Saturday, March 29, 2003


Chicago

Saw it today and decided to do a breakdown immediately (cuz I forgot to do one for Spiderman). Overall, I think it's a good film, but I've seen better. The two film comparisons for Chicago would be Moulin Rouge and Cabaret, but since I still haven't seen Cabaret, I'll break it down with Moulin Rouge...especially since MR is of the "new" musicals and Cabaret is of the "old" musicals.


Are the songs good?
Moulin Rouge = Yes! They were all 'borrowed' but the rearrangements and new versions were all excellent. Roxanne and Your Song are better than the originals but Like A Virgin stinks worse than it originally did.
Chicago = Sort of. It depends on the song and who is singing it. Some of the songs are original to the feature but others are 'borrowed'. I have no comparison for the originals, but the amount of character thrown into these songs here greatly enhance them.

How well to the gals sing and act?
Moulin Rouge = Yes! Since Nicole Kidman was the only lead actress, there's not much to say there. She can definately sing, but she's still got a tinge of "amateur" about her. She's soprano and sometimes too timid with it. I don't know if this was deliberate or not, but it makes her sound like she has less confidence.
Chicago = Yes! Catherine Zeta-Jones used to be a song-and-dance girl and it shows. She knows what she's doing and she does it VERY well! If you've ever seen her in Mask of Zorro or Entrapment, then you know she can act and also has a sly side. She deserves her Oscar. As for Renée Zellweiger, I've never seen her act in anything else nor have I heard her sing before. She can sing but she's nowhere near as strong as Zeta-Jones. Because of the heavy amount of singing around Renée's character, it seemed that she was using her far-too-quiet voice (I heard her narrate a tv thing once...could BARELY hear her) in what almost screamed to be 'filler' scenes for darn near the whole movie. Indeed, after she shoots the guy, her acting seems to quail as she goes to jail. Can Queen Latifa (sp?) sing? Well, she has a career so her voice is well-seasoned, but there wasn't nearly enough acting spots for her to know if she can act or not. Still got that 'tude about her tho.

Can the guys sing and act?
Moulin Rouge = YES! We all knew ('we' being those that saw Emma) that Ewan could sing and sing very well so it was no suprise that he would sing very well. His voice has improved since Emma which is a VERY good thing. Ewan's also known to be rather fearless in his acting and you could tell that Ewan was TOTALLY in his character. He can act and sing at the exact same time.
Chicago = Well...yeah. There wasn't really any chances to sing and act at the same time for Richard Gere, nor were there really any other lead men in the film so I can't say much in that department. He can sing and his singing voice differs from his speaking voice so it's hard to tell it's him. He does the job of singing/dancing/'tude very well and I think he should do it more often. Likewise, he should have been nominated for the Oscar; nominated, but not win.

Was there sex?
Moulin Rouge = Nothing x-rated but definately some skin.
Chicago = Pushing the envelope in my opnion. Thankfully the scene was edited so that other things kept on cutting in and it all went by quickly.

Skimpy costumes?
Moulin Rouge = Yes. But that's to be expected.
Chicago = YES! That was to be expected...but what wasn't expected was that it would be skimpier than Moulin Rouge. Maybe the difference was the absence of can-can skirts?

Good sets?
Moulin Rouge = YES! Very ornate, detailed, and pleasing sets!
Chicago = YES! Very good for a musical and even the stage. The 'movie' sets were mainly limited to the jail and the few outside shots there were. In other words, it looked more like a musical than a story.

Language barriers?
Moulin Rouge = Yeah there was some "foul language" there, but nothing really embarassing.
Chicago = Oh yeah. Not R-rated, but I really hate the "gd" word, which was overused...tho not nearly as much as some others I've seen.

Peeves?
Moulin Rouge = Yep. Too many underwear shots, the whole Like A Virgin sequence, and those bloody opera singers that kept doing arias over the actors' singing.
Chicago = Yep! TOO MANY CAMERA FLASHES! Had to shield my eyes lest I get several seizures from this film. It wasn't like Entertainment Tonight covering the red carpet from atop a building. Oh no, they were taking snapshots directly into the camera! Too many thong crotch shots too. None of us want to see that thank you very much.

Second viewings?
Moulin Rouge = YES! Took a while to grow on me (by second or third viewing) but I'd happily watch it over and over.
Chicago = Maybe. Because of the strobes, it will be a hard view, but I'd love to hear Catherine Zeta-Jones sing a LOT more.

Overall?
Moulin Rouge = I LOVE IT!!! It goes into the favorites cabinet!
Chicago = It's okay. Doesn't deserve Best Picture, but I can see where mainstream Hollywood would say so.

Recommendations?
Moulin Rouge = Show it to the family provided everyone is over 15. A must-see!
Chicago = High school or over, but don't watch it with someone if you feel uncomfortable in doing so. See it if you want.

That's the bulk of it.
posted @ 7:36 PM  |   0 comments  |  

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