Genres

Visitors Review

nicolah017 2013-06-16 18:51:01

Great film!

I was lucky enough to see this film at the Sacramento InternationalFilm and Music Festival. It was amazing. Waylon Payne is a great actor.I have yet to see him in "Walk The Line" but I liked him a lot in thisfilm and I hope to see him in a lot more. Ali Larter was the perfectEvelyn for this movie. It was great to see some well known actors, aswell as some not so well known actors.I have never heard of Hank Garland before this and I am now glad that Ihave. He was an amazing musician and I'm glad that his story is outthere for others to hear.I recommend others to see this, especially if they are into music. Ithink that it's an important part of music history.

jenisej-1 2013-06-16 08:19:54

Great movie, a must see!!!

I recently had the pleasure of seeing "Crazy" at the Breckenridge FilmFestival. It is an awesome movie, and won "Best of Fest" at thisFestival. The story centers on the life of Hank Garland, a talentedmusician who played with the likes of Elvis Presley and Patsy Cline.The costumes and scenes are fabulous and immediately give you thefeeling of being in the 1950's. From the beginning, this movie drawsyou into its characters and you not only care about them, but cannotwait to find out what happens next. There is a good bit of humor mixedinto the drama, and between the poignant moments, you will laugh outloud. The lead role, of Hank Garland, played by Waylon Payne, won BestActor at this Festival. The depth of his emotions and performanceamazed me.Besides a great story, fabulous scenes and costumes, and terrificacting, you also get a great soundtrack. I am only minimally versed orinterested in country music, and yet I have every intention of buyingthis soundtrack. The music selections are classics and sure to be anaddition to your musical library. When this movie opens nationally, Iwill pay to go see it again!

bigkahunaprod 2013-06-01 18:52:05

Crazy at Big Island Film Festival

In Hawaii where the residents truly value guitar talent and a goodstory, Crazy did not leave the 2008 Big Island Film Festival audiencesdisappointed. Although the Hawaiian guitar music is slack key style,the audiences appreciated the tumultuous story of Hank Garland'sNashville career. Under the stars, both residents and visitors enjoyedthe story, the performance of Waylon, the technical quality of thefilms and the music of the era. Many commented on how much the music ofCrazy was tied to the music of their parents. Many also asked whenCrazy was coming to the theaters, so they could see it again and shareit with their friends. It was a hit at Big Island Film Festival and wonthe Golden Honu Award for Best Feature. We are looking forward to RicBieber's next film.

lcarabello 2013-06-01 10:27:34

Emotional, compelling -- a must see

When I sat down to view Crazy! at the Hoboken, NJ film festival Ishould have asked for a seat belt. Sad, amusing, romantic and full ofsurprises would describe this first rate production -- and I am noteven a fan of country and western music! Anyone with a heart and soulwill relate to Bieber's realistic presentation of Hank Garland'spowerful life. Yes, I was teary-eyed but also grateful that this storyhas been brought to the screen.Crazy! was well-deserving of the first place recognition. I left thetent-theatre feeling fulfilled and enlightened about a period inhistory that merits our attention. Hats off to the talented actors andthe entire production crew.

diannanilsson 2013-05-31 00:28:38

Best Drama at Breckenridge Festival of Film

As part of the reviewing committee for the Breckenridge Festival ofFilm, I knew that "Crazy" was a film that had to be shown here!! Crazywon best drama and Waylon Payne won best actor. The music is fabulousas well as the directing, filming and costumes. For an indie, this isvery professionally done.The movie is based on the true story of Hank Garland who played withthe musical talents of Elvis Presley and Patsy Cline. I highlyrecommend this film. Here are some other comments from Breckfilmfestreviewers:Wow loved this film. very high quality and music was fantastic. storyflowed well keeping the attention of those of us watching. watched thiswith friends and they all loved it and felt it would be film festivalquality.Awesome film.....great acting...FABULOUS music. Totally enjoyed thedocu/drama. A must for the fest.Very well done. A time piece and a great success. Sad story of HankGarland. A very well told story. Just a bit slow in a couple of places.Good acting and casting and filming. Very well done.

vchimpanzee 2013-05-30 17:27:55

Now this is music! Depressing but well-done story, though

When I hear what passes for music in businesses and in movies and TV, Iwonder if there is any hope. Then I watch a movie like this. All of themusic is so good! The worst song is "Jingle Bell Rock", and that's onlybecause I want my Christmas music very traditional.It's hard to believe a bad boy like Hank Garland can play the guitar insuch a mellow style. Of course, he can do rock and roll, too, which iswhat someone like him would be expected to. But it's the good kind. Andhe seems happiest when he is playing.And then there is Wes Montgomery. Such a nice, pleasant jazz sound. Asportrayed by Tony MacAlpine, he looks like he's mad at someone, or atthe very least you don't want to mess with him. But he and his othermusicians do easy listening right, with sort of an attitude to keep itfrom being boring.Nice restaurants also have a pleasant but more generic jazz sound.Mandy Barnett as Patsy Cline (who, ironically, is never shown singingthe title song) and Shawn Colvin as Kitty Wells (I did not know who shewas supposed to be) give great performances. They never speak lines,but that's not important.Jason Alan Smith as Elvis was a disappointment. He never speaks, but hehas that trademark sneer on "Amazing Grace", which goes against theimage of Elvis showing respect while singing gospel music.But this is more than just great music. Hank Garland starts out as aclean-cut kid, but later on as a respected backup performer, he hasenough money to get what he wants, and manages to be charming with thewomen he can get, though men better not make him mad. All he seems toknow how to do when angered is punch somebody. Fortunately for Evelyn,it's never her. Though once she is married to him, he tells her hecares and never manages to show it. His career is his first priority.There are women, but of course they don't mean anything--right? Garlanddoes love their daughter, but he's hardly ever around. Nevertheless,Evelyn "stands by her man", but she does have needs.And while he claims to have co-written "Jingle Bell Rock", despite whatthe movie's credits say, he must deal with a system that makes himchoose between being a performer and a writer. Garland wants to beboth. And the people who don't want Garland going against the system can domore than just punch Garland's lights out. While much of the movie other than the music is unpleasant to watch,the acting performances are good. Ali Larter showed obvious concern,for example, when she noticed another woman looking at her husband. There's a reason for the movie's title (other than the Patsy Cline songthat is limited to the closing credits) which I will only say isrevealed in the first scene. Other than that, I feel I would be givingaway too much. I have to wonder why "Sugarfoot" was not used as atitle, since two songs with this name are Garland's trademarks, andthis becomes a nickname. The movie deals with racism. Country/rock performer Garland discoversjazz and dares to enter an all-black club where the music is played. Heis seen as an outsider, but once he starts playing that kind of music,this is no longer the case. But having a "colored man" in his groupbackfires once he returns to the South. Hotels won't welcome the man,and Evelyn claims she is trying to raise their daughter with the rightvalues and can't have the likes of him around her. It's worth seeing, for the music if nothing else. Just remember HankGarland went through so much misery to make us so happy.

2013-05-29 17:56:06

Request for information

Hello, I would like to know if this video includes spanish subtitles.Thanks so much

peacherpeace 2013-05-29 02:43:58

CRAZY @ Charleston, SC

Hi, I saw CRAZY at the Charleston International Film Festivalwww.CharlestonIFF.com, South Carolina at the Terrace Theaterwww.TerraceTheater.com, and thought it was awesome on the big screen,the music, the acting was really impressive! I had no idea about themusic industry back then and how musicians were treated in regards tocontract terms, rights, etc. It really opened my eyes and isinteresting to compare how it was then to now. It's really crazy,tragic and also inspiring when you realize this person put music aboveall else, fought against the system that was completely slanted infavor of the studios and how he maintained after a turn of bad luck.I've had the chance to speak with friends of Hank Garland at thescreening, musicians and friends of his. One senior lady came in slowlyand mentioned she and Hank were friends. I told her I'd love to hearafterwards if the movie was accurate of his life and maverickpersonality. Afterwards she said it was just like she remembered him.If you have a chance to see this film CRAZY in a theater somewhere, I'ddefinitely recommend checking it out....

gpswenson 2013-05-19 23:34:51

Needs sharper editing, script

Waylon Payne is a pleasure to see in action, and believable as anesteemed guitarist of the period, but the role that is written is notthe life of Hank Garland. There are discrepancies in the chronology ofthe music, and who was where on what night and what year that are justnot forgivable in a bio-pic. A fictional period piece can play withfacts like that, but not when you're telling someone's life story. Also(and here's the *SPOILER*) unless there is irrefutable proof that HankGarland's wife was getting banged doggie-style in front of a bunch ofrecord executives, that kind of vulgarity should NEVER have been a partof this film. For lands sakes, their kids are still living, and - evenif it were true - it really brings this film into the toilet to be sographic about infidelity. It would be plenty to say she cheated. Thereare a million and one ways to even let the viewer know she made somekind of performance out of it (if she really did) but showing it thisway and the subsequent inference that she was in cahoots with peoplewho tried to kill her husband goes WAY outside the bounds of "creativelicense." There was never any suggestion (in real life) that Garland'scar accident was anything but an accident in the news. If the filmwants to entertain a possibility of criminal activity, they sure asheck should not drag Mrs. Garland into it.I enjoyed the music, but I do wish Mandy Barnett wouldn't get quite sofar behind the beat. She gets more exaggerated with that "style" everyyear. She's got a gorgeous voice, but she needs a producer who willkeep time for her. The Elvis scenes are pretty cut-and-paste with anElvis imitator that verges on parody. The instrumentals are uniformlyfantastic, while the vocals are not true to their time period,employing a style of singing and playing that reeks of 2004, but isstill good music. Just not 1955-1962 music. Set design is pretty, but alittle too obvious and a showroom kind of way in all but the lastscenes. The rooms don't feel lived in as much as displayed. Theexterior shots were well done, except for a lack of other-than-showroomvintage cars, and the costuming captured the period well. The storyitself - even to succeed as a fictional account - needs much sharperediting. There's a real drag to some of the scenes and a morose tonethat plays like a funeral dirge. The scenes with the band members and acouple that Payne carries mostly on his own give this some life, butthere are some fragmented story lines of characters we get to knowenough to wonder about, but that are never resolved, yet a completelack of reference to anything happening in the rest of the world (andthese were some pretty tumultuous years).I wanted to like this film. I'm a fan of both Waylon Payne and HankGarland, and I think they both deserved better writing.

jbehr0904 2013-05-19 09:19:37

Songwriter/Guitarist unable to control his world unraveling seemingly by no fault of his own. The struggle he faces to keep music ahead of other worldly problems.

Wanted this movie to better, felt more like 'The Real World' than 'Walkthe Line'. anti climactic and confusing in places, underdevelopedcharacter re pore. important story lines disregarded in place of emptydialog. issues of race as well as alcoholism thrown into the forefrontbriefly with little or no precedent set earlier in the film. solidacting lost due to wavering plot lines and lack of characterdevelopment save that of Hank Garland. seemingly contrived movie title,this movie often feigns at an 'Aviator' like tragedy when in realitycomes closer to that of an 'A.I.' with a melancholy and somewhat abruptending. carried by performance of main character Hank Garland (WaylonPayne), whose performance just might be worth the price of admission.

Sam Rodgers 2013-05-15 11:20:23

Excellent Film, Waylon Payne was great!

I was able to view this film at the Charleston Film Festival where itwon Best Picture. I did not know who Hank Garland was. I thought it wasa big film for the festival which is why I wanted to view it, there wasa lot of hype on the film before it came to Charleston, SC.I was pleasantly surprised at the casting of the film. Waylon Paynewhich at the time didn't know he was also in Walk the Line was anamazing feature to the film. Ali Larter of course is known to manymovie goers but Waylon stole the performance. He was great on camera,very believable, an extraordinary actor. I look forward to seeing moreof what he can do on film.I would recommend seeing this film when it releases. Rick Bieber is nota new filmmaker, he has a long Bio of being in charge of HBO Picturesto Producing such films that we already know such as Flatliners. Thiswas a great effort, I applaud the entire Cast & Crew, job well done!

communionsong 2013-05-14 17:35:22

Pretty Good Movie

I was expecting something along the lines of "Coal Miner's Daughter" or"Sweet Dreams" when telling the story of Hank Garland. To me it cameacross as a "first-time" movie that needed to be re-done to look moreprofessional. I guess it's just me. However, the 1950's ambiance wasfantastic with the fashion, furniture and especially the cars. WOW. Ijust wished they included more of the songs Hank Garland wrote. I diddownload the MP3 of the album and listen to it often. Spoiler ahead:The guy who played Elvis sings a fantastic version of "Amazing Grace".It sounded just like him. I just wish that was included in the MP3soundtrack.

Havan_IronOak 2013-05-05 22:39:29

Strangely compelling Bio-pic

Apparently Hank Garland was a great guitar player. Perhaps a greatmusician and not much else. In keeping with that, the music in thisfilm was great as well, but the story was strangely unmoving. If this pic is to be believed, he was bad at marriage. He married awoman but neither one loved the other in the truest sense of that word,that is wanting their happiness more than one's own. Each just wantedsome of their needs met. On the positive side, Garland was essentiallycolor-blind when it came to music but again, that may not have been areal virtue in his case as much as just a failure to see anythingoutside the music. Because of his arrogance and talent he was a problem for those aroundhim. That failing eventually brought about much of the unhappiness inhis life. The ending sort of suggested that in the end he was left with littlebut the songs he'd recorded and strangely that might have been enough.As with many movies, things are simplified to fit in the allotted timeand I'm still unclear about many aspects of his life. For example, he'slisted as being survived by two daughters and two grandsons namedGarland. I'm not clear how that was possible. Given that facts likethat have been left out of this film, I wonder what else was left out.BTW... there is another, very different movie C.R.A.Z.Y. that I enjoyedmore and it has great music as well.

samkan 2013-05-05 11:27:01

Hate To Disagree........

I'm going to take a lot of heat for this review but............The sets and acting were superb. The script was good. There was justenough -not too much, not too little- music and it sounded awesome. Thestory dragged in spots and some of the scenes between Hank and Evelyn(there were many) were overly long and repetitive, i.e., we've alreadybeen told the relationship is falling apart.Here's where I get into trouble: There just was not enough dynamicaspects, events, etc., in Hank Garland's life to make as effective astory as; e.g., Johnny Cash, Ray Charles, Jim Morrison, Muddy Waters,John Lennon, etc. I know, I know....why should Hank suffer because hewas a better guy than the listed group? It's to his credit that themovie didn't grovel in low-life and was not quite as tragic as; e.g.,Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, Sid Vicious, Patsy Cline, etc. But neitherdoes it make for riveting entertainment.I'm reviewer #18. CRAZY scored several "10"'s and while I appreciateand respect those reviews I'm wondering where those guys make room forreally highbrow stuff. I'm a guitar player/lover and would have enjoyedCRAZY even it wasn't half as good as it was. But I couldn't get intoHank's character as he was just the same well intentioned but excitableguy throughout. The sub-plot (sub-relationships?) between Hank andbrother, friends and business partners didn't really have function -they were just THERE. The only thing that truly stirred me was my angerat Evelyn for screwing around with Hank's arch enemy! But any viewercould have seen from the beginning of the relationship that it wasdoomed and the whole last third of the movie was just flat (if truetoo).As far as music industry biopics, if you want insight into the musicindustry watch CADILLAC RECORDS or GRACE OF MY HEART. If you want ragsto riches and tragedy watch THE BUDDY HOLLY STORY, LA BAMBA or SID &NANCY. If you want character development watch RAY or I WALK THE LINE.If you want capture and spirit of the era watch THE DOORS or ALMOSTFAMOUS. If you prefer all of the above in a Nashville setting watchCOAL MINER'S DAUGHTER or SWEET DREAMS. There were many aspects of CRAZYthat were better than many aspects of the above films. But CRAZYdoesn't stack up as whole as do most of such.PS / When is some contemporary filmmaker going to do justice to HankWilliams!?

melodymaniac 2013-03-24 17:32:33

"To Whom Much Is Given...

...much is expected". This is the story of Hank Garland, a 1950'sNashville studio musician turned legend by way of his extraordinaryguitar picking artistry. Though Garland never quite seems to reach thepersonal plateau of his own musical genius, his story is woven with theusual highs and lows made famous by others in his peer group, mostnotably- Elvis Presley. First time movie director, Rick Bieber (whoco-wrote the movie with Jason Ehlers) has effectively managed tocombine the key elements of movie making that transfuse joy, sadnesshumor and anger from the screen to the viewer. Additionally, thestellar cast of lead actors (Waylon Payne, Ali Larter,Lane Garrison andScott Michael Campbell) have all rendered life-like performances with apalpable sense of finesse that had me holding a torch of hope forGarland, almost to the end. Sadly though, history wrote that endingwith a different curve. Nonetheless, Bieber has painted a more thanrealistic canvas necessary for this movie goer to keep from reachingfor the "clicker." Not once did I do it...and that my friends, for me,is the sign of decent flick!

Suz51651 2013-03-24 14:30:21

Well done, I was thoroughly impressed with every aspect of the film from beginning to end.

"Crazy" held great appeal for me in that it was believable, cast well,had good content and stellar acting. I particularly enjoyed the openingscene, where and how it took the viewers and felt it was an easy movieto follow. I never got lost and or lose interest which happens withtoday's movies far too often. I was riveted to the screen frombeginning to end. I loved the music (all of it), the authenticity ofthe sound, costumes, sets, colors, cars, instruments - for me, it allworked. I felt as though I was taken on a journey through thecharacters lives and could empathize with each and every one. I ran thegamut of emotions from joy, pain, frustration, hope, disappointment andultimately wonder. The music was magnificent, great score. The actorsmorphed into their characters and were totally believable. I actuallylost all track of time and was surprised and disappointed when themovie ended - I wanted more. Not being a huge fan of country music, yetloving music, I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed it and nowlisten to the CD frequently, particularly the title song "Crazy" sungby Stacy Earl. I enjoyed the format of the movie and though it wasdark, it had other elements that allowed me to forgive the grim ending.As a movie goer, we all want happy endings but realize in real life,and this was real life, that isn't always the case. On the contrary,this was and seems to be typical of celebrity. I'm wondering if there'syet more story to be told about these people. It seemed to me therecould be more content about their personal lives that could be revealedwithout the movie being overworked or overdone. What happened to thecharacters later on? Who was with whom, who lived, who died, how didthey cope? Feeling this way makes me want more and that was what I wasexperiencing after viewing it. I wanted more. The best compliment I cangive any film, concert, play, etc., is to leave wanting more and I ratethis movie a 10.

jagdriver62 2013-03-17 14:17:04

Well crafted, well acted production with outstanding musical performances

I recently saw Crazy at the Hoboken Film Festival and was blown away byevery aspect of the movie. Not knowing anything about the life of HankGarland I was captivated from the opening scene to the very end. Themovie is extremely well written and well cast. The actors have theircharacters down pat and give very believable performances, especiallyWaylon Payne as Hank. Director Rick Bieber's technique of filling thescreen with his characters' faces completely draws you in, and AliLarter has never looked more beautiful. I can't wait to see it on a bigtheatrical screen. If you like music of any kind you'll find this filmfascinating.

gpswenson 2013-03-17 02:40:41

Needs sharper editing, script

Waylon Payne is a pleasure to see in action, and believable as anesteemed guitarist of the period, but the role that is written is notthe life of Hank Garland. There are discrepancies in the chronology ofthe music, and who was where on what night and what year that are justnot forgivable in a bio-pic. A fictional period piece can play withfacts like that, but not when you're telling someone's life story. Also(and here's the *SPOILER*) unless there is irrefutable proof that HankGarland's wife was getting banged doggie-style in front of a bunch ofrecord executives, that kind of vulgarity should NEVER have been a partof this film. For lands sakes, their kids are still living, and - evenif it were true - it really brings this film into the toilet to be sographic about infidelity. It would be plenty to say she cheated. Thereare a million and one ways to even let the viewer know she made somekind of performance out of it (if she really did) but showing it thisway and the subsequent inference that she was in cahoots with peoplewho tried to kill her husband goes WAY outside the bounds of "creativelicense." There was never any suggestion (in real life) that Garland'scar accident was anything but an accident in the news. If the filmwants to entertain a possibility of criminal activity, they sure asheck should not drag Mrs. Garland into it.I enjoyed the music, but the Elvis scenes are pretty cut-and-paste withan Elvis imitator that verges on parody. The instrumentals areuniformly fantastic, while the vocals are not true to their timeperiod, employing a style of singing and playing that reeks of 2004,but is still good music - Just not 1955-1962 music. Set design ispretty, but a little too obvious in a showroom kind of way in all butthe last scenes. The rooms don't feel lived in as much as displayed.The exterior shots were well done, except for a lack ofother-than-classic, mint condition vintage cars, and the costumingcaptured the period well. The story itself - even to succeed as afictional account - needs much sharper editing. There's a real drag tosome of the scenes and a morose tone that plays like a funeral dirge.The scenes with the band members and a couple that Payne carries mostlyon his own give this some life, but there are some fragmented storylines of characters we get to know enough to wonder about, but that arenever resolved, yet a complete lack of reference to anything happeningin the rest of the world (and these were some pretty tumultuous years).I wanted to like this film. I'm a fan of both Waylon Payne and HankGarland, and I think they both deserved better writing.