Review of Shine a Light (2008) by Davey M — 18 Jun 2008

Martin Scorsese--aided by a veritable Who's Who of DPs and his inimitable editor Thelma Schoonmaker--captures the Stones in all their crazy and illustrious and frenetic and depraved and exhausting glory in a two hour concert movie that proves how awesome a concert movie can be and also, unlike a great live performance, how tiring and sort of boring it can get after awhile (particularly when it's an already great-but-tiring-and-sort-of-boring-after-awhile band like the Rolling Stones, who, much as I enjoy them, I can only endure for about the length of a good LP).

Mick Jagger has crazy sexy dance moves, and Keith Richards has crazy awesome guitar skills and a crazy face. It's fun--it's a delight to see these guys playing, particularly when it's so well shot and put together--and it would be a really great concert movie if Scorsese had been content to cut out a few of the numbers for the film.

But I suppose there's something touching about his unconditional, blind love for the band, even if I don't entirely share in it.