Jersey Boys - the movie!

It opened on Broadway in 2005 and then Las Vegas had a exclusive contract to run the show for several years, which kept it from touring the southwest.  The show did finally make it around in 2011 to little fanfare, but since the film release, it seems to be playing stronger houses than ever. I just missed in during its OC run, but I plan to catch it on stage in October when it plays LA.  My point here, I never saw the stage production before seeing the film.  I know the music, I had a vague idea of their background but really, I went into it with modest expectations.

The Four Seasons, Tommy DeVito (Vincent Piazza), Nick Massi (Michael Lomenda), Frankie Valli (John Lloyd Young), and Bob Gaudio (Erich Bergen) each tell a portion of their story. Each was supposed to also represent a season in their representation of the story line.  This was not really clear from my point of view and perhaps it is more apparent on stage.  The boys really made sure during those early days to keep their personal history a secret, so as to maintain the squeaky clean image. But like almost every entertainment success story, there was some drama and darkness behind the curtain.

The biggest surprise to me was that Frankie Valli, at least in his younger days, always tried to do what was right. He put as much priority on his family that he could, he backed up his friends and held strong to his Jersey street ethics.  What seems to have been downplayed in the film is the significance of Bob Crewe's lyrical contributions. Bob Gaudio composed the music but the words were Crewe's.

I've seen many of Clint Eastwood's movies. He's a director that focuses on human relationships. There was plenty of attention paid to the interactions of these people: the band, their families and the people that made the Four Seasons who they became. What I would have enjoyed more was some creative cinematography. It did unfortunately seem to suffer from time to time from being a stage adaptation. Most of it was excusable, except... when we flash forward to the the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame appearance in 1990. The old age make up in closeups was just too distracting and no believable. It took me out for a moment.

The performances were solid. Not many of us know what the other three guys acted like or sounded like off stage, so it was easy to accept them in their roles. DeVito and Massi were drawn as caricatures mostly, with DeVito being the Jersey tough guy and Massi being the simple minded bass singer. Massi contributed greatly in real life to Valli's performance style and DeVito was the guy who put the group into motion.  All but Piazza played their respective roles on stage at some point. Bergen also has bragging rights to having been fired from the Vegas cast several years back.

The movie is actually very family friendly with no nudity and only some adult language.  It's music you know and a great time in the theater.  Who knew Joe Pesci was so musically influential?

Dorothy, Meet Metallica

In the last couple of weeks, I have watched my first two IMAX 3D films. First, I was able to catch The Wizard of Oz up at the TCL (Grauman's) Chinese Theater. Then, last Friday night, I sat with a large crowd at the local AMC IMAX in Riverside to catch Metallica: Through the Never. These are the perfect juxtaposed films to discuss in a single post, in my opinion.

I am not a big fan of 3D, but I am a little more forgiving when the movie was at least shot in 3D. The Wizard of Oz has seen numerous restorations and re-releases. The last digital restoration was in 2009 and now we have another restoration along with a 3D conversion. I found the 3D titles to be captivating but as for the rest of the film, the 3D was basically detectable in only a handful of sequences. Overall, I found it unnecessary. That being said, the film looked fantastic in IMAX. The fear of a large grainy, blown up image, was put at ease. There were some fantastic details I had not seen, such as the rivets on the Tin Man.  I also noticed that the fishing line holding up the Lion's tail was non-existent in this version.  Overall, I was once again reminded that films that were never intended in 3D, should just stay that way, in 2D.

There was something very enjoyable about hearing Judy Garland sing "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" in IMAX proportions. The same can be said for watching James Hetfield sing "Master of Puppets" in the third dimension, as well as in front of a wall of sound.  I am not a huge Metallica fan and was the only male audience member not wearing a Metallica shirt, but I was surprised by the fact that I was familiar with every song played in the movie. That could also be due to the fact that it was basically a "greatest hits" type of set list.  But he movie was not just a concert film. There was also a thin plot about a young roadie who was tasked to go retrieve a bag from a truck that had run out of gas in the middle of the city. A crazy adventure ensues that involves riots, angry dogs and a living doll.

Through The Never, reminded me about the last concert film I saw in a theater, Shine a Light, the Rolling Stones film from 2008. Much like the Metallica film, it showcased a band that is timeless, sharp as ever and the definition of longevity.  This was the perfect time (August 2012 concert dates) to put Metallica on 3D film.

Both The Wizard of Oz and Metallica: TTN, had small releases, just over 300 screens. It is hard to say if there will be a profit made in the box office.  Through The Never had a $18 million dollar budget and getting Oz into 3D was north of that amount.  Oz will continue making money, regardless. It is available tomorrow on Blu-ray and in 3D, if you've got the equipment for that.  And Through The Never will likely recoup it's investment via DVD and soundtrack sales.  Maybe it will turn into a IMAX midnight movie, who knows?