musical

A HARD DAY'S NIGHT: Beatlemania Perfectly Personified
A HARD DAY’S NIGHT: Beatlemania Perfectly Personified

A Hard Day’s Night not only works as a celebration of The Beatle’s iconic music, but as a satire on the very nature of stardom and celebrity.

LIMELIGHT: Chaplin's Last Shining Moment In The Spotlight
LIMELIGHT: Chaplin’s Last Shining Moment In The Spotlight

As one of his final curtain calls, Limelight is a sterling reminder of Charlie Chaplin’s contributions to culture and the art of cinema.

BEAUTY & THE BEAST: A Remake that Blossoms with Success
BEAUTY & THE BEAST: A Remake That Blossoms With Success

While not as perfect as the original, Beauty & the Beast is an elegant and magnificent display that true love for a film never dies.

The Beginner’s Guide: Jacques Demy, Director

In our latest beginner’s guide, we take a run-down through the films of Jacques Demy, a French director who triumphed in the musical genre.

THE YOUNG GIRLS OF ROCHEFORT: Where We Meet Music
THE YOUNG GIRLS OF ROCHEFORT: Where We Meet Music

La La Land was one of last year’s big hits, and if you’ve read much about it, you’ve probably heard Jacques Demy cited as an influence. And he should be – not for nothing does the word “parapluies” appear near the place where La La Land’s main character works, a direct shout-out to the French title of Demy’s The Umbrellas of Cherbourg. Of course, it would be a mistake to put too much emphasis on him when La La Land draws on plenty of other influences, including various strains of American musical, Nicholas Ray, Powell and Pressburger, and maybe even Alfred Hitchc*ck.

LA LA LAND: Succeeds As Both A Tribute & Subversion Of The Classic Musical
LA LA LAND: Succeeds As Both A Tribute & Subversion Of The Classic Musical

La La Land is a tribute to classic musicals, yet also attempts something different by subverting the romanticized outlook that they have.

MOANA: Animated By The Numbers
MOANA: Animated By The Numbers

Disney’s latest film, Moana is sure to please crowds, but it plays it safe by recycling a story that has been told to exhaustion.

TROLLS: Sugar High Study In Primary Colors
TROLLS: Sugar High Study In Primary Colors

Trolls is aimed as squarely at parents as it is the kids, who likely won’t be as familiar with the terrifically tressed toy trolls as they were say, Angry Birds. Probably not a problem. A comeback seems likely.

Profile: John C. Reilly
Profile: John C. Reilly

John C. Reilly has surprised me for years. His range is astounding, and watching him effortlessly go from dramatic roles to silly comedies has been a treat. Yet his talent doesn’t stop with acting.

Why People Love To Hate MOULIN ROUGE!
Why People Love To Hate MOULIN ROUGE!

There’s a warm feeling that engulfs you when viewing an old Hollywood musical. Usually, it’s a wave of nostalgia as soon as the opening credits start to roll. When silver screen icons like Gene Kelly, Cyd Charisse, Ginger Rogers or Fred Astaire show up on your screen to entertain the masses for a few hours, you’re guaranteed an entertaining, yet competent, movie experience.

The Jungle Book
THE JUNGLE BOOK: A Filmic Necessity

Film is the art of light. Paradoxically,  light is that is the ultimate source required for life to exist, and is the greatest substance to cause horrific calamities. Fire was both a blessing and a curse for ancient civilizations to understand and attempt to harness, but it was quite often their undoing.

Step Up 3D musical
How STEP UP 3D And MAGIC MIKE XXL Take Viewers Back To The Golden Age Of Musicals

Let’s start with a brief history of musical cinema. When Al Jonson’s 1927 film The Jazz Singer became both a critical and commercial success, it ushered in the wave of “talkies”: films with audio.

Into the Woods
INTO THE WOODS: A Musical That Can’t See The Wood For The Trees

Into The Woods is a big screen adaptation of the Stephen Sondheim musical of the same name, adapted by the writer of the original musical book, James Lapine, and directed by Rob Marshall (of Chicago fame). The film boasts a number of successful actors in musical roles. When I first heard of the film, this was enough to pique my curiosity, but as the release date approached my enthusiasm for it lessened.

ANNIE: Yet Another Pointless Remake

In an era when Hollywood is running out of ideas more than any other previous point in its century-long history, the big studios’ desire to unnecessarily remake everything grows even more unwelcome. It’s not that good remakes can’t be made (after all, The Departed, The Fly and a Fistful of Dollars all exist), but modern audiences are so skeptical of remakes that they tend to stay away in droves. The remakes only seem to happen presumably so that the studios can maintain the copyright to the originals and continue to make heaps of money.