Spike Island

Taking its cue from the sort of pandering nostalgia that usually gets peddled to Baby Boomers, Mat Whitecross' irritating Spike Island follows a teenage gang of the Stone Roses' superfans in 1990 Manchester. While getting their own Stone Roses-influenced group off the ground, the boys try to score tickets to the band's legendary concert on Spike Island, which the film naturally insists “defined a generation.” At least the music licensing is impeccable—every song from the Stone Roses' self-titled debut album gets played here. Whitecross tries to match the energy of the music with his camera, but his film is a poseur, a lot closer to Detroit Rock City than Rock 'n' Roll High School. Spike Island came out in England two years ago, and it's being released now to coincide with the high visibility of Game of Thrones star Emilia Clarke, who is barely in the movie. D.B.