longwinded

After months of ignoring all the great films coming out due to a lack of time, I've finally begun to get caught up thanks to the free trial Blockbuster's been running on their new web-based rental service (designed to try and subvert the decrease in their market share thanks to Netflix). So far this month, there has been Big Fish (which ranked up there with Edward Scissorhands as Tim Burton's best and most personal work - and was also surprisingly moving) and The Station Agent (a quiet little film about relationships and past experiences that was also very solid).

However, my top recommendation thus far, particularly for those with a musical background, is Standing in the Shadows of Motown, a tribute to the unsung band that backed up pretty much every hit out of Motown during the label's decade in Detroit. I was stunned at how many records this same band played on through the years, and how influential they have been on pop music in the ensuing years.

The actual interviews are the best part of this film, but there are also concert sequences from a show that reunited the original band to perform the tunes with contemporary singers - Ben Harper, Meshell Ndegeocello and Joan Osborne, among others. I thought the filmmakers did a good job of picking singers who would do justice to the tunes without upstaging the band members; Osborne's rendition of "What Becomes of the Brokenhearted" is particularly good, due to the songwriting as much as her voice. These guys obviously had some amazing times together churning out song after song, in 14-hour sessions held in a crowded basement for a pittance of a paycheck.

I'm working a "shift swap" this week, so unfortunately I am stuck working Friday and Saturday night for the first time in quite a while. Luckily, I get Sunday night off to spend with Em - better than no weekend at all, I suppose.

• posted by Alan at 5:22 AM //