Posts tagged Shine a light at Cinematical

Posts with tag shine a light

Indie Weekend Box Office: 'Flight of the Red Balloon' Soars Above

Posted Apr 7th 2008 11:02AM by Peter Martin
Filed under: IFC, Paramount Classics, Box Office, New on DVD, The Weinstein Co., Cinematical Indie

A Taiwanese filmmaker's tribute to a celebrated French short soared easily to the top of the indie charts this weekend. Flight of the Red Balloon (IFC Films), directed by Hou Hsiao-hsien, averaged $17,450 at the two screens where it played in Manhattan, according to estimates compiled by Leonard Klady at Movie City News. Jeffrey M. Anderson wrote: "Like Hou's more recent work, Flight of the Red Balloon moves a little more toward international accessibility and away from his early, uniquely Taiwanese stories." Juliette Binoche stars as a frazzled writer and performer with a troupe of puppeteers who hires a Taiwanese film student as a nanny for her young son.

Surprisingly, My Blueberry Nights (The Weinstein Co.) finished #2 for the weekend, grossing an average of $11,380 per screen at six locations. Wong Kar Wai's first English-language film met with lukewarm reaction at Cannes last year; the director tinkered with the editing, but the end result is still not very satisfying, according to Nick Schager. He wrote that the "lovelorn dilemmas [of the female characters] ... consistently come off as precious and trifling, which is dispiriting considering that Wong and [director of photography Darius] Khondji make everything look and feel so rapturous and enticing that one wants to believe the proceedings are of consequence." Nora Jones, Jude Law, Rachel Weisz and Natalie Portman are featured.

Continue reading Indie Weekend Box Office: 'Flight of the Red Balloon' Soars Above

SXSW Review: Shine a Light

Posted Mar 15th 2008 3:32PM by Peter Martin
Filed under: Documentary, Music & Musicals, SXSW, Paramount Classics, Theatrical Reviews

Concert films are constantly at war with themselves. If the musical act is transcendent, then a filmed document will never come close to reproducing the experience of seeing and hearing the act live, in the same way that an ordinary photograph can only serve, at best, as a reminder of a moment. Even a great, exact reproduction is still just a copy, not the original. If the act is merely average or worse, then why bother to record it?

The Rolling Stones have been captured performing in concert on film or tape numerous times, so the challenge that lay before Martin Scorsese was to do something different. After all, this is the man who redefined concert films with The Last Waltz in 1978, in which he eschewed the prevailing wisdom that a concert had to include generous allotments of time devoted to the concert goer's point of view. Instead, Scorsese kept the action tightly focused on the stage, allowing the audience to enjoy the interplay between the members of The Band and various guests who shared in the group's final performance. He balanced that with lively interviews; in the process, he helped to establish Robbie Robertson as a viable solo personality in the eyes of the film industry.

I should amend the previous paragraph to read like this: "The challenge that lay before Martin Scorsese was to do something different or so I thought!" As it turns out, my expectations for Shine a Light were far too high.

Continue reading SXSW Review: Shine a Light

EXCLUSIVE: Images from Martin Scorsese's 'Shine a Light'

Posted Feb 25th 2008 12:02PM by Erik Davis
Filed under: Documentary, Music & Musicals, Fandom, Movie Marketing, Images

Cinematical has just received these exclusive photos from Martin Scorsese's upcoming Rolling Stones documentary, Shine a Light. The film, which premiered at this year's Berlin Film Festival to rave reviews and is due out in theaters on April 4, provides extensive coverage of the band's two-night engagement at New York's historic Beacon Theater. Additionally, the doc also features historical footage, interviews and behind-the-scenes footage from decades past. Shine a Light marks Scorsese's third musical-themed documentary, after he previously covered the Band and Bob Dylan in The Last Waltz and No Direction Home: Bob Dylan, respectively. Next up, apparently Marty will be filming a documentary on the life and times of Bob Marley.

A Rolling Stones show directed by Martin Scorsese? I'm there. You? Check out the gallery below for more images from the film. Shine a Light hits theaters on April 4.

Gallery: Martin Scorsese's Shine a Light

From the Editor's Desk: Picking SXSW Movies

Posted Feb 5th 2008 7:02PM by Erik Davis
Filed under: SXSW, Fandom, From the Editor's Desk

I just spent the last half hour with the newly-released SXSW schedule, which we brought to you earlier today. Even though I'm only a week or so away from Sundance, it's now time to get all suited up for SXSW -- a festival I'll be heading to for the first time come March. To say I'm f**king ecstatic to finally visit Austin, the Alamo Drafthouse and nosh on some tasty Texan BBQ would be an understatement. I'm beyond ecstatic. I'm f**king ecstatic times a gabillion. Seriously. And when I finally went through the schedule before, I found myself itching to see literally every single film screening this year. Holy sh*t, did Matt Dentler and his crew nail down a sweeeet lineup, or what? I'm hating Dentler right now -- what the hell am I going to see? There's so many great-looking flicks this year, my head is friggin' spinning.

Regardless of what I actually wind up seeing (Scott, Jette, Peter, Snider and I are already quietly fighting for titles behind the scenes), know that Cinematical will definitely be bringing you reviews, interviews and scene coverage for some pretty big films. We shall get the early word on flicks like Harold and Kumar Go to Guantanamo Bay, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, 21, Stop-Loss, Battle in Seattle, The Promotion, Shine a Light ... and so many more. I'm there for six days, and I can tell you now that I will see more films in six days then I will probably see in the next six months. We'll also be bringing you lots of on-the-scene coverage, for those of you who can't make it to Austin this year. So if there's anything in particular you want to see from our SXSW coverage, do let us know.

The Rolling Stones 'Shine a Light' on Berlinale

Posted Jan 16th 2008 5:02PM by Monika Bartyzel
Filed under: Documentary, Music & Musicals, Berlin, Exhibition

There's going to be some shiny, happy people at Berlinale this year. At least, some that get to bask in a big, musical, cinematic light. According to the folks over at indieWIRE, Martin Scorsese's Rolling Stones concert flick, Shine a Light, will open the 58th Berlin International Film Festival when it kicks into gear on February 7. That's not a bad start to the fest, which has already announced some of the films that will compete this year. In December, titles like Errol Morris' S.O.P.: Standard Operating Procedure were announced, and just last week, flicks like Julia and Elegy were added to the roster.

But back to the Stones. The footage for this film was shot during two concerts at New York's Beacon Theater back in 2006. But this wasn't your average concert-production affair. As iW describes, Scorsese's film used sixteen cameras and collected over half a million feet of concert footage. That's compounded by all the big names involved, which I mentioned in a post about the film last July -- such as Oscar-winner Robert Anderson and cinematographer John Toll. But larger-than-life old men prancing around isn't all you can look forward to in the film. There's also performances by Jack White and Christina Aguilera (who gets a very-close wiggle with Mick Jagger), and behind-the-scenes footage. You can check out a trailer on Moviefone right here.

Scorsese to Go from Rolling Stones to George Harrison

Posted Sep 27th 2007 12:32PM by Christopher Campbell
Filed under: Documentary, Music & Musicals

If there's something Martin Scorsese knows about almost as much as movies, it's music from the '60s. Apparently. Why else would he be on such a roll these days with music documentaries on iconic acts from that time? First there was the wonderful Bob Dylan documentary No Direction Home; now he's about to release a Rolling Stones doc titled Shine a Light; and he's just announced another doc he's going to make about George Harrison. According to Variety, the film will be more of a comprehensive biography, covering Harrison's time in The Beatles, as a solo artist, his Eastern religious/philosophical interests and even his stint a movie producer (his Handmade Films gave us Monty Python's Life of Brian and Terry Gilliam's Time Bandits). Scorsese is producing with Olivia Harrison (George's widow) and his No Direction Home producer Nigel Sinclair, and filming will begin with some interviews later this year. It will take awhile to finish, of course. The untitled pic will again be edited by David Tedeschi, who also cut the other two Scorsese music docs.

Maybe if time permits, Scorsese can do more '60s icons after he's done with Harrison. Neil Young may not be worth another film, and The Doors doc would probably be better suited to Oliver Stone, but surely we could use a Scorsese-directed film about Eric Clapton or any of the girl groups (The Shirelles, The Ronettes, The Marvellettes, The Crystals, The Shangri-Las) he likes to use for his soundtracks. Hey, he could just do a doc on girl groups. It's so good to see Scorsese getting back to music docs so long after working as an assistant director on Woodstock, and later as director of The Last Waltz, and I can't wait to see what else he's got planned. Anyway, there's no use thinking so far ahead. I'm still simply waiting for Shine a Light, which doesn't come out until April, and I'm definitely looking forward to the Harrison film, which will feature a ton of archival footage provided by his family and is expected to feature surviving Beatles Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr.

Trailer Park: It's All About the Music

Posted Aug 17th 2007 8:02PM by Matt Bradshaw
Filed under: Comedy, Documentary, Independent, Music & Musicals, New Releases, Trailer Trash

The music, the melody, the tunes if you will. Music is, of course, a vital part of cinema, and it is particularly significant to the trailers we're looking at today. It's all about the music here on Trailer Park.

Shine a Light
I'm sure you've heard of this band called The Rolling Stones, right? They're the ones who played the Super Bowl half-time show last year to the delight of older fans and the befuddlement of teenage viewers (at least that's how it was at the party I attended). Directed by Martin Scorsese, the film presents interviews with the band both new and historic, with the majority of the film detailing a 2006 performance at the Beacon Theater in New York City. Scorsese himself figures prominently in the trailer, so apparently at least part of the film is about the making of the film. I'm not a big fan of concert movies, although one of the few I did like was the Stones' Gimme Shelter, which covered a notorious 1969 performance at Altamont Speedway, so I'm mildly curious about Shine a Light.

Music Within
The music here is more of a metaphor, though the preview makes good use of lates 60s/early 70s pop tunes to set the period. Ron Livingston plays a gifted public speaker who, after the loss of his hearing in the Vietnam war, becomes a champion for the disabled and one of the primary activists behind the American's With Disabilities Act. Looks like an interesting little historical drama, and I've always liked Livingston, so this looks like one worth checking out.

Continue reading Trailer Park: It's All About the Music

The Rolling Stones Go Larger-Than-Life on Imax in 'Shine a Light'

Posted Jul 31st 2007 5:31PM by Monika Bartyzel
Filed under: Documentary, Music & Musicals, Distribution

If you happened to see Rolling Stones: At the Max years ago, just imagine what the band will be like now. Martin Scorsese's new concert documentary on the band, Shine a Light, is going to hit Imax screens the same day that it will come out on regular screens -- September 21. The director, who was behind the huge concert film The Last Waltz, said in a statement: "The larger-than-life images and sound of an Imax theater will only enhance the experience of giving viewers the best seat in the house to watch the Rolling Stones perform."

Or, as might be more apt, a seat close enough to see every one of the wrinkles the aged rockers have -- well-lit, sweaty and all. While I'm not sure how keen I am to see Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, et all several stories tall, it does sound like an interesting project. The film includes show and backstage footage as well as historical clips and interviews. However, they seem to really be emphasizing the two days of filming the band at New York City's Beacon Theater, so I imagine most of the film will revolve on the Stones' performances last year. What's really cool are the names that Scorsese brought together to shoot the band. The Director of Photography is Oscar winner Robert Richardson (The Aviator), and he supervised award-winning cinematographers like John Toll (Braveheart), Andrew Lesnie (The Lord of the Rings), Stuart Dryburgh (The Piano), Robert Elswit (Magnolia), Emmanuel Lubezki (Sleepy Hollow) and Ellen Kuras (Summer of Sam). At the very least, you can be sure to get some great concert footage!

#	Blogger	Posts	Cmts
1	Monika Bartyzel	160	0
2	Erik Davis	121	49
3	Elisabeth Rappe	84	0
4	Eugene Novikov	56	18
5	Kim Voynar	41	20
6	Jessica Barnes	39	0
7	Scott Weinberg	39	15
8	Peter Martin	27	17
9	James Rocchi	25	1
10	Eric Kohn	25	4
11	Jeffrey M. Anderson	21	4
12	Eric D. Snider	19	0
13	Matt Bradshaw	13	1
14	Joel Keller	13	1
15	Christopher Campbell	9	6
16	Jette Kernion	5	2
17	Patrick Walsh	3	1
18	Willy Volk	2	0
19	Nick Schager	1	0
20	Richard von Busack	1	0

Dept. of Transportation: Airlines should auction off flight slots Free drinks on Wednesday Virgin America flights Air travel tidbit: The horrors of the middle seat pocket	German pancakes- a perfect weekend breakfast dish Key Lime Pie demo - (it's almost impossible to screw this up) Winemaker Robert Mondavi dead at 94
The View to try a new point of view Cast photo for Dollhouse released Numb3rs: When Worlds Collide (season finale)	The New Kids on the Block are back, and I'm dancing. Are you? In search of vitamin D, and sunscreen too Training for high altitude at low altitude
Trailer Park: Rube Goldberg Edition Cannes Review: Tyson Review: The Chronicles of Narnia Prince Caspian - Jeffrey's Take	HTC Advantage X7150 won't be sold in US RAmos V8 appears in the flesh Samsung Soul promo video shows 10 optical illusions in 136 seconds

Indie Weekend Box Office: 'Flight of the Red Balloon' Soars Above

SXSW Review: Shine a Light

EXCLUSIVE: Images from Martin Scorsese's 'Shine a Light'

From the Editor's Desk: Picking SXSW Movies

The Rolling Stones 'Shine a Light' on Berlinale

Scorsese to Go from Rolling Stones to George Harrison

Trailer Park: It's All About the Music

The Rolling Stones Go Larger-Than-Life on Imax in 'Shine a Light'

Cinematical Features

RESOURCES

RSS NEWSFEEDS

Featured Stories

Sponsored Links

Recent Theatrical Reviews

Cinematical Interviews

Cinematical bloggers (30 days)

Most Commented On (60 days)

Weblogs, Inc. Network