Rating: 
Summary: Believe (Most of) the Hype.
Review: The Twenties aren't the only thing roaring in this silver screen remake of the Broadway hit of the same name. "Chicago" roars with energy and verve, with nearly every scene exploding with attitude like a grenade. Renee Zellweger and Catherine Zeta-Jones are just dynamite as Roxie and Velma, two women who have been nabbed by the law for offing the men who did them wrong. Hoping to beat the murder rap, they take sides with the town's most prestigious lawyer (a vibrant Richard Gere), and from there begins a storyline involving crime, greed, scandal, and the shameless pursuit of fame. But the film's revelation is Queen Latifah's supporting role as the prison's Matron Mama. Her sultry rendition of "When You're Good to Mama" will immediately end any doubt as to whether she deserved her Academy Award nomination. But props have to go to Zellweger and Zeta-Jones, who tear up the screen at every musical number they perform. The voices are on point, and the choreography is breathtakingly alive. "Chicago" isn't going to make us forget about, say, "West Side Story," but it's good enough to give you a jolt of energy. And considering the sad state Hollywood is in, that's saying a lot.
Rating: 
Summary: Go to Chicago!!!!
Review: I thought this film was wonderfully done. It takes a lot of work to take something from the stage to the screen. This brilliantlly-made film was brought to life with its hip musical numbers that make you want to get out of your seat and break into song, and with its breathtaking cast, but this could not have been nearly as good without the performance of Catherine Zeta-Jones, who's performance I was taken aback by. The set design is not as creative as Moulin Rouge, but this movie is much easier to get into. I totally recommend this film for everyone, even if you're not into musicals.
Rating:
Summary: A Good Film of a GREAT Stage Musical
Review: Although I thoroughly enjoyed CHICAGO the movie, I admit a strong preference for the Broadway version, which is far more intimate and raw than the cotton-candy color of Rob Marshall's debut film. Sure enough, the leads are superb - Renee Zellweger reafirms my belief that she is one of the great actresses of our time, while Catherine Zeta-Jones is simply BRILLIANT - surely an Oscar awaits her on March 23rd for her vivid portrayal of Velma Kelly. John C Reilly is a grand "Mr. Celophane" and THE Queen, Latifah, is a hoot at Mama, the prison warden. Richard Gere is just OK in a largely supporting role that never really gets under your skin - maybe that's why he was passed over by the Academy - his role has bite, but it's gums, not teeth that clamp down on you.The musical zips and hums itself along as a half fantasy, half reality saga...a tale of desperate women driven to desperate acts by the nasty men who use and abuse them. And therein lies the problem. What the movie Chicago doesn't deliver, and the stage version does in spades, is a sense of intimacy...a motive that's more fully realized on stage because the audience is both witness to a crime, and a jury of peers to the irrepressible Roxie Hart. Movies of hit musicals rarely achieve the spectacle one feels on stage, and Chicago is better than MOST movie musicals to be sure. Still, it doesn't MOVE the audience because its two dimensional vision never makes you feel like anything but a movie-viewer. That may be enough for some, but it left this moviegoer - with Broadway down the street - tapping his feet, but never fully engaged. Anyone without the benefit of huge stage musicals at your doorstep would be wise to take a trip to the Windy City... it's that good a movie. The score is wonderful, the songs will keep you humming for days, and again, the performers are terrific, through and through. Yet - this CHICAGO can't hold a candle to the original Fosse stage show, and the movie never fully takes flight. Finally, many folks are forcing comparisons between Chicago and last year's musical treasure, "Moulin Rouge." In my opinion, the Baz Lurhman spectacle was a superior film, for the exect same reasons Chicago is a better stage event. Moulin was filled with unexpected pleasures - you never knew what would happen next even though the melodies and lyrics were familiar to us baby boomers. Where Moulin soared, Chicago just sizzles. And that's not a BAD thing, it's just less grand, less inspired and not quite as original.
Rating:
Summary: the best
Review: Miramax's Chicago in definateltly the best movie of the year. winning golden globes and being nominated for 13 academy awards doesnt look too bad on its resumer either. Set in the 1920's, the adaptation of bob Fosse's musical is a sure fire entertainer, and anyone who doesn't enjoy it has bad taste in movies. Roxy Hart (Zellweger) is a woman who is destined to be on the stage, but is always turned down. Velma Kelley (Zeta-Jones) is a preformer who is arrested for killing her husband and sister. When Roxy murders the man she has been cheating on her husband with, she begins to be put in the spotlight. When she hires the best, most manipulative lawyer in Chicago, Billie Flynn (Gere), Velma feels Roxy is stealing her thunder. Zellweger and Jones both pull out their roles fabulously, while Richard Gere is the only casting mistake, that cannot ruin the film, Chicago.
Rating:
Summary: I think 3 times in one weekend is explanation enough!!!!
Review: I went to see Chicago on Friday 2/14/03 and then again the next day and the day after that. I cant seem to get this movie out of my head. It's one the most entertaining movies I have seen in a long time. First of all I felt like the movie was worth the 9 dollars I paid to see it. Catherine is amazing in this movie, Renee is going to be the next Julia Roberts, she is going to blow up after this, and Richard was surprisingly good when it comes to the vocal department. Queen Latifah was also amazing in the movie, although I felt one person could have played that part better, and that is Nell Carter, RIP, but Queen did great. The music is amazing, considering I went to buy the soundtrack 10 min after seeing it on valentines day. The dancing is amazing, the fianl number with Renee and Catherine floored me, and when the movie was over the people at the movie were clapping and cheering as if we were at the broadway show. Roxie and Velma made you cheer for them. Anyone who went to see this and says it was'nt good, obviously has no idea of what a GREAT movie is. I would go see it again and again. When it comes out on DVD you know who will be first in line.
Rating:
Summary: Give 'em the old razzle-dazzle..
Review: Renee Zellweger stars in this musical ode to the jazz-era. She plays Roxie, a not-too-bright star-wannabe who idolizes Catherine Zeta-Jones' character, Velma, a ruthless cabaret singer-dancer. Both women just happen to be killers and are in jail at the same time. Queen Latifah plays Mama, the easily-bribed matron. Richard Gere plays Roxie and Velma's attorney, Billy Flynn.
The musical numbers are big, loud, and splashy, and exist mostly in Roxie's imagination. All of the stars do their own singing and dancing, and are all surprisingly good. The songs are absolutely fabulous and will have you humming and tapping your toes in no time. The music deserves five stars. The script and casting, however, were not to my liking. The pace of the film is breakneck-speed; it is exhausting to watch this frenetic and eye-popping spectacle. I would have prefered a few quiet moments, but that isn't what this film is about. While all the stars were good, I found the casting just plain odd. Renee Zellweger still looks like Briget Jones; Zeta-Jones is practically unrecognizable in that make-up and wig; she is also one-demensional (hard and sarcastic). Gere can sing and dance, but it's just so strange seeing him do it. He just doesn't look like a singing/dancing lawyer. The script and stars rate three stars from me; the music gets 5 stars. I think the director did an excellent job, too.
Rating:
Summary: My new favorite film
Review: Oh wow. There are so many words I can use to describe this movie. It's amazing, it's funny, it's sexy, it's sparkling. The goal of this film, an adapted version of the classic Bob Fosse musical, is to, as one character puts it, "Give 'em the old Razzle Dazzle", in which it most definately meets and exceeds. For those (Like me) who have never actually seen the musical, here's a quick plot synopsis. Roxie Hart (Renee Zellweger)is an aspiring and slightly ditzy singer, who is cheating on her husband. When her boyfriend tells her that he lied about knowing people in showbiz, Roxie shoots and kills him. So, after her sweet but dull-witted husband (John C. Reilly) rats on her, she goes off to prison, where she meets her idol, Velma Kelley (Catharine Zeta-Jones) once a famous vaudvillian, now hailed as a "femme fatale". Soon, Roxie too gains stardom with the help of Velma's lawyer Billy Flynn (Richard Gere) and the ladies are duking it out for the attention of their public. Everyone, from the lead role to the extras, act brilliantly. The song sequences are staged in a revue form, as parts of Roxie's obviously vivid imagination. The costumes and sets and music is all PHENOMENAL! From the first frame until the last, your attention is caught and hooked! This may not be a film of high morals, but you will eventually throw your first reservations to the wind as the story unfolds and that old Razzle Dazzle finally takes hold.
Rating: 
Summary: HACHA!
Review: The Brilliant, Innovative, Unforgettable Mr. BOB FOSSE showed us way, way back HOW it was done and HOW to do with "SWEET CHARITY", "CABARET", and the utterly sensational and unsurpassed "ALL THAT JAZZ". Mr. Fosse had and still has that unique ability to take your breath away with his superior and unique visionof the Art of Dance. This movie is a pale shadow of "Cabaret" - good intentions but no originality - it's an extension of the "Take Off" number from Mr. Fosse's "All That Jazz" and possibly unintentional bits of Ken Russsell's magnificent "BOYFRIEND" [the Zeta Jones entrance ala Glenda Jackson - or better still la Streisand "FUNNY GIRL" - or legendary Joan Crawford's entrance in "Rain" - now there was Velma!] ~ [Also the Rolls Royce hood ornament transfer shot]. Oh, the bodies are just delicious - especially the ladies "She Cargo" and what is visible of the gent dancers - all very Fosse .... but IS this also Rob Marshall? Performances ..... not bad - especially the beautiful Zeta Jones [Ava Gardner???], Renee Zellweger only carried limited expression [Madonna? Chalize Theron? Goldie Hawn?] - the original ladies were Leaner ..... and Meaner ...and the SERIOUSLY overlooked RICHARD GERE is an 'eye-opener' - what a snub from the Academy! John C. Reilly? Much better in "Gangs of New York" and "The Hours" [really nom.worthy there]. Sorry, perhaps it's just me -a but that's it folks - pale, pale phantoms - along the lines of the archaic Tiller Girls or perhaps Sondheim's "Follies" [long overdue for the big screen]. Limited appeal....miss Bobbie's original vision though ....
Rating:
Summary: CHICAGO
Review: I waited ten years to see ANYONE do this musical, on stage or screen, and I was not disappointed in the least. After 199?'s gorgeous but unnoticed film version of Evita and the more recent, painfully abyssmal Moulin Rouge, CHICAGO finally hits home with audiences and critics alike, I will join those who pray this will bring back the movie-musical. The plot can be read in the other reviews on this page, so I won't waste words here. But the comparisons between courtroom theatrics and sleazy burlesque posed by this musical cannot be ignored. The film is perfectly cast, and one can tell each member had an absolute blast in making the film. And each is so SURPRISINGLY amazing in the songs, I had to check and see if the voices were dubbed by professional singers. They weren't. So, for an amazing time, go see CHICAGO. After seeing Lord of the Rings again, of course. *laugh* Oh, and for the record: Bob Fosse was the choreographer/director of the original stage show. The show was written by Kander and Ebb, who wrote Cabaret.
Rating: 
Summary: Vastly overrated movie of the year nominee
Review: Chicago was a somewhat disappointing wooden movie version of the Broadway musical taking place in 1920's Chicago. Unfortunately it consisted of the work of actors and actresses not known for their singing and dancing ability. Richard Gere playing a shyster lawyer defending the murdering showgirls Renee Zellweger and Catherine Zeta-Jones, showed little aptitude for singing and clumsy dancing skills. Both Zellweger and Zeta-Jones were energetic and Zeta-Jones in particular showed very good dancing talent, however neither sang well. The puppet scene featuring Zellweger and Gere was defintely the best song and dance number in the movie. Special mention should be given to Queen Latifah who was excellent in her role as a connected and bribed prison matron. The storyline about the two ladies who parlayed the notoriety gained through the murders of their significant others into fame on the stage was certainly original. In my humble opinion however, it would be a travesty if this film won best picture honors. By comparison last years Moulin Rouge was a far superior movie of this genre.
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