SCORE: A HOCKEY MUSICAL

Musical

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Noah Reid: 17-year-old Farley Gordon
Olivia Newton-John: his mother Hope
Marc Jordan: his father Edgar
Allie MacDonald: their 17-year-old neighbour Eve
Stephen McHattie: owner of the Brampton Blades hockey team
George Stroumboulopoulos: the rink announcer

REVIEW
Oxymoron –noun
• A figure of speech in which two words with opposing meanings are used together intentionally for effect
• a contradiction in terms.

That best describes this movie about hockey with most of the dialogue presented as a song. But is it any sillier a notion than a musical about two teenage street gangs (West Side Story) or one about a baseball team (Damn Yankees) or one about a cowboy falling in love with a farm girl (Oklahoma ! ) ?

The main difference between these Broadway musicals and SCORE is that they included memorable songs that have become part of our culture; no such luck here. Instead we get to see a corny musical with many songs sung in a droning manner but with very few upbeat numbers.

Between the songs there are the requisite dance numbers as a prelude to the rousing on-ice finale which is rather well done given the limitation the players have, dressed in full gear.

So how does it fit in with others? It’s not the best movie I’ve ever seen and certainly is not the worst. Just somewhere in the middle.

CLASSIFICATION
for crude locker-room humour and some hockey violence.

FOR NITPICKERS ONLY
• The coach tells Farley the game will start at 2 pm but during the pre-game interview the clock shows it to be 4 o’clock.
• While Eve is talking with Farley her sweater on her right shoulder changes location between shots although she never touches it.
• The team owner gets thrown off the tread mill and it stops by itself. In fact that only happens if you press the red stop button otherwise it continues going at the pace set.

NINE

Musical

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Daniel Day-Lewis: 40-something Italian Film Director Guido Contini
Judi Dench: his confidante and costume designer Lilli La Fleur
Penélope Cruz: Guido’s close friend Carla Albanese
Marion Cotillard: Guido’s wife Luisa
Fergie: Saraghina
Sophia Loren: Mamma Contini
Kate Hudson: American fashion journalist Stephanie Necrophuros
Nicole Kidman: songstress Claudia Jenssen

REVIEW
Struggling to begin production of his next film, Italia, the famous film director Guido has more than a few distractions to cope with, some going as far back to when he was nine. Relying upon his vivid imagination of what is to be, the musical numbers often come up unexpectedly. And disappear from your consciousness just as quickly: there is not one really good song out of the whole bunch. Nothing memorable at all. In fact several songs are downright painful to sit through, the worst being that touching musical number My Husband Makes Movies.

This is proof positive that it takes more than a group of A-class actors to make a musical work: good music is an essential requirement. Having a good story on top of that would be a bonus.

CLASSIFICATION
for sexual content and smoking.

MAMMA MIA!

Musical comedy

F.Y.I.
A married couple, Agnetha Fältskog and Björn Ulvaeus, went for a holiday on the island of Cyprus with friends and fellow singers Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. Just for fun they began singing together on the beach and were invited to perform as a group for the United Nations troops stationed there. They came up with the idea of having the group’s name as an acronym of their first names: Agnetha, Björn, Benny and Anni-Frid. And so ABBA was born and their songs went on to top the charts worldwide from the mid-1970s to the early 1980s.

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Meryl Streep: single mother Donna Sheridan, owner of a small B&B
Amanda Seyfried: her 20-year-old daughter Sophie
Pierce Brosnan: businessman Sam Carmichael
Colin Firth: British banker Harry 'Headbanger' Bright
Stellan Skarsgård: Swedish adventurer and author Bill Andersen
Dominic Cooper: Sophie’s fiancé Sky
Julie Walters: Donna’s longtime friend Rosie, a cookbook author
Christine Baranski: another of Donna’s friends rich three-time divorcée Tanya

REVIEW
Anyone who has ever hummed one of the ABBA’s big hits will revel in hearing them sung amid the glorious setting of a lovely Greek island. Someone has wisely chosen to not change the musical arrangement from the original hits so they sound right. The additional songs first heard during the stage performance of Mamma Mia! fit in beautifully, not surprising given that Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus collaborated to write them. Unlike some musicals where the songs seem to come from out of nowhere, these all meld in as part of the story narrative.

Given that the main reason everyone shows up is to celebrate a marriage, it is not surprising there’s a lot of joy and happiness throughout the movie. And some funny bits along the way.

Although Meryl Streep started her career as a singer, I cannot recall any previous role in which she sang. Consequently her singing talent came to me as a surprise. Perhaps you could quibble about the cast selection, that there are younger actors\actresses around, that there are better singers. Fine. But that doesn’t take away from the fact the ones in the movie do a heckuva job and that’s enough for me.

The dance numbers are well staged with unbounded energy, the costumes are great, the acting uniformly excellent. In short, it’s a must-see movie and a lot of fun.

CLASSIFICATION
for some sex-related comments.

FOR NITPICKERS ONLY
 Donna attempts to repair a broken shutter using a cordless drill. Trouble is she’s forgotten to put a bit in the chuck.
 While trying to fix the crack in the ceramic floor Donna snaps off the end of the tube of caulking. Moments later when she stands up and points to something with the caulking gun, the white end of the tube has been magically restored.

P.S.
Stick around for the end credits, it’s worthwhile.

By the way it’s rare that I plan to go see a movie for a second time. This is one of them.

WALK HARD: THE DEWEY COX STORY

Comedy, musical

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Raymond J. Barry: Pa Cox
Margo Martindale: Ma Cox
Conner Rayburn: 8-year-old Dewford "Dewey" Cox
John C. Reilly: the older Dewey
Kristen Wiig: his wife Edith
Tim Meadows: the band’s drummer Sam
Jenna Fischer: backup singer Darlene

REVIEW
This is not a total write-off despite some serious shortcomings. As a spoof you have to expect some measure of exaggeration and over-the-top antics but repeating the same one-liner four times is going a bit too far, even though it was funny the first time. There are other funny moments but too few.

The nudity scenes fits with the general conception of what goes on during road trips but the close-up male frontal nudity makes no sense and is totally out of place. And it’s done twice.

Some of the original music is really quite good. In particular the one called “Let’s Duet” is replete with double entendres with bang on phrasing of the clever lyrics.

CLASSIFICATION
for sexual content, graphic nudity, drug use and language.

FOR NITPICKERS ONLY
 The black guitar player has a silver slide on the small finger of his left hand while playing. He stops playing to pass the guitar over to Dewey but the slide is no longer on his finger.
 Dewey calls his wife from a hotel room and when she hangs up on him we hear the dial tone. The dial tone is there only when you pick up the phone to make a call not when it is terminated.
 Dewey was 6 years old in 1946 (and 14 years old in 1953) so he was born in 1939 or 1940 consequently in 2007 he would be 67 or 68 not 71 as he stated.
 His DOB is shown incorrectly on his tombstone as 1936.

P.S.
The title obviously is in reference to the Johnny Cash biopic “Walk the line”.

SWEENY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET

Musical

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Johnny Depp: Sweeney Todd one nasty barber
Alan Rickman: Judge Turpin
Timothy Spall: his assistant Beadly Bamford
Helena Bonham Carter: Mrs. Lovett, proprietor of a meat shop
Sacha Baron Cohen: Signor Adolfo Pirelli

REVIEW
The first thing that strikes you is the desaturated colour, just shades of black and grey throughout except for a couple of minutes right at the beginning. It’s really very depressing but sets the mood oh so beautifully. This is not a fun experience unless you are enjoy watching throats being sliced and are not put off with such things as cockroaches crawling in meat pies served to unwitting customers.

This dark, humourless, gory, gruesome, creepy, icky film about a cruel, scheming, serial killer runs for almost two hours and includes too many interminable musical numbers that are not upbeat nor particularly pleasant listening. What a combination.

I like movies that are entertaining and\or informative. This is neither.

CLASSIFICATION
for graphic bloody violence.

FOR NITPICKERS ONLY
 Sweeney Todd has some white hair which changes from a measly 1” wide patch to a swatch three times that.
 Pirelli’s assistant Toby takes two bites out of a meat pie then we see a heads and shoulders shot of Mrs. Lovett. When the camera returns to Toby the meat pie only has one bite in it.
 The blood on the chin of Joanna’s potential suitor is sometimes two streaks, other times just one.
 From the looks of it these events took place around the time of Jack the Ripper, in 1888. The Italian flag at that time had the Savoyan coat of arms in the center of the white band whereas Pirelli is flying the one adopted some 80 years later with the unification of Italy.
 The sign up on Pirelli’s stage claims he is the barber to the King of Naples. The kingdom ceased to exist some 70 years earlier with the formal union of Naples and Sicily in 1816.

GYPSY CARAVAN

Musical documentary
In Romani, Spanish, Macedonian, Romanian, Hindi and Marwari with English subtitles.

BACKGROUND
The Romani or Romany people (as a noun the singular is Rom, plural Roma) are an ethnic group living in many communities all over the world. The Roma are often referred to as Gypsies or Gipsies, a term that is sometimes considered pejorative and is based on a mistaken belief of an origin in Egypt. In actuality, the Roma have their origins in India.

The Roma are generally considered to be wandering nomads despite the fact that today the vast majority live in permanent housing. This widely dispersed ethnic group lives across the world not only near their historic heartland in Southern and Eastern Europe but also in North America and the Middle East.

Roma music plays an important role in Eastern European cultures such as Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro, Republic of Macedonia, Albania, Hungary, Russia, and Romania. The style and performance practices of Roma musicians have influenced European classical composers such as Franz Liszt and Johannes Brahms. One traditional form of Roma music is the genre of the gypsy brass band. The distinctive sound of Roma music has also strongly influenced jazz, bolero and flamenco.

PRINCIPAL MUSICIANS
Esma Redzepova, the "Queen of the Gypsies”
Sayari Sapera, superb dancer with the group Maharaja
Antonio El Pipa, a flamenco dancer
His aunt, Juana la del Pipa

REVIEW
Back in 2001 a group of musicians did a 16-city tour of the United States. This film travels with them for the 6 weeks they were on the road. About equal time is given to the actual concerts and to the principal performers. In doing so, we get a comprehensive overview of Roma music as well as some understanding of the people themselves.

The camerawork is particularily good and the editing first rate.

CLASSIFICATION

ACROSS THE UNIVERSE

Musical

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Jim Sturgess: Jude, a Liverpool ship welder
Joe Anderson: Princeton college student Maxwell aka Max
Evan Rachel Wood: his sister Lucy
Dana Fuchs: up-and-coming singer Sadie
Martin Luther McCoy: Jo-Jo, a guitarist and singer
Bono: Doctor Robert

REVIEW
Few will have the patience to sit through the 2 hours and 15 minutes of this movie unless you are a big fan (I mean really big fan) of the Beatles music. The simplistic plot serves only to provide an opportunity to fit in another song, even if it is out of place and/or inappropriate to the situation. Consequently every 10 minutes or so the story is put on hold while another song is sung and frequently the lip-synching is poorly done.

The acting is only so-so: Jude in particular seems to have been selected more for his singing ability than his other thespian talents. And Maxwell’s father is almost ludicrous.

There are several rather innovative visual elements and some of the dance numbers are well done. It is also a bit of a historical overview of the Vietnam era but there are far better sources of history than this somewhat distorted view.

CLASSIFICATION
for some drug content, nudity, sexuality, violence and language.

FOR NITPICKERS ONLY
With the introduction of Tide detergent in 1949 sales of Rinso brand soap-powder plummeted so it was revamped and reintroduced as Sunshine Rinso. Consequently when Jude and Lucy are in a laudromat, the shelves would not be stocked with boxes of Rinso since the product had been off the market for years.

While Jude is walking in the Stanley Docks area of Liverpool, a yellow and white commuter train can be seen passing by on the other side of the canal. These British Rail Class 507 trains were not put into service until 1978, some 12 years after his walkabout.

A shot of a newspaper dated April 28, 1968 shows it to be a Friday. In fact that was a Sunday.

The first outdoor CCTV surveillance camera was not installed in the United Kingdom until 1985 but we can see an orange one above the door when Jude leaves the Shipper’s bar, some 20 years before its time.

As Jude stands on the rooftop contemplating the situation the long shadows would be consistent with late afternoon, early evening. He then approaches the microphone and begins singing but now the shadows are those seen at noon with the sun almost directly overhead.

P.S.
The principal cast members are named after some Beatles songs which is most appropriate. But what’s with this Jo-Jo when Mr. Mustard or even better, Rocky Racoon could be used instead?

DREAMGIRLS

Musical

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Jennifer Hudson: Effie White, lead singer of the group called “The Dreamettes”
Beyoncé Knowles: backup singer Deena Jones, (“the pretty one”)
Anika Noni Rose: the other backup singer Lorrell Robinson
Jamie Foxx: Detroit car salesman, wannabe-manager, Curtis Taylor Jr.
Eddie Murphy: famous “soul” singer James "Thunder" Early
Danny Glover: his long-time manager Marty
Keith Robinson: C.C. White, Effie’s brother and songwriter

REVIEW
From the onset, it seems to be a semiautobiographical movie based on the career of Diana Ross and the Supremes. But then about halfway through, Effie belts out a song that advances the story by way of the lyrics rather than narrative dialog and it becomes clear this is a musical. But this in no way detracts from the story about the struggles and hardship encountered in this line of business.

The production values throughout are first rate: the cinematography, costumes, sets, singing and dancing. And the acting is solid. Overall it’s very entertaining although a tad too long at two hours and 10 minutes.

CLASSIFICATION
for language, some sexuality and drug content.

A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION

Comedy

BACKGROUND
A Prairie Home Companion first aired on public radio station in 1969 on Saturday nights from 5 to 7 p.m. It was created and hosted by Garrison Keillor from the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul, Minnesota.

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Kevin Kline: Guy Noir, former P.I. now Vice-President in charge of security
Meryl Streep: Yolanda Johnson, eldest of the singing Johnson Sisters
Lily Tomlin: Rhonda, her younger sister
Lindsay Lohan: Yolanda's teenaged daughter Lola
Garrison Keillor: G.K., the show’s emcee
Maya Rudolph: stage manager Molly
Woody Harrleson: Dusty, one of the singing duo called the Old Trailhands
John C. Reilly: his companion Lefty
Virginia Madsen: the woman in the white trench coat
L. Q. Jones: Chuck Akers, an old-time C&W singer
Tommy Lee Jones: the Axeman

REVIEW
Entertaining, especially if you like country and western music, it’s easy to see why the real show was so popular all those years. Meryl Streep is made for this movie and it showcases her talent as a singer as well as an actor. First rate acting throughout although Lindsay Lohan’s role could have been played but most anyone.

CLASSIFICATION
for risqué humor (= one song with off-colour lyrics)

FOR NITPICKERS ONLY
The call letters of the host radio station were WNT not WLT.

THE PRODUCERS

Musical

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Nathan Lane: Max Bialystock, Broadway producer and con-man
Matthew Broderick: his naïve accountant Leo Bloom
Uma Thurman: Ulla, a Swedish secretary with limited talent
Will Ferrell: Franz Liebkind, author of the musical “Springtime for Hitler”
Gary Beach: Roger DeBris, famous musical director
Roger Bart: his assistant and companion, Carmen Ghia

REVIEW
The story is about two unscrupulous people who collaborate to produce a really awful Broadway play. The result is a really awful movie.

Only loyal fans of the old-fashioned musical theatre will like it, provided they are not offended by the glorification of Hitler, they do not take offence with the ruthless stereotypical portrayal of homosexuals or are unfazed by the irreverent depiction of little old ladies with walkers and who get a kick out of crude off-colour sexist jokes.

Not meeting any of these criteria, I did not.

CLASSIFICATION
for sexual humor and references.

FOR NITPICKERS ONLY
When Hitler is singing a solo, in the close-ups his hair is hanging down over his eyes but in each long shot it’s neatly combed.

P.S.
Apparently it runs more than two hours. I wouldn’t know: I walked out after an hour. But I was not the first to go. Five or six people got up and left before I did.

BEYOND THE SEA

Musical

BACKGROUND
b. Walden Robert Cassotto, 14 May 1936, New York, USA
d. 20 December 1973, Los Angeles, California, USA
better known as Bobby Darin, his entry to the music business occurred during the mid-1950's following a period playing in New York coffee-houses. An unsuccessful attempt at a hit with a cover version of Lonnie Donegan's "Rock Island Line" was followed by a move towards pop novelty with "Splish Splash". Darin's quirky vocals ensured that the song was a worldwide hit. The solo release, “Dream Lover" with its enticing vocal performance allied to strong production, took it to number 1 in the UK and number 2 in the USA. Already assured of considerable status as a pop artist, Darin dramatically changed direction with his next recording and emerged as a finger-clicking master of the supper club circuit. His signature song "Mack The Knife” was a million-seller and effectively raised Darin to new status as a serious singer.

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Kevin Spacey: Bobby Darin as an adult
William Ullrich: the young Bobby Darin
Brenda Blethyn: his mother Polly
Caroline Aaron: his sister Nina
Bob Hoskins: Nina’s husband Charlie
John Goodman: Bobby’s manager Steve Blauner
Kate Bosworth: movie star Sandra Dee
Greta Scacchi: her overly-protective mother, Mary

REVIEW
Seen as a musical rather than as a straight-forward biography of Bobby Darin, it’s not bad. Spacey does a very credible job of re-creating the popular singer both in voice and singing style. However, he looks far too old for the part (where’s makeup when you need it?). Some of the scenes are a little “over the top” but that is in keeping with the quasi-documentary style of the movie.

CLASSIFICATION
for some strong language and a scene of sensuality.

FOR NITPICKERS ONLY
During one of the street scenes in the Bronx, several people are sitting on a truck’s open tailgate, which is covered with a blue cloth. The point of view changes to the dancers and immediately back to the viewers to get their reaction. Now they are standing and the blue cloth is no longer draped over the tailgate.

When at the pond, Bobby Darin jumps into a rowboat and that creates ripples going across the water. Then he sits down and the boat pulls away across a perfectly flat undisturbed surface.

P.S.
Released in 1960, the song Beyond the Sea was originally a French song called La Mer. Although not one of his biggest hits, it apparently was one of Bobby's personal favorites

THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA

Musical

BACKGROUND
The show opened in London in 1986 and in New York in 1988, which makes it the longest-running show currently on Broadway.

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Minnie Driver: prima donna Carlotta
Emmy Rossum: Christine Daae, a young member of the chorus
Patrick Wilson: Raoul, her childhood sweetheart.
Miranda Richardson: ballet mistress Madame Giry
Gerard Butler: the Phantom who haunts Paris' Opera House

REVIEW
If you are not a big fan of Broadway musicals, I suggest you skip this one. If you do like this type of entertainment, I suggest you bring a cushion. Unlike the live stage performance, there is no intermission and sitting 2 hours and 23 minutes is a long time.

The sets are lavish, full of rich warm colours and the costumes first rate. Some of the performances lack real emotion but the songs are fabulous.

CLASSIFICATION
for brief violent images.

FOR NITPICKERS ONLY
When the Phantom gets out of the gondola in his musty dark crypt, Christine remains in it lying down with her stockings visible beneath her flowing dress. When he finishes the song and helps her out of the boat, she no longer has her stockings on.

On several occasions, there is a serious lip synchronisation problem when Christine is singing. This is particularly noticeable just after she passes beneath a curved arch in the graveyard. When we see a close-up of her face, her lips are not moving in time with the words being sung. Shortly thereafter, as she is singing in front of a stained glass window, this problem is also very much in evidence.

While singing a duet with Raoul from the opera Don Juan, Christine is wearing a dress with wide shoulder straps. The camera focuses on the performers in turn as they sing their portion of the song. The nit is only once during these back-and-forth shots are the straps up on her shoulders. In all the other shots, they are off her shoulders to give her the “vamp” look of the character she is portraying.