DVD pick of the week

My dvd pick for this week is a documentary called Facing Ali. It features some of the fighters who fought Ali and they recount their experiences in and out of the ring. The likes of George Foreman, Joe Frazier, Larry Holmes and Leon Spinks are featured. Hopefully you can find this one because according to Blockbuster online there is a long wait for it.

It Might Get Loud

My dvd review for the week is a documentary called It Might Get Loud. It is directed by Davis Guggenheim (An Inconvenient Truth ) and it features guitarists Jimmy Page, The Edge and Jack White of The White Stripes. The film is a round table discussion of sorts and it chronicles the history of each guitarist and traces their musical roots as well as some personal history. With the exception of Page -the musicians chosen is debatable. If you asked fans of rock-n-roll guitar who they would like to see featured you would probably get 100 different answers. I will discuss the film itself and leave the guitarist roster open for debate.

It Might Get Loud is really a love letter to the guitar. The strength of this film is showing just how different an instrument can sound depending on the person playing it. Jimmy Page, The Edge and Jack White have very different backgrounds and each grew up in a different era - thus their influences differ as well as how they were drawn to music.

The film takes us back to where it all began for these guitarists. We see Jimmy Page return to Headley Grange where Led Zeppelin recorded and wrote some of their music. The Edge returns to his boyhood school where U2 was formed. Jack White talks about his being raised in a rough area of Detroit and details his growing up as one of ten children.

There is plenty for guitar enthusiasts to enjoy. Jimmy Page plays Whole Lotta Love and The Edge and Jack White have the look that says " Can you believe we are witnessing this ?" The Edge shows how he creates some of his signature sounds and even plays some early home demos that sound surprisingly good . Jack White also explains his concept for having a Green Bullet microphone installed in his guitar. Each player developed different techniques in order to create the sound in their head.

The three share some stories and do some playing together as well. The Edge shows the other two how to play "I Will Follow" and at one point Jimmy Page says "Are you sure that's how it goes ?" There is a cool jam of the Zep classic "In My Time Of Dying" as well as a version of The Band staple "The Weight".

All in all - It Might Get Loud is a must see for fans of any of these musicians. I believe guitarists in general will also love this documentary. Casual fans of rock -n- roll may be lost with some of the more technical aspects of the instrument but should check it out for the great clips of the artists, as well as their interesting life story and love of the electric guitar.

Holiday Films

In the spirit of the season I thought I would list my favorite holiday movies. Most of these tend to lean toward comedy but overall they use Christmas as backdrop to provide us with a situation in which we are all familiar. I suspect most of you have viewed these films many times but for me they have become a holiday tradition.

Top Five Holiday Movies

1. It's A Wonderful Life - it doesn't get any more classic than this. Frank Capra's 1947 masterpiece shows all of us what the true meaning of Christmas is - as well as life itself. I watch this every year with my wife and can't imagine Christmas without it.

2. A Christmas Story - what other movie can withstand 24 hours of constant rotation? The 1950's in America seemed to be such an idyllic time and director Bob Clark really captures the look and overall feeling of that era. Sadly - Clark and his son were killed in a head on collision by a drunk driver in 2007.

3. Love Actually - director Richard Curtis takes on the stories of several different characters and manages to not short change any of them. While the film mostly deals with relationships it also has a lot of heart and many funny moments.

4. The Ref - the late Ted Demme directed this black comedy. Denis Leary plays a burglar who is trying to evade authorities on Christmas Eve. Leary's plan takes a wrong turn as he takes a bickering couple (played beautifully by Kevin Spacey & Judy Davis) hostage and they proceed to drive him crazy.

5. Bad Santa - Billy Bob Thornton nails his role as an alcoholic criminal who under the guise of Santa, stakes out a department store safe. Great supporting roles from the late John Ritter and Bernie Mac also hit all the right notes. This is one that shouldn't be watched with the kids.

Welcome

Welcome to the first installment of The Film Enthusiast. I wanted to create a blog that is for people who love movies and also love discussing them. You might wonder why I didn't create a blog that relates to music. The reason is that I am too close to it. The fact that I teach music for a living and have been playing it for over twenty years makes it difficult at times to think of it simply from a fans perspective. It often is too much of a hot button topic with me and I want this blog to be a place that relates to my other great love - movies ! Okay maybe I will discuss film scores but other than that...

I will try to have a dvd update every week that includes new releases, reviews and other items of note. I will also feature a classic film that I have re-visited and pontificate on that for awhile also.

This blog will be a work in progress and I might try different things to see what sticks and also based on your feedback what you might like to see.

Thanks for reading & Happy Holidays.