Rating: Summary: .....and all that jazz. Review: I'm giving the movie version 5 stars, but it isn't as good as the Broadway version. The movie version is a little choppy where the songs are interrupted by dialog. Never-the-less this is a great attempt to bring a big Broadway Musical to the screen and for the most part it works.The cast is excellent but none of them have the style of a Gwen Verdon, BeBe Newith, Karen Ziemba or Chita but the cast does bring a fresh look that should attract non-musical audiences that may not of bothered to see this film if it were all Broadway stars. (At least they had the good sense not to have Babs in the movie)The supporting cast is equally as great and Christine Beranski as Mary Sunshine is great! A true well-rounded and very talented actress. This movie should be a great hit for 2003 and with hopes of other new musicals to hit the screen. But "pleaseeeee" to you Hollywood people. Make sure you do you homework before attempting another musical. Hollywood does lack good directors who know how to adapt a Broadway Musical into a film. Other than that this is a GREAT film. You'll have fun and you'll be totally entertained and if you haven't seen the Broadway version this is a pretty good start.
Rating: Summary: Spectacular production! A must see! Review: Well acted, well scripted, the music was terrific, the production exceptional, and the costuming spectacular. In short, the finest production of CHICAGO you'll see on the big screen. Worthy of 5 more stars!
Rating: Summary: Chicago - The Movie - Outstanding! Review: Having seen (and loved) two stage versions of Chicago, I was curious as to how it would transfer to the screen. It was MORE exciting, spectacular, and entertaining than I imagined. This is an EXCEPTIONAL film for anyone who enjoys musicals, Bob Fosse, dancing, and/or theater. I was most impressed by how creatively they moved from "real" to "stage" to insert the musical numbers, and by how visually stimulating they made some of the scenes. I was also surprised by how well Richard Gere held his own in the musical numbers and very impressed by the talent for singing and dancing of Catherine Zeta-Jones.A completely entertaining and enjoyable movie. I feel safe in recommending this to anyone.
Rating: Summary: Excellent. Nothing Else But. Review: Take this word "excellent." fill all the blanks with it. The cast is __ The singing is __ The acting is __ the directing is __ everything else is __ Nothing is not __ In short this movie is __ and there you have it
Rating: Summary: It's Big, It's Beautiful, It's Chicago...Not Moulin Rouge! Review: This movie pops off the screen. My jaw hurt from smiling so much. The acting is superb, the story is superb, the singing is superb, the art direction is superb. If you loved Moulin Rouge! (as I did) you will love Chicago. If you hated Moulin Rouge! you will Love Chicago. One of the best movies all year (in many years).
Rating: Summary: Love that Jazz!!! Review: With the poplarity of "Moulin Rouge" last year and now, "Chicago", it appears that the movie musical is making a welcome return to Hollywood. If the trend continues with excellent films like the two forementioned, we should be seeing musicals for a good time to come. Catherine Zeta Jones and Renee Zellweger are both extremely well suited for their roles as Velma Kelly and Roxie Hart. Catherine Zeta Jones has a very nice voice and plays the confident Velma with bravada. Renee is perfect as the fame hungry, Roxie, determined to see herself in the lime light but instead ending up in prison along side murderess, Velma. The remaining roles are filled quite nicely by Richard Gere as Billy Flynn and Queen Latifah as Mama Morton. The nice thing about this musical is that the actors can ACTUALLY sing. Everyone chosen for this film has a good voice and can act to boot!! If you've seen the broadway show version, you won't be disappointed. The director does an excellent job of splicing the musical numbers with flashes of the actual events that keeps the film moving along. This is one of my favorite films of the year and will definitely be a dvd I will buy. Don't miss this gem!!!
Rating: Summary: Musical Lovers Must See Chicago Review: Do you enjoy musicals? This is the only question you need to ask yourself before deciding to see Chicago. If the answer is yes---then you must make sure you view this movie first on a large screen. A dvd or video version should be your second choice. Director Rob Marshall has put together a fast paced comedic musical that is utterly fantastic. The songs are of top notch quality. There's rarely a momentary pause in the action. Catherine Zeta-Jones, Renee Zellweger, Richard Gere, and others normally thought of as serious thespians perform splendidly in atypical singing and dancing roles. One, though, gets the distinct impression that these actors were thrilled to accept the challenge to get back to their early roots. Most of their characters are scoundrels, liars, and back stabbing slime balls. They are also very funny and endearing. Two pre-World War II ambitious women entertainers, Velma Kelly (Zeta-Jones) and Roxie Hart (Zellweger) have murdered their lovers. Gere portrays the sleezeball attorney Billy Flynn who is committed to the proposition that anyone willing to pay his $5,000 fee should not pay for their crimes. Moreover, he hopes to exploit their notoriety to help them professionally. Flynn believes it's only appropriate to turn a murder charge into a wise career move. To put it mildly, he does nothing to uphold the honor and moral uprightness of the legal profession. Could William Shakespeare have been thinking of a Billy Flynn when urging that all attorneys in Henry VI be put to death? The only nice guy is the cuckolded Amos Hart (John C. Reilly) who is too dumb and naive to realize that everybody is playing him for a fool. Queen Latifah is wonderful as the manipulative jailer. Christine Baranski, Lucy Liu, and Taye Diggs also deserve honorable mention. Chicago most definitely earns five stars.
Rating: Summary: AWESOME MUSICAL Review: For fans of the movie musical, and everyone else for that matter, this movie is a gift! Featuring most of the sensational Kander-Ebb numbers from the Fosse Broadway show, but presented with the fresh imagination of director Ronb Marshall, this movie is non-stop, gleefully sinful fun. And the performers really shine, most of all Renee Zellwegger, who is a brilliant choice to play Roxie Hart. Catherine Zeta-Jones literally slithers across the screen, and who knew Richard Gere was such a terrific tap dancer? Concerned much more with fame and the spotlight than with the means it takes to gets there, this movie's heroines have more than a small chip on their shoulder; they are basically a collection of killers. You will find it hard not to applaud each and every number; the music is infectious, non-stop and expertly arranged and performed. Chica-GO!
Rating: Summary: Like the real thing Review: I went to see Chicago in the Ziegfried Theatre last saturday. The line was around the block and I thought, this better be worth it. It absolutely was! I felt like I was sitting in a theatre with live performances. I have not seen the actual play on Broadway and hoped this didn't ruin my wanting to eventually see it on Broadway. This movie only whetted my appetite to see it live. Renee was phenomenal as was Catherine Zeta Jones. They were lively, funny and had really strong voices. Richard Gere never ceases to amaze me. I was so impressed with his performance I forgave him for The Mothman Prophecies. As alway my girl Latifah was a strong supporting character. Everytime they did a musical number I thought, "okay this is my favorite," only to find that I enjoyed the next one even more. You really felt like you were watching them on Broadway. The theatre was packed and when all was said and done people were applauding as if there were live people on the stage, it made you feel that excited about seeing a movie. I won't go into details and give things away but the Cell Block Tango was one of the highlights and made me want to kill a man just so I could sing about it..... Anyway go see this movie. It is worth the lines and the waiting. You will want to dance out the theatre when it is over.
Rating: Summary: Show of the Century Review: I guess, calling it "The Show of the Century" might be not only premature but also probably preposterous. Calling it "The Show of the Decade" might be just plain premature, especialy since we do not have a name for the decade yet... But I can, and I will call it the best show of the year 2002 and probably the best show of 2003. The music is great - and always was. The actors are fabulous, the lead ladies deserve supelative marks, and even more praise is due to Richard Gere, who'm I would consider the lead actor of this show for the Oscars. And yet the superstars of this show are the guys from the choreography, from the lighting, from the scenery, costumes, - in other words from all those important things which make the difference between a "so-so show" and a stuning and unforgetable performance.
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