They Came to Play

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: This documentary follows the 2007 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition for Outstanding Amateurs, who for the most part, play just as well as professionals despite their "real" jobs as doctors, lawyers, and dental assistants.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: The biggest star is the music, so let me do some name droppin': Bach, Mozart, Chopin, Beethoven, Schubert, Rachmaninoff, Gershwin, Debussy, Schumann... and for you specialists: Alkan, Barber, Ravel, and Liszt

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Proceed with Caution. If you enjoy classical piano and stories about regular people with amazing musical talent, this film is for you. If you enjoy Piña Coladas and makin' love in the rain it's not.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: Surprisingly, there is an erroneous belch in this film. But that's about as rowdy as it gets.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: If you put your kid in piano classes thinking he'd have a big career, you may as well start crying now, because you only have to watch this doc once to know that for every amazing piano player, there are about 74 amazinger ones, and that's not counting the prodigies.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: It actually won an Audience Award in Fort Lauderdale. Them Floridians must be some highfalutin' audience types!

Q: How is the Acting?

A: Culturally, I enjoyed watching how the foreign competitors acted when they lost, in comparison to the American ones. And here is my conclusion: everyone who's not American lets their hurt and disappointment show, while everyone who is American bites his tongues and hopes that no one will notice that he cares. Chew on that, Americans.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: There's not a great variety of shots, but they are all well lit, and the 3 angles chosen to shoot the piano competition are the right ones.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: The structure is in line with all the other docs of this nature, including Spellbound, Wordplay, and Mad Hot Ballroom. Only in this doc there are really no great stakes to winning or losing because, as one character puts it, "It's all right, I've got a day job!" (which happens to be as doctor). Sadly, because of the low stakes, there's not that much suspense as to who wins or loses.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2SedHd93DQ

Back To Top

Michael Jackson's This is It

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: A documentary rock concert movie, chronicling the rehearsals leading up to what would have been Michael Jackson's farewell tour, if he had lived to perform it.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Michael Jackson, Kenny Ortega, and the most talented dancers, singers, and musicians they could find to match Jackson's level of skill and professionalism.

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Go! I haven't been a fan of MJ's since about 1983, but like everyone else who sees this movie, I'm a born again. The man has been singing and dancing for the last 45 years, and his experience shows why he's the King of Pop. Not only does he demonstrate a complete mastery of every aspect of the musical subtleties, but he moves, shakes and dances from the beginning to the end of the concert, with the energy of a 5 year old and the physical precision of man who can't possibly be 50 and only days away from dying.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: Not a ton of humor here, but there was one funny thing I noticed... he has really big hands!

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: Between the looming memory of his recent death during these very rehearsals, the freakishness of his surgically rendered face, the memory of how he was both abused and worshiped as a kid, and the nagging thought that he may have molested small children, you will go through a multitude of conflicting emotions as you witness his genius unfolding before your eyes.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: The Academy will want to honor this man, and what better way than a posthumous Oscar for Best Original Song. Now "This Is It" isn't a very good song, but the Academy rarely gives out Oscars to songs that don't suck, so I think he's got it in the bag.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: Michael Jackson is way more in control of his set than you'd expect. He's totally with it, and every direction he gives creates improvements. But I'd like to take this moment to also talk about some of the people in the background. If you watch "So You Think You Can Dance?", you ain't seen nothing compared to the nameless, faceless background dancers, who earn a spot next to MJ (they really call him that!) Also, I was very pleased to see a gorgeous blond, Australian rocker chick on lead guitar (who looked somewhere between 12 and 14 years old, I might add). Remember the name Orianthi, and if anyone ever tries to tell you that girls can't rock out as hard as boys, just throw that one back in their face.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: Kenny Ortega became known to the masses by directing Disney's High School Musical movies, but in this film-- which at times plays like a really good DVD extra-- we get to watch him behind the scenes putting together very original and complicated visuals that range from green screen to 3D to dropping Humphrey Bogart into scenes with Michael Jackson. To quote what he says to MJ in the film, "I'm a fan."

Q: How is the story/script?

A: There is none, so I'm going to take this moment to talk about pedophilia. I'm the type of person who's always tended to believe that MJ did it-- especially because he's paid out millions of dollars in lawsuits... BUT, I've recently become involved in a business negotiation where I've been forced to deal with one of the lawyers who got $20 million off of Michael Jackson for the father of one of the kids in question. This lawyer has turned out to be so incredibly incompetent, dumb, and evil, that I decided to do a little research on him via the Bar Association. Well, I found out that this lawyer has a very bad reputation as a swindler and a cheat, that the Bar Association once had to put him on probation for his crooked behavior (this is something they rarely have to do), and that upon closer examination, all signs in his particular case against Jackson point directly to extortion-- which would mean the pop star was innocent, and simply the victim of being too rich, too famous, and also a little too weird. But you would be weird too, if you were raised like he was without a childhood, and with an abusive, slave driving father.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/michael-jacksons-this-is-it/38967/trailers

Back To Top