'Shine a Light' review - Stones Hit, Scorsese Misses

I saw the Rolling Stones live last year for the first time and I was blown away. I've been a Stones fan for decades but have never had any interest in stadium rock concerts with their huge crowds and tiny stars on stage. The few stadium shows I've attended were always mediocre experiences. But the Stones' Bigger Bang tour changed my mind.

For one, the enormous video screens make every seat great. Beyond that, it was the Rolling Stones that won me over. Rocking songs, incredible performances, unbelievable energy, and every one in the crowd dancing and singing the whole show. And these guys are in their sixties! Watching 'Shine a Light' on IMAX at times made me feel like I was actually at a live Stones concert, but then I kept feeling that something key was missing. And it was.

Martin Scorsese covered the two explosive shows at the Beacon Theater in New York with 18 cameras but he somehow missed getting the band. As expected, lead singer and ringmaster, Mick Jagger, gets the most screen time, with guitarist, Keith Richards, coming in a not too distant second. And then there's Ron Wood, the second guitarist, and some might argue, the better soloist, He has juicy moments on screen, but is shockingly absent time and again when soloing, the camera instead lingering on a prancing Jagger or posing Richards.

And where is drummer Charlie Watts? Watching 'Shine a Light' one might think the Stones had backing tracks instead of a live drummer. Watts is the quiet one (who doesn't dye his hair) but he's the backbone of their sound, keeping time, holding it down while the boys jump around. I kept wanting to see shots of Watts, not only for the variety of imagery and the visual reinforcement that there really is a live drummer hitting the cowbell on 'Honky Tonk Women,' but also because he's an original Rolling Stone. Sadly, there are only a handful of very brief clips featuring Watts, and just as few wide shots of the whole band on stage. And Watts is not the only one nearly absent from the movie.

Although the original members are Jagger, Richards, Watts and Wood (Wood joined in 1974 so he's not actually an original Stone), they tour with a number of key support musicians, including bass player, Daryl Jones (who's worked with them since 1994), a keyboardist, a horn section and three back-up singers. However, except for some brief interplay between Jagger and the back-up singers, the other musicians are absent from the film. It's not so unusual to relegate non-member, support players to minor roles in concert movies, but to avoid them altogether is baffling and frustrating.

The support musicians may not be Rolling Stones but they are a part of the band. They are playing the music and adding to the sights and sounds on stage. But 'Shine a Light' mostly kept them in the dark. This isn't how a real concert is experienced. In concert the other players are seen and often featured in the spotlight as soloists. But time and again in 'Shine a Light', we hear a piano riff, a sax solo, a horn section blast, a bass run, but we never actually see who's playing. We neither get full nor medium shots, nor even close-ups of hands playing. We don't even get quick cuts of the support players, as one might see interspersed regularly throughout most filmed live concerts today. Instead, we see lingering shots of Jagger and Richards, sometimes so close you can see the brown behind Jagger's teeth, while a saxophone or some other player wails somewhere off-camera. The Stones sound is some much more than guitar, bass, drums and vocals. A concert is so much more than the starring players, but you don't get that from this film. It's as if the film makers had tin ears.

This is baffling because they had 18-camera shooting the action. So the film makers either didn't get the coverage, or they decided in the editing room not to include the other players. Bad decision. This gives the movie, the Stones concert experience, a frustrating myopic feel. I kept wanting to see what I was hearing, but couldn't. I kept wanting to get a visual of the focal point in the song and on stage, but it was not delivered. Even one of the few times Jaggar plays harmonica is off-camera. This left me feeling short-changed.

Ultimately, 'Shine a Light' is slightly claustrophobic, with all its medium and close shots. It rarely opens up to show the entire band on stage. The film suffers as a result, as wide shots would have provided much needed breathing room, offering a more open perspective, and also providing the myriad tight shots with context. We do see the interplay between Jagger and Richards, or between Richards and Wood, but we don't see the whole band working together as a unit. And ultimately that's what a live Stones show, or any live rock show is all about--a group of individuals performing together as a band. Even if Scorsese decided that the film was all about the four Stones, he could have easily divided the enormous screen into quads, now and again, so we could see the four Stones working their magic simultaneously in a multi-screen format. This is common place today and highly effective.

It's baffling that with all the resources at hand and experience behind him, Scorsese didn't quite deliver the goods. It's as if his infatuation with the visages of Jagger and Richards blinded him from showing us the Rolling Stones. 'Shine a Light' is enjoyable for sure, but suffers from a limited vision.

Fletch (Michael Ritchie, 1985, Grade: B)

Crazyman screenwriter Andrew Bergman (The In-Laws, Blazing Saddles) contributes another set of one-liners and zany situations, and director Michael Ritchie and star Chevy Chase are certainly the right people to translate it to the screen. Although the film works well enough as a legit mystery, it's the non-stop zingers delivered by Chase, who is basically playing a reporter who thinks he's found corruption in high places. The thing which makes Fletch different from most mysteries is that most of the time he is posing as some other character and/or using disguises to try to figure out why a millionaire (Tim Matheson) wants to pay him (or the beach bum he pretends he is) $50,000 to kill him. But, don't worry about why; just go along for the wild ride with Gordon Liddy, Ted Nugent, John Cocktosten, Mr. Poon, Don Corleone, Harry S. Truman, Dr. Rosenpenis, and all of Fletch's other aliases.

The Reivers (Mark Rydell, 1969, Grade: B)

This film version of William Faulkner's coming-of-age novel, set circa 1910 in Mississippi and Mempnis, focuses on a few days in the life of 11-year-old Lucius (Mitch Vogel), who, along with his family's handyman Boon (Steve McQueen) and his mulatto cousin Ned (Rupert Crosse), sneaks off in the brand new car which belongs to Lucius' grandfather (Will Geer) while the rest of the family attends a funeral. The story is narrated by the much-older Lucius (voice of Burgess Meredith) who fully understands how significant those days were when he learned quite a few important truths about life. The film mostly plays out as a comedy, with McQueen and Crosse (Oscar nomed for Best Supporting Actor) making a good team, but especially near the end, there are several touching moments which raise the film up a notch.

In the Valley of Elah (Paul Haggis, 2007, Grade: B-)

This is a serious rumination on war, and the current Iraq war in particular, which was unfairly neglected upon its release last year. Inspired by a true story, the film follows a father/husband (Tommy Lee Jones) who tries to find out what happened to his son when he disappears shortly after returning to the U.S. from his tour in Iraq. The father is an ex-MP, so he's familiar with both the military and investigation techniques, and, as it turns out, he does more to solve the case than both the Army and the local New Mexico police authorities. He is aided though by a single police detective mother (Charlize Theron). What happened to his son is learned soon enough, but it's much harder to determine the why. The film is compelling in and of itself, but when thought of as a sort of companion piece to No Country For Old Men, a film it shares several actors, DP Roger Deakins, and a theme or two, it takes on even more interest.

Don't Look Now (1973)
Begins with Julie Christie and Donald Sutherland and their two kids at their country home in England. The young daughter accidentally drowns in a pond. Sometime afterwards, the couple are in Venice helping with the restoration of a church. They meet a blind psychic who claims to "see" their dead daughter, and eerie stuff begins happening there afterwards. Very slow paced, I'd forgotten how slow after not seeing this flick for so many years. Not really satisfying as a thriller or suspense movie. Would have been better if 25 min were trimmed off it and the storytelling weren't so disjointed.

Bee Movie

I wasn't expecting much. I usually only trust Disney and Pixar when it comes to animation, they always look better (and have a better story) than anything the other studios put out. This was no exception. While the animation was very pretty, the story was the WORST thing I've ever sat through! It never made me or my children laugh outloud. Okay, I take that back, I laughed at the part with the passengers on the plane at the end of the movie. I dunno why. Maybe it's because I could sympathize having to wait for the captain to turn off the "fasten seatbelt" sign after we've landed. (They sure take their sweet time, don't they? ) Or maybe it's because I wanted to laugh and I was finally able to at that part. Other than that, we were bored outta our skulls! The kids had given up on the movie about halfway through. I stuck it out just to see where it was going. Boy, did I waste my time!

Who thought a courtroom drama would be a great idea for a kids movie? That had to be THE DUMBEST thing I've ever seen! Alot of this movie was just really ridiculous. Every plant dying when the bees stop working? Not every plant depends on bees and they only need their help when it comes to reproduction, NOT STAYING ALIVE! At least that's how I've always understood it. I could be wrong, but I DO know that all workers are female and that seems to be more than the writers know. (Why is this happeneing so much? They made male cows WITH UDDERS in "Barnyard"! Did everyone in animation just catch a case of stupid or what?) I cannot recommend this movie to anyone!

D
(It went up a grade because the animation did look good. However, it was the story that brung this picture down!)

Sorry about that chimpy, I haven't seen that film yet but if I were you, I would have seen either Finding Nemo or Ratatouille—if you ask me.

Stop-Loss A-
The Visitor A

quote:

Originally posted by FragileKidA:
Sorry about that chimpy, I haven't seen that film yet but if I were you, I would have seen either Finding Nemo or Ratatouille—if you ask me.

It wasn't like I had a choice between "Ratatouille" and "D Movie", for some reason this crap was Columbia House's director's selection. Don't ask me why. I wasn't in a rush to watch it, but the wife told me her friend wanted to borrow it and she wanted me to watch it with the kids before she loaned it out.

Along Came Polly

I'm never curious to see romantic comedies. I find 'em funny... at times, but most of the time they get pretty sappy and they lay the "problems with relationships" on pretty thick. This movie was like that... but was more gut-busting than any others I've seen! Can anyone play the "uptight boyfriend" better than Ben Stiller? This guy seems to have been born for these roles. Jennifer Aniston was perfectly adorable as a lazy caterer and I was floored at the intro of Philip Seymour Hoffman's Sandy* (and pretty much everything else this guy did)! Hank Azaria also played his best character I've seen so far! It's your basic "a-new-husband-finds-his-new-wife-in-bed-with-another-man-and-then-he-runs-into-a-free-spirited-woman-who-shows-him-life-is-supposed-to-be-fun" story, but it's execution is a complete joy to watch!

A

I'm glad my brother twisted my arm into seeing it! Sometimes you just can't tell about his tastes. This is a guy who LOVES Martin Lawrence movies. I'm talkin' EVERY Martin Lawrence movie. Including "Big Momma's House"! Oh, wait. That's right! He recently went to the theater and saw there was a new Martin Lawrence movie and bought a ticket without any knowledge on the plot. He walked out PISSED after 20 minutes. He was all, "It wasn't a 'Martin Lawrence movie', it was a damn Nickelodeon "Raven Symone movie!" That's right! He went and PAID to see "College Road Trip"! What's most messed up is that he didn't even attempt to get a refund or anything! He just walked out! Can I ask one question though? Why is it Martin ALWAYS plays a friggin' cop? According to IMDB, he's a cop in this movie too! Why the crap is he a cop in THIS movie?! I'm thinkin' somebody's attempting to live out his life long dream in the movies.

*Did anyone else feel like Hoffman had to replace Jack Black at the last minute? Not to say Hoffman wasn't any good in the role (HE WAS HILARIOUS!) but his character just seemed to be a Jack Black character to me. Maybe Black was too busy making "Envy", "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy" and "Shark Tale" (along with a few television appearances). Or maybe he and Stiller didn't get along too well on the set of "Envy".

Scent of a woman


Just saw it the other day and i loved it



-Matt
UMGD

Charlie Wilson's War - B+

I can honestly say that if it wasn't for Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Julia Roberts I would not have enjoyed the movie so much. Hoffman never fails to entertain and Roberts definately outshines Hanks. For his part, Tom Hanks was not better than he was in the The Terminal (which was not bad at all); he just looked like he had more fun doing this. He character does undergo some transformation/maturity as the plot thickens, which we can believe. Yet I find myself appreciating Hoffman and his character more and more. All around, it is a great balance of comedy and drama for a movie only 102 minutes.

I just watched Juno and Cloverfield both great movies.

Charade (1963)
Finally seen this all the way through. Audrey Hepburn's husband is killed and everyone she meets seems to be after the quarter mil$ he owes them. Hepburn, Cary Grant, James Coburn and George Kennedy are all fine in this suspense-comedy.

Blood Diamond - B+

I did not enjoy this movie, per se. The violent scenes involving child soldiers send home the message of how much destruction humans are willing to wreak for money. I like all three starring actors: Leonardo DiCaprio, Djimon Hounsou, and Jennifer Connelly. The relationships unfolding between the three of them mesh well with their circumstances and backgrounds in the film, I thought. Great movie.

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Good gravy. Ya know, before last night I woulda said I've seen musicals (in music class), but "Sweeney Todd" was one I've NEVER seen! They were CONSTANTLY singing! It hardly ever stopped! I was expecting a movie with a few songs, NOT songs making up a movie! Good gravy. My mouth dropped to the floor when Alan Rickman broke into song. I really didn't think he was gonna sing since EVERY CHARACTER sang upon their intro, but when it came time for a shave... Good gravy!

Singing aside, the story was excellent! (Whenever there wasn't any singing) I was completely engrossed in the movie. It was beautifully shot, I mean visually stunning, just like every other Tim Burton film. The montage of his killing spree was very well done and I especially loved the shot of Todd on the beach with his "new family". PURE Tim Burton! The ending was GREAT and the closing shot was the most eerily disturbing, yet strangely beautiful one I've ever seen. So I'm glad the wife made me put the DVD back in the player. (I had become fed up with all of the singing by the time they introduced Mrs. Lovett in the third chapter and pressed eject as soon as she opened her mouth in song, but then the wife started whining sooooo...) It's just, everytime I started enjoying myself... here came another frikkin' song! I mean, C'MON!

Will I ever watch it again? Nope. Once was MORE than enough. My face hurt after watching it because everytime they broke into song it involuntarily went into this twisted look and I checked out until they started talking again. (With the singing taking place every 30 seconds to few minutes, it shouldn't be hard to imagine me sitting there with a messed up stare most of the friggin' movie! But I did enjoy Pirelli's bit during his contest with Todd.) I really didn't expect them to do it the whole time. It bothered me because everything seemed to stop so the characters could sing. Sure, they were advancing the plot with songs, but there were just waaaaaaay too many friggin' songs sung in weird high-pitched tones. Especially from Todd's daughter, Johanna and her little wannabe boyfriend, Anthony.

I now know how my brother felt when he went to see "College Road Trip". (Not to say this movie was anything like that crap probably was, but it's the only example I can think of where someone else started a flick they apparently knew NOTHING about beforehand.) You go in expecting something fantastic because this person has NEVER let you down in the past, and then, before you know it, you have something else shoved down your throat! It seems I can only put up with musicals as long as they're comedies like "Little Shop of Horrors" (the only musical I'll EVER own), but I don't remember "Little Shop..." having that much singing. Perhaps I'll watch it after "No Country for Old Men". Hopefully "No Country..." isn't as bad as Tabuno claims it is. I don't think I can handle 2 awful experiences back-to-back!

I can't give this movie a fair grade because it just wasn't my cup of tea, but it was beautifully shot and had a wonderfully dark story with a great ending. If only they hadn't sung THE WHOLE FREAKIN' THING! Hmmmm. Maybe I'll go make my own "Sweeney Todd"... with less singing and blackjack & hookers. In fact, forget about the singing and the blackjack! Aw, screw the whole thing!

Before the Devil Knows You're Dead

Thumbs up for Marisa Tomei, her performance and body. Thumbs down for rest of the film which was either too predictable or too boring.

There Will Be Blood

I liked most of the the film. Daniel Day-Lewis is very good as the oilman, though his John Huston-like voice wore thin after awhile. It was more interesting when the story focused on Plainview and his "son". Great cinematography. Didn't like the ending though or the music score (it was annoying and disruptive, to say the least).

I just watch Juno on dvd and I honestly do not think this lived up to all its hype! It was kind of disappoint ing. But I guess it was ok. Her humor got a lil annoying but I did get teary eye in the end!

Saw a couple of flicks this weekend

At the theater, I went to see Harold and Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay. I was a big fan of the first film, which I consider one of the great all time guilty pleasures. The second film follows a very similar formula, so it doesn't seem quite as inspired, but it's still pretty damn funny. Like the first movie, the scenes with Neil Patrick Harris playing himself as a drugged out horndog are gold. If you're looking for serious cinema, this isn't it, but as a stupid, raunchy laugh, it's very good.

B-.

I also rented Southland Tales, Richard E. Kelly's followup to Donnie Darko. I liked Donnie Darko a lot, and despite Southland Tales' negative reviews, I figured I'd give it a shot. It's not only a failure, it's an epic failure of Battlefield Earth proportions. Everything about it seems completely wrong. Not only was the story completely convoluted, it really had a hard time finding the right tone, and the casting choices were just weird. I don't know if Kelly had trouble getting people to be in this, but if you'd have told me that Nora Dunn, Justin Timberlake, and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson would ever co-exist in a sci-fi movie, I'd have called you a liar. You really couldn't dream up a movie this bad. Unless you're Richard E. Kelly.

F.

Aeon Flux (2005)
War of the Worlds (2005)
Transformers (2007)

quote:

Originally posted by MetalKid:
Aeon Flux (2005)
War of the Worlds (2005)
Transformers (2007)

Like 'em? Hate 'em? Tell us what you thought.

The Golden Compass
Didn't read the book or hear about any controversy til recently. But all in all I enjoyed this fantasy/adventure flick. Dakota Blue Richards steals the show as Lyra Belacqua, though all the cast does a fine job. I'm guessing there's to be a sequel and if so, I hope there's more depth to the story and more evil to the villains.

The Mist
Didn't read the novella nor recognize too many of the cast in this Stephen King flick. Strange creatures abound in a weird mist the day after a big storm in a small Maine town. The scene stealer here is Marcia Gay Harden as a religious fanatic. I didn't care for the end result of the film, I thought it betrayed the characters involved. Some nice scares but not a movie I'd want to see a second time.