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Chicago (Widescreen Edition)

Chicago (Widescreen Edition)

List Price: $19.99
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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Chicago
Review: It is the best movie and dvd ever! Couldn't ask for beter!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Delightfully Depraved
Review: It seems only fitting that in these bleak times, the musical would once again rise to popularity, and take Hollywood's most coveted award. Musicals had their golden age in the 20's and 30's, in times of moral depravity, alcoholism, economic hardship, and less-than-stellar presidents. Sound familiar? Musicals were meant to take the audience to another world, a world of glitz and glamour, but more importantly happiness, romance, and hope.

This time around, it's a little different. Gone is the naivete that was once so abundant in musicals, having been replaced with morally bankrupt characters who care only about themselves and their freedom, fame, and fortune. The only exception here is Amos Hart, the only decent man to be found in the whole thing. I wish I could say things work out for him, but, who am I kidding?

For the world of Chicago, unlike so many musicals, is not the place where the glitz, glamour, and music take place. No, the world of Chicago is the world of the selfish, flash-in-the-pan stardom of the real Chicago in the 1920's. Only the opening number, "All That Jazz", and the final number, "Nowadays", take place in the real world - all the glitz and glamour in between is in Roxie's deluded head. And, in many ways, this Chicago is very realistic. There were really such things as "Jazz Killers", women who shot their husbands for various reasons; mainly to get on the front page.

So why five stars? One reviewer gave one star for precisely the reasons I listed above. Yes, these are reprehensible people (with the exception of Amos), so why watch? To name but a few reasons, this is an entertaining movie with fantastic singing (Bob Fosse was a genius), stellar choreography and directing, and some of the best acting of the last year - (Catherine Zeta-Jones deserved it, Phillip Seymour-Hoffman and Richard Gere were robbed (at least the former was nominated.)). But besides all that, a friend of mine put it best when she said: "it's like a train wreck - it's disgusting and disturbing, but you just can't look away."

Chicago indeed has that quality, and against our better judgement, we can't help but like the characters. It is a great musical, and even those who for one reason or another may steer clear of this genre should give it a chance - it's not your typical musical. Instead of whisking us off to a magical land where everything turns out alright, it whisks us back to the Roaring Twenties, where, as my same friend put it: "you just had to keep dancing and drinking, because if you stopped, you just might realize how bad things really were."

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: An overrated, good musical
Review: Musicals can be boring. This one is certainly not boring, but not a masterpiece. Directing is excellent and so is the execution of stage numbers. Plot is average, but does keep you interested. Richard has aged; not bad for an attorney, but not so appealing as a stage performer. Cathrine is stunning. I expected a lot more from the DTS sound, but I was dissappointed. The bright reds on the DVD puzzled my expensive DLP projector and appeared oversaturated. A fun 2 hours.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A Wonderful Movie...and All That Jazz
Review: It's hard to find words to describe how amazing the movie Chicago is. You really have to see it to understand it. But I'll try to give you a tiny glimpse into this multi-Oscar winning movie.
Velma Kelly (who was played by Oscar winning Supporting Actress Catherine Zeta-Jones) is a famous vaudeville dancer. When it's discovered that Velma murdered her sister and husband, however, she's sent straight to death row. While this is all unfolding, Roxie Hart (played wonderfully by Renée Zellweger) has dreams of being a singing superstar. When the man that she's having an affair with tells her that she's nothing and never will be anything, she's follows Velma's footsteps and murders him. Roxie soon joins Velma in the Cook County Prison.
While there, they become acquainted with Matron Mama Morton, a generous, yet slick prison guard played by Queen Latifah. Velma, through her connections with Mama, hires Billy Flynn (Richard Gere) to take her case. In his entire law career, he has never lost a case. Roxie understands that the only way to guarantee her freedom is to get him to represent her, so her faithful husband Amos (John C. Reilly) pays him the steep fee to take her trial.
Through songs, dance numbers, and unbelievable acting, Chicago shows the story of greed and corruption in the Windy City during the 1920's. All of the characters sing and dance wonderfully. First-time director Rob Marshall designs this masterpiece of cinema, which was named Best Picture at the Academy Awards. If there's one movie out on video now that needs to be seen, that's Chicago!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Suprising and Remarkable
Review: As any movie buff will tell you, it is not just the words and the film, it is the heart that goes into and shines through on the screen that make a movie great. "Chicago" has heart. You can see the dedication that Rob Marshall had..especially since he choreographed the movie! One has to admire the actors for breaking the mold that they we are used to seeing them in, and for the hours it must have taken to put it all together.

Putting aside that Zeta-Jones and Zellweger's characters are murderesses (that is not what is being glorified), I could not help but see the irony in it all. "Chicago" takes a hard stab (no pun intended) at our culture and love of celebraties, and the pure denial that they can be anything but perfect and heroic. For purely entertainment value, this movie is a masterpeice, certainly not the best of all time, but I defy anyone to watch this movie and not tap a toe, do a high-kick, and be infected by the spirit and sounds. The movie, quite simply, rocks.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: The Queen redeems the show
Review: There's alot to be said against this movie, the brutality masked alluringly by sex and lilting voices is depressing. But the pearl in the stinky oyster is Queen Latifa. I'd never listened to her before and now I think she's just amazing. She belts out Mama and you are hooked. Its worth getting the movie to see her in action. The rest are quickly forgettable at best.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A Winner!
Review: It was like watching a broadway show! This movie was so great, I believed I was dancing and singing in the movie! The score, the energy, and the clothes were outstanding. This is one of my favorite movies of all time because of the music, the effort the actors put into the movie, and the great detail in everything. This movie is an A-Plus!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great Film!
Review: "Chicago" is one of the greatest musical films I have ever seen! If there is anyone who hasn't seen the movie, here is a synopsis. "A starry-eyed would-be star discovers just how far the notion that "there's no such thing as bad publicity" can go in this screen adaptation of the hit Broadway musical Chicago, originally directed and choreographed by Bob Fosse. In the mid-'20s, Roxie Hart (Renee Zellweger) is a small-time chorus dancer married to a well-meaning dunderhead named Amos (John C. Reilly). Roxie is having an affair on the side with Fred Casley (Dominic West), a smooth talker who insists he can make her a star. However, Fred strings Roxie along a bit too far for his own good, and when she realizes that his promises are empty, she becomes enraged and murders Fred in cold blood. Roxie soon finds herself behind bars alongside Velma Kelly (Catherine Zeta-Jones), a sexy vaudeville star who used to perform with her sister until Velma discovered that her sister had been sleeping with her husband. Velma shot them both dead, and, after scheming prison matron "Mama" Morton hooks Velma up with hotshot lawyer Billy Flynn (Richard Gere), Velma becomes the new Queen of the scandal sheets. Roxie is just shrewd enough to realize that her poor fortune could also bring her fame, so she convinces Amos to also hire Flynn. Soon Flynn is splashing Roxie's story -- or, more accurately, a highly melodramatic revision of Roxy's story -- all over the gutter press, and Roxy and Velma are soon battling neck-to-neck over who can win greater fame through the headlines. A project that had been moving from studio to studio since the musical opened on Broadway in 1973, Chicago also features guest appearances by Lucy Liu and Christine Baranski." -Blockbuster.com

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: TERRIFIC MOVIE!! TERRIBLE DVD!!
Review: Chicago is hands down my favorite movie. The anticipation of the DVD release came to a standstill last Friday. I opened the tacky case, put the ugly disc in the player, and was highly upset by the content. This is one POOR DVD!! ONE DELETED SCENE!?! ONE DOCUMENTARY!?! ONE DISC!?! COME ON!! Rob Marshall should have been brought on as director for the DVD release of his brilliant movie. Disney needs to step up to the plate with their DVD releases and take some cues from FOX or Universal.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Best Movie Out There
Review: Chicago is, by far, the greatest. It has something in it for everyone: comedy, crime, entertainment. The music is brilliant, the actors are breath-taking, and the story is absolutley fabulous.
If you buy one movie this year... buy CHICAGO.


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