This blog's 1st movie review: Shine a Light

If movies get 5 stars for being a classic and 0 stars for a movie so bad that it was as bad as if they showed Billy shitting his pants and putting out on You Tube, well then I give Shine a Light 3 & a 1/2 stars.

Bad: The first 20-30 minutes aren't worth a damn. There's nothing more boring than hearing a director (Martin Scorsese) and his assistant bitch about the same thing over and over again. In this case, they want Mick Jaggar to give them a conceptualization of how they will set the stage up for the concert, and they want a set list. As Scorsese explains, he needs to have the set list (especially for 1st song) so that if the song starts with a guitar riff, he'll cue the dude that's videotaping Ron Wood or Keith. If it starts with Mick singing, he'll cue that cameraman. But I don't give a fiddler's fuck, about the dispute between the Stones and Scorsese. With a little imagination, they could have made the beginning of this movie a whole lot better! Also, the concert footage was very good, but why the hell didn't they have them singing "Shine a Light"?? Maybe that's in the bonus cuts. I haven't seen that yet. Hopefully, you wont hold that against me.

The movie gets a little bit better when they show President Bill Clinton meet the Stones. Then the Stones have to change their schedule around to meet Hillary Clinton's mother. They greet Bill and the mother warmly although the movie doesn't show them greeting Hillary. They point out in the movie that the Stones change their schedule to meet Hillary's mother, and Hillary thanks them effusively for that. Bill goes out and introduces the Rolling Stones, and then the movie gets 12 times better!

They show the footage of the concert in New York not at an arena but a place that can hold 100s of people (The Beacon). The concert is highlighted by the guest stars. Buddy Guy singing "Champagne and Reefer" with the band, Jack White singing with them "Lovin Cup", and Christine Aguilera singing "Live w/ Me". My 7 year old daughter was outstanding company watching the movie with me, and she made me replay Jack White and the Stones doing "Lovin' Cup". I was sooooo proud of her!

Another thing that made the movie excellent was that they had cuts of the band when they were 40 yrs, 30 yrs younger. The interviews were very inciteful and illuminating. At one point, Mick is asked by the interviewer, "Can you see playing with the Stones when your 60s, Mick?" "Oh yeah, easily", Mick replies. Good choice, Mick.

I strongly recommend seeing the movie. Just skip the 1st 20 minutes of it.