Wow! Love this movie. Total surprise.

Rating: 10/10 (12 September 2014)

First off given the subject I expected the usual type of plot, find talented shy nobody and make them a star. So cliché and overdone, but I knew it was better than that from the festival reviews I read when it made the circuit. This movie has a very natural feeling to it. They did not overdo anything. That alone makes it amazing to me. They did not pull any cliché punches. Other than maybe Adam Levine's character is a jerk after he get's famous, but they even pulled that back in a way that felt realistic to me. Love Adam Levine's version of Lost Stars. I found out it was written by Greg Alexander, formerly from the New Radicals and Danielle Brisebois! Remember her, former child star? Well I have loved songs from both of them over the years, so I was happy when I found out they wrote this song. The acting was very good. Even the smallest parts seemed to be so well cast, like a group of kids who get pulled in to sing on the street. I am not a big fan of Keira Knightley but she did a very good job here and also she has a pretty good voice. It was effective. I pretty much love Mark Ruffalo in anything. James Corden did a great job as the friend. One thing that came through the screen was they all actually seemed to be having fun. That was nice. This movie was also so refreshing, no sex, no offensive stuff and about 4 swear words total. How rare is that? One of the best movies I have seen this year. Really a true feel good movie without clichés and stupid plot lines. Great job everyone. I hope you win best song at the Oscars so more people will go and see the movie. The little movie that could. Sort of like the plot!