Search

Search only in certain items:

40x40

Awix (3310 KP) rated Aladdin (2019) in Movies

Jun 12, 2019  
Aladdin (2019)
Aladdin (2019)
2019 | Adventure, Family, Fantasy, Musical
Eye-searingly garish, largely redundant auto-cash-in on the 1992 cartoon (which, full disclosure, I've never seen) - if you don't know the plot, well, what's wrong with your parents, did they never take you to a pantomime when you were young? Cave, lamp, genie, princess - I note that Widow Twankey has been ruthlessly scythed from the story.

After a slow start it does generate some energy and entertainment value, mainly because of Will Smith's turn as the genie (Will Smith in good movie role choice shocker!), and for anyone looking for something of substance to contemplate, there is an interesting subtext about the nature of power in traditional hierarchical societies. In the end, though, it manages to take panto plotting, Broadway show tunes, MOR power-ballads, blockbuster CGI, and Bollywood dancing and produce something which still feels essentially lifeless and calculated.
  
The Greatest Showman (2017)
The Greatest Showman (2017)
2017 | Drama, Musical
Everything! The music, dancing, the storyline, the characters. (0 more)
It will surprise you... then become an addiction!
I was originally unsure if I wanted to see this movie. A friend who has similar tastes saw it in theaters and told me I would regret not seeing it in the theater, so I went. From the first beat of music, I was hooked. I did not want the movie to end. The acting is phenomenal, music gave me chills, and I could not take my eyes off of it. I immediately bought the soundtrack, and saw it a second time in theaters. I also made sure to preorder the movie. Since then, I have show it to my students, and let teachers borrow it to show to their students. Every time, people or students who were not interested became hooked. This is a must see!
  
40x40

Britt Daniel recommended track Moody by ESG in Come Away With ESG by ESG in Music (curated)

 
Come Away With ESG by ESG
Come Away With ESG by ESG
1983 | Rock
(0 Ratings)
Album Favorite

Moody by ESG

(0 Ratings)

Track

"This record is just so unique. All I know is that it’s the kind of album where you could put any song from it on at a party and everybody starts dancing. I’d been hearing this song at parties for years and I never knew what it was, other than that I loved this particular sound. Finally, one night, I asked the DJ, and it turned out it was these sisters from The Bronx, doing something totally fresh in the late '70s and early '80s. It must have come very naturally to them, because it sounds like nothing else I’ve ever heard. It’s almost bizarre; nearly all of it is just percussion and vocals and the occasional dub element. It’s minimal, and so singular, and you just have to dance to it. I guess that’s testament to how good the drummer was."

Source
  
40x40

Kasi Lemmons recommended All That Jazz (1979) in Movies (curated)

 
All That Jazz (1979)
All That Jazz (1979)
1979 | Drama, Musical, Sci-Fi
8.5 (4 Ratings)
Movie Favorite

"Magical realism is very important to me, and here you have some wonderful fantasy sequences—including Roy Scheider talking to Death, played by Jessica Lange. And there’s so much humor in this movie. It’s very serious on one level, because the protagonist is reflecting on his own mortality and the constant presence of death in his life, but it’s also very funny. Even when the hero is having a heart attack, the movie can’t help but break into a bit of musical theater! And as someone who used to dance before becoming a filmmaker, I’m in love with the choreography—how Scheider watches it all happening and participates in it, and how sexy it is. The dancing is very of the period—it’s maybe even a little dated—but the movie itself is not. It completely holds up."

Source
  
40x40

Awix (3310 KP) rated Earthquake (1974) in Movies

Mar 21, 2021 (Updated Mar 21, 2021)  
Earthquake (1974)
Earthquake (1974)
1974 | Action, Drama
Archetypal piece of mid-70s schlock hits all the usual disaster movie beats: slowish first half introduces various characters, attempts to drum up a sense of foreboding, then everything goes shaky and there are various subplots of people struggling amongst the rubble. A tone of rugged stoicism is usually predominant.

You can almost sense the modern blockbuster struggling to be born here - high concept, low credibility, lots of special effects, John Williams score - but the film is let down by some wobbly production values and questionable casting choices. (The subtext is surprisingly reactionary and morally inflexible, too.) All the bits which make it most entertaining nowadays - Marjoe Gortner as an unhinged national guardsman, Richard Rowntree's motorcycle daredevil, Walter Matthau's dancing drunk - are the parts which are the most camp and ridiculous. Sort of entertaining if you enjoy this kind of bombastic studio silliness.
  
Holiday Inn (1942)
Holiday Inn (1942)
1942 | Classics, Comedy, Musical
4
8.1 (13 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Music (2 more)
Dancing
Cast
Story (2 more)
Modern Marketing
Length
Far from what I expected...
All my life I thought this was a Christmas film, yet today I when I kickstarted the Christmas viewing for this year, I found Christmas barely entered into it. Despite the appearances of DVD covers, the inclusion of the classic Bing hit "White Christmas" and "Happy Holidays", Christmas features in this very little.

Bing and Fred are incredible as always, but it felt like a pick and mix of songs relating to various holidays, including "Easter Parade", "Abraham" (an uncomfortable blackface celebration of the birth of Lincoln), and a song about firecrackers for the 4th of July.

Overall, even at only 100 minutes, the film was too long to maintain my interest, most likely due to the fact I was expecting a far more festive treat.
  
A Good Day To Die Hard (2013)
A Good Day To Die Hard (2013)
2013 | Action
John travels to Russia to find his son, intel says that he's in prison. Once he's there nothing is quite what it seems.

Where 4.0 managed to get in on some of the current trends, A Good Day To Die Hard decided it wanted to be like Jason Bourne whilst forgetting that John McClane isn't the sleek spy that Bourne is. We've gone from fun and enjoyable action films to something that takes itself way too seriously. At no point did I crack a smile, or scream "oooooooh" at the screen when one of McClane's completely ill matched fist fights goes awry.

A dancing, carrot eating villain who likes to play with his hostages... give me strength.

As for the extras on this disc you should certainly checkout Maximum McClane, mainly for the compilation of yippee ki-yays at the end.
  
The Dream Thieves (The Raven Cycle, #2)
The Dream Thieves (The Raven Cycle, #2)
Maggie Stiefvater | 2013 | Science Fiction/Fantasy, Young Adult (YA)
8
7.8 (15 Ratings)
Book Rating
Well I read this book directly after finishing the first in the series because it was really that good. As it usually goes with series though, this installment wasn't as good as the original. But that's not at all to say that it wasn't a good read.
The same characters are included in this book with the addition of thru Grey Man, aka Mr. Grey...a hit man who had been hired to hunt down & retrieve the Greywarren for his boss. The ley line is losing its juice. Gansey is no closer to discovering Glendower. Blue & Adam are still dancing around each other.
The story took a bit longer to really get going in this book. Once it did however, it grabs the reader just like the first book did. It will be interesting to see what path the third books takes us down...
  
Cinco de Murder
Cinco de Murder
Rebecca Adler | 2018 | Mystery
5
5.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Celebration Leads to Murder
It’s Cinco de Mayo weekend, and Josie Callahan has a full plate. She will be waitressing at her family’s Tex-Mex restaurant as well as helping her uncle with the first annual chili cook-off and dancing in the parade. The last thing she needs is to find the body of Lucky Straw, one of the cook-off contestants. He wasn’t well liked, but who would kill him?

This is a fun mystery tying into a different holiday, yet it fits the theme of this series perfectly. The mystery is good, with several elements to keep us guessing until the end. I did feel that the book needed another edit to smooth things over as Josie’s changing theories constantly confused me, but not in a good way for a mystery. The series regulars are as fun as always, especially Josie’s abuela
  
Sing Street (2016)
Sing Street (2016)
2016 | International, Drama, Musical
9
8.8 (5 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Put on your makeup and dancing shoes for one of the best movies of 2016, Sing Street. With music from The Cure, the enjoyment of this movie is pure. It features some Duran Duran, gotta give the creators of Sing Street a hand. Not only does it have music from, but also will make you say A-Ha. I'm telling you it's a huge smash, it even includes awesome tunes from The Clash. With music from Hall & Oates, it will make you want to chase big dreams in a small boat. You'll get to hear Spandau Ballet, it'll leave you wanting to party all night and dance all day. After this review you might think I'm a ham, but give it a watch and you will even get to hear The Jam. Now it's time to get up on your feet for the best band of the year, Sing Street!