Shine a Light
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 BEST FILM EXPERIENCE OF THE YEAR SIMPLY PUT, I LOVED THIS FILM AND ITS SOUNDTRACK!!!! You can not treat yourself to a better experience than this! From the opening introductory vignettes to the dazzling ending, I was just mesmerized. I'm not the world's biggest Rolling Stones fan, though I am a fan of their music (not so much their lifestyles), and I have never been able to see them live, but this has to be the next best thing! I was completely wowed by the stunning visual angles used in this movie, and felt that the soundtrack was an incredible overview of an amazing career. I saw the movie four times, including in two different IMAX theatres and each time saw and heard new things! The Rolling Stones are quite an amazing group of people and watching their chemistry onstage was just awesome. I've seen a lot of rock concerts up close, and this one compares most favorably! What charisma these guys have, even in their sixties!!!! Everyone knows their musical and songwriting talent which spans decades, but watching this birds-eye view of their performing skills will knock you out. Every member of this group seems to have such a unique and interesting performance personality, and their intriguing on stage relationships with each other only add to the excitement. Buddy Guy, Jack White and Christina Aguilera were also amazing, each in his or her own right, providing clever and unusual foils for Mick jagger and Keith Richards. I will never forget the trancelike expression on Buddy Guy's face as he traded guitar exchanges with Keith and vocal lines with Mick. Even Keith Richards was clearly moved, as he gave Guy the guitar he had just finished playing at the end of the song. Maybe my favorite moment though, was the explosive introduction of Mick Jagger into the theatre during the introduction to Sympathy for the Devil. Gives me goosebumps thinking about it! Even the backing members of this band were a true joy to watch and hear. Each an accomplished musician/vocalist, they added a depth and range to this experience that I don't think I've ever seen in a live performance before. Even if it is too late to catch this masterpiece in IMAX, see it on the big screen if you can. See it more than once if you can!!!! You will be amazed at the details you may have missed the first time around. I think I am first in line for the DVD and will watch it many, many times. Rolling Stones Know How To Rock n' Roll WOW, it gets your blood rushing. Seeing Shine A Light provides you a front row seat at a Rolling Stones concert along with a back stage pass at the same time. Even a bit of a historic view of the Stones! The camera work is amazing. The Rolling Stones know how to Rock n' Roll like no other band on earth. They take Rock n' Roll they have done over the past 40 years and perform it in a way that allows it to be relevant Rock in 2008. It is primal and strong. Shine A Light even has country and of course, some great Blues. Buddy Giles number with the Stones, "Champaign and Refer", is amazing. Mick moves and rocks and Keith shows how he is a caring pirate. Ronnie is amazing and of course, the Stones drumming is constant and on track with Charlie. I'm 55 years old and the Stones start is up for me and my kids. AMAZING. Open your mind, remember your youth, enjoy good music and Rock out with your front row seats to a Stones concert by watching Shine A Light.  Great music but terrible footage The Rolling Stones are one of the greatest bands of all time and Martin Scorsese is one of the greatest directors of all time. For those two reasons, this film should have been fantastic. Well, at least the sound was fantastic, but why were the cameras on Jagger 95% of the time? Okay, if they were on him 50% of the time I might have been okay with it, but there weren't enough shots of Keith and barely any shots of Ronnie and Charlie. Plus, there were almost no shots of the rest of the musicians. A band is much more than it's lead singer, and the Rolling Stones are much more than Mick Jagger. At least Keith, Ronnie, and Charlie should get a sufficient amount of camera time. It's especially frustrating when Keith and Ronnie are playing riffs or solos and the camera is focused on Mick. I would expect more from Scorsese and I think most others would too. The highlight of the movie for me was "As Tears Go By" and the old interview footage. It was also great to LISTEN TO songs such as "Shattered" and "All Down The Line," but almost every single performance could have been filmed better. Four Flicks in my opinion is so much better and their are so many more shots of Keith, Charlie, Ronnie, and the rest of the musicians. Scorsese should have gone through some of the Stones archives to find older concert footage from the late sixties and throughout the seventies. I swear that so many of these bands need to release DVDs like the LED ZEPPELIN DVD, the BEATLES ANTHOLOGY, THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT, and TOM PETTY'S: RUNNIN' DOWN A DREAM. The Stones should really think about going through their archives as a treat for their fans who weren't around to see them in the late 60s and 70s. Anyway, if you are a Stones' fan and don't care about the camera focused almost entirely on Jagger, then you will love this film. However, if you require many shots showing Keith, Ronnie, Charlie, and the rest of the musicians playing their instruments, I think you may want to take a pass. Scorsese and the Stones This movie was ten times better than I thought it would be. From the opening number, Martin Scorsese makes the Stones appear as what they truly are - the best live rock band of the last 50 years. The sound quality is superb, the camera action is magnificent, and the band shows no signs of slowing down. Mick Jagger moves just as good as he did back in the Sixties and Seventies. See this film while it's still in theaters - it's unbelievable! | |||||||||||||
