Well here's a project that went straight to "Must See Now" for me

Last night I was watching 24/7 (fantastic show, by the way) and Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale were watching Manny Pacquiao train and it made me wonder if they were researching roles- especially Bale. Then today I read this.

The fact that David Russell is involved adds a huge excitement/what-the-fuck/SWEET! aspect to it. I'm a huge fan of Bale's and have been for awhile, long before Batman and his work is nothing less than astounding. I'm also a big fan of Wahlberg's. He's a great actor who is capable of much more than he sometimes gets credit for as evidence in Boogie Nights, Three Kings, I Heart Huckabees and The Departed. David Russell makes fascinating films with a completely original spirit and tone. What he would bring to a movie like this intrigues me. Let the David Russell/Christian Bale flipout jokes commence, but regardless this movie could be something special and amazing.

As Good A Time As Any...

Clearly it's been awhile. Why do that have to date these goddamn things?! Anyway, Spike Jonze's Where the Wild Things Are? FINALLY has a proper trailer. I'm interested in anything Spike Jonze's does and that fact that Dave Eggers (who happened to write one of my favorites books of all time) wrote it just fires me up even more.

I love this trailer. Love it. There's really nothing like letting image play to music, pulling you in, soaking up the vibe of what you're dying to watch for 2 hours (or thereabouts). Too many trailers give too much away and I hate that shit. This trailer is perfect. Somehow my anticipation is higher than it was 5 minutes ago.

The 44th is really the 1st in my mind

For the first time in my life I voted for someone who I actually liked. Someone whose hand I would honored to shake. Someone who I am happy represents our country, and my own beliefs. Usually I'm settling- voting for the "lesser of two evils"- but not this time. This time felt really good.



I do find it surprising that in a time when we elected, for the first time ever, a black man to be the President of the United States, there is still intolerance. The same state which sealed Obama's victory voted to ban same sex marriage. I kept seeing "Vote NO for Prop 8" but I never thought it would pass. Well it did and now same sex marriage is banned in California. Can someone please explain this to me?

One more thing...
This song was written in response to Bob Dylan's "Blowin' in the Wind." When Sam Cooke first heard the song he was taken aback at how well a white man wrote a song about the black experience. While Dylan claims that's not what he was writing about, Sam Cooke penned this classic regardless and the power resonates more today than ever.
"A Change is Gonna Come"

For Your Listening Pleasure...

Angel from Montgomery...such a powerful...beautiful...haunting and lonely piece of music sung perfectly by Bonnie Raitt and the songwriter John Prine.

Let the Right One in

Just in time for Halloween comes one of the creepier trailers I've seen in awhile.
I found it on Ain't it Cool, but it was originally posted on Rotten Tomatoes.

Otis covers The Hardest Working Man in Show Biz

The Man covers The Man. Who could ask for anything more? Thanks for this one Kindy.

Shine A Light

Martin Scorsese is a die-hard music fan. He has always infused his movies with rock music, fueling his scenes with energy and vigor. It wasn’t much of a surprise when he made his first concert documentary, The Last Waltz, that it was not only an exercise in style but had some of the greatest musicians onstage throughout. Well I’m a die-hard Scorsese fan. I literally have watched Goodfellas, rewound it (when DVD’s didn’t exist) and watched it again. I’m also a die-hard Stones fan so when I heard about Shine A Light I was beside myself.

Unlike The Last Waltz, Shine A Light doesn’t have a lot of doc scenes throughout- it has a few, but it’s all archival footage. There isn’t a single interview conducted by Scorsese. Mainly it is all about the music. As far as documentary footage goes, there is a wonderfully edited opening section of the film involving the back and forth the Stones and Scorsese went through to get the staging right and then in true Scorsese fashion there is a great line of dialogue and then a smash cut into the opening number. There’s only about 5-7 minutes of archival after this so if you were looking for a straightaway doc, don’t bother- but if you want a musical doc, you’ve got it. I for one was enraptured.

The camera work is top notch. Scorsese famously wrote shot lists on music cue sheets for The Last Waltz so he knew which camera would do what, and what lighting cue would hit on a certain section of a certain song. Yes, he did. Here doesn’t seem to be much different. His cameras are all over the place and he captures beautiful moments. Of note…he hired the top cinematographers in the business to shoot the concert, again, much like he did in The Last Waltz.

There are 3 musical guests that join them onstage and all are excellent with one notable, expected standout and that would be Buddy Guy. If you’ve ever seen Buddy Guy in concert or even just heard him you know what a presence he is. The man is 72 years old, not much older than The Stones, but he wiped the floor with them. He sings, with Mick, Champagne & Reefer, and it is beyond words. Watch for a tight shot on him that just holds on his face during the performance, I was trying to find it use it in this post but can’t seem to. It got to me and made me wonder where his head was at that point.

Jack White comes out to sing and play with the boys on Loving Cup- my personal Stones favorite. Since I have a keen love for this song I was fully prepared to have Mr. White hunted down and killed if he fucked it up in anyway. Not only does he kill, he has some moments that have made me listen to his version of the song again and again. He also has clear knowledge and respect for a version of the song found on the box set The First Decade. More than commendable, I have a new respect for him.

Christina Aguilera comes out to duet with Mick on Live with Me. It becomes clear quite quickly that while Mick probably has a huge appreciation for her singing talents, he also has a huge appreciation for some her other assets. Some have called it creepy and weird watching him dance with her, but I just laughed because if anyone is surprised to discover that Mick is still a complete horndog I don’t know what to tell them. Also, this is man who’s has gotten women that much younger than him so he probably thinks he might have a chance. In either case, she was terrific also.
Too some, his voice may be an acquired taste, but I loved Keith’s tracks in the film. He sings You’ve Got the Silver, another one of my favorites and Connection, which was one of my highlights.

Until another Stones song makes it into one of his films, this could be the only true Scorsese/Stones collaboration in this life. I know I’ll cherish it.