Rating: 
Summary: That's the Chicago Way!
Review: It took me a long time to even rent this DVD, not because I don't love musicals of all kinds, but because I could never stand Fosse's choreography. Everyone always looked like their limbs were disjointed. But, last week my 40-year-old son and I were comparing movies, and he told me he loved "Chicago" and suggested I rent it. Well, I loved it, too. Most of the choreography was more in keeping with the old-fashioned hoofer style, but I saw Fosse's style in the "He Had it Coming" number, and it was great. For those of you who wanted a sweet lovely musical, just try to find one. All of them have some sort or conflict--for heaven's sake, Oklahoma had a murder, and Sound of Music had people fleeing for their lives from a Nazi invasion. Chicago is a beautifully crafted musical satire of the Twenties, and it's full of energy, great singing and dancing by people you'd never think could sing and dance. CZ-J put a hard edge on her character and changed her speech patterns to add reality to the time and the place she was portraying, and she did it brilliantly. To those of you who were shocked by the hardness in this film, we have one thing to say to you, "That was the Chicago way! Let's be glad we can now sing, dance, make fun of it, and laugh about it."
Rating: 
Summary: Chicago
Review: This movie is horrible. How did it win any awards? I gave it a 1 star rating, it really should be a 1/2 star, but that was not available.
Rating: 
Summary: Best motion picture of the year?
Review: Chicago, 1929. Crime. Passion. Celebrity. Sex. And jazz...I will say from the start that I have mixed feelings about this movie. On one hand, I would have expected to see a movie, being worth indeed 6 Oscars. From my point of view this is not a movie for Oscar awards. On the other hand, I have to admit that it is well done, made by intelligent and creative people.
But I can't help it and mention that some details of the movie show a slip of the makers' attention: one of the characters speaks Russian and has a Russian name, but they say she is Hungarian and a cabaret dancer had her silk stockings broken during a preformance. Roxie Hart, an apparently innocent actress, dreams of changing her monotonous life thanks to her talent. She is attracted by the idea of becoming as famous as Velma Kelly, a well known vaudeville actress. She sees her dream come true when, due to some unusual circumstances, she finds herself in jail, next to her idol, both of them beining accused of murder.
This is a nice satire at the address of Chicago and its legal system, at a time when jazz was gaining fans and alcohol was prohibited. I also admire the creativity and the rich imagination the movie makers proved when they associated the jail atmosphere with a stage where prisoners performed their own acts. I am not at all a fan of musicals, but I did not get bored watching this movie and I don't regret seeing it. But I would not see it a second time. I recommend this movie only to musical fans or to those who are great admirers of Catherine Zeta-Jones, Rene Zeleweeger or Richard Gere. It will be interesting for you to see them in different roles from what you were used before.
Rating:
Summary: Sleazy
Review: Although I enjoyed the music in this film, that's about it. My biggest gripe is that there are no characters you can admire or even like in it. Roxie's husband is the only decent character, and he gets dumped on throughout the movie. The rest of the characters are sleazy, deceptive, awful people, and unfortunately that is celebrated throughout the film. Not surprising that the Hollywood cesspool went ga-ga over it. I was pleasantly surprised at Catherine Zeta-Jones and Rene Zellweger's singing and dancing ability, that much I will admit. However, I would recommend that you rent this movie before you buy it. I bought it before seeing it at the recommendation of a friend, and unfortunately wasted my money. It's not a movie I want to watch again.
Rating:
Summary: Most overrated movie of the year
Review: Sure hollywood needs to slap itself on the back and give itself credit when it can come up with something besides Daredevil, Gigli and movies which end with numeric digits after their title. So bring on the Musical! Never mind that there's no script, no story ... and really the music isnt very good. Best Costumes? maybe..what are we supposed to compare it against - The Hulk?
Rating:
Summary: Chicago - A thoroughly enjoyable and entertaining film!
Review: I would definitely have to say that I approached watching a musical with a small amount of trepidation; but this trepidation was quickly washed away as I found that "Chicago" was nothing less than a thoroughly enjoyable and entertaining film to watch. Although there have been many films that I've completely enjoyed watching, I cannot remember the last time I watched a movie that had me smiling the whole way through. Despite the basic nature of this film being grounded in murder and those who committed it doing whatever they can to get out of it, the way in which the story was written within a musical just makes it so hilarious you'll find yourself just happily enjoying this film all the way to the credits at the end. It is absolutely no wonder to me at all that this film won six Academy awards, all of which were well deserved. I believe it takes an unusual and refreshing film like this to win that many Academy awards. Renee Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Richard Gere, Queen Latifah, John C. Reilly and Lucy Liu all deserve extraordinary praise for their respective performances in this exceptional film. I've read and heard that several people weren't too impressed with Richard Gere's singing and dancing which is an opinion I don't share. Who knew that this big star could and or would do singing and dancing on film; I thought his performance was great. Director Rob Marshall deserves nothing but the highest praise and accolades for bringing this brilliant film to the theaters and DVD format. Chicago is nothing less, in this reviewer's opinion, than the best musical ever made! To be perfectly honest, I'm not a huge musical fan, but this film and the sound track for it is just so enjoyable you don't have to be a huge musical fan to enjoy the film and the performances by these great actors. The premise: The setting for this film is Chicago in the twenties which makes it the perfect setting for the entire film as it is learned in the "Behind the Scenes" special that it is somewhat ground in the true story of several women killing their husbands or boyfriends and the huge media blitz over their trials. Taking that into consideration and the timing of the film, being in the twenties when women were struggling for more rights, you have all the ingredients for the plot of "Chicago" and then throw in the musical aspect and then throw in several exceptional actors and actresses and you have "Chicago." Renee Zellweger plays Roxie Hart who is a naïve young woman married to an older, blue collar working man who is gone all day. Take that aspect and her "intense" desire to be on stage doing her jazz singing and dancing. Being a bored housewife, she hooks up with a little side action in the form a furniture salesman who feeds her a huge line about getting her hooked up with somebody at the local jazz club. After several weeks of believing his line about getting her on stage, he finally becomes tired of her nagging and tells her he's just a furniture salesman and doesn't know anybody at the club. She becomes so distraught about being lied to that she whips out a thirty eight and puts him down right at the front door. Her poor sap husband, played so brilliantly by John C. Reilly initially tries to take the blame for her, right up to the point in which he finds out that the body laying at the front door was the guy who sold them their furniture and boom, he drops the story and off to jail goes Roxie. It's in jail that she meets up with Matron "Mama" Morton (Queen Latifah) and Velma Kelly who is played so brilliantly by Catherine Zeta-Jones who seems to have been born for singing and dancing. Velma has been in jail for some time now after the films exceptional opening with her on stage singing and dancing "All that Jazz." It seems she found her sister in the bed with her husband and she whacked the both of them. Richard Gere shows up not too long after that as Billy Flynn, the big shot lawyer in Chicago that has never lost a case. What follows from there is nothing less than the best musical to hit the silver screen in years that will have you smiling from ear to ear from the very opening of the film to the credits. I highly recommend this exceptional film to any and all, whether you're a fan of musicals or not, you will enjoy "Chicago." {ssintrepid} Special Features - Deleted Musical Number "Class" Performed by Catherine Zeta-Jones & Queen Latifah
- Behind The Scenes Special
- Director & Screenwriter Feature Commentary
Rating:
Summary: Short and to the point.
Review: What a terrible movie! It's badly written and the terrible characters don't help. Can't believe I actually watched the whole thing. I did enjoy the razzle dazzle song but the movie is just not worth it. If you're unsure reading these conflicting reviews, rent before you buy. I bought it and it was a waste of my money.
Rating:
Summary: I'm gonna make this short and sweet..
Review: This movie has style to burn. The cast is top-notch and they knew while they were saying and or singing their lines that they had a winner on their hands. The acting, direction, editing, script, ect. are all exquisite.
Rating:
Summary: Gwen Verdon is spinning in her grave!
Review: I didn't get to see this movie when it was in the theatres, but I already knew that Gwen Verdon won a Tony for the broadway version in the 1970's. So I checked it out from the video store for me and my grandfather to watch. I'm almost 22, and I was glad when this movie was over, but my grandfather was gladder. Gwen Verdon's musical is trashed in this God Awful film. The movie version is about a woman who kills her abusive husband, (who probably deserved it) and is put in jail and threatened execution and the night club that she sings with makes fun of her with music. As you may know, Gwen Verdon died of a heart attack in the winter of 2000 and if she could have seen this film, she would have been APPALLED! Get "Damn Yankees," instead. This film is only for people who enjoy offensive musicals.
Rating:
Summary: I've never wanted to leave a theater so much
Review: See above. I've seen Roxy Hart and although I adore Ginger Rogers, that wasn't a good movie either. All of these characters are despicable and unlikable. I've never written a review of a movie before but this was so bad I had to vent.
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