Browse Movies : 2009 : PG : Documentary

Michael Jackson's "This Is It" will offer Jackson fans and music lovers worldwide a rare, behind-the-scenes look at the performer as he developed, created and rehearsed for his sold-out concerts that would have taken place beginning this summer in London's O2 Arena. Chronicling the months from March through June, 2009, the film is produced with the full support of the Estate of Michael Jackson and drawn from more than one hundred hours of behind-the-scenes footage, featuring Jackson rehearsing a number of his songs for the show. Audiences will be given a privileged and private look at Jackson as he has never been seen before. In raw and candid detail, Michael Jackson's "This Is It" captures the singer, dancer, filmmaker, architect, creative genius, and great artist at work as he creates and perfects his final show.

The electric guitar has dominated popular music for the last half century. Anyone who has ever plugged into an amp understands its power. So does the average stadium crowd. But if you have too much exposure to amateurs, you might forget the incredible range of expression that the creation pioneered by Les Paul can achieve in the hands of masters.

Director Davis Guggenheim, well-known for his Academy Award-winning documentary "An Inconvenient Truth", deepens our appreciation for going electric by bringing together three virtuosos from different generations: Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin, The Edge of U2 and Jack White of The White Stripes. "It Might Get Loud" weaves together their stories to reveal how each of them developed a unique sound.

Unlike rock 'n' roll documentaries that focus on backstage drama, this one concentrates on the music, giving us intimate access to the creative process. Each guitarist describes his own musical rebellion: Page against the saccharine pop of the sixties; The Edge against the self-indulgent solos of the seventies; White against the soulless bass machines of the eighties. The film also travels to the locations that left a mark on each player. Page visits the stone halls of Headley Grange where "Stairway to Heaven" was composed. In Dublin, The Edge pulls out the original four-track rehearsals of "Where the Streets Have No Name." And in Tennessee, White describes being inspired by the raw style of bluesman Son House. What's more, we see each musician play new work that has yet to be released.

The trio comes together for a jam session, during which they demonstrate their varying tastes in gear, from Page's double-neck guitar to The Edge's array of accessory pedals to White's cheap plastic instrument. Contrary to the stereotype that rock 'n' rollers are sullen and guarded, these three display an infectious joy when discussing their craft. Anyone who has ever played air guitar along with a Zeppelin song will be thrilled watching Page mimic the licks of one of his own favourites, Link Wray's "Rumble."

You don't need to be an aficionado to enjoy the pleasure of this company. This film might not affect how you play, but it will change how you listen.

At the request of the U.S. government, Walt Disney and fellow artists travel to South America to shore up relations during World War II.

"X Games 3D: The Movie" captures the drama and spectacle that play out every year at the X Games events, highlighting the behind-the-scenes stories of the featured athletes and the sacrifices they make in pursuit of glory and the advancement of their sports on the biggest stage in action sports.

Live concert footage of the Dave Matthews Band, Ben Harper and Relentless7 and Gogol Bordello, shot at the three-day Austin City Limits festival in October 2009.

The movie, which will mix archival footage and family memorabilia with fresh interviews, follows LeBron James' high school basketball days, following the five starters on the varsity team at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron, Ohio. The team travels a winding road from a rundown gymnasium to national glory and NBA riches, seeking to remain a tight-knit quintet even as James becomes a megamillionaire. James was drafted out of high school in 2003 and led the Cleveland Cavaliers to the NBA Finals in 2007. He becomes a free agent in 2010.

A year after his arrival, Paul J. Adams became principal of Providence St. Mel, only to be told the following year that Chicago’s archdiocese was going to close the school. After orchestrating a fundraising campaign that received national and local media attention, funds poured in and enabled Adams to buy the school from the Sisters of Providence and convert it to a not-for-profit independent school. He then set about achieving a new goal: To turn Providence St. Mel into a first rank college preparatory school, and its African-American student body into a corps of driven, disciplined, high achieving students.