Friday, October 16, 2009

It Might Get Loud

This week, the Weekly Movie Loser Club* (CT and I with various special guests - this week Bryce showed up, great to see you) went to It Might Get Loud. Never heard of it you say? We hadn't either until we went to the Fleur Cinema a few weeks back to check out the Hurt Locker and we saw a poster and the trailer.


First let me say that before a few weeks ago, I hadn't been to the Fleur Cinema since The Adventures of Ford Fairlane (1990) and back then it was a pile of shit. I felt like the ceiling was going to cave in, I would most likely be bitten by a rat, and probably catch syphilis from the seats (yeah doc, I caught it from theater seats...that's the ticket). Now, the Fleur cinema has been remodeled in a sort of art-deco style artsy/independent movie house. It does have some regular movies (Where the Wild Things Are is opening there today) but it specializes more in smaller and unheard of films. I don't think you will ever be able to see one of the Transformer movies there. It doesn't have the gigantic screens or 8 million speaker surround sound, but these are not the type of movies that those are needed. These type of movies focus more on storytelling than special effects. The cinema also has a small cafe (which is stretching the term but that is what they call it) where you can get beer, fancy coffee, tea, hot chocolate and various homemade goodies like rice crispy bars, pumpkin bars, and pie among other things - the selection varies all the time. I wish it was a little more like a cafe and offered a selection of sandwiches or soup or something a little more significant to eat, but a hot chocolate and a rice crispy bar always helps satisfy. It has transformed from a dreary run down version of your local mall theater into a homey, comfortable theater for weird, quirky, small, and independent films. Honestly, it is a nice atmosphere compared to the corporate sterility of a chain theater. Despite its lack of pinball, it is quickly becoming one of my favorite places to see films.




It Might Get Loud has Jimmy Page, The Edge, and Jack White get together for one day to talk shop (AKA - Guitars). It walks through each musicians past, inspirations, accomplishments, sound, ideas, etc... and then puts them in a room together to talk, teach, and learn from each other. If you like Led Zeppelin, U2, The White Stripes, guitar, or even music in general; you will enjoy this movie. I thought it was fantastic and very engaging. It was neat to see three very talented individuals who share the ability and desire to play guitar but to play it in such different ways and have such different and unique sounds. You could pretty much close your eyes and tell who was playing: Page - deep, soulful, fuzzy but almost elegant sound; The Edge - techno adjusted, effects laden, but still clean and crisp; and White - raw, rough, messy, and blunt. I was most impressed with Jack White. I've always enjoyed his music but knew very little about him as a person, his influences or really even the depth of his talent. Jimmy Page and the Edge, I already knew plenty about so although still very compelling to watch, I wasn't really shocked by how talented they were. Oh and Jack White is funny as hell (as seen in the trailer below).


I don't think this movie will be in the theater much longer, so hurry and check it out. I believe it comes out of DVD in December. Any music fans are advised to check it out, it tells a very interesting tale. I thought the movie was very inspiring in a "if you like something, do it" type of way. For me personally it was also a tiny bit depressing (not at the time but later that night when I thinking it over) because I just have never had the type of drive that these individuals have - which I guess is what makes them great - but made me feel a little sad not to have the dedication and desire to anything as they do to their guitars and music. You should not let this type of feeling keep you from watching the movie, in fact that should be a testament to how powerful and thought provoking the movie was.
*This is not an official name and has never been called this before. I am actually the only loser.

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