Jon (Gleeson) is an office worker and aspiring singer/songwriter, held back only by his complete lack of talent. So when he gets an opportunity to join a band as the keyboard player, he grabs it – and so begins a very different stage in his life.

This is a band unlike any other. Jon has joined The Soronprfbs, led by the enigmatic Frank (Fassbender), who wears an oversized papier mâché human head at all times (even while showering). The rest of the group is similarly strange – oddballs, suicidal misfits, sociopaths. And the music they produce, as might be expected, is anything but mainstream.

Jon joins the band as they retreat to a remote cabin to record a new album, and quickly discovers that he may be in way over his head. As creative tensions abound, Jon is our sane guide through this eclectic wackiness as the band skirts the boundaries of art and popularity.

Frank is a hilarious, and at times poignant, examination of the world of rock and roll. Fassbender is obviously enjoying the chance to break free from the more serious, dark roles he has received so much acclaim for – he brings an exuberance and energy to Frank that is the centre of the film. You’ll enjoy this manic ride through a strange, strange world.

He’s stolen the Declaration of Independence, kicked superhero ass, left Las Vegas, stormed Alcatraz and had his face taken off. But there’s one thing Nicolas Cage hasn’t done in a while: been in a good movie. Let’s face it, in the nearly twenty years since he took home the Best Actor Oscar for Leaving Las Vegas, Cage has appeared mostly in mediocre action flicks that require him to do little more than alternate between screaming and whispering lines, while showcasing increasingly ridiculous hairdos.

Joe thankfully and finally brings Cage back to his indie roots with an electric performance as the titular ex-con, a man simply trying to get by in America’s rural south. He’s ostensibly good and kind-hearted, even if his many vices and his inability to stay out of trouble may indicate otherwise. So when a new-to-town fifteen-year-old (Sheridan) comes looking for work, Joe obliges, but the discovery that the boy is tormented at home by his drunkard father (Poulter) awakens in Joe a deep paternal instinct and an opportunity for redemption.

Cage owns the film with an unmissable comeback performance but Gary Poulter is equally deserving of praise as the monstrous father. What’s perhaps even more incredible than his performance is that, prior to making his acting debut in this film, Poulter was in fact a real-life homeless man. Sadly, Poulter’s first role would also be his last: he was found dead just two months after filming concluded, having drowned in a puddle following an alcohol-induced seizure.