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Awix (3310 KP) rated The Greatest Showman (2017) in Movies

Feb 7, 2018 (Updated Feb 7, 2018)  
The Greatest Showman (2017)
The Greatest Showman (2017)
2017 | Drama, Musical
Cheese with a side order of sugar
I suppose Hugh Jackman has to do something now he's retired from being Wolverine, and as his skill-set basically consists of eviscerating people with his implanted claws and being able to sing and dance a bit, it's not surprising that his first big post-rodent movie is a musical.

Despite being (theoretically) a historical bio-pic, The Greatest Showman is very much of our time in that it has a powerful message about diversity and inclusivity. That there is anything odd about a film about diversity and inclusivity a) being fronted by two straight white dudes and b) concerning a conman who made a huge fortune by running a freak show, does not appear to have occurred to the film-makers.

The plot is ridiculous sugary cheese, but what keep the film (I'm tempted to say annoyingly) watchable are the songs and choreography, which are really, really good and deserve to be in a much better-written movie. Pretty much the definition of an undemanding guilty pleasure, although I have to note that this is one of those movies that everyone seems to hate apart from the mass audience.
  
The Greatest Showman (2017)
The Greatest Showman (2017)
2017 | Drama, Musical
Soundtrack (phenomenal) (3 more)
Casting/Acting
Choreography
Cinematography
Best original musical in recent days
Michael Graceyโ€™s slick new musical, The Greatest Showman, brings to life the imagination of P.T. Barnum and his creation of the first circus.
Inspired by the legend of P.T. Barnum (Hugh Jackman), The Greatest Showman follows Barnum in a pursuit to piece together a dream-like show.

The film follows the businessman as he desperately tries to support his wife (Michelle Williams), and daughters. However, the urge to make the shower better and better ultimately gets in the way of both his personal and family life.

Barnum knows exactly what he is looking for. He scouts several individuals who he believes are perfect for the show. Each and everyone of them, a spark or magic that completes the circus. His show includes; bearded lady, Lettie (Keala Settle), and โ€˜the shortest man in the worldโ€™, Tom Thumb (Sam Humphrey). Also, a partner in need (or to help his succeed)Phillip Carlyle (Zac Efron).

The performers are part of a close family and stick together despite being ridiculed by the public. They are frequently humiliated and often labelled as 'freaks'. This brings a lot of emotion to the film. It encourages a lot of positivity in that it helps promote individuality and equality.

As a musical, The Greatest Showman comes packed with musical numbers. It features a number of brilliant vocal performers including the likes of Jackman, Settle, Efron and Zendaya (who plays a trapeze artist and pretty much most of the cast). The songs themselves are very moving, through joy or sadness. Many of the songs will also have your feet tapping to the beat! At points, you'll find yourself wanting to join in with the group!

Music is a powerful instrument which can often be emotive. The composers Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, who also worked on the music for La La Land, and Trolls, hit the mark. The songs were outstanding and often bought a tear to the eye.

From the beautiful ballroom-esque dances of Jackman and Williams to the group dances by the circus family, the film was not short of magical moments. The camera angles were also spot on - from the beautifully shot symmetrical aerial shots to the moving steady cam shots.

Already nominated for three Golden Globes, The Greatest Showman is sure to be a hit with everyone. It is almost certain that it'll leave you feeling emotionally drained. On the more positive side, it may even inspire people to spread a little Christmas joy and happiness!
  
The Greatest Showman (2017)
The Greatest Showman (2017)
2017 | Drama, Musical
All the fun of the circus
Ah, the movie musical. Once the choice of matinee viewings and Saturday nights in front of the TV, theyโ€™ve evolved over the last decade into something completely mainstream. From the ridiculously good remake of Hairspray in 2007, to the vibrant Mamma Mia, which gets its very own sequel Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again this year, musicals have become the ultimate in escapism.

Following on from his exceptional role in the deeply depressing Les Miserables, everyoneโ€™s favourite Australian actor, Hugh Jackman returns to the genre with The Greatest Showman. But is it worth you warming up your vocal chords for?

Inspired (very loosely may I add) by the imagination of P. T. Barnum, The Greatest Showman is an original musical that celebrates the birth of show business & tells of a visionary (Jackman) who rose from nothing to create a spectacle that became a worldwide sensation. The story is simple as we follow Barnum and his family as they rise from the depths of debt to the glitzy world of fame and fortune.

However, looking deeper, this rather poignant tale has special resonance today. In this ever-divided world, itโ€™s message of acceptance and equality is something the majority of us still strive for. Whether it be for those who have suffered from homophobic, racial or any other abuse for simply being โ€˜differentโ€™, The Greatest Showman will take on a new, more emotional meaning.

One of the strongest parts of The Greatest Showman is its cast. Alongside Jackman, we have musical expert Zac Efron, Spider-Man: Homecomingโ€™s Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson (Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation) and Michelle Williams (All the Money in the World). Every single one of them is outstanding, emoting beautifully over the course of the film but this very much Jackmanโ€™s baby (it took nearly 7 years to get the idea to screen) and his performance is one of the best of his career.

Iโ€™m going to dedicate this paragraph to Efron, as I feel heโ€™s been given a bit of a rough ride by me and Movie Metropolis in general. With his recent roles in Dirty Grandpa and Baywatch, he was becoming better at taking his shirt off than acting in any great capacity, but he proves in The Greatest Showman that he still has that acting prowess that made him so popular with the High School Musical crowd.

Thankfully The Greatest Showman has some of the best pieces of music in the genre
Barnum is a complex character portrayed with a warmth by Jackman that many of his peers wouldโ€™ve struggled to emulate. Elsewhere, Keala Settle wows as bearded lady, Lettie. It appears her efforts here havenโ€™t gone unnoticed as her powerful ballad This is Me has been nominated for an Oscar at this yearโ€™s awards โ€“ and itโ€™s well-deserving of taking the crown. She is absolutely astounding.

The brings us nicely onto the songs. A musical, as its name suggests, lives or dies on the basis of its songs and score, and thankfully The Greatest Showman has some of the best pieces of music in the genre. There isnโ€™t a single dud in the track listing with Rewrite the Stars, performed by Zac Efron and Zendaya, and the aforementioned This is Me, sang by Keala Settle being highlights. Itโ€™s fair to say that youโ€™ll be clapping and singing along in no time.

Pacing is also one of the filmโ€™s strongest suits. Zipping along at only 105 minutes, The Greatest Showman doesnโ€™t mess about in throwing song after song at the audience and this is more than welcome. First-time director Michael Graceyโ€™s shot choices are rudimentary but colour leaps off the screen throughout and the cinematography really benefits from his more static filming style.

Itโ€™s testament to the talents of Hugh Jackman and this phenomenal cast that nearly two months after the filmโ€™s theatrical release, people are still flocking to see The Greatest Showman in cinemas across the globe. And itโ€™s easy to see why. From start to finish, it is an absolute joy to watch. With a cracking set of songs, created by La La Landโ€™s Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, and stunning performances by each member of the cast, itโ€™s an absolute treat for the whole family to enjoy and my first five-star film of 2018.

https://moviemetropolis.net/2018/02/17/the-greatest-showman-review-all-the-fun-of-the-circus/
  
Eddie The Eagle (2016)
Eddie The Eagle (2016)
2016 | Comedy
8
7.6 (11 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Based on a true story, this film tells the story of Eddie โ€œThe Eagleโ€ Edwardsโ€™s journey from childhood as he chases his dream of someday representing his home country of Britain in the Olympics. When Eddieโ€™s dreams seemly are coming to an end he looks to defy his naysayers by becoming the first Olympic Ski Jumper to represent Britain in the modern Olympic era.

Taron Egerton (Kingsman: Secret Service) does a marvelous job playing Eddie. He portrays the good natured soul of this un-athletic and socially awkward yet endearing hero. As a result, he not only wins the hearts of the people around him, but of audiences as well. Coupled with the hard charismatic and athletic contrast of Hugh Jackman, who plays an ex-ski jump champion Bronson Peary, the two shine together in their contrast but find an unexpected friendship that provides opportunity for one and redemption for the other.

Through the course of the film, it is hard to not be inspired by someone who is whole-heartedly chancing his dream. As such, I would best described Eddie The Eagle as the โ€œfeel good movie of the year.โ€ A clichรฉd and premature description this early in 2016, but appropriate nonetheless. Take the family to this delightful film.
  
The Greatest Showman (2017)
The Greatest Showman (2017)
2017 | Drama, Musical
A truly remarkable original modern musical classic!
I'm sure by now I am the only person in the world who hadn't seen The Greatest Showman until tonight. It was very much worth the wait.

The songs, look, art direction, make up, costumes, sets and cinematography were the true stars along with fantastic, mesmerizing performances by the entire cast. I was worried about Zac Efron, but he really held his own and I forgot about his High School Musical days. It was also surprising to see Michelle Williams in this type of role since I am used to seeing her in heavy dramas where she nearly never smiles. That was a pleasant surprise also.

Have to mention Hugh Jackman, a role he was born to play. He has to be the only actor who can command such a presence in gritty action films and charismatic characters like this one.

I could've done without the CGI lions and elephants since they did not look realistic and kind of took you out of those moments but a minor complaint.

The plot is certainly one from a musical meaning non super complicated or in-depth, maybe a little cheesy; however, it didn't bother me in this case.

I'm sure I'll be humming these songs for some time to come and watching it again with my daughter soon.

  
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The Greatest Showman (2017)
The Greatest Showman (2017)
2017 | Drama, Musical
The story (0 more)
Some of the singing (0 more)
A musical for non-musical fans
I hate musicals, I avoid them like the plague. My daughter decided to put this on and I ended up sitting and watching the whole thing by myself, she wandered off to play.

This is a musical that even the haters of musicals I think would enjoy. The only reason I can see why I didn't mind and actually liked some of the songs is the irony and sarcasm that was inherent in the songs and in the acting whilst they were singing. Normally, the people singing, whether it's a happy or sad song, have those insane asylum grins plastered to their faces, which make you feel uncomfortable. The songs were catchy, warning, they stay with you for days.

The story line was good, I enjoyed it. The acting was very good and the singing not that bad. I was surprised to find out Hugh Jackman was the leading man, I didn't recognise him at all at first. Took me a while to figure our that it was Zac Effron supporting too.

The costumes and make-up were fantastic and the actual shows were really good to watch. I would love to know what they would've been like at the real Barnum circus, as well as what the real relationships were within the troupe. Intrigued me enough that I am going to put my history at uni to use and research it.

I think if you take a chance and watch this, you will be pleasantly surprised.
  
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LoganCrews (2861 KP) rated Pan (2015) in Movies

Sep 21, 2020  
Pan (2015)
Pan (2015)
2015 | Action, Sci-Fi
Huh? โ€ฆ what? H-how? Why..? I'm not even sure what like 80% of this crackpot, drug-fueled children's fever dream even was but I'm pretty sure I loved it. Everyone sings "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and "Blitzkrieg Bop" to hype up a grisly-looking, scenery chewing pirate Hugh Jackman for no reason at all. You're also able to witness a severely miscast Garrett Hedlund give one of the worst performances the screen has ever seen as Rooney Mara pulls an Emma Stone in ๐˜ˆ๐˜ญ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฉ๐˜ข and the fairies savagely murder an entire ship full of people one by one. In all seriousness, perhaps my allure bias for these cockamamie box office bombs is showing but this isn't even a quarter of the disasterpiece it has been dubbed. The visuals are lush, varied, and colorful with Wright's lifeful eye hard at work - and it has a lot of fun with its setpieces, while taking fine care of its effects. My biggest complaint is that this nutty curio has to be stuck within the confines of those obnoxious kids' films where the bland protagonist (here at least acted exceptionally by Miller) who obviously has some arbitrary, special talent spends the whole movie claiming they don't have said arbitrary, special talent only to find out completely unsurprisingly that they did have the aforementioned arbitrary, special talent all along. This would make an awesome PS2 game, if I didn't know any better you could have effortlessly convinced me Luc Besson directed this. Rushed through plot but who cares, it's mostly a blast.
  
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LoganCrews (2861 KP) rated Chappie (2015) in Movies

Sep 19, 2020 (Updated Sep 19, 2020)  
Chappie (2015)
Chappie (2015)
2015 | Action, Crime, Sci-Fi
"๐˜ ๐˜จ๐˜ถ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด๐˜ด ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ๐˜ด๐˜ฆ ๐˜ด๐˜ค๐˜ช๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ด๐˜ต ๐˜จ๐˜ถ๐˜บ๐˜ด ๐˜ข๐˜ญ๐˜ญ ๐˜ธ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ฌ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ˆ.๐˜. ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ ๐˜จ๐˜ข๐˜ท๐˜ฆ ๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ค๐˜ข๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜”๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ด๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ ๐˜Œ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜จ๐˜บ ๐˜ข ๐˜ต๐˜ณ๐˜บ." - Trevor Moore, ๐˜›๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜š๐˜ต๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜บ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง ๐˜–๐˜ถ๐˜ณ ๐˜›๐˜ช๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด

Much better than ๐˜‹๐˜ช๐˜ด๐˜ต๐˜ณ๐˜ช๐˜ค๐˜ต 9 even though it's essentially the same movie for the chief purpose that this is cleaner, more fun, and ditches the sloppy gimmick and failed heavy-handed metaphor. Those last 30 minutes are godly, just totally bananas trashy cyberpunk action glory - not only the best thing Blomkamp has ever done but some of the most fun a sci-fi movie has had in the 2010s. But otherwise a movie about robot cop Sharlto Copley hanging around Die Antwood who teach him how to be gangsta but he accidentally discovers consciousness while a deranged Hugh Jackman desperately wants to let his monster mech loose on the city should be a lot more entertaining than this was. Still sports impeccable graphics and design as always with Neill, and you know what this isn't deep on any level nor does it have a single talking point about the militarization of the police department or A.I. or big tech corporations - fine, whatever. But there's almost zero violence for the hour + twenty-five minute stretch in the middle of this where it becomes this trite, sickly sweet family drama? I mean you're practically poised to fashion this nuanced, ultraviolent story dissecting how A.I. reacts to trauma but instead they're reading bedtime stories to the thing? Still vibrant and ridiculous though, enjoyed the hell out of it - I ain't picky. Plus points for letting all these actors use their natural accents.
  
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LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated Logan (2017) in Movies

Sep 20, 2019 (Updated Sep 20, 2019)  
Logan (2017)
Logan (2017)
2017 | Action, Adventure
The crown jewel in Fox's X-Men saga
Logan is easily one of the best comic book movies out there.

This is the third solo outing for Wolverine (following one garbage pile attempt, and one annoyingly average attempt), James Mangold really pulled it out of the bag for this one.
The characters are great - Hugh Jackman at the top of his game for his final performance as Logan. He's a grizzled and pain ridden man, in this bleak, mutantless future.
Patrick Stewart is also at his best here as Charles Xavier. The two of them are the beating heart of this movie.
We're introduced to Dafne Keen (playing a young X-23) who rounds out the small cast nicely.
As Logan fights a shadowy organization to keep her safe, the stakes have never been higher, and no one feels safe at any point - something that has never really been explored in the X-Men franchise.

Logan is a hard film to watch, it's bleak, its gritty, it's not particularly colourful (especially if you opt for the brilliant Noir version), and it's brutally violent in parts.
The set pieces are nasty in places, and sometimes pretty shocking, but it all aids the narrative here - the narrative that Wolverine is an ailing old man, who is struggling against all odds to do one last good deed, and protect the few people that still mean something to him.

It's an emotional and powerful film, that deserves all the praise bestowed upon it - amazing work from everyone involved .