Hairspray (2007)

Tracy Turnblad (Nikki Blonsky), an overweight teenager with all the right moves, is obsessed with the Corny Collins Show. Every day after school, she and her best friend Penny (Amanda Bynes) run home to watch the show and drool over the hot Link Larkin (Zac Efron), much to Tracy's mother Edna's (John Travolta) dismay. Hilarity ensues after one of the stars of the show leaves, Corny Collins (James Marsden) holds auditions to see who will be the next person on the Corny Collins show. With all of the help of her friend Seaweed (Elijah Kelley), Tracy makes it on the show, angering the evil dance queen Amber Von Tussle (Brittany Snow) and her mother Velma (Michelle Pfeiffer). Tracy then decides that it's not fair that the black kids can only dance on the Corny Collins Show once a month, and with the help of Seaweed, Link, Penny, Motormouth Maybelle (Queen Latifah), her father (Christopher Walken) and Edna, she's going to integrate the show.....without denting her 'do!

Trivia: Jerry Stiller, who played Wilbur Turnblad in the original film version of Hairspray, appears as Mr. Pinky in this version. It took John Travolta four hours to put on the fat suit and make-up required for him to become Edna Turnblad. To facilitate filming for the "Run and Tell That" dance number, the production cut up a 1957 GMC transit bus into 9 pieces. There are 5 gel-filled silicone prosthetic appliances for parts of Edna's face. One day, while the cast was waiting between takes, John Travolta began singing "Summer Nights" from his first musical, Grease. Co-stars Amanda Bynes and Zac Efron were so excited that they immediately began sending text messages to their friends about what was happening. Amanda Bynes' character, Penny, is seen constantly eating lollipops. Her father, who is a dentist, became very worried for Amanda's dental health, as it was estimated she ate about 40 lollipops a day. Amanda told him that she wasn't really eating all of them, when in reality she ate them all. In a classroom scene a teacher mentions that Everest is not Earth's highest geographical point. She asks what the actual highest point is and there isn't time for an answer before the bell. The answer is Mt. Chimborazo in Ecuador, which is the furthest point from the Earth's center, but closer to local sea level than Everest. (The Earth bulges at the equator.)

Okay, I get it, these ladies are fat. I understand that the movie is about the discrimination show to large women. I expected a lot of fat jokes. But I expected them from the "bad guys", the evil ones, the ones were are not supposed to like. I also understand that this is a comedy and as such there are stereotypes that get exploited and stuff but really. The movie lost a lot of my respect when Motermouth Maybelle was able to persuade Edna to let tracy stay and dance with the black kids. How did she do it? By pulling Edna over to the side and explaining that they were big and beautiful and that they should stand up against oppresion? Nope, she showed her the buffet. Visually the movie was bright and cheerful and the music and dance numbers were fun to watch. Amanda Bynes as Penny is probably my favorite character. Christopher Walken was fun too. And then there is Nikki Blonsky. She was upbeat, she was fun, she could dance, she was the star, the movie was about her, she made the movie. But this was her first role and because of that if you look at IMDb.com she is listed second? Third? Try eleventh behind Allison Janney who was on screen in about three scenes. Now let's talk about the character that didn't work. Edna. Everytime I saw her the first thing that went through my head was "hey, that's John Travolta". He never sells the character. You do need a little background on Edna though. She is always played by a man. It is traditional. The original Broadway Edna was Harvey Fierstein and it was Devine in the 1988 movie. I will admit that I have not seen either in character but I have always associated Devine with cross-dressing and I am pretty sure Harvey Fierstein could pull it off. Edna is meant to be played up and a little over the top, okay, a lot over the top but it just doesn't seem to work for me with Travolta.

Don't forget this weeks quiz. Get your answers in soon or regret it for the rest of you lunch break.

Enchanted (2007)

Once upon a time in the kingdom of Andalasia, a beautiful young maiden named Giselle (Amy Adams) lives in a cottage in the forest. But before she can marry the dashing Prince Edward (James Marsden), hilarity ensues when Giselle is sent tumbling down a magical well - and finds herself in the non-animated, extremely disenchanted world of modern-day New York City. There, she befriends a cynical divorce lawyer, Robert (Patrick Dempsey), who isn't so sure that her prince is coming to rescue her. Giselle's spontaneous singing and fairy-tale demeanor enchant everyone around her as she waits for Prince Edward. But she's about to discover that love in the real world isn't always as easy as sharing a single True Love's Kiss - and that she'll need courage, spunk and maybe just a little enchantment if she's ever going to find her own happily-ever-after.

Trivia: The bus driver's hair is shaped like Mickey Mouse's ears, as well as the green pepper slices on the pizza Robert and Giselle are served at the Bella Notte restaurant. In the scene where Prince Edward is standing on top of a moving bus, billboards for Hairspray (the Broadway Production) and Superman Returns are visible. James Marsden, who plays Prince Edward, stars in Superman Returns, and the movie, Hairspray, based off the Broadway Production. In the scene where Edward is on top of the bus, the people riding on tour buses next to him laughing and pointing at him weren't extras, but actual real tourists. The actresses who provided the voices for three previous animated Disney princesses make appearances in the film: Jodi Benson (‘Ariel’ in The Little Mermaid), Paige O'Hara (‘Belle’ in Beauty and the Beast), and Judy Kuhn (Pocahontas). Also, Julie Andrews, who starred as the title character in Disney's live-action Mary Poppins, provides her voice here as the Narrator. Cathleen Trigg's character's name is Mary Ilene Caselotti. This is a tribute to Mary Costa, the voice of Disney's Sleeping Beauty, Ilene Woods, who did the voice of Disney's Cinderella, and Adriana Caselotti, the voice of Disney's first princess, Snow White in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The law firm where Robert works is Churchill, Harline and Smith, the surnames of the songwriters from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Two of the elderly men dancers appeared together in West Side Story. One of the elderly men dancers appeared in Mary Poppins as a chimney sweep.

What can I say? As an admitted Disneyphile, this movie just called to me. I didn't get a chance to see it in theaters so it garnered a top spot on my netflix queue. What I love about it is how it can have fun with itself. It doesn't take itself seriously and how could it? Andalasia is pure Disney charm. Amy Adams works well as the out of place princess and you couldn't help but like her. James Marsden is hilarious as Gisselle's prince charming (um...I mean Prince Edward). Three of the songs were nominated for Oscars this year and each had the Disney magic behind them. The "Happy Working Song" is pure Disney (I keep saying that) with Amy Adams accompanied by pigeons, rats, and coachroachs (relax, it is actually pretty charming). "So Close", the romantic dance near the end was just beautiful. But it was "That's How You Know" that was the best. It was a full on production number in the middle of Central Park. It blended the fairytail feel with a live music feel if that makes any sense. Disney is at it's best when it isn't trying very hard to be anything else but just trys to be Disney.

Don't forget to send in your answers for this weeks quiz.

Top 250

Sweeny Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)
Number 146 on IMDb's Top 250

Benjamin Barker (Johnny Depp) returns to London with the help of a sailor, Anthony Hope (Jamie Campbell Bower) after being sent away by Judge Turpin (Alan Rickman) who was in love with Todd's wife. Barker, however, has changed his name, he goes by Todd now, Sweeny Todd. Hilarity ensues and songs burst out as he opens a barber shop above Mrs. Lovett's Meat Pie Shop were Mrs. Lovett (Helena Bonham Carter) sells the self proclaimed "worst pies in London." With the help of Mrs. Lovett, Todd plots his revenge on anyone who has ever done him wrong and hopes to be reunited with his daughter, Joanna (Jayne Wisener), who is now Judge Turpin's ward. In the meantime, he might as well help procure some meat for Mrs. Lovett.

Trivia: This is the sixth Johnny Depp-Tim Burton collaboration. They previously made Edward Scissorhands, Ed Wood, Sleepy Hollow, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and Corpse Bride together. Helena Bonham Carter underwent extensive vocal lessons and studied baking in preparation for her role. To prepare for the role of Adolfo Pirelli, Sacha Baron Cohen hired his personal barber as a consultant on shaving techniques, and took up to 16 hours to learn how to handle a razor. Helena Bohamn Carter's hairstyle is tribute to the hairstyle worn by the original Mrs. Lovett, Angela Lansbury. At the end of the song "A Little Priest", Sweeney Todd and Mrs. Lovett strike the same pose as the promotional material used for the original Broadway production of the musical.

The Tim Burton/Johnny Depp collaboration is today's equivalent of the the great colaboration of the past like John Ford and John Wayne. Ford and Wayne made 21 movies together and quite a few are considered as some of Wayne's best like Stagecoach, The Searchers, The Quiet Man, and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. Burton's films are not as mainstream as Ford's but then again, Depp isn't as mainstreem as Wayne. Depp has a gift for playing the quirky characters that fitt perfectly into Burton's quirky worlds. Helena Bonham Carter also completely fit into that world. She has a slightly grubby quality to her that fits Mrs. Lovett. Oh yeah, this is a musical, I need to talk about the music. Neither Depp nor Carter have sang before and they do admirable jobs of it, again fitting into the Burton world. I realize that this isn't your typical musical fodder, I mean Todd butchers people and Mrs. Lovett cooks them into pies, but it really is a good musical and a great movie.

Seven Brides For Seven Brothers (1954)

Adam (Howard Keel), the eldest of seven brothers, goes to town to get a wife. He convinces Milly (Jane Powell) to marry him that same day. Music ensues. They return to his backwoods home. Only then does she discover he has six brothers -- all living in his cabin. Music ensues. Milly sets out to reform the uncouth siblings, who are anxious to get wives of their own. Dancing ensues. Then, after reading about the Roman capture of the Sabine women, Adam develops an inspired solution to his brothers' loneliness . . . kidnap the women they want! Hilarity ensues.

Trivia: The film was basically shot twice in two separate formats, the widescreen cinemascope format and the standard format. This was done so that the theaters that did not have cinemascope available could still see all of the movie. This required the action to be choreographed for both formats. Scenes for the widescreen version were shot in the morning and, for the normal ratio, in the afternoon. According to director Stanley Donen despite the fact that it cost more than the widescreen version to make, the other version was never used. MGM considered this a B movie - they had higher aspirations for the more expensive "Brigadoon". For this reason, they slashed the budget on "Seven Brothers", forcing Stanley Donen to use painted backdrops instead of location filming. The censors weren't too happy about the line in the song "Lonesome Polecat" where the brothers lament "A man can't sleep when he sleeps with sheep". By not showing any sheep in the same shot as the brothers, the film-makers were able to get away with it. Rehearsals for the barn-raising sequence took 3 weeks. For the brides costumes, designer Walter Plunkett went to the Salvation Army, found old quilts and turned them into dresses. Because there was no way of distinguishing between them and the Town Suitors, MGM decided to make all the Pontipee Brothers red-headed.

MGM was the studio of musicals in the 40s, 50s, and 60s. Only in a musical would a group of men be able to kidnap six girls and end up, well...I guess you will have to watch it. The dances were well done and very colorful, the barn dance sequence was fun to watch. Umm...what can I say, you pretty much know what to expect with an MGM musical.

Sleeping Beauty (1959)

When a new princess is born to King Stefan & his wife, the entire kingdom rejoices. At a ceremony, three good fairies - Flora, Fauna & Merryweather - bestow gifts of magic on the child. But an evil sorceress named Maleficent shows up, and because of a rude remark by Merryweather, she places a curse on the princess - that she will die on her 16th birthday after touching a poisoned spinning wheel. Merryweather tries to undo the damage by casting a spell that will allow the princess - named Aurora - to awake from an ageless sleep with a kiss from her true love. The fairies take Aurora to their cottage in the woods to keep her away from the eyes of Maleficent, and raise her as their own child, named Briar Rose. On her 16th birthday Aurora meets Prince Phillip, the son of a king whose own kingdom will soon merge with King Stefan's - and falls in love. Maleficent manages to kidnap the Prince and her horrible prophecy is fulfilled when she tricks Aurora into touching a spinning wheel created by Maleficent herself! Realizing that the Prince is in trouble, the 3 good fairies head to Maleficent's castle at the Forbidden Mountain, and spring the Prince loose. But the Prince soon finds himself up against Maleficent's army of brutes, and the power of Maleficent's evil spells - which include a thorn forest as thick as weeds around King Stefan's castle, and a fight against Maleficent when she turns herself into a dragon! Is the Prince strong enough to withstand the powers of the evil sorceress? Will hilarity ensues? (Well, this is Disney)

Trivia: Art direction for this movie was inspired by medieval painting and architecture. Live actors in costume served as models for the animators. The role of Prince Phillip was modeled by Ed Kemmer, who had played Commander Buzz Corry on television's "Space Patrol" five years before Sleeping Beauty was released. For the final battle sequence Kemmer was photographed on a wooden buck. All the live actors' performances were later screened for the animators' reference. When the fairies discuss how to help the king and queen, notice Merryweather magically create cookies, they are the shape of Mickey Mouse. Disney Studios has no record as to who provided the voice for the queen, Briar Rose's mother. Much of the musical score is based on Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's ballet "Sleeping Beauty". A flame thrower was used to create the dragon breath sound effect for the climax of the movie. Castanets were used for the sound of its snapping jaws. The elaborate background paintings usually took seven to ten days to paint. By contrast, a typical animation background takes one workday to complete. Second only to Dumbo (who didn't speak at all), this Disney title character has very few lines of actual dialogue throughout the entire film (well, she was sleeping from half of it). In fact, Briar Rose/Aurora says nothing at all in the film's second half. The Disneyland castle was named for this film, even though the park opened four years prior to the film's release. Princess Aurora's long, thin, willowy body shape was inspired by that of Audrey Hepburn. Briar Rose is the Sleeping Beauty's name the German fairytale. Princess Aurora is Sleeping Beauty's name in the Italian version.

Ah, Disney, for some reason I haven't watched a Disney film in a while so when my niece and nephew watched it this weekend, I joined in. What really struck me with Sleeping Beauty is the whole sense of art. The backgrounds are tremendous. They look like watercolors. Each Disney film has it's own visual style which is why they are so good. Maleficent is truly one of the most evil of Disney villians (why are most of the best Disney villians women?). I liked her design, she looks like the dragon she turns into in the end.

Cabaret (1972)

Berlin 1930, a time when political unrest racks the country, the economy has been destroyed, and millions of unemployed roam the streets. The story follows an American cabaret dancer, Sally Bowles (Liza Minelli), working at the downtown "Kit-Kat club" where anything goes on the stage including hilarity. Into this young dancer's life come several characters such as a rich German politician (Helmut Griem), a young Jewish man (Fritz Wepper) struggling with his identity, an Englishman teacher Brian (Michael York) from London, and of course the all-knowing, all-seeing Master of Ceremonies (Joel Grey).

Trivia: In the original Broadway version, the main characters are an American writer and English singer. In the film version, they are an English writer and an American singer. Brian expresses surprise that Sally Bowles is an American, a sly reference to the fact that in the musical on which the movie is based, Sally is British. In an interview given at the time of the film's release, Liza Minnelli said you could tell she was the star of the Kit Kat Club because she's the only performer with shaved armpits. Cabret has the distinction of winning the most Oscars (8) without winning the Best Picture Oscar. Liza Minnelli designed all her own hair and make-up with the help of her father, famed musical director Vincente Minnelli. Many of the interiors of the film were done on sound stages in Munich recently vacated by the cast and crew of Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.

Yesterday it was Doom, today it is Cabaret. No one can blame me for not reviewing diverse films now, can they? (tomorrow will be Rabbit Proof Fence). This was a pretty good film and I can see why it won the Oscars (it lost the Best Picture Oscar to The Godfather, which is no slouch). There is only one thing I would complain about, it needed more Joel Grey. His Master of Ceremonies was easily the best character in the whole movie, but I guess it was necessary as he was the all knowing sage and you only briefly see him off stage and only in the Kit Kat. But he was great. Liza, Liza, Liza. My only real experience of Liza Minielli has been in the press and popular culture from the last 20 years or so, so in my mind she is an aging starlet that is at times, just a creepy old lady. Well, guess what, she used to be pretty cute in her own way, but I kept looking at her hair, especially at her bangs, sometimes they were pointed, sometimes not, sometimes they came down and covered her eyebrows, and sometimes not. It was a little disconcerting at times. The love triangle was a little novel and probably caused more of an uproar at the time then it did watching it today. I did like the musical cues that corresponded to plot points, that was pretty cool. So all in all, it was a solid movie.

42nd Street (1933)

Julian Marsh (Warner Baxter), a successful Broadway director, produces a new show, in spite of his poor health. The money comes from a rich old man, who is in love with the star of the show, Dorothy Brock (Bebe Daniels). But she doesn't reply his love, because she is still in love with her old partner. Hilarity ensues the night before the premiere, Dorothy Brock breaks her ankle, and one of the chorus girls, Peggy Sawyer (Ruby Keeler) tries to take over her part.

Trivia: Ginger Rogers took the role of Anytime Annie at the urging of director Mervyn LeRoy, whom she was dating at the time. In one of the opening scenes, Bebe Daniels is reading the premiere issue of The New Yorker magazine, with its trademark top-hatted Manhattanite on the cover. The film was so financially successful that it saved Warner Brothers from bankruptcy. The movie's line "Sawyer, you're going out a youngster, but you've got to come back a star!" was voted as the #87 movie quote by the American Film Institute (out of 100).

A good old classic movie. Now it would be considered a cliche. Aging director trying to create one last show to go out on top, a temperamental star, a wealthy investor who wants to woo said star but gets the brush off, the star breaks her ankle and can't perform and it is left up to a newcomer in her first show to save the day and step in for the star. But can it really be a cliche when it is probably the first one to do it? There is plenty of leg shown also which is always a good thing and was probably pretty racy in 1933. This was part of the trio of films that put choreographer Busby Berkley's name into the mainstream. The final musical numbers during the opening of the show foreshadowed the great movie musical numbers to come in the next couple of decades. It is in black and white which gives it that old timey feel, but I wonder what it would have looked like in color? The dialog is also a great throwback to the golden age of movies. It was rapid fire and included plenty of snappy comebacks. It was fun to watch. The poster for this movie is a very good example of the Art Deco look for the 30's.

Phantom Of The Okra (2004)

An architect and designer, a composer and magician. He is a genius who must hide his facial disfigurement behind a mask and live in the catacombs beneath Paris's Opera Populaire, known only as the Phantom of the Opera or Opera Ghost (Gerard Butler). His one companion is his young singing protege, a soprano named Christine Daae (Emmy Rossum) who is drawn to and mystified but at the same time terrified of her Angel of Music whose rapturous voice sings songs in her head while she sleeps and whispers in her ear during day. Everyone at the opera house is used to the Phantom's deadly pranks and ensuing hilarity when his demands are not met but when a canopy falls on top of her, nearly crushing her, the opera's leading diva: Carllota resigns. With no understudy, the mangers turn to Christine who at the time was no more than a chorus girl. The show thrusts her into immediate fame. But when Christine, whom the Phantom has fallen in love with, accepts a marriage proposal from her childhood sweetheart Viscount Raoul de Changy, the Phantom's heart is broken. His despair quickly turns to furious, jealous rage and he is willing to do anything to win her, even if it means raising the stakes to the ultimate level in Christine's choice between her love for Raoul and her strange attraction to the Phantom.

Trivia: Because the chandelier scene is at the end of the film, as opposed to ending the first act as it does in the play, one of the lines in the song "Masquerade" had to be altered so that instead of referring to a "new chandelier" they talk of "friends that are here". The sweeping camera angles during "All I Ask of You" made it necessary to shoot multiple takes of the kiss between Emmy Rossum and Patrick Wilson. Emmy Rossum had to ice her lips between takes to prevent them from swelling. All of the principal actors sang in the film except for Minnie Driver. Most of the actors have a background in musicals or opera, but Minnie Driver (a skilled singer) had no experience in opera and was dubbed by Margaret Preece, a singing teacher from Solihull, UK. Driver does however contribute the film's end title song, "Learn To Be Lonely," written specifically for the film by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Emmy Rossum was only 16 when this movie was filmed, the same age as her character Christine when the movie is set.

Neither Gerard Butler nor Emmy Rossum had seen the musical prior to receiving their roles. When the Phantom is taking Christine to his lair, he places her on a black horse for a while. This is not part of the show, but is a nod to the original book, where the Phantom uses a horse named Cesar to transport Christine part of the way. The Phantom speaks only fourteen of his lines and sings the rest. The theatre fire was an actual fire. Joel Schumacher wanted realism, so they destroyed the theatre for the scene. The lit candelabras that rise from the water were not done with special effects or CGI lights: the special wicks ignited when they reached the air. This effect was done in one take and didn't work again after that. The doll in the Phantom's lair that is supposed to resemble Emmy Rossum is not actually a wax mold. It is Emmy Rossum. The production produced a mask of her face to use on the mannequin but when they put in the fake eyes it didn't look like her. She suggested to stand in as the mannequin instead. This was done by her being made up like a doll with waxy makeup on, and her standing very, very still.

I have never been to an opera but I think this is as close as I have been. That being said, the music of Andrew Lloyd Webber is amazing and even though I have never seen the Phantom on stage or anything, I knew his music almost bar for bar. I turned on the closed captioning and could sing along with the actors as they sang. (Not that there is nothing wrong with that.) The movie was just so visually rich and audibly succulent that your movie thirst was quenched half way through, and then they brought out the desert and you stuffed yourself even more. (How was that for a sentence?) It was also pretty cool because I saw the original 1925 Phantom of the Opera recently so I could compare them. Both depended on music but for different reasons. The 1925 version was silent so the music had to tell the tale, in the 2004 version the music wasn't needed to tell the tale, but was used to tell the tale in a way only it could. (Gee that sounded corny). Anyway, it was great.

Corpse Bride (2005)

Two prominent families have arranged for their children to be married in order to overcome financial difficulties. As the objects of betrothal, Victor (Okay, for Kim, Everybody now, Mmmmmm... Johnny Depp) and Victoria (Emily Watson) met for the first time the night before their wedding. It only makes sense that Victor, a groom with cold feet, would have trouble remembering tedious wedding vows. Thus Victor ends up in the dark forest ringing his hands and muttering his vows on a cold dark night, the moon is full, the stars are bright and the forest is a little bit creepy. Wandering through the black mangled trees, Victor just can't memorize his wedding vows. Victor's hesitance towards marriage causes him to jumble the words. The Corpse Bride hears the vows, bringing her out of the grave. Blue-tinted, eye-ball-popping, maggot-infested beauty Emily (Helena Bonham Carter) has become known as the Corpse Bride after waiting for her fiance where the couple planned to rendezvous before getting hitched. When her groom arrives, he kills her, and she rests in the ground to wait for her soul mate, whether he knows he is the Corpse Bride's groom or not. Victor suddenly finds himself married to another woman, a voluptuous bombshell bride who also happens to be dead. Whisked away to the Land of the Dead, Victor finds out that living amongst corpses is not as easy as it seems. Heads easily loose their owners and eyes never seem to stay in their sockets, an adjustment that Victor seems reluctant to accept. Once taken into the Land of the Dead, it is nearly impossible to return, causing Victor to choose between risking Victoria's life or giving up his own. Hilarity ensues.

Trivia: The puppets were made from stainless steel armatures covered with silicone skin. This is the first feature to be made with commercial digital still photography cameras (31 Canon EOS-1Ds MARK II SLR cameras with Nikon Lenses) instead of film cameras. As an indication of the painstaking nature of stop-motion animation, it took the animators 28 separate shots to make the bride blink. The puppets used neither of the industry standards of replaceable heads (like those used on The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)) or replaceable mouths (like those used by Aardman Studios in Wallace & Gromit in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005)) but instead used precision crafted clockwork heads, adjusted by hidden keys. This allowed for unprecedented subtlety, but was apparently even more painstaking than the already notoriously arduous animation. One animator even reported having recurring nightmares of adjusting his own facial expression in this fashion. The puppets were two feet tall and some of the stages were so large that animators could actually fit through the set doors with minimal crouching. Multiple, identical puppets had to be created so that more scenes could be accomplished in a shorter period of time. In all, fourteen puppets of the Bride and Victor were created, and thirteen were created of Victoria.

Well, Kim called it. She figured since I reviewed The Nightmare Before Christmas by Tim Burton that Corpse Bride wouldn't be far behind and she was right. This was a great movie too. Again, the characters was very well defined. I thought it was very interesting because of the positioning of the worlds, the Land of the Living above, think upper class, and the Land of the Dead, think lower class, but then Burton gives the land of the dead a warmer friendlier feel, while making the land of the living sterile. He does this by giving the land of the dead vibrant colors and characters, while the land of the living is drab and lifeless (very few characters other then the main ones are seen, while the land of the dead is full of vibrant characters). Basically, the land of the living seems to be dead and the land of the dead is living life to the fullest. Fun film. Below you will see an example, to the left is the land of the living, to the right is the land of the dead. Click on the pictures to see them bigger.

The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

Jack Skellington, the pumpkin king of Halloween Town, is bored with doing the same thing every year for Halloween. One day he stumbles into Christmas Town, and is so taken with the idea of Christmas that he tries to get the resident bats, ghouls, and goblins of Halloween town to help him put on Christmas instead of Halloween -- but alas, they can't get it quite right. Hilarity ensues.

Trivia: In the original Poem Written by Tim Burton the only characters that every existed were Jack, Zero and Santa. All the other characters were made up for the movies, although he describes some of the presents which were given out including in some cases the names of the children. Tim Burton has said the original poem was inspired after seeing Halloween merchandise display in a store being taken down and replaced by a Christmas display. The juxtaposition of ghouls and goblins with Santa and his reindeer sparked his imagination. Oogie Boogie is inspired by Cab Calloway, who provided character voices and musical numbers for several Fleischer Bros. cartoons; he and Santas Claus quote dialog from the Betty Boop short "The Old Man of the Mountain", when Santa asks,(quoting Betty's line) "What are you going to do now?", and Oogie returns Calloway's (as the Old Man) "Goin' do the best I can..." This was the first movie to ever be fully animated using the stop-motion technique that was favored by Tim Burton for special effects in some of his other movies for its surreal quality. The animators received Oscar nominations for Best Visual Effects as a result, but lost to ILM who created the dinosaurs for Jurassic Park (1993).

While researching trivia for this movie I discovered that Disney is releasing this in 3-D in two days! Whoo Hoo! I will have to see if it is showing here. I LOVE this movie. I have since I first saw it. The depth of the shots, the characters, THE MUSIC. It is incredible. This is the movie that made me fall in love with Tim Burton films. I liked Beetle Juice and Batman before this but man. An interesting note, Danny Elfman, who composed all the music was the singing voice of Jack, he was also the voice of Barrel, along with Lock (Paul Ruebens) and Shock (Catherine O'Hara), quite a trio there. Elfman's music is the star of the film and it fits so well with the charactersm, who are very well defined. All in all a great movie, if you haven't seen it, see if it is playing in 3-D near you this weekend. Be sure to click on the poster to the right and see the full size picture, it's great.

Rent (2005)

Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes. How do you measure a year? In daylights, in sunsets, in midnights, in cups of coffee. In inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife. In hilarity ensuing. Based on Puccini's La Boheme, Rent tells the story of one year in the life of friends living the Bohemian life in modern day East Village, New York City, 1989-1990. Among the group are our narrator, nerdy love-struck filmmaker Mark Cohen (Anthony Rapp); the object of Mark's affection, his former girlfriend, Maureen Johnson (Idina Menzel); Maureen's Harvard-educated public interest lawyer and lesbian lover Joanne Jefferson (Traci Thoms); Mark's roommate, HIV-positive musician and former junkie, Roger Davis (Adam Pascal); Roger's new girlfriend, the HIV-positive drug addicted S&M dancer, Mimi Marquez (Rosario Dawson); their former roommate, HIV-positive computer genius Tom Collins (Jesse L. Martin); Collins' HIV-positive drag queen street musician/lover Angel (Wilson Jermain Heredia); and Benjamin Coffin III (Taye Diggs) a former member of the group who married for money and has since become their landlord and the opposite of everything they stand for. It shows how much changes or doesn't change in the 525,600 minutes that make up a year.


Trivia: Taye Diggs (Benny), Wilson Jermaine Heredia (Angel), Jesse L. Martin (Collins), Idina Menzel (Maureen), Adam Pascal (Roger), and Anthony Rapp (Mark) are all from the Original Broadway Cast of RENT in 1996 and are playing their original roles. The New Year's Eve sequence was turned into an actual party for the cast and the celebrating was real. During "The Tango Maureen", the eyebrow lift and jacket toss were added because the actors were having fun during rehearsals and the director liked it. Jesse L. Martin's character of Det. Green on the NBC show "Law & Order" (1990) was shot in the line of duty to allow Martin to take several months off to film Rent. Several character names are updated from La Boheme. Marcello the painter became Mark the filmmaker; Rudolfo the poet became Roger the musician; Colline the philosopher became Tom Collins. Benoit the landlord became Benny married-to-the-daughter-of-the-landlord, Musetta became Maureen, and Alcindoro the rich elderly man became Joanne the young female lawyer. Schaunard the musician became Angel. Mimi the young downstairs neighbor has the same name in both shows. The characters of Ali, Gordon, Pam, and Sue in the Life support meeting are named after writer Jonathan Larson's friends who died of AIDS.


I watched this because Kim really liked it and I want to say thanks. I loved this movie. I kew I was going to like it from the first number when the principle characters are on an empty stage singing the 525,600 minute song. It was vibrant. It was fun. It was poignant. The music was superb. I also really liked that Tango song and the La Boheme song. You know, there is just something about a Broadway musical compared to, say, an MGM musical. It is amazing how they can create the songs that really advance the story. It is like a modern day opera that you can actually understand. I know this IS a modern day version of an opera, but they still had to create the modern songs and music for it. I had actually thought about making this my "R" movie for my alphabet project, but I found a better choice to fill that role, so this got bumped up to the front. So Kim, keep recommending movies, because I have liked everything you have recommended so far. Any anybody who hasn't seen it, you should, just listen to my sister, she knows what she is talking about.

Top 250 Challenge: 170

Duck Soup (1933)
Number 142 on IMDb's Top 250

Nominated by Anonymous Ken

To rescue the small country of Freedonia from bankruptcy, Mrs. Teasdale agrees to donate 20 million dollars, but only if Rufus T. Firefly (Groucho Marx) is appointed its new president. Firefly is a cynical, sarcastic dictator who refuses to play politics by the book. For instance, he does reduce workers' hours~by shortening their lunch breaks! Firefly attempts to win the hand of Mrs. Teasdale, as does Ambassador Trentino of the neighboring country, Sylvania. Sylvanian spies (Chico and Harpo) harass Firefly. Hilarity ensues. When the two leaders cannot resolve their dispute over the wealthy dowager, war between the countries is declared, and Mrs. Teasdale's house comes under attack. Who will save the day?

Trivia: Shortly before this film premiered, the city of Fredonia, New York, complained about the use of its name with an additional "e". The Marx Brothers' response was: "Change the name of your town, it's hurting our picture." During the battle scene, Groucho wore five different uniforms: A Union soldiers uniform, a Confederate general's uniform, a boy scout troop leader's uniform, a Revolutionary War-era British general's uniform, and a Davy Crockett outfit. This film marks the last appearance of Zeppo Marx in a Marx Brothers film. Groucho Marx offered the following explanation for the movie's title: "Take two turkeys, one goose, four cabbages, but no duck, and mix them together. After one taste, you'll duck soup the rest of your life."

I finally got to see this after about a month of NetFlix having it listed as a very long wait. Many consider this the Marx Brothers best film. I have to disagree, I recently saw A Day At The Races and liked it better then this one. Don't get me wrong, this was a funny movie, just not their best. Groucho starts off the movie kind of stiff and his jokes sound forced, but he gets better as the movie progresses. This movie also has the famous mirror scene where Harpo, pretending to by Groucho, shatters a mirror and then takes over the mirror's job and plays Groucho's mirror image. Thanks Ken.

All That Jazz (1979)

Choreographing and picking dancers for his new show whilst editing his feature film about a standup comic is getting to Joe Gideon. He is a workaholic who also chain smokes, sleeps with various women and neglects his special dancing daughter Michelle. Without the chemical substances he wouldn't have the energy to keep up with his girlfriend Kate Jagger, his ex-wife Audrey Paris, and Michelle. Everything around him is causing tremendous stress to his already fatigued body and his imagination he flirts with an angel of death named Angelique.

Gideon's condition gets worse as he checks himself out at the hospital and learns that he has two clogged arteries and needs heart surgery. The backers for the Broadway show must decide now if they should delay the opening or replace Gideon as the director. Scenes from his past life start to encroach on the present as he becomes increasingly aware of his mortality. Hilarity ensues.

Trivia: Bob Fosse wrote and directed this semi-autobiographical fantasy tale. His girlfriend, Ann Reinking, who played a part based on herself, had to audition several times before she was cast. Talk about building self confidence, what if she had not been cast AS HERSELF!!!

I see this movie as really two movies. The first is a story about a smoking, drinking, womanizing, workaholic and his spiral into life threatening heart disease, basically real life. The second happens when Gideon is in the hospital and starts hallucinating full-on production numbers, basically, all in his head. Oh, and he talks with the Angel of Death all through the movie, kinda trying to explain himself, but on the other hand, flirting wth her. It is a pretty good movie though, when you put it altogether. Roy Scheider is pretty good as Joe Gideon. "It's Showtime!"

Reefer Madness: The Musical

In a high school auditorium, The Lecturer tells the assembly of anxious parents about the evil of marijuana. The Lecturer explains the marijuana is the next big evil to strike America. Marijuana is more addictive then cocaine or heroin. With the help of his assistants, he then launches into the tragic tale of one boy's struggles with the demon weed.

Jimmy Harper is a fine upstanding youth, blessed with the love of the fair Mary Lane. The two are sure they will live happily ever after. However, across town, the weed-pusher Jack and his croonies, Sally and Ralph, are living in the depths of depravity.

Meanwhile, Jack goes out to recruit new addicts at Miss Poppy's soda counter. There, he meets Jimmy, whom he lures back to the house and offers a stick of reefer. After one puff, Jack becomes an addict. He forgets about Mary Lane, who sits alone in church for weeks and weeks. Hilarity ensues.

Trivia: This movie is based on a movie from 1936 also called Reefer Madness originally called Tell Your Children was financed by a church group and intended to be shown to parents as a morality tale attempting to teach them about the dangers of cannabis use. Soon after the film was shot, however, it was purchased by notorious exploitation filmmaker Dwain Esper, who took the liberty of cutting in salacious insert shots and slapping on the sexier title of Reefer Madness, before distributing it on the exploitation circuit. The more than 800 costumes for the musical were created by a dedicated team of 12 dyers, sewers and cutters, in addition to a group of seamstresses in Lithuania that worked on costumes for several weeks.

This movie is the best example of camp that I have ever seen. Camp refers to the deliberate and sophisticated use of kitsch, mawkish or corny themes and styles in art, clothing or conversation. The original movie is unintentional camp, they really did mean well, it was just overdone. The musical is purely intentional camp. They make fun of...well, just about everything. This was a very entertaining watch and I highly recommend it. The DVD includes the 1936 movie, so if you rent this, watch the 1936 version first. Anonymous Ken recommended this one to me so Thanks, AK.

Best Picture of 2002

Nominees:
Chicago
Gangs of New York
The Hours
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
The Pianist

Winner:
Chicago

Story: Roxie Hart (Renee Zellweger) is a married chorus girl with hopes of being a headliner in Vaudeville. Velma Kelly (Catherine Zeta-Jones) is a former headliner. What do these two have in common? They both are murderesses. Roxie killed her lover when he walked out on her, and Velma killed her husband and sister, who were having an affair. Hilarity ensues. Chicago's newspapers love the nitty-gritty and Velma is at the top of the headlines. But then Roxie comes along and Velma is old news. They find themselves competing for not only the press' attention, but also the focus of their shared lawyer, the suave Billy Flynn (Richard Gere). Add to the mix a sob sister, Roxie's hapless husband Amos, and a warm prison matron who watches out for her girls (if there's something in it for her), and you have Chicago.

Trivia: The director wanted Catherine Zeta-Jones to wear her natural long hair in the movie, but she insisted on the short bob. She explained to People magazine that she didn't want her hair to fall over her face and give people a reason to doubt that she did all the dancing herself.

So, tell me what you think? Did you like Chicago? Would you have picked another movie as Best Picture? Why?