Tag Archives: School of Rock

School of Rock would end very differently today

School of Rock is one of my favourite movies of all time. For those who don’t know, School of Rock is a 2003 movie starring Jack Black.

School of Rock
About to go to Jail, PC: Wikipedia

Black plays Dewey Finn who has just been booted from his band. He has no income and has a week to come up with rent money, so he impersonates his roommate as a substitute school teacher. Instead of teaching the kids the curriculum, he turns them into a rock band. Just a day before they are due to participate in the Battle of the Bands, though, he’s caught and makes a run for it. The kids, however, decide to run away from school anyways and participate. When the parents find out, they are furious. But when they watch their kids perform, the power of Rock n Roll melts their hearts. Finn ends up starting an after-school music program and the kids become regular rockers under his tutelage.

Even in 2003, the movie could hardly be called “realistic”, but in 2021 the entire premise is rather laughable. This is because parents these days are much more anal about school. As a father of a Primary Grader, I know. Some personal examples of the unbelievable lengths parents go to micromanage their kids’ schooling

  1. Parents taking an AQI meter to their kids’ classroom to fight with the school administration about how polluted the classroom is. All the parents gather and scream at the school to reduce ventilation.
  2. Parents taking a CO2 meter to their kids’ classroom to fight with the school administration about how stuffy the classroom is. All the parents gather and scream at the school to increase ventilation.
  3. Parents fighting with the school teachers if their kid gets a tiny scratch while playing.
  4. Woke parents fighting with the school teacher for using “he” and “she” to refer to the kids instead of “they”.
  5. Parents fighting with the school teacher because the muffins served for snacks had “too many raisins” & “too little wholegrain”.
  6. Parents complaining that their “precious kid” doesn’t get enough attention in class and feels sad (with 1 teacher for every 3 kids).
  7. They enrol their kids at International Schools and complain about how the curriculum is “too progressive” and there’s too little of “traditional studying”.

It doesn’t take long for them to make a new WhatsApp group and rally other parents against the school. After all this, they also have time to fight with the school administration about how high the fees are.

During our childhood, our parents were not as passionate about our schooling. I appreciate that parents these days are more involved, but some of them have taken things to a whole new level; especially those sending their kids to fancy schools. When I went to drop my daughter to school, I would always find some parent arguing with the teachers. I felt bad for the teachers and the school administration, that they had to spent so much time pacifying anal parents.

If School of Rock were to come out in 2021, people would probably have it banned immediately.

My List Of Favorite Movies

Well, since everyone is doing it, I have also decided to compile a list of my favorite movies. These are the movies which I can watch again and again and again….. They are arranged in no particular order. Please don’t mind if you find the list a little biased towards sly.
1. Rocky:- Undoubtedly, the Rocky movies are my favorite movies of all time, Rocky(1976) being my most beloved movie of all. This movie combined just the right mix of emotions, action and sentiments. However, I liked the rest of the movie much more than the fight sequence at the end. Slowly, the emotional content rapidly diminishes from Rocky II onwards till Rocky V where John G. Avildsen returns to the director’s chair. Even though the movie(V) didn’t do particularly well, I liked it a lot. I think Sylvester “Sly” Stallone looked his best in Rocky III while the lean look in Rocky IV was excellent. Dolph Lundgren was the perfect choice for Ivan Drago’s character in Rocky IV. All the characters – Adrian, Mickey, Pauli, Gazzo, Butkus are perfectly casted. It was after seeing this movie that I went on an exercising spree 😉 The greatest movie series of all time excellent soundtrack by Bill Conti, Vince Di Cola, Survivor etc.!!
2. Godfather:- I have nothing much to say about the Godfather movies. I think Grooveguru will be a much better judge than me. Excellent acting by Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, Robert Duvall, although I found the 3rd part a bit disappointing(I slept through it.. Yawn!!) One of the best dialogues of movie history “I’ll make him an offer he can’t refuse…”
3. First blood/ Rambo II/Rambo III:- My favorite action movie. I saw first blood around 12 years ago. You can’t but feel sorry for Rambo John J. as he is picked on by the town sherrif and his deputies. Soon, you feel sorry for the sherrif as Rambo goes on a killing spree through town. Actually, I felt so much hatred for actor Brian Dennehy(who played the sherrif) that I won’t watch any of his movies any more. No doubt Sylvester Stallone looked his career best in this movie. The sequels Rambo II and Rambo III were also excellent though not as good as First Blood. Excellent acting by Sly and also great song “It’s a long road” by Dan Hill.
4. School of Rock:- I agree that this wasn’t such a great movie. But it inspired me to start playing guitar so I thought it deserved a spot in my list. If those twerps can play guitar, so can I. Jack Black is a great actor and a great guitarist. Great soundtrack by The Who, No Vacancy, The doors, Led Zeppelin, The Ramones and many other artists. The kids played “It’s a long way to the top” perfectly.
5. Back to the Future I,II,III:- Steven Spielberg churns out a masterpiece again!! I am a science fiction fan and this movie is my favorite sci-fi flick.. All the three movies of this trilogy are excellent. Michael J. Fox(Playing Marty Mc Fly) travels into the past and future with the help of the whacky scientist (Christopher Lloyd). These movies are quite hilarious and fast paced. The expressions used by Fox are excellent and makes the viewer break up into peals of laughter.
6. October Sky:- I am surprised to know that not many people have watched this wonderful movie. It’s based in 1957,Coalwood, West Virginia. Homer Hickam(Jake Gyllenhaal) strives to break away from mining(which is the profession of his dad and the whole town) and become a rocket scientist. Slow paced, this movie touches an emotional chord. Excellent cinematography and great acting makes this movie worth watching many times.
7. Enter the Dragon:- This is the best martial arts movie of all time. Bruce Lee is just electrifying as he goes to Hahn’s island to avenge the death of his sister and expose his drug racket. Great fight scenes, especially the one with the mirrors. Bruce Lee’s last movie and probably his best too. Great fight performances by Bruce Lee and John Saxon. I am sorry but no one including Jet Li, Jackie Chan(Duh!!), can match the acting or fighting performances of Bruce Lee.
8. Alien/Aliens:- My favorite horror/sci-fi movies. My favorite of this series is Aliens(second part of the sequel). Sighourney Weaver proves her capability as an action star. The first movie is very primitive while the second part is much modern filled with non-stop action. Even after I have watched the movies several times now, the sudden appearances of the Aliens sends a chill down my spine. Great acting by Lance Henriksen(Bishop), Michael Biehn accompanied by great cinematography, the constant tension in the air makes this a horror movie worth watching.
9. Star Wars:- A great movie series. The series is so long and has so many actors that describing all of them will be a bore. However, George Harrison’s acting is commendable. Soundtrack is also great. R2D2, C3PO and Chewie have become immortal characters even though they weren’t even human. Also commendable is the decision to make the movie starting from the 4th episode and the ultimate twist in the 6th Episode.
10.Forrest Gump:- A truly emotional as well as funny movie showing the exceptional life led by a dim guy called Forrest Gump(Iq of only 75). From school-to football star-to the army-to ping pong star-to fishing tycoon, life leads him from one adventure to another.The scenes where he meets great celebrities like John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon and John Lennon(Surprisingly, they all die). Anyways, the greatest point of the movie may be the dialogue “I’m not a smart man. But I *know* what love is…”