Rating: 
Summary: Have we all lowered our standards?
Review: "Chicago" is neither a great musical nor a great movie, though it is a good example of how a musical can be adapted successfully from the stage for film. I like movie musicals, and am glad to see someone trying to revive them, but this dark, unsettling film is hardly a triumph of the genre. It tells the story of a number of scumbags who vie with each other for fame and fortune at the expense of a mindless, fickle public in 1920s Chicago. Every man in the film is a philanderer, and every woman a murderess. Indeed, there are no likeable characters in this film. I repeat, there are no likeable characters. As for songs, there are two or three that are worth remembering, and many forgettables, although most are filmed with colorful panache and are sung well. (By the way, this film ain't PG-13 for nothing; nearly every dance number involves scantily clad women.) While the film does have a few laughs, for the most part I left the theater feeling kind of depressed; is this collection of sexy innuendo, selfish creeps, murders, dark prison shots, and half-baked twenties pastiche ditties the best we can do to revive the movie musical?
Rating: 
Summary: Pop, Six, Squish, Uh Uh, Cicero, Lipschitz!
Review: Catherine Zeta-Jones, Renee Zellweger and Richard Gere star in this highly anticipated remake of the classic Broadway musical. Let me just say that this is the best musical since "Moulin Rouge". I bought the soundtrack before me and a friend of mine went to see it. We became obsessed with the "Cell Block Tango" and when we saw it performed on-screen, we were in awe. I couldn't believe how well it was performed and directed. Not only that, but this was Rob Marshall's first film and he also did all of the choreography for the dance sequences. Like Moulin Rouge, the actors danced and sang without doubles and that is what makes the movie better. Everyone that participated in this film should be labeled as extremely talented. Studios should keep bringing on the musicals because for some of us, we can't make it to most broadway shows and this will give people a chance to do so. Musicals are making a comeback, as Jennifer Connelly said at the Golden Globes "why not?" I would give this film 10 stars if I could!!! Congradulations on winning best film, best actor and best actress Chicago. I hope you have the same luck at the Oscars. I can't wait.
Rating:
Summary: WOW!
Review: I haven't seen a movie, possibly in my entire life, that has given me chills from the first note to the last. This movie has to be one of the best movies to have come out in a long time. I've seen it twice, and its not even in wide release yet. I've seen the musical on Broadway, and was left breathless afterward, and I was wary that the movie wouldn't be nearly as good as the musical, but to my pleasant suprise, it was. Both good for different reasons, I highly recommend this movie. The performances are superb and the sets and costuming lends a larger than life feel that leaves you wishing you were on Broadway to be a part of a production like this. This movie cannot be missed, its amazing.
Rating:
Summary: Bravo! Chicago What a Show Stopper!
Review: I am speechless i must say the whole film is pure fun & it will knock your socks off,not to mention anything on your body that is'nt nailed down . i thought i'd be great but it was better than i expected, bravo to cast you blew me out of water thank you for making a fun romp of a show 10 stars to ya . it will engross your senses you'll wonder where the time went, i'd gladly pay the money again to see it . Highly recommend . it's a movie that plays like a play because it is one . oh by the way for you richard gere fans out there richard does sing in this picture , it's musical but no embarrassing moments like many other pictures i've seen, just plain fun & great music . but the show stealers are queenie, zeta jones, renee. queenie ought to do more R&B than rap . dang renee & zeta you guys work good together hope to see in alot more pictures as duo.
Rating:
Summary: One of the year's best.
Review: God, this movie is fun. When you watch it, the daring it took to make it and to make it so well - with this cast, in this way and in 2002 - jumps off the screen and forces you to tap your feet to the music. It's a quickly-paced, vibrant film filled with gusto performances from mostly everyone involved, though I'm not sure if Richard Gere's Jimmy Durante-style singing quite works for the soundtrack. (Still, Gere's take on the slimy lawyer, when he's not singing, is pretty great.) By taking on the role of murderess Roxie Hart, Renee Zellweger proves, more than ever, that she's a damn good actress. Trimming the source-material stage show to its basics and adding the premise that all the musical numbers occur within Roxie's fame-hungry brain, director Rob Marshall and Bill Condon have created a spectacle that, hopefully, will resurrect, moreso than "Dancer in the Dark" and "Moulin Rouge," the mainstream movie musical.
Rating:
Summary: much to recommend but falls short of greatness
Review: A lot of good ingredients have gone into the making of this long-delayed movie version of the hit Broadway musical "Chicago," but the film, as a whole, fails to overcome some of the basic weaknesses inherent in the source material. Like virtually all musicals of recent vintage (just about anything post-"Fiddler on the Roof" and "Grease," I would say), "Chicago" adheres to the proposition that audiences will no longer accept the conceit of live action characters suddenly bursting into song in the middle of straightforward prose passages (audiences, for some reason, seem to have less of a problem when animated figures do this). As a result, all the musical numbers in this piece - and there are many - occur in the form of stage acts that parallel the major events of the narrative. One has to admire the way in which screenwriter Bill Condon, working off the Fred Ebb/Bob Fosse original, is able to knit together these two disparate realms of action into a unified, seamless whole - thanks, in no small measure, to the cleverness and adroitness of director Rob Marshall and editor Martin Walsh, who have clearly thrown all their skill, talent and energy (and then some) into this particular project. The problem is that the material itself is not really all that compelling. The plot, sort of a cross between Chandleresque pulp fiction and Fosse's own "Cabaret," serves as little more than an excuse to hang the musical numbers on. The story involves two women - one an established vaudevillian and the other a wannabe star looking for her first big break - who find themselves behind bars for the murder of two men. Roxie Hart is the film's centerpiece, a mediocre talent who hopes to use the scandal her crime has created as her ticket to fame and fortune on the stage. But Roxie soon learns that fame in 1920's Chicago can be fleeting, and that the melodrama-craving public that couldn't get enough of you last week can drop you like old news this week the moment a juicier scandal comes along. The script has some fun parodying this aspect of tabloid obsession and madness, but the film feels so much like a live-action cartoon at times that any hope of our becoming involved in any of the characters' predicaments and fates is virtually eliminated. "Chicago" is "clever," it's true, almost too clever for its own good, and, with its characters ultimtately reduced to caricatures, it begins, finally, to reek of artifice. One wishes that the film were not so all-fired determined to distance us from the action, not so afraid of appearing "old fashioned" and "square" by actually allowing us to care about the characters. In fact, the most intriguing part of the film is the court scene near the end, when the drama is allowed to play itself out a bit without recourse to all the highfalutin, show stopping numbers. It may seem like blasphemy to wish that a musical would curtail its song-and-dance moments a bit and provide a few more scenes of straight drama, but certainly plenty of great musicals have done just that in the past (then again, they actually had books worth constructing a musical around). Technically, the film is very impressive. The musical numbers have been mounted with a great deal of imagination, energy and technical expertise, although the editing occasionally intrudes into and thereby diminishes some of Fosse's brilliantly worked-out dance routines. Still, taken separately, each number stands as a mini story on its own, and the cutting does keep the energy level high in purely cinematic terms. The songs by Kander and Ebb, though not particularly melodic or catchy, do serve the material well, being both lyrically clever and relentlessly high-spirited. Of the performers, Renee Zellweger steals the show as Roxie, conveying both the befuddled vulnerability and ruthless drive that define the character. Catherine Zeta-Jones, looking for all the world like Natalie Wood in "Gypsy," exudes a real slinky sexiness as Velma Kelly, the stop-at-nothing rival who has to defend her throne against this slyly manipulative up-and-coming sensation. Richard Gere pours on the smarmy charm as Billy Flynn, the lawyer who takes on Roxie's case - and, all I can say is that Mr. Gere seems to be having the time of his moviemaking career doing this part. I must say that, as a lover of musicals, I am more than happy to see at least someone being willing to take a chance on reviving this moribund genre - and I sincerely wish the makers of "Chicago" all the luck and success in the world with their bold venture. I just happen to feel that a truly great musical has to offer more than just spectacular song-and-dance numbers. It has to provide heart, as well, and a story to make us care. Just because people sing and dance in musicals doesn't mean we shouldn't be able to see them as real people with real emotions, conflicts and problems. "Chicago" gets the musical parts right for the most part. It would just have been nice if it had gotten the other aspect right as well.
Rating:
Summary: The name on everybody's lips is going to be.... ROXIE!
Review: When I walked into the theatre to see Chicago, I walked in with very high expectations. I have seen Chicago on Broadway, and I expected this movie to be as great as the musical on Broadway was. Truthfully, I could not have expected how much I would love this film. The singing and dancing abilities displayed by the stars of this film (Zeta-Jones, Gere, and Latifah) were staggering. After starring in Chicago I firmly believe that the name on everybody's lips is going to be Renee Zellweiger. Before Chicago she was already a well-known actress in Hollywood, but after this performance I predict that she will be one of the actresses in highest demand. All in all myself being a huge fan of Broadway and musical films, I truly found this picture highly enjoyable and exhilarating. I would recommend this to any fan of musicals (such as Moulin Rouge); you will have the time of your life!
Rating: 
Summary: hmmm.
Review: All I've heard about this film was positive, and today I finally went to see it. My friend and I were both disappointed though. Other than John C. Reilly and Richard Gere, I felt the film was poorly casted. It just didn't 'grab' me like other's. I'm a fan of broadway musicals, and film as well, but this just didn't move me at all. Perhaps they should have handed this over to Baz?!
Rating:
Summary: Wow
Review: As I write, "Chicago", is still 5 days away from opening in wide release nationally. I would guess this is a calculated bet that the film will score several awards tonight at The Golden Globe show, and based on the film I saw, it is a safe bet. If this film is honored it will have accomplished a feat not done since the 1960's if it can win best picture at the Oscar Award show next month, for that was the last time the Oscar was handed out to a musical. As, "Chicago", was a very successful stage show prior to being a film, and is probably appealing to a wider audience than, "Moulin Rouge", it probably has a good chance. It is almost unfair to list the main stars of this film as there are so many names that were unknown to me that were equally talented. To give a single example, there is a tango sequence that involves a series of actresses that you may never have heard of that is outstanding. Going to this film is much like going to Broadway, everyone on stage is loaded with the ability to sing, dance and act, and right behind them are the understudies that can take over on a moments notice, and then all the other shows populated by great talent as well. The players that headline this film are without exception excellent, and two that you may have heard less about, but are every bit of deserving of your attentions are, Queen Latifah as Matron Mama Morton, and a performance I was totally amazed by, that showcased John C Reilly as Amos Hart. When he solos as Mr. Cellophane Man he is remarkable. The film's opening by Catherine Zeta Jones will pin you to your seat, and if the last time you saw Renee Zellweger was in, "Bridget Jones's Diary", as I had, she will leave you stunned, and I never knew Richard Gere could pull off a song and dance performance as he does here. I hope, "Chicago", prods Hollywood in to putting more musicals back in the theaters. I hope they do it selectively and keep the caliber of the product high. In an industry that rushes in with 10 versions of the flavor of the moment I imagine this is too much too hope for, but the musical belongs on the screen as well as the stage, and now that two films have demonstrated that the public wants musicals as part of their theater experience, I hope Hollywood listens. This is a great way to spend 1 hour and 40 minutes viewing pure entertainment.
Rating:
Summary: Yea! Someone Can Make A Movie Musical Keep Moving!
Review: What makes most movie musicals uninteresting to "average" movie goers is that they move too slowly, milking emotional moments into eons....Not so here. The original play features nary an emotionally worthy character; they're all some version of a shabbychicago gangland stereotype. Thus, all is fair in developing a fast-moving, mostly lightly sardonic look at three main characters. You're not going to waste any actual feelings for these characters, so you have a lot of space to revel in the brilliant sensuality of the dancing/singing character development. Please pay no attention to anyone who would suggest that there is insufficient substance; apparently we are being given permission to check our musical story expectations at the door and to wallow in craft so crafty that it's hard to miss what's missing.
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