Grand Piano

I have to start off by saying I cant stand Elijah Wood!!!  The only movie I think he is any good is Sin City.  In this piece of cinema he pulls off the sniveling, whiny, little bitch perfectly.  So the story goes like this; prodigy pianist, also known as a choke artist gets one more chance to get on stage before a packed house to play the "Unplayable Piece".  Sounds interesting enough, right?  Well just to add some reality into the picture we also have a sniper (Cusack) in the cheap seats that claims he will put a bullet in the head of Wood and his movie star wife if he doesnt play the song perfectly with no mistakes.  No we are talking, I thought this was just going to be a stupid movie about a piano player.  Ok, so it doesnt sound like much, but it gets pretty tense and although a rip off Phone Booth, it was actually pretty good.  Of course it cant be without its flaws, like the entire ending.  It has a good twist but then ends up being another predictable "fight in the rafters" movie.  I would give it a watch if you can stomach Wood for a few hours, I mean really who doesnt like watching a shaved Frodo play the piano?

FYI:  Wood actually took piano lessons for three years to learn the movements and said it was almost impossible to talk and play at the same time.

**1/2