Posted by Bell Mattew
Posted on 10:27 AM
Genre: Spoof/Comedy/Drama/Musical
Starring: Shoshana Bush, Damon Wayans Jr., Essence Atkins, Affion Crockett. Shawn Wayans, Amy Sedaris
Spoof movies are usually the kinds that you would want to watch once and forget for the rest of your lives. A sudden out-break of dance movies (
High School Musical, Step Up, You Got Served) has prompted this hilarious break dance that intends to laugh at every other musical movie there is. Megan White (Bush) is an amateur ballet dancer who moves to the inner-city from the suburbs. She finds it difficult to adjust to the new life and has a lot of misadventures. She befriends Charity Uncles (Atkins) who is a single mother with very bad parenting skills. Her boyfriend and the father of the child, Baby Daddy (Wayans) has abandoned the child and spends very little time with him. Thomas Uncles (Wayans Jr.) the younger brother of Charity, is stuck for a street gang lord to whom he owns a lot of money. Thomas and Megan fall in love with each other and Thomas intends to teach her how to dance on the street and forget about ballet. This review itself might sound outrageous but that is because the movie is just like it. Stupid humour and a plot that can harldy be called a plot forms the basis and foundation of this movie. If you have seen one spoof movie, you have seen them all. It would be good fun for those who have seen the movies in question and can do with a bit of humour, but everyone else might feel a bit out of place.
Thumbs up: Good spoof
Thumbs down: Random scenes that are only created to spoof some movie
Rating: 5.0/10
Comedy,
Drama,
Musical,
Pathetic Movies,
Spoof,
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Posted by Bell Mattew
Posted on 12:24 PM
Genre: Comedy/Drama/Romance/Musical
Starring: Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds, Donald O'Connor, Jean Hagen, Millard Mitchell
The genre listed above is a big personal turn-off. People frolicking around, singing and dancing with the added melodramatic romance scenes is simply not my cup of tea. The fact that this movie turned out to be far more enjoyable than I had imagined, speaks a lot for itself. Set in the year of 1927, when movies were still silent and the new trend of 'talking pictures' was classified by many to be a passing trend that doesn't hold any water. Don Lockwood (Kelly) and Lina Lamont (Hagen) are a hugely successful on-screen duo who have created many famous romantic saga's. Don is a noted dancer, singer and performer whereas Lina has nothing but attractive looks. Her shrill and squeaky voice makes her a misfit for a talking picture but at the same time the studio management has a contract with her on which they cannot go back on. Kathy Selden (Reynolds) is a theatre artist who knows the challenges when it comes to acting while talking and believes that actors in movies are not true actors at all. When Don and Kathy meet at a party, they are both at disagreement over each others thoughts about acting but still find a connection between themselves which makes them fall in love. The movie is filled with energetic performances, mostly danced and sung by Gene Kelly himself. The overdose of music may not go down very well with many, like me, but there are still a few select performances where the moves are marvelous and anybody would appreciate it. Singing and dancing apart, the movie beautifully showcases the evolution of movies and the hilarious challenges that directors, producers and actors had to face alike. A good entertainer where one can easily skip the singing and dancing and move on with the movie.
Thumbs up: Good humour by O'Connor, fabulous song sequences
Thumbs down: Too many songs for the average person to enjoy
Rating: 8.0/10
Amazing Movies,
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Posted by Bell Mattew
Posted on 10:02 AM
Genre: Documentary/Musical/Drama/Adventure
Starring: Bruce Dickinson, Steve Harris, Nicko McBrain, Dave Murray, Adrian Smith
Band tours are very typical in the manner in which they are executed and so are the concert movies that are made thereafter. Tour locations, clippings of performances, behind the scenes footage and interviews with various persons is the norm. Iron Maiden's Somewhere Back In Time World Tour in 2008 was special, not because of the songs or the style but because of the manner in which they were going to execute it. Bands usually have to pay huge travel bills on world tours for carrying bulky cargo along with the long line of essential crew members. Iron Maiden decided to innovate and combine the two by modifying a Boeing 757 which could carry both the crew and the cargo on one airline with lead vocalist Bruce Dickinson piloting the plane. In its first leg, the band toured 4 continents, 12 countries and 21 cities which took 45 days and thousands of miles to cover. The band covered remote cities that other mainstream bands can never even think of. From large metros like Los Angeles, Tokyo and Mumbai to Bogota, San Jose and Moneterry, the band covered a wide array of locations unheard of and unimaginable. They toured almost every South American country in its first leg and later went to tour USA, Western Canada, Europe, parts of Asia and once again toured the countries of South America that they previously left behind. This documentary focuses on the first leg of the tour, before they began the USA tour. The movie starts off on an interesting note, highlighting their attempts at fulfilling this landmark achievement. As the movie progress, it becomes hugely repetitive with similar footage in every city, showing crazy fans and head banging maniacs with excerpts from band members. Its a great watch for maiden-heads and rock fans, whilst others can still attempt at watching it and realise the marvels of the rock and roll circuit. Irons up!
Thumbs up: Fantastic footage, adrenaline rushing performances
Thumbs down: Repetitive format that gets to you after a while
Rating: 7.1/10
Adventure,
Documentary,
Drama,
Good Movies,
Musical,
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Posted by Bell Mattew
Posted on 8:32 AM
Genre: Documentary/Musical/Drama/Biography
Starring: James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett, Robert Trujillo, Bob Rock, Phil Towle
The world most popular heavy metal band, Metallica was facing a crisis and were at an all time low in their career during the year 2001. The band hasn't toured in three years and just as the band was about to regroup for their 8th album, bassist Jason Newstead decided to quit the band. Newstead was apparently not satisfied with the direction the band was heading in and was unhappy that band leader James Hetfield wasn't allowing Jason to undertake side projects. Hetfield himself was battling drug and alcohol abuse and went into rehabilitation just months after the band started recording. Hetfield was away for over a year and drummer Lars Ulrich along with lead guitarist Kirk Hammett were annoyed with his continued absence and lack of information. The band had previously hired a therapist, Phil Towle with whose help they wanted to get over their differences, improve performance and get rid of all the negativity. The band started recording once Hetfield returned and band producer Bob Rock filled in as bassist for the album recording until a new bassist, Robert Trujillo, was taken on the band. Metallica has ever since risen out from the ashes and retain their No.1 spot till this day. The documentary focuses on intra-band disagreements, the verge of the band breaking up, their battle with Napster, the making of St. Anger, selection of Trujillo and the eventual album release. It focuses on most of the core areas that any fan would want to know about Metallica and clearly reveals all the ups and downs that the band went through. Don't be mistaken that the movie is only for metal-heads. Apart from the blaring music that would smack a smile on the die-hard fans face, any other person would appreciate the movie and revelation of the functioning of a band. A must watch for fans and recommended for everyone else.
Thumbs up: Great portrayal of every aspect, personal as well as professional, of each band member
Thumbs down: A boring mid-section after a strong start and an equally strong end.
Rating: 7.4/10
Biography,
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Musical,
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Posted by Bell Mattew
Posted on 9:22 PM
Genre: Drama/Musical/Biography/Romance
Starring: Vidya Balan, Naseeruddin Shah, Emraan Hashmi, Tusshar Kapoor, Rajesh Sharma
Does sex sell? Well at least India's queen of melodramatic soap operas intends to find that out. A true-life story of a South-Indian porn star, the movie explores how sex was used, and might still be used, to sell a movie. Ironically the movie itself employs conservative Vidya Balan to shed everything that covers her to add enough oomph to the movie to make it more appealing to audiences. Reshma aka Silk (Balan) aspired to be in the movies and ran away from home to head towards Madras where she wished to realise her dreams. Film producer Selvaganesh (Sharma) discovers her and her willingness to reveal everything on screen and decides to feature her in some songs opposite the super-star of South-Indian cinema, Suryakant (Shah). Surya is notorious for his affairs with young aspiring actresses and satisfies his sexual desires with Silk who in the meantime gets a lot of movie offers due to her 'friendship' with Surya. Contemporary director Abraham (Hashmi) wants to reach Hollywood and hates using sexuality and 'spice' to sell his movies. Although he makes fabulous films that win him awards, it does not get him any money at the box office. Suryakants brother Ramakant (Kapoor) is attracted to Silk after a fallout between his brother and her and tries to romance her. The movie aspired to shatter Indian mainstream cinema with Balan's three-inch-deep-cleavage with truckloads of sex and vulgarity to reveal the inside on-goings of the industry. Sadly the only focus of the movie seems to be Balan and every other characters presence being very rigid and structured. Enter, do your bit, and move out of the script all together. Since the focus has been on Vidya Balan throughout, her transformation from rags to riches has been shown with a steady evolution. Even her appearance, gradual weight-gain, and puff on her right cheek were taken care of and shown with subtlety. If its Balans navel and exposed thighs that you aspire then the movie beckons for you, else go watch something else.
Thumbs up: Vidya Balan and the focus on her character, Awesome dialogues add humour
Thumbs down: Poor piecing together of the plot, poor supporting cast performance, predictable and a bit boring
Rating: 5.6/10
Average Movies,
Biography,
Bollywood,
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Posted by Bell Mattew
Posted on 9:15 AM
Genre: Drama/Musical/Romance/Biography
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Reese Witherspoon, Ginnifer Goodwin
A true-life narration of Johnny Cash (Phoenix), one of the most influential American musicians of the 20th century. He took up music much to the objection of his father and married his childhood sweetheart, Vivian (Goodwin). His creative lyrics and voice soon saw him soar to new heights. He met June Carter (Witherspoon) a fellow country musician and they both instantly became good friends. Johnny's rising fame and fortune started putting him with the wrong people and it was only a matter of time when coke and alcohol took over his life. Multiple convictions for possessing illegal drugs and a strained marriage with Vivian put Johnny's life in complete jeopardy. Most of the movie revolves around Cash's rise to fame and his notorious drug addiction. The music featured in the movie is foot-tapping and makes the music lover want to explore Cash's genre of music. Performances are brilliant and Joaquin Phoenix is exceptional. Reese Witherspoon looks stunning throughout the movie and the duo make a great on-screen pair. The focus only Cash's rise as a musician and the subsequent drug addiction is the only focus of the movie due to which it fails to explore other side of Cash's younger life, like the huge forest fire that his tour bus had initiated. A great biographical and musical movie that is entertaining and enjoyable.
Thumbs up: Great music and great performances
Thumbs down: Could have explored more aspects of Johnny Cash's life
Rating: 7.0/10
Biography,
Drama,
Good Movies,
Musical,
Romance,
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Posted by Bell Mattew
Posted on 2:43 AM
Genre: Drama/Romance/Musical
Starring: Daniel-Day Lewis, Penelope Cruz, Marion Cotillard, Judi Dench
Coming from the director of Chicago, this musical entertainer promises to live up to the name of its predecessor. Rome, 1965, famous director Guido Contini (Day-Lewis) has announced a new movie. Contini is finding it increasingly difficult to come up some inspiration for this movie, and although the film exists on paper, it does not in the maestro's head. To make things worse, his married life with a once famous actress Luisa (Cotillard) is on flimsy grounds and he seeks sexual respite with Carla (Cruz). Everything coupled together make his life one big mess, as if it wasn't already from the beginning. The movie somehow fails to bring out the song and dance the way Chicago did and fails in more than one aspect. It has some nice dance moves and a huge sex-appeal but that's about it. The performances were indeed good, but not enough to cover up for the movies flaws. Daniel-Day Lewis looks amazingly different from his previous hit There Will Be Blood and his brilliant performance does little to make the movie more appealing. An average entertainer which could have been much better
Thumbs up: Performances
Thumbs down: Storyline not good enough
Rating: 6.0/10
Average Movies,
Drama,
Musical,
Romance,
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Posted by Bell Mattew
Posted on 1:43 AM
Genre: Drama/Romance/Musical
Starring: Jeff Bridges, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jack Nation
An alcoholic veteran country singer, Bad Blake (Bridges) has taken the road, performing at various towns and cities. Cigarette's and whisky being his only companion, he befriends and later falls in love with a young Santa Fe journalist, Jean (Gyllenhaal). Bad's friendship extends to Jean's son Buddy (Nation) and the three are all set to become a nice happy family. Bad's affinity for alcohol gets the better of him and circumstances give Bad and Jean a new outlook on how things have happened over the past few months. The story has nothing which makes you want to sit right till the end or wait to see what happens. Its simple and sober, apart from Bad and Jeff Bridges' phenomenal acting makes him a deserving recipient for the Oscar. The country music played in the movie may not be to the liking of all and hence puts the movie on dicey grounds. A good watch but not an entertainer.
Thumbs up: Jeff Bridges
Thumbs down: Slow, music not to everyone's liking
Rating: 7.0/10
Drama,
Good Movies,
Musical,
Romance,
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Posted by Bell Mattew
Posted on 9:03 PM
Genre: Crime/Drama/Romance/Musical/Thriller
Starring: Johnny Depp, Helene Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman, Timothy Spall, Ed Sanders, Jayne Wisener
19th century, Fleet Street, London. Benjamin Barker (Depp) is a happily married barber with a prosperous business. The corrupt Judge Turpin (Rickman) has his eyes on Benjamin's wife and puts Benjamin in prison in an attempt to seduce her. Once out of prison, Benajmin takes on the name of Sweeney Todd and returns to his old residence. His neighbour, Mrs Lovett (Carter) tells him that his wife consumed poison and his daughter Johanna (Wisener) is being kept locked in Judge Turpin's house. He wants to seek revenge for his family and decides to lure Judge Turpin to his saloon to get a shave and cut his neck open. One would realise that most of the characters in the movie are common with Harry Potter but it is merely a coincidence and nothing more. The musical narration of the story was better explored in Chicago which used dance and background music more effectively, something which lacked in this movie. The Lyrics, however, are worth reading with subtitles on and takes on a nice rhythmic motion. Watching Johnny Depp and the other cast singing is not quite bad and their efforts should be appreciated. The movie doesn't have a very strong plot to narrate but Johnny Depp's mere presence take it to new levels.
Thumbs up: Johnny Depp and other performances
Thumbs down: Songs could have been used more effectively, slightly weak plot
Rating: 7.2/10
Crime,
Drama,
Good Movies,
Musical,
Romance,
Thriller,
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Posted by Bell Mattew
Posted on 12:13 AM
Genre: Documentary/Musical
Starring: Michael Jackson, Kenny Ortega
The man who invented the 'moon walk', the epitome of all dance forms, the legend, Michael Jackson. For more than a decade, he stayed away from stage performances and his life was marred by controversies. He finally decides to make a public appearance once again at a concert in London in the month of July in 2009. June 2009, preparations for the concert were in full swing and barely weeks before the eventful day, MJ lost his life. It was a tragic day for the world and for the millions of fans who loved his music. A video recording of the rehearsals was being made which was to a part of the concert. That same recording took the form of this movie. The movie is like any other behind the scenes story of an event and doesn't hold any major significance. It perhaps would have been better if it retold the story of MJ's life with all his ups and downs, major concerts, biggest hits etc., instead the movie focused only on the making of the London concert. The movie is a must watch for any die-hard MJ fan, but for anyone else, it is highly avoidable.
Thumbs up: Michael, the legend
Thumbs down: Doesn't include past life
Rating: 6.1/10
Average Movies,
Documentary,
Musical,
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Posted by Bell Mattew
Posted on 8:26 AM
Genre: Musical/Drama/Romance
Starring: Omarion Grandberry, Marques Houston, Jennifer Freeman, Christopher Jones, Steve Harvey
David (Omarion) and Elgin (Houston) head a gang which go around competing in street dancing competitions to earn some money. They seem to be unbeatable and when they get challenged by Wade (Jones) an uptown rich youth, they immediately accept without hesitation. Predictably, they lose the competition and when David starts dating Liyah (Freeman) Elgin's sister, their friendship sours. One thing leads to another and the two best friends now don't see eye to eye with each other. When a mega national level dancing competition kicks off, the two friends form their own gang to battle it out for the title. However, they also have to face their previous adversary, Wade and his team. The movie treads on an old and overused 'test of friendship' story and every move is predictable. The movie is a must watch if you want to learn some serious dance movies. One can gain access to a whole amount of insanely amazing hip-hop dance moves which is indeed the only highlight of the otherwise boring movie.
Thumbs up: The dance moves
Thumbs down: Overused story and poor casting
Rating: 3.9/10
Drama,
Musical,
Pathetic Movies,
Romance,
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Posted by Bell Mattew
Posted on 8:06 PM
Genre: Musical/Drama/Biography
Starring: Jamie Foxx. Robert Downey Jr., Catherine Keener
A stunning true-life story of Nathaneil Ayers Jr. (Foxx) a schizophrenic homeless who has a rare skill with musical instruments. LA Times reporter Steve Lopez (Downey Jr.) bumps into Nathaneil while he is searching the streets for some unique story to write on. After a short story of his life finds itself in the LA Times, the people of Los Angeles start sympathising with him. A very unique relationship is formed between Steve and Nathaneil, which Steve dispises but yet cant do anything about it and wants to continue to help him. Jamie Foxx does a splendid job in the movie. His appearance and execution of the role has brought him into a different league altogether and i wont be suprised if it gets considered for an Oscar. The movie did all the right things but yet did not manage to bring out the sort of emotions that it should have. The movie definitely needs more drama if it needs to create an impact
Thumbs up: Jamie Foxx's Oscar-worthy performance
Thumbs down: Less-dramatic and hence less impactful
Rating: 7.0/10
Biography,
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Musical,
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Posted by Bell Mattew
Posted on 9:16 AM
Genre: Drama/Musical/Comedy/Romance
Starring: Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Bill Nighy, Tom Sturridge, Nick Frost, Rhys Ifans, Chris O'Sowd, Rhys Darby
In 1966, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBS) was the only radio station in all of Britain and it only played 45 minutes of music every day. Radio Rock is a fictitious radio station that sprang up which played only rock n roll all day and night. The station was on a boat docked in the North Sea, in international waters in order to prevent being intercepted by the government of UK. Carl (Sturridge) is a young fellow who was sent by his mother to the boat so that his life may improve. 'Marvelous mistake' are the words by Quentin (Nighy) the radio boss. Pirate radio is filled with 8 insane DJ's who live off music day in and day out and have done perhaps the most outrageous things ever. The government, however, is not happy with the success of Radio Rock and forms a new law in order to shut it down. The movie is not actually based on a true life event, although the movie might convince you of their existence. The first half more or less revolves around the daily happenings on the boat with their eventual fall. The movie is slow and a little too long. There would be many occasions for you to laugh at but the movie is still a little unexciting. Not quite good as one would have expected it to be. It is a highly recommended watch for all music fans, especially rock and roll.
Thumbs up: Amazing performances by the entire cast and wonderful depiction
Thumbs down: Slow, a little too long and uneventful
Rating: 6.9/10
Comedy,
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Posted by Bell Mattew
Posted on 1:29 AM
Genre: Musical/Drama/Crime
Starring: Renee Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Richard Gere, Queen Latifah
Life of showbiz and glamour has never been too easy, and this movie just proves the point further. Velma (Jones) a successful showgirl, gets blood on her hands by murdering her sister and husband after catching them red-handed with each other. Roxie Hart (Zellweger) an aspiring showgirl, kills her agent after he fails to live up to his promise of getting her an act. With two glamour-hungry girls in her jail cell, corrupt jail-keeper Matron Mama Morton (Latifah) senses an opportunity and puts them in touch with Billy Flynn (Gere) a successful lawyer who has never lost a case and specialises in woman's cases. Each person is Chicago only works for himself, and its a battle to get the most out of what's put in front of you. Catherine Zeta-Jones looks absolutely stunning and Billy's character seems to be tailor-made for Richard Gere. Renee frails in comparison to the other two, but is not entirely a let-down. A well show-cased movie which changes ones perception of a 'musical' and at one point you actually appreciate it, in case you hate it. The story slides down your throat like some really smooth scotch whisky without you even realising it. It's one glamorous performance, either you love it or hate it.
Rating: 7.6/10
Crime,
Drama,
Good Movies,
Musical,
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Posted by Bell Mattew
Posted on 12:00 AM
Genre: Musical/Drama/Comedy
Starring: Jack Black, Mike White, Joan Cusack
Dewey Finn (Black) is a wannabe rock star who has just got voted out by his rock band. Rosalie Mullins (Cusack) is a school principal of a snobbish prep school who needs a substitute teacher. She contacts Ned Shneebly (White) who also is also Dewey's room-mate, to fill in the post. Dewey, currently unemployed, impersonates his friend and takes his job without informing him. Rock and roll being the only subject he ever learnt, he starts teaching that to the kids, citing it as a 'secret inter-school project competition', and slowly forms a band of his own to compete in the Battle of the Bands competition. A hilarious and laugh out loud comedy, Jack Black puts on an amazing performance. Although it feels a bit overdone, but that's how he is and that's what makes him amazing. Many songs featured in the movie are actually sung by Black's own band, Tenacious D. The movie has a nice outcome and is an amazing watch.
Rating: 7.0/10
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Drama,
Good Movies,
Musical,
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Posted by Bell Mattew
Posted on 9:13 AM
Genre: Musical/Comedy
Starring: Kyle Gass, Jack Black
For all those who are unaware, Jack Black and Kyle Gass have a rock band of their own knows as Tenacious D. The movie spoofs the story on how their own band was formed. KG (Gass) and JB (Black) are two rock-obsessed dudes who are out to make their living in music. They want to know the secret behind the success of major rock bands and find one small thing in common.; they all used 'the pick of destiny' (pick, meaning a guitar pick, used to strum a guitar), which makes the user a guitar playing god. This pick was supposed to be once a part of a demon and in a battle, he lost a small piece of his body which was used as a pick later on. Until the daemons body remains incomplete, he can never rise. The guitaring duo set out to claim the pick as their own. However the last missing piece goes back to the dreaded demon and he comes alive. The two friends battle the demon using their guitars and music and send the hideous creature back to where he belongs. As you might have clearly realised, the story is all hogwash but it is a must see for all rock fans. If your not, don't bother.
Rating: 5.8/10
Average Movies,
Comedy,
Musical,
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