No, not at all. The Voulez-Vous scene was set at night at an outdoor dance party, and the music was mixed to sound like an open-air disco. It was fabulous.
Faint praise still. The staging of the number, like all the numbers, was atrocious. The worst filming of a musical I've ever seen, not to mention the frequently just plain wrong voices.
Wow! A really outstanding movie that is able to pack so many things in 90 minutes! The whole cast is amazing, from Sigourney to the actresses playing her daughters. Speaking of Sigourney: Again, wow! What a performance! At the beginning I always wanted to punch her arrogant face and she so amazingly showed the slow shift in her character and her final 15 minutes (the breakdown in the church, her speech to the city council) left me in tears. I haven't seen Grey Garden's yet, but Sigourney and the movie would surely not be unworthy Emmy winners!
A+
This message has been edited. Last edited by: Fritz,
It was the most incompetently filmed musical I have ever seen. Not the worst musical film necessarily; but Can't Stop the Music, Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and other awful musicals were more competent.
Phyllida Lloyd, the director, clearly has an established reputation in musical theatre and opera. But she had no idea how to be creative or even have basic skills in shooting a movie. Yes, it was a huge hit - due to the music and its popularity and clever marketing and some casting which helped it. But despite having made this monster hit, a year after its success the director has no - zero - film projects in the works. If there was a sense that she had a clue how to make a movie outside her comfort zone, studios would be flocking to her.
She hopefully never makes another movie. She did enough damage with her first one.
This message has been edited. Last edited by: seanflynn,
Originally posted by seanflynn: The worst filming of a musical I've ever seen...
Hey, I gave it a C+, not an A.
Still, the "worst" you've ever seen? I doubt that very much.
Mamma Mia sunk to depths that surprised me, and made me long to hear the actual ABBA, and I'm not a big fan of theirs' to begin with. I also found it misogynistic, miscast (Pierce), poorly costumed, pathetically choreographed; and yet having said that, I'm glad I saw it at least once. I wonder if it's terrific box office will spawn a Mamma Mia 2/No, Who's Your REAL Daddy?
Posts: 13935 | Location: canada | Registered: December 22, 2005
Too lifetime for me. Half of it is precious and twee and the other half is lurid and awkward, not a good combo. Jeanne Moreau is good in a small role, lead actor is uninspiring.
"Notorious was nice, but it’s not in the color purple range" "Angels and Demons may get nominated for cinematography the imagery was profound" "District Nine will definitely win for best foreign film it made money and everyone loved it" ~ 8movies
Posts: 2714 | Location: nz | Registered: January 12, 2009
Reminds me of Quantum of Solace, which came out a year later, right down to the casting of Olga Kurylenko in a similar role, but instead of British Secret Service you get a school of bald assassins with bar codes tattooed on the back of their heads (which NO ONE EVER MENTIONS!), all trying to kill each other. Still, some fine looking exotic locales, luxe interiors, fancy threads, and flamboyant villains, just like a Bond picture!
This is the funniest film I've seen so far this year, and as random as things transpired here (the baby in the closet, Mike Tyson?, the Asian crime lord in the trunk of the car), everything connected in the end with few lulls in between. It worked as both a buddy comedy and a whodunit kind of a film. Bradley Cooper's been in this kind of role many times before but never as effective. It was nice to see Ed Helms loosen up a bit from "The Office." I want to see Ken Jeong headline one of these kinds of films someday. I'd never heard of Zach Galifianakis until now, but this guy's a huge breakthrough, and I'll look forward to seeing what he does next. Anyone could have done Heather Graham's role, but it was nice seeing her in this. Really enjoyed this one. Definitely stick around for the closing credits, b/c they're worth the wait.
Grade for "The Hangover": A-
THE TAKING OF PELHAM 1-2-3 (2009)
I haven't seen the original (though it's airing tonight on broadcast television), but this one was serviceable enough. Tony Scott's direction had its usual manic tone, and even though that would seem to work for this subject matter, it got to be a bit much at times. Denzel toned things down a lot here as Walter Garber. I kind of liked seeing him as an everyman sad sack, and it was a nice contrast to what John Travolta was doing. I think if you had a drinking game going of doing a shot everytime his character said "Muthaf---a!", you would barely be able to walk around by the film's halfway point. These hostage standoff films end so predictably, but there's a perverse pleasure in wanting to see the villain get away with things, for awhile at least. James Gandolfini's role had its moments, but it's always a letdown seeing him in these types of roles while knowing the full extent of what he's capable of doing when given the chance. I also hoped that Aunjanue Ellis had more to do than be the thankless wife role, but she might have had the best joke in the film about the milk gallon.
Grade for "The Taking of Pelham 1-2-3": B
DRAG ME TO HELL (2009)
I don't know why I went to see this, but at least it excelled in the gross-out quotient, and the audience I was with ate that all up from beginning to end. I remember Alison Lohman from "White Oleander," and back then I thought that she was someone to watch for in the future. She's better than films like this, but she carried things well, and I generally liked her relationship with Justin Long's character. It was weird seeing Adriana Barraza here, but I guess that she was effective enough in the séance section. The real reason to see this film is Lorna Raver. I haven't been disgusted by a character like that in a long time, and that parking garage scene, wow. I wasn't quite prepared for any of that. That was the scene that the audience was most into I think, or maybe the graveyard scene. The ending worked in a weird and sad sort of way. What the film set out to do it did well, but it wasn't all that enjoyable for me.
Grade for "Drag Me to Hell": B-
Congratulations, Primetime Emmy Winners!
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Posts: 24753 | Location: North Carolina, USA | Registered: April 11, 2005
One of the better Coen Brothers films. Raising Arizona is still their masterpiece and Fargo was a showcase for McDormand. Of all its actors, Josh Brolin should have gotten some nominations. Film was graphic and extremely violent. The battle of wits and then of firearms between Brolin and Bardem were both marvelous. Even Brolin vs. the attack dog was remarkable. Do people here think Bardem was worthy of the Academy Award? He looked creepier thanks to that odd hairstyle. But his perf wasn't as chilly or memorable as other bigscreen psychos (Kathy Bates in Misery, Kidman in To Die For). The film would've had a greater payoff had bardem's character been caught or killed. Kelly Macdonald, who was dreafully squeaky in Choke, delivered a good and solid supporting role.
This message has been edited. Last edited by: bottomchef,
I thought this was a super fun romantic comedy. Reynolds and Bullock has such great chemistry. I loved all their scenes together. The story was as predictable as they come, but the cast made it work very well. Betty White and Oscar Nunez stole the movies (as did that adorable dog).
Posts: 3794 | Location: Earth | Registered: April 11, 2005
Wall-E. (A) One of the best films of the decade. The characters didn't say a lot but it connected with me effectively. really touching and heart warming. As expected from Pixar films (with the exception of Cars)
Fired Up (D) Stupid, idiotic film about two horny bastards trying to get girls. Typical cliched teenage film. yuck.
Million Dollar Baby (A-) Excellent movie. It's really well made.
Saving private Ryan (A) A classic.
For Your Grammy Consideration: Not Whitney Houston
bottomchef... as a metaphorical representation of violence and societal "change for the worse", it would have defeated the point of the film had Bardem been caught
"Notorious was nice, but it’s not in the color purple range" "Angels and Demons may get nominated for cinematography the imagery was profound" "District Nine will definitely win for best foreign film it made money and everyone loved it" ~ 8movies
Posts: 2714 | Location: nz | Registered: January 12, 2009
I hadn't seen this since the theaters, but I think it lived up to the memory I had. I am a huge fan of Cunningham's book (all of his books, really), and I am still amazed by the skill in the adaptation from a book that is pretty darn near unadaptable. Daldry's movement back and forth between the time periods is deft, and the differing color schemes of the three stories are stunning.
The acting is the real star, though. Kidman (while she shouldn't have won an Oscar, especially over Moore in Far From Heaven) was much better than I remember, and Moore and Streep are at the tops of their games. Supporting performances by Jeff Daniels, Stephen Dillane, Miranda Richardson, and especially Toni Collette are also spot on. I still don't care at all for Ed Harris, who seems like he is in a completely different film.
Pee Wee's Big Adventure
Ridiculous and always fun. I hadn't watched since I was a kid. There are actually a couple of aspects that jumped out at me besides the insanity. Danny Elfman's score is as good as his have ever been - it's nomination-worthy. And Paul Reuben's ability to too pull of that ridiculous character and make him so endearing and watchable is stunning. The performance is a surprising accomplishment.
Surrealistic, highly symbolic work dealing with womanhood and the loss of innocence... I still have a lot of thinking to do about this, would love to discuss it if anyone else here has seen it.
"Notorious was nice, but it’s not in the color purple range" "Angels and Demons may get nominated for cinematography the imagery was profound" "District Nine will definitely win for best foreign film it made money and everyone loved it" ~ 8movies
Posts: 2714 | Location: nz | Registered: January 12, 2009
Originally posted by puxzkkx: bottomchef... as a metaphorical representation of violence and societal "change for the worse", it would have defeated the point of the film had Bardem been caught
I thought someone would bring this up. But if the film makers still had Bardem's character caught and then implied that he'd somehow escape, that would have worked for the film as a whole. I usually like film psychos but I kept waiting for someone to take him down. I guess him being nearly smashed with his bone sticking out is the next best thing. LOL!
