Dein from The Garden State
This film works. Unlike most teenage fair, it doesn't include a senior prom and doesn't require stereotyped (Brat pack) Characters to fill it's ranks. Hard Harry is real. The people in the film are real. Allen Moyle's direction while full of holes, Does well to accentuate the awkwardness of being a teenager. The soundtrack is also wonderful. From Liquid Jesus' Anthem Stand, to Chagall Guevera's Tale O' The Twister(My personal favorite song in the film and on the soundtrack). It's angst ridden, it's basic, it's controversial, it's fun and of course their's the senseless Nudity. I give it a 10.
14 out of 14 people found the following review useful: movie magic, 30 November 2002 Author: (billybrown41@hotmail.com) from Kimberling City, MO.
When "Pump Up The Volume" came out in 1990, I wanted to BE Christian Slater. Now that it's already been twelve years since it was released, I still can't believe how well it's held up. Aside from a couple of things that make it dated (I'm referring mainly to the opening credit sequence and the way some of the characters dress...mulletts WERE acceptable back then), the message remains the same and I think that's what has made this movie stand the test of time. Along with "Heathers", this is some of Christian Slater's best work ever. His performance alone is enough to reccommend this one, but that combined with the message, make it a cult classic. They don't make movies like this anymore.
15 out of 19 people found the following review useful: one of the best teen movies of the 90's!, 16 July 1999 Author: steve layne
pump up the volume is one of the best teen movies of the 90's! it's smart,and very thought-provoking. this is the second most thought-provoking teen movie of all time. second only to the breakfast club. pump up the volume is in the top 3 of the best teen movies of the 90's! it's also very entertaining,and sometimes funny. but a lot of the movie is serious. slater has never been better.it's a very good movie. i give pump up the volume ***1/2out of ****
12 out of 14 people found the following review useful: great portrayal of postmodern angst & media issues, 13 July 2003 Author: FilmLabRat
This movie really captured not only the disillusionment and pain of adolescence but also the general malaise of our postmodern society. Also brought out the tension between media "for the people" and free speech vs. media polluting the people and issues of censorship. While the film clearly made the latter out to be the "bad guy," a mature person might look beyond the pointed message and see the important issues on both sides --> Does media come from culture and speak truth, having the responsibility to honestly represent "reality," or does media influence culture and thus should it responsibly rise above mediocrity, challenging people to something higher in life? Tough issues in media studies. How to bring the two concerns together is the challenge, in a completely corporate-driven media culture that really stands for neither. ummmm.... Christian Slater was also great in the lead performance.
9 out of 9 people found the following review useful: What a teen flick should be., 6 October 2004 Author: Martin Eaves from Warrington, England
I'm 28 now, but this film is still very important to me. PUTV is the best teen drama out there (though there aren't many to compete with it), it really grasps how so alone some teenagers can feel and how rejectedby the system they so often are. The film has dated some what, but if there ever was an early warning sign of the problems that face American schools today (columbine esque) this is it. You can only push teenagers so far before they lose the plot, end up killing themselves or other people, PUTV is about those feelings. Slater is the bomb in this film, he is truly awesome and Mathis plays a great sidekick. The fact she shows a bit of flesh makes the movie highly genuine, yes girls do get naked with boys whilst at high school. PUTV does now suffer with its meaning to the modern era, but modern kids still do get dejected and rejected and this film is a great message in saying.... You Are Not Alone! 10/10 Then.... 8/10 Now.
5 out of 5 people found the following review useful: Free speech, teen angst, small town, fun music (Spoiler), 12 December 2005 Author: daveclarkvibe from United States
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
The story of a big city kid who relocates to a small town with his parents. He has really cool toys that allow him to broadcast his thoughts, and soon some folks start listening and responding to his outrageous music and rants. HHH is the DJ of a movement of teens who echo their version of the Network anthem "I'm Mad as Hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!" When some folks cross the border of what is socially acceptable in expressing their frustration and anger, the community seeks to shut him down. Also a comedic, dark, romantic film. Christian Slater gives one of the best performances of his career, and the music is worth checking out - and I credit it for turning an entire generation onto Leonard Cohen and bringing a few bands from the fringe into the mainstream.
6 out of 7 people found the following review useful: A great Christian Slater film., 5 July 2004 Author: jeffman52001 from Normal, IL, USA
Pump Up the Volume really deals with the issues of being a teenager, I think this movie is as great as The Breakfast Club. The movie starts out with Mark Hunter (Christian Slater) a.k.a. Hard Harry running a pirate radio show, he is listened to by the students of Hubert Humphery High School and by a teacher, Ms Emerson (Ellen Green of Talk Radio and Glory Glory). The school is being runned by a corrupt principal Loretta Creswood (Annie Ross of Superman III) who weeds out kids who she thinks are losers. Harry becomes a reluctant hero to all the students in the school, he has some raunchy moments on his radio show but he reaches in the humanity of all who listen. A girl in his class,Nora Diniro(Samantha Mathis)learns who Hard Harry is, but won't tell anyone. Mark is so unhappy with moving out to Arizona, His father, Brian Hunter (Scott Paulin)who runs the school district and mother, Marla Hunter (Mimi Kennedy of Dahrma and Greg) try to help him but only push him away, Mark has some inner demons he has a hard time dealing with, one of his callers, Malcolm Kaiser wants to commit suicide and Harry does little to talk him out of it. Harry feels bad that he doesn't do anything to help him, he says somethings about being a teenager and also suicide, he made some real good points their. Harry falls for Nora, he opens up to her. Later on, the FCC are called in to find Hard Harry. Miss Creswood is later exposed and is suspended by Brian Hunter after finding out about her shady ways, thanks to Ms. Emerson. Harry tells his listeners to not to give up and live, he is nabbed and taken away.I feel that this movie really touched on some issues on being a teen and being to speak your thoughts. The cast really did a wonderful job, the supporting cast, Andy Romano (Admiral Bates of Under Siege 1 and 2) as Mr. Murdock, Cheryl Pollack as Paige Woodward, James Hampton (Teen Wolf 1 and 2 and Sling Blade) as Arthur Watts of the FCC. I give this movie 2 thumbs up and 10/10 stars.
5 out of 6 people found the following review useful: the sixties meets the 90s, 21 October 2006 Author: oyvay from Nelson New Zealand
I've seen Pump a few times but recently got the DVD and showed it to an 18 year old last night...the film has great resonances for me of the 60s generation and it still has power for the youth of today...amazingly, since they mainly seem motivated by IT, gadgets and money.All the performances were first rate and this film also introduces Leonard Cohen to a new generation. I'm sure schools today are worse then Hubert Humphrey high portrayed in the film...this was before Columbine...but you can see the fertile ground for the violence to follow.This is one of my all time favorite 'teen flicks' and I recommend it to all who want to see social and political relevance in movies.
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