A delightful 1928 musical comedy wrapped in a cynical, modern shell, narrated by a lonely man who doesn’t know why he’s depressed – hey let’s listen to this 2 record set of my favorite musical!
An absolutely phenomenal movie. A breath-taking, story so epic that it’s been told many times before – but never this well. It’s the epic-sized version of Up! The obvious story comparisons are Pocahontas (colors of the wind and savages) and Dances With Wolves (haven’t seen it, I’ve just read the Wikipedia summation), but the futuristic angle does a lot more by showing history repeating itself and demonstrating the evils of man. Made me think of Watchmen with it’s hunt for a new energy source. But it’s really about not letting anything stand in the way – doesn’t matter if it’s sentient, just cast it as a backwards savage and middle-class America will swallow it like syrup(presuming America took over the Earth and that’s went on from there – we’re here in the name of Earth, not in the name of America). Yay Stephen Lang! I’ve loved him since he told … Continue reading →
A very enjoyable movie. Â Lots of star power: Sean Bean as Zeus, Catherine Keener as Percy’s mom, Steve Coogan as Hades, Pierce Brosnan as the centaur Chiron, Uma Thurman as Medusa, and Joe Pantolioni as Percy’s drunken slob of a stepfather. I haven’t read the books, so I don’t know how it compares. Â I was initially confounded at the mythology being presented to me – I’m told it’s supposed to echo Percy Jackson’s confusion, but I felt a little more confused than normal and found it harder to get my bearings in the mythology of the story. Â It could be that I just ask too many damn questions about the mythology up front… Not sure how I feel about the emphasis of the three brother gods of Greece being focused on – sure it kind of matches the patriarchal society that the mythology was founded on, but Artemis, Hera, and … Continue reading →
Phenomenal!!! I walked out of the theatre like. giddy fan boy! This musical is almost tied with Urinetown as the show I’ve seen the most (I’ve seen 5 different productions of Urinetown and now 4 of Sweeney – once with Norman Large (EEEE) at Riverside Community Theatre; once with John Massey Jr directing, musical directing and starring as Sweeney at STAGEStheatre; and once at the Ahmanson with it’s Tony-award winning “artistic” rendition). Does the movie count as the fifth time? ;-D This was hands-down one of the best large stage productions of Sweeney Todd I’ve ever seen. The set design, the lighting, the dancing, the singing, the acting – it’s all absolutely phenomenal. It’s no small wonder that the director (who has been in several productions of Sweeney as The Beadle – including the first National Tour) was able to pull this off, but even today it’s still a masterful … Continue reading →
Yay Seth MacFarlane as Ziggy the black market Tooth Fairy! The song Randy keeps practicing on his guitar is “Sunshine Of Your Love” and has been recorded by numerous artists (including Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton – whom Randy mentions while talking about being a great guitarist). Yay Julie Andrews! She’s so adorable when she gets to be sassy. Is she like this in those Princess Diaries films? Billy Crystal is eccentric but comedic. Has Ashley Judd been reduced to playing a mom? Dwayne Johnson is fantastic. Everything I’ve seen him in, I’ve just become more and more impressed.
An absolutely fascinating analysis of Abraham Lincoln as a writer, which was undoubtedly his greatest strength. Thusly the title recalls the epic phrase – “the pen is mightier than the sword”, which was coined by English author Edward Bulwer-Lytton in 1839 (thanks Wikipedia!). Some of my favorite quotes and ideas from the book follow – enjoy! “‘He was a very deliberate writer, anything but rapid. … I never saw him dictate to anyone, and it certainly was not his practice to do so. He seemed to think nothing of the labor of writing personally and was accustomed to make many scraps of notes and memoranda. In writing a careful letter, he first wrote it himself, then corrected it, and then rewrote the corrected version himself.’ … Even though a slow and ‘very deliberate’ writer, Lincoln was not in the least put off by what most people consider the onerous labor … Continue reading →
Absolutely wonderful! I mean I already knew I would love it just for the talent (Director Guy Ritchie and actors Robert Downey Jr, Jude Law, Rachel McAdams, and Mark Strong!), but it turned out to be 100 times better than I could have possibly imagined. I may boycott movie theatres except for big, BIG, releases (thank God there’s only 2 more Harry Potter movies). Cell phone glows are the bane of my existence. Soundtrack is incredible! Yay Hans Zimmer! We saw at least 20 minute of trailers: Sorcerer’s Apprentice, Youth In Revolt, Cop Out, Clash Of The Titans, Iron Man 2…it was ridiculous! Interesting article on Sherlock Holmes’ Cocaine Habit
Phenomenal! So much fun! The music, the casting, the performances…my God it’s beautiful! The new songs that original composer Maury Yeston wrote specifically for the adaptation perfectly complement his original tunes as well as uniquely honing Rob Marshall’s vision for exploring the pre-pubescent mind of 50 year old film director Guido Contini.
Down To Earth (1947) was a spiritual sequel to the film Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941, which in itself was remade twice – the 1978 Heaven Can Wait and the 2001 Down To Earth). The plot was recycled in 1980 to create the movie musical Xanadu as a vehicle for Olivia Newton-John that has now been adapted into a hilariously self-referential musical. enjoyed Xanadu @OCPAC – it was..interesting. Yay for walk-on role! Lots of comedy and good one-liners! Very small cast and orchestra…(http://twitter.com/bullfrog117/status/6989842010) According to Laura, the movie had about half good songs (written for Olivia Newton-John and fit her range) and the other half not-so good (that didn’t fit her voice). The musical keeps the good songs and extends it with brand new songs that perfectly fit the story.
YES! That’s what sums up this movie at the end of the day for me – it was such a wonderful experience to watch that I can barely express it! I mean it’s New Orleans jazz! It’s Goliath the Gargoyle singing, dancing and casting voodoo spells! It’s got Jim Cummings as an adorable, endearing Cajun firefly – reusing his Jambalaya Jake from Darkwing Duck voice! It’s got a story that rips your heart out, stomps it all over the floor, laughs at you, and then perfectly sews it back up and makes you laugh with joy! Rule Number One of the bayou – never ask directions from a gator. I got confused by the typography, geography…choreography! Gator down! Look in the gumbo! I’ve been looking for you all morning! What a coincidence! I’ve been avoiding you all morning! Disney is doing a decent and amazingly fun thing by tying in … Continue reading →