Musical Saturday: Chicago[2002]

I've had some musical reviews lined up for the blog for months, waiting to do a Musical week, but I decided instead to feature one musical per week, since my film viewing habit has not been very active during these last few days. So, first in line, CHICAGO!

Chicago is one of my favourite musicals of all time and I am glad to have the chance to talk about it!

Directed by Rob Marshall, it tells the story of Roxie Hart, a young woman who shoots her lover and ends up in prison. She tries to get out by hiring Billy Flynn, a big shot lawyer who always wins (played by Richard Gere), but has a few "bumps" in the road (Velma Kelly- Catherine Zeta-Jones, Mama Morton-Queen Latifah and others).

Let's start from the beginning. Catherine Zeta Jones opens the show, with a great performance of All that jazz and mantains her fierce, sassy, sexy, strong act throughout the movie. She delivered in a big way and deserves her Oscar as supporting actress- she is fantastic in every shape or form, acting, dancing and singing wise!

Then we meet Roxie Hart- not as pretty, not as sassy, but with a certain charm. Renee Zellweger is good and correctly portrays her character, but it wasn't 100% for me. I do have to mention the shot of her from toe to head whilst singing, she does have some nice legs and gives her all during the dance numbers.

Queen Latifah is Mama Morton; I think the casting was spot on and I loved her in this movie. ("When you're good to mama, mama's good to you"). Other memorable mentions are Christine Baranski as the reporter and Taye Biggs as the announcer/pianist.

And then we go to my favourite scene of the movie, featuring one of the best songs, well musical songs, ever. It's called the Cell Block Tango and I love it.

Richard Gere is charming- I never thought I would be seeing him in underwear singing "All I care about is love", but he is surprisingly good and has a palpable chemisty with both Zellweger and Zeta-Jones. Same goes for John C.Reilly, who is a fantastic actor, but always underused, in supporting parts, as a silly, stupid character.

The direction is wonderful, the transitions between the action and the dream stage sequences are well done, the singing and dancing numbers are flawless, flashy, visually beautiful and lovely to see, the sets and costumes take you back to the 20s, the actors deliver in every scene and all in all, it is a memorable movie.

As I said, one of my personal favourites musicals. Hope you like it, too!

The Artist[2011/2012]

[SPOILER ALERT]
Wednesday night, with an Orange code in hand, I went to see The Artist! It tells the story of silent movie star George Valentin, who wonders if the arrival of talking pictures will cause him to fade into oblivion; meanwhile Peppy Miller, a young dancer, starts her journey in Hollywood, gaining new friends and fans on the way.

Whilst watching the film and, especially at the end, I kept getting back to an idea, to a feeling that it gave me. 

I couldn't shake off the feeling that this movie was a metaphor for Hollywood- let me explain. George Valentin, the famous silent movie actor, can be compared to any A lister in modern times: talented, with a bucket full of charm, attractive, loved and envied by everyone. For some years, he is the star of the game, the man of the moment; people can't get enough of him. But when the rules of the game change, or better say, evolve, there is time for new talent to emerge and, slowly, the A lister is no longer considered the hot commodity of the town, and that's the natural rhythm of things-- it's an ongoing cycle. Peppy Miller represents the upcoming artists, the youngsters who may not have the talent of people like Valentin, but they sure do have the charm. And so, George loses steam, Miller rises from the ashes, and therefore, a new star is born.

Valentin does not go down without a fight- he directs his own movie, in hope that it will be a hit and people might still like silent movies, in the meantime losing all his money, passion and ambition (does this situation ring a bell to anyone?). He surrenders to failure and has a meltdown, all ending with a big fire- because you already know Americans are so dramatic and overreacting- they were back then and they still are even now. As all Hollywood movies and, sometimes, real life situations, there is always a happy ending, with the obligatory nice girl and sweet moment of "Oh, I never stopped loving you, I am here to save you exactly before you do something stupid". They quickly make up, move on and start living a great life together on and off-screen.

Although some might say it is an ode to silent movies, I say it is more than that- it is an ode, sometimes parody, to Hollywood, to its system, to its scripts, its charm and attractiveness. It's a story we've seen many times before, with different characters, different actors, in all periods of time, showing the natural order of things- we rise, we succeed, we fall and suffer, but we eventually get up and move on. And while this happens everywhere around the world, Hollywood will always have an upper hand in transforming this type of story in a full-out romance or drama, because that what it does: it creates characters, magnifies the story and makes it more approachable, yet still more attractive and appealing to the mass than your usual drama on the street. The happy ending doesn't always come in real life, but in movies, in Hollywood, everything is fine at the end- hopeless optimistic, these Americans (and I personally love it)! I don't know if you understood what I meant when I said it was a metaphor, it seemed clearer to me when I got out of the cinema theater, but I just couldn't write this review until now, the words just didn't come out.

Coming back to the movie, the great thing about The Artist is the fact that it managed to portray Hollywood, to portray life, in a very simple, yet extremely effective, entertaining, charming way. The lack of dialogue wasn't an issue, as the sets, the costumes, the music and the acting were more than enough to please the audience. Jean Dujardin and Berenice Bejo light up the screen and make you fall in love with them at the first sight, giving fantastic performances all the way through.

The Artist ticks all of boxes, but still, it's not enough, maybe because it does not have the shock factor- it is not memorable. It's something we've seen times and times before, but translated in the 20s, with a more musical aspect to it.

Bottom line, I will tell you what I keep saying to my friends when they ask how the movie was: "Sweet, entertaining, charming, but not mind-blowing. You should see it, it's fun!"

Midnight In Paris [2011]

Director: Woody Allen

Writer: Woody Allen

Stars: Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams and Kathy Bates

‘Paul: Nostalgia is denial - denial of the painful present... the name for this denial is golden age thinking - the erroneous notion that a different time period is better than the one ones living in – it’s a flaw in the romantic imagination of those people who find it difficult to cope with the present.’

Woody Allen has his own style, his own genre of films. I haven’t seen all of his movies, but the few I did see had common details , like smart, funny lines, introspective thinking, with usual themes like love- for a person or a city. You don’t really expect from Woody Allen a lot of action or a fast pace...he likes to take things slow and relish on the important things; at least that’s what I observed.

This movie is no exception, but I loved it....and I find it a little different than most of them.  The story is about a man trying to write a novel while in Paris with his fiancée.  One night he wanders around the streets of Paris and is suddenly invited into an old, beautiful car that transports him into the 1920s, his favourite time period.

The rest is a succession of magic sets, with recognisable characters and lovely lines. If you’re not familiar, at least on a basic level, with universal literature and art, you won’t realise the importance and beauty of the people- Ernest Hemingway, Scott Fitzgerald, Pablo Picasso and others. 

Gil finally finds what he was looking for and starts a great adventure, each day waiting for midnight to come sooner so he can transport himself into the world that he loves and appreciates.  In the end he makes the right decision for him and starts living the life he was dreaming all this time.

I really liked this movie- the script was very sweet, inventive and interesting, the core subject was something that you can’t say it’s the most original thing in the world, but it represents a situation every human being wants to be in, at least once in their lives.  It’s an introspective story, it makes you reconsider some aspects of your life, but the main idea is perfectly reasonable and logic- people are never satisfied with their current situation or the time period they live in; they linger into the past, thinking they had it better. It shows you that you should appreciate and love the past, but always live in the present and make the best of it!

I highly recommend it- although if I can make a suggestion? Familiarise yourself with Paris in the 1920s, just names, places- it will help!

Did you see it? What did you like most about it?