Stylish but barely mediocre overall

As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

Blistering performances.

Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

I have never been much of a Rolling Stones fan myself, but I've learned a few things about them after seeing this solid performance brought to the screen by Marty Scorsese. The fact that Mick Jagger is in better shape at 65 than say half the youths in the western world is astonishing, and as a result his performance gives us satisfaction (pause for laughter). Keith Richards has no right to be alive but there is still enough life left in him to play masterful guitar, and even sing a little. He is the most alien looking human on the planet. If Michael Jackson was still alive, they would be tied. There is not a whole lot more to say, other than a few guest appearances including Jack White of the White Stripes and Christina Aguilera. This show rocks.

finally,after three unsuccessful attempts at picking a good movie,my friend and i hit pay dirt,with this Martin Scorsese documentary chronicling a benefit concert by the Rolling Stones in 2006.there is also brief footage of Mick and the gang being interviewed in their earlier days, and some of the answers they give to the interviewer are humorous and ironic.most of the songs the played i had never heard of,but they were all enjoyable.there were quite a few bluesy sounding numbers and a bit of country,and a ballad or two.plus,the gang are visited by three special musical guests(at separate times)who join in the singing.all in all,this was a fast paced,entertaining documentary.for me,Shine a Light is a 7/10

I know that some other users had already write in the beginning of their comments for Scorsese's Shine a Light what I'm about to write and that is: Martin Scorsese is definitely one of my favourites directors of all time and The Rolling Stones is one of my favourites bands of all time. And now this film, second that I watch from the selection of the "Muestra", is one of my personal favourites of 2008.You know that clip of Bob Dylan when a journalist asks him this: "how many people who labour in the same musical vineyard in which you foil, how many are protest singers? That is people who use their music and use the songs to protest the social state in which we live today, the matter of war, the matter of crime or whatever it might be". Then Dylan asks "how many?" and that journalist says "yes, are there many who" and Dylan says "I think there are about 136" "it's either 136 or 142", it was truly great, definitely if you haven't watch that clip you really should, certainly it appears in Scorsese's No Direction Home (after another terrific and funny interview) and also Cate Blanchett says that in I'm Not There (best film of 2007 by the way). Certainly I remembered that clip of Bob Dylan with those clips that Scorsese featured, I really laughed in some of them and enjoyed all of them. Some clips shows "normal" answers by the Stones that now are really great and each one of those made the whole audience laugh! For example there you have a young Mick Jagger, when they had about two years in the business, saying that he hopes to last one year more in the business! And there you have Charlie Watts, the normal, the one who looks like a stranger, the only Rolling Stone with white hair! And he is so great, his clips are fun and once the show begins we watch his expressions after a couple of songs! Truly great.Scorsese filmed two nights at the Beacon Theatre in NYC, October 29 and November 1 2006, and apparently he had a unique experience but not just because of the performances. Is a really funny introduction, Marty wanted the set list, he wanted to know everything, it can begin with a guitar part played by Keith Richards (or Captain Keith!) then Marty wanted to knew that but there you have Mick Jagger laughing, Marty will get the set list for sure but when? Well, seconds before we can hear the opening track, the fantastic Jumpin' Jack Flash. A person who was with me said to me after Shine a Light ended, "I don't know most of the songs but I really enjoyed the entire show", in my opinion Shine a Light does have a great set list, honestly I didn't knew what songs were part of this film and certainly I enjoyed each second of the show like her. You watch the Stones enjoying themselves, of course is impressive the energy at that age, of course each soul at that small theatre were in touch with the legends, they don't think on the stage they just feel. The guest musicians were Jack White, Buddy Guy and Christina Aguilera. The first two were part of two gems of a performance, was pure enjoyment and you can see the face of Jack White (he was sharing stage with the Stones playing Loving Cup!) and with Buddy Guy we have a memorable performance and he ended with two guitars! Aguilera was also terrific and Jagger really enjoyed the performance of Live with Me. Certainly Shine a Light is unique, you can see the expressions of Charlie Watts (as I wrote) and you can see how the audience enjoys like if you were on the stage. By the end we enjoy a powerful encore with Brown Sugar (one of my all time favourites) and (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction to finally finish with a great and creative scene. Then 120 minutes were not enough to me, for sure I wanted more but still I just loved Shine a Light aka Some Country for Old Men (filmjack terrific title you clever bastard!) and here's the set list: Jumpin' Jack Flash, Shattered, She Was Hot, All Down the Line, Loving Cup, As Tears Go By ("lovely isn't it"), Some Girls, Just My Imagination, Far Away Eyes, Champagne & Reefer, Tumbling Dice, You Got the Silver, Connection, Sympathy for the Devil, Live with Me, Start Me Up, Brown Sugar and (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction.

I don't know. It seemed like this should be a great way to summarize the Stones' career: the Scorcese treatment. But I was distinctly underwhelmed. There was the over-representation of mediocre Stones songs (they do have some great material that wouldn't just be a greatest hits set). There was Mick, who ardently believes that more is more. But then he didn't give more (where it counts) on a throw-away vocal on "As Tears Go By." Then there was Marty, who distrusts the viewer not to get bored by not hazarding a single lingering shot. Or to cut away from Mick when Chuck Leavell was delivering a very nice piano solo. My wife noted that the Stones seemed better when Mick stepped off the stage. His "rooster on acid" shtick was nearly nonstop on the faster numbers, and grew boring very, very quickly. I've seen Peter Gabriel and Bono do much, much better as entertainers. But then, I never drank the Kool-Aid.From a film-making point of view, I don't get the value of the Clintons in there, nor of the footage with Marty. And the crowd looked like a group of friends of the band's and Marty's, with a smattering of trust fund kids and investment bankers for good measure. Check out "Gimme Shelter" instead; there's some pretty gritty stuff in there, and it's not all pretty, but at least it's real.