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Nine

If you are already a musical fan, you might enjoy Nine. I, however, am not a big musical fan so I went to see it hoping that it would be transcendent. It was not. The star-studded cast drew me in. Daniel-Day Lewis, Judi Dench, Penelope Cruz, Nicole Kidman, even Sophia Loren… how could I resist? But I left underwhelmed. Only Marion Cotillard gave what I considered an excellent performance.

Cotillard plays the long-suffering wife of Day-Lewis’s character, Italian film director Guido Contini. Shooting is about to start on Guido’s new film, but there’s just one problem, he hasn’t written a word [... Keep reading]

This Is It

This Is It is what it is. And that’s what I like about it. There’s no foreshadowing. No hidden agenda. No real conflict. It’s simply a showcase for the phenomenal talent and musicality that was Michael Jackson. The documentary feels a bit draggy at times, but overall, it delivers what the filmmakers promised: a rare, behind-the-scenes look at the King of Pop as he prepared for a comeback/final concert series that was supposed to get underway in London this past July.

It’s impossible not to watch the movie through a morbidly curious lens… looking for hints about his health and stamina [... Keep reading]

Fame

I went into this movie with an open mind – determined to view it through the eyes of a teenager, rather than the cynical (albeit musical-loving) adult that I am. After all, I was a (young) teenager when the original Fame debuted in 1980. So I was kinda psyched to see the new one, for old times’ sake. Whatever. This “updated” Fame is simply lame.

It says a lot that I can remember “Coco” and “Bruno” and “Leroy” and even “Mr. Shorofsky” from 29 years ago. Yet I strain to recall a single character from the version I just saw.

Like the [... Keep reading]

Fall Flicks

So, what is coming up this fall? More for the chicks, one can only hope. Usually, post-summer we get back to having adult fare and start the march to the Oscar race. The list below is wide releases. If you are in New York or Los Angeles, you will have a much wider choice. For the rest of us, there are a few gems and a bit of dreck. But that’s just my opinion. What do you think?

My choices as chickflix are marked with **. Others I would see are ***.

September [... Keep reading]

Every Little Step: The Journey of A Chorus Line

If you like Broadway musicals, you’ll definitely like Every Little Step. This pleasant documentary chronicles the creative genesis of the 1976 Tony-Award winning musical A Chorus Line and takes you inside the casting and audition process for the show’s revival some 30 years later.

The movie has its flaws… It’s easy to lose track of who’s who among the hopefuls, and there’s no real surprise or mystery as to will make the final cut. But there are enough moving moments, interesting tidbits and funny asides to put today’s “reality” competition shows to shame. This movie showcases real people with real backstories [... Keep reading]

Perhaps Love 如果·愛

If you’re looking for a good musical romance in Chinese, “Perhaps Love” is your movie. It stars Asian heart throb Takeshi Kaneshiro and Superstar singer Jacky Cheung in a love triangle with Zhou Xun. The movie opens with Lin Jiandong (Takeshi Kaneshiro) arriving in Shanghai to co-star in a musical film with his old flame Sun Na (Zhou Xun) who is in a relationship with the famous director Nie Wen (Jacky Cheung). The musical they are all making together is about a young woman who loses her memory and is taken under the wing of a circus owner [... Keep reading]

Nine

I think musicals by their very nature are chick flicks, and “9″ is a great one. I saw it on Broadway when it came out in 1982 with Raul Julia in the lead. The play was an adaptation of Fellini’s autobiographical film 8 1/2 starring my favorite Italian Marcello Mastroianni as the director going through a creative crisis surrounded by all his women — mistress, muse, mother, agent, etc. Now we’re coming full circle back to film with “Nine.” Daniel Day Lewis as Fellini looks great (though steamy Javier Bardem was supposed to play the [... Keep reading]