Netflix DVD on 1/1/12
Happy New Year! Watching this brings my total of Best Picture winners that I haven't seen down to 10. I have been resistant to this movie for a very long time, since I watched the beginning a long time ago and was so disgusted by the singing, dancing street gangs that I turned it off. Turns out, this is not as painful as I thought. I don't like movie musicals - the theatricality of them doesn't work on screen for me - but I have seen far worse. This is the street gang version of Romeo and Juliet of course, and it's at least interesting to see how they translate some of the aspects of the play.
My Netflix rating: 3 stars
New Movies in Year Three: 121
Showing posts with label Musical. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Musical. Show all posts
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Thursday, August 18, 2011
The Last Unicorn (1982)
VHS on 8/18/11
I had forgotten that cartoons from the 80s all seem to be musicals. Thankfully, The Land Before Time managed to escape that. This movie is okay, besides the oddly placed songs, but I think again that it's hard to enjoy it without having watched it as a child. The animation is not great and the story is cute, but not engaging. I understand why some people love it, but the nostalgia piece is just missing for me.
My Netflix rating: 3 stars
New Movies in Year Three: 75
I had forgotten that cartoons from the 80s all seem to be musicals. Thankfully, The Land Before Time managed to escape that. This movie is okay, besides the oddly placed songs, but I think again that it's hard to enjoy it without having watched it as a child. The animation is not great and the story is cute, but not engaging. I understand why some people love it, but the nostalgia piece is just missing for me.
My Netflix rating: 3 stars
New Movies in Year Three: 75
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Burlesque (2010)
Netflix DVD on 4/2/11
I had heard a lot of mediocre-to-bad things about this film, so my expectations were pretty low. Honestly, I thought it was fun! It's a little bit of a rip-off of Moulin Rouge! with some of the characterizations and much of the staging, but the costumes are beautiful and the singing is solid. Cher even managed not to annoy me! I really liked Kristen Bell and it's actually because I hated her character. Normally I find her adorable, so anything where she can make me hate her is a success. Seeing Eric Dane as the sleazy real-estate developer was fun, since I like him on Grey's Anatomy (however, after the debacle that was this week's musical episode, I think that I'm breaking up with GA for good).
My Netflix rating: 4 stars
New Movies in Year Three: 21
I had heard a lot of mediocre-to-bad things about this film, so my expectations were pretty low. Honestly, I thought it was fun! It's a little bit of a rip-off of Moulin Rouge! with some of the characterizations and much of the staging, but the costumes are beautiful and the singing is solid. Cher even managed not to annoy me! I really liked Kristen Bell and it's actually because I hated her character. Normally I find her adorable, so anything where she can make me hate her is a success. Seeing Eric Dane as the sleazy real-estate developer was fun, since I like him on Grey's Anatomy (however, after the debacle that was this week's musical episode, I think that I'm breaking up with GA for good).
My Netflix rating: 4 stars
New Movies in Year Three: 21
Sunday, January 23, 2011
186. January 22, 2011 - Romance & Cigarettes (2005)
I don't understand why they chose to make this into a musical. If John Turturro (who wrote and directed - notice he has not written or directed since) had gone with a straight gritty comedy, this might actually have been worth watching. The story is pretty simple, but simple doesn't have to be bad. I just don't understand why everyone had to burst into song every five minutes. Especially the weird scene that included the women in bright red teddies. And Kate Winslet singing underwater - Titanic was in 1997. And she may have been underwater, but she certainly wasn't singing. Don't waste your time or your Netflix queue spot with this one.
My Netflix rating: 2 stars
My Netflix rating: 2 stars
Monday, January 11, 2010
January 11, 2010
Nine (2009)
This movie is not to be confused with 9 or District 9, although maybe the filmmakers should wish it would be, since both were better (and considering that 9 was about creepy sentient dolls made of burlap sacks, that's saying something). It was completely unimpressive. Daniel Day-Lewis mopes and whines and screws around on his wife for two hours and yet the seven women in this movie are all obsessed with him. Why? Nicole Kidman, Judi Dench and Kate Hudson are all fantastic, while Penelope Cruz and Marion Cotillard are pretty blah (though, to be fair, I really can't stand either of them and probably nothing would make me like their performances). Sophia Loren and Fergie appear only in weird, out-of-place black and white flashbacks and, though they both play their roles well, feel totally unnecessary. The songs were hit or miss for me - I really liked "Be Italian," "My Husband Makes Movies," "Cinema Italiano" and "Unusual Way," but the others were boring. Also, all of the musical numbers are presented as fantasies that the main characters are having and feel disconnected from the actual plot. Not sure why this got so many Golden Globe nominations.
My Netflix rating: 3 stars
This movie is not to be confused with 9 or District 9, although maybe the filmmakers should wish it would be, since both were better (and considering that 9 was about creepy sentient dolls made of burlap sacks, that's saying something). It was completely unimpressive. Daniel Day-Lewis mopes and whines and screws around on his wife for two hours and yet the seven women in this movie are all obsessed with him. Why? Nicole Kidman, Judi Dench and Kate Hudson are all fantastic, while Penelope Cruz and Marion Cotillard are pretty blah (though, to be fair, I really can't stand either of them and probably nothing would make me like their performances). Sophia Loren and Fergie appear only in weird, out-of-place black and white flashbacks and, though they both play their roles well, feel totally unnecessary. The songs were hit or miss for me - I really liked "Be Italian," "My Husband Makes Movies," "Cinema Italiano" and "Unusual Way," but the others were boring. Also, all of the musical numbers are presented as fantasies that the main characters are having and feel disconnected from the actual plot. Not sure why this got so many Golden Globe nominations.
My Netflix rating: 3 stars
Sunday, December 20, 2009
December 19, 2009
White Christmas (1954)
This is just more evidence to support my theory that 1954 is second only to 1939 as Hollywood's greatest year. Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye are a perfect team (the girls are good too, but those two are the real stars of the show), balancing comedy and absolutely beautiful singing. The musical numbers themselves get a little repetitive, but sequence at the end more than makes up for that. It's a touching Christmas moment, but without the saccharine sentimentality of It's a Wonderful Life. Parts of this are obviously shot on a sound stage, but for the most part that doesn't detract.
My Netflix rating: 4 stars
This is just more evidence to support my theory that 1954 is second only to 1939 as Hollywood's greatest year. Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye are a perfect team (the girls are good too, but those two are the real stars of the show), balancing comedy and absolutely beautiful singing. The musical numbers themselves get a little repetitive, but sequence at the end more than makes up for that. It's a touching Christmas moment, but without the saccharine sentimentality of It's a Wonderful Life. Parts of this are obviously shot on a sound stage, but for the most part that doesn't detract.
My Netflix rating: 4 stars
Thursday, December 3, 2009
December 2, 2009
Moulin Rouge! (2001)
#67 on my Top 100 List
Mmmm, Ewan McGregor can sing. He's not great in this movie about always suppressing his Scottish accent, but that's fine with me. Though this movie's been out less than ten years, the doomed romance between Christian and Satine (Nicole Kidman) is already one of the more iconic and memorable film couples from the last decade. It helps that they both sing beautifully. The color in the movie is vibrant and alive, shown through Baz Luhrmann's almost overwhelming filming style, where everything is fast and bright and loud. Most of the songs are covers, though between the arrangements and the performers, they don't feel like it. "El Tango de Roxanne" embodies lust and jealousy, "Meet Me in the Red Room" is pure sexuality, "One Day I'll Fly Away" is hopeful and hopeless at the same time, and "Your Song" is reminiscent of innocent true love.
My Netflix rating: 5 stars
#67 on my Top 100 List
Mmmm, Ewan McGregor can sing. He's not great in this movie about always suppressing his Scottish accent, but that's fine with me. Though this movie's been out less than ten years, the doomed romance between Christian and Satine (Nicole Kidman) is already one of the more iconic and memorable film couples from the last decade. It helps that they both sing beautifully. The color in the movie is vibrant and alive, shown through Baz Luhrmann's almost overwhelming filming style, where everything is fast and bright and loud. Most of the songs are covers, though between the arrangements and the performers, they don't feel like it. "El Tango de Roxanne" embodies lust and jealousy, "Meet Me in the Red Room" is pure sexuality, "One Day I'll Fly Away" is hopeful and hopeless at the same time, and "Your Song" is reminiscent of innocent true love.
My Netflix rating: 5 stars
Thursday, November 26, 2009
November 26, 2009
The Wizard of Oz (1939)
#52 on my Top 100 List
Happy Thanksgiving everyone! And also happy 70th anniversary to the Greatest Year in Hollywood History. This movie was a huge part of why 1939 was so amazing. The burst of color when Dorothy opens her front door into Oz for the first time is enough to still take my breath away, even now in the age of computers when nothing is impossible. I remember watching this when I was little and my father pointing out a mistake toward the very end, in the scene where the Wizard's hot air balloon leaves. It's a shot involving the Tin Man that wasn't supposed to make it into the final cut - see if you can find it! And finally, I would be remiss to write an entry about this movie and not mention one of it's greatest gifts to pop culture - "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." I'm not a huge fan of the very end (when everything's back in sepia) - I think that that particular plot device is sort of a cop-out - but it's so much a part of this iconic movie that it doesn't bother me as much as it would in anything else.
My Netflix rating: 5 stars
#52 on my Top 100 List
Happy Thanksgiving everyone! And also happy 70th anniversary to the Greatest Year in Hollywood History. This movie was a huge part of why 1939 was so amazing. The burst of color when Dorothy opens her front door into Oz for the first time is enough to still take my breath away, even now in the age of computers when nothing is impossible. I remember watching this when I was little and my father pointing out a mistake toward the very end, in the scene where the Wizard's hot air balloon leaves. It's a shot involving the Tin Man that wasn't supposed to make it into the final cut - see if you can find it! And finally, I would be remiss to write an entry about this movie and not mention one of it's greatest gifts to pop culture - "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." I'm not a huge fan of the very end (when everything's back in sepia) - I think that that particular plot device is sort of a cop-out - but it's so much a part of this iconic movie that it doesn't bother me as much as it would in anything else.
My Netflix rating: 5 stars
Sunday, November 15, 2009
November 13, 2009
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1978)
This is a great example of something being so incredibly ridiculous that it's awesome. Most professional reviews of this movie call it awful and terrible and a train wreck, etc, but I beg to differ. It has Peter Frampton and the Bee Gees (Peter Frampton looks like a girl by the way) playing the second generation titular band who must rescue their hometown's missing famous musical instruments that have been stolen while they were off recording albums in Hollywood. There is no talking save George Burns as the narrator - Mr. Kite - and a computer because everything else is told through Beatles songs. And the people who they cast to sing them! Steve Martin singing "Maxwell's Silver Hammer." Aerosmith singing "Come Together." Billy Preston plays God! How can that be bad? There are two things that are bad, though. I could have lived without seeing Peter Frampton wearing skintight silver vinyl pants and when one character dies, they're put into a glass coffin a la Snow White. Again, I say creepy!
My Netflix rating: 4 stars
This is a great example of something being so incredibly ridiculous that it's awesome. Most professional reviews of this movie call it awful and terrible and a train wreck, etc, but I beg to differ. It has Peter Frampton and the Bee Gees (Peter Frampton looks like a girl by the way) playing the second generation titular band who must rescue their hometown's missing famous musical instruments that have been stolen while they were off recording albums in Hollywood. There is no talking save George Burns as the narrator - Mr. Kite - and a computer because everything else is told through Beatles songs. And the people who they cast to sing them! Steve Martin singing "Maxwell's Silver Hammer." Aerosmith singing "Come Together." Billy Preston plays God! How can that be bad? There are two things that are bad, though. I could have lived without seeing Peter Frampton wearing skintight silver vinyl pants and when one character dies, they're put into a glass coffin a la Snow White. Again, I say creepy!
My Netflix rating: 4 stars
Monday, November 9, 2009
November 7, 2009
A Mighty Wind (2003)
Besides the great cast, this is a perfectly crafted mockumentary. You know it's not real - the presence of recognizable actors is enough to remind you of that - but most of the time, it feels like it is. Like you could walk into a music store and find a CD by Mitch and Mickey or the Folksmen. The songs that were written for each group are perfectly reminiscent of folk music, while at the same time delightfully tongue-in-cheek, and the song that was nominated for an Oscar ("A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow") is sweet and hilarious. Who knew Eugene Levy could sing?
My Netflix rating: 4 stars
Besides the great cast, this is a perfectly crafted mockumentary. You know it's not real - the presence of recognizable actors is enough to remind you of that - but most of the time, it feels like it is. Like you could walk into a music store and find a CD by Mitch and Mickey or the Folksmen. The songs that were written for each group are perfectly reminiscent of folk music, while at the same time delightfully tongue-in-cheek, and the song that was nominated for an Oscar ("A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow") is sweet and hilarious. Who knew Eugene Levy could sing?
My Netflix rating: 4 stars
Monday, September 14, 2009
September 13, 2009
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)
I'm normally not a fan of movie musicals, especially ones that are so operatic. But this is Tim Burton and Johnny Depp, so how can I not like it? From what I've heard, the original staging of Sweeney Todd treats the story more like a comedy, but this one is a dark gothic horror that includes buckets of red paint in place of blood. The color of the paint is definitely off from what you'd expect, but somehow it fits into this scary version of London that Burton has created. Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter aren't great singers, but they're passable - their voices just sound untrained. Alan Rickman, on the other hand, can't sing at all, but he's Alan Rickman, so I forgive him. I do feel bad for the kid in the story, as well as the crazy street woman, whose true identity I'll keep a secret. This is cannabalism at its sadistic best.
My Netflix rating: 4 stars
I'm normally not a fan of movie musicals, especially ones that are so operatic. But this is Tim Burton and Johnny Depp, so how can I not like it? From what I've heard, the original staging of Sweeney Todd treats the story more like a comedy, but this one is a dark gothic horror that includes buckets of red paint in place of blood. The color of the paint is definitely off from what you'd expect, but somehow it fits into this scary version of London that Burton has created. Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter aren't great singers, but they're passable - their voices just sound untrained. Alan Rickman, on the other hand, can't sing at all, but he's Alan Rickman, so I forgive him. I do feel bad for the kid in the story, as well as the crazy street woman, whose true identity I'll keep a secret. This is cannabalism at its sadistic best.
My Netflix rating: 4 stars
Monday, August 3, 2009
August 2, 2009
Repo! The Genetic Opera (2008)
This is the weirdest, most frakked-up, most horrifying thing I have ever seen. The little girl from Spy Kids has cancer, goes to see the head of an organization that repossesses organs from transplant patients, and is used in a vicious revenge scheme. Anthony Stewart Head rips people's stomachs out in his basement. Paris Hilton sings. What?? And it's an opera! It's like Sweeney Todd on steroids and a bad acid trip. I feel like it was kind of trying to do what Grindhouse did, but it's not enough. It's not bad enough to be good and it's certainly not good - it's in the middle where bad is just bad and singing murderers are not endearing to anyone, even if they are Giles.
My Netflix rating: 2 stars
This is the weirdest, most frakked-up, most horrifying thing I have ever seen. The little girl from Spy Kids has cancer, goes to see the head of an organization that repossesses organs from transplant patients, and is used in a vicious revenge scheme. Anthony Stewart Head rips people's stomachs out in his basement. Paris Hilton sings. What?? And it's an opera! It's like Sweeney Todd on steroids and a bad acid trip. I feel like it was kind of trying to do what Grindhouse did, but it's not enough. It's not bad enough to be good and it's certainly not good - it's in the middle where bad is just bad and singing murderers are not endearing to anyone, even if they are Giles.
My Netflix rating: 2 stars
Sunday, May 10, 2009
May 10, 2009
Spice World (1997)
Since I grew up in the 90s, I figured I should probably see this. I rightfully had no expectations - the movie has no plot and even so, it makes no sense. It's really just a glorified series of music videos with some traveling thrown in between. Alan Cumming, Richard E. Grant, Hugh Laurie, Roger Moore, why?
My Netflix rating: 2 stars
Since I grew up in the 90s, I figured I should probably see this. I rightfully had no expectations - the movie has no plot and even so, it makes no sense. It's really just a glorified series of music videos with some traveling thrown in between. Alan Cumming, Richard E. Grant, Hugh Laurie, Roger Moore, why?
My Netflix rating: 2 stars
Sunday, February 15, 2009
February 14, 2009
The Producers (2005)
Generally speaking, I don't like remakes (the few exceptions being the 1999 version of The Mummy and the George Clooney version of Ocean's Eleven). Usually, they got it right the first time around. That being said, this film doesn't really feel like a remake, so much as a movie that was based on a play...that happened to be based on another movie. Matthew Broderick's character's neuroses really irritated me, but Will Farrell and Peter Bart as the neo-Nazi playright and the flamboyant director's assistant are hysterical.
My Netflix rating: 3 stars
Generally speaking, I don't like remakes (the few exceptions being the 1999 version of The Mummy and the George Clooney version of Ocean's Eleven). Usually, they got it right the first time around. That being said, this film doesn't really feel like a remake, so much as a movie that was based on a play...that happened to be based on another movie. Matthew Broderick's character's neuroses really irritated me, but Will Farrell and Peter Bart as the neo-Nazi playright and the flamboyant director's assistant are hysterical.
My Netflix rating: 3 stars
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