Miscellaneous Movie Musings

[Babette]

Originally Posted by LSPoorEeyorick

When is it coming here? When is it coming HEEEEEEEERRRRREEE? (Can't wait.)

National tour is in production and is supposed to start in San Francisco in Fall 2008.

Originally Posted by innerSpaceman

Well, turns out I was unimpressed by the original cast recording. I liked only a 2 or 3 of the songs. Worse, listening to the songs did not convey the story to me one iota, which I find a failing in musical theater. They didn't even really convey much about the characters to me, but that perhaps is dependant on the theatrical context I didn't have.


Also, I'm not a prude ... but the constant use of swear words bothered me. They seemed to me to be an overcompensation attempt at modernity for a tale that takes place in the 19th century. I thought that choice was stupid. Not offensive, just stupid.


I had to go to Wikipedia to get a plot synopsis so I could have some context for the songs, and the plot is a collection of sophomoric soap opera staples.


If it were not for Babette's high praise and recommendation, I would write Spring Awakening off completely.

To be honest I had trouble getting into the soundtrack until I actually saw the show. Their cast recording performances were when it was all new and I think they have way more passion and character in the live performance (of course, as expected). Putting the songs into the context of the storyline really made a difference as well. I only hope that once it makes it to SoCal, the touring actors can live up to the original cast's performances.

As for the soundtrack, I didn't see why they needed the swearing either until I saw it. #15 Totally F**cked is the expression of how one feels when caught with no way out of a tough situation. #4 B*tch of Living is frustrated teen boys dealing with shame and confusion over masterbation. In addition to these two, my favorite songs are: #5 My Junk, #12 Don't Do Sadness/Blue Wind, #19 The Song of Purple Summer.

The plot lines are similiar to modern day soap opera themes, but the story is an 1890s German play. They added music in a rock opera style to show us the inner thoughts of the characters. Watch a video here and here. Ok, I'll shut up now.

I know you've already seen the Bitch video, but just wait ... you'll see.

[LSPoorEeyorick]

Zoe. No question.

I love Serenity! God bless Joss Whedon. I can't wait for him to get off his duff and give us something else.

[alphabassettgrrl]

Sure Kaylee's cute, but then Zoe looks at you with challenge in her eyes...

And Anara's another matter entirely. The only woman who gets to bathe in space. I bet she smells fantastic.

[Gemini Cricket]

Originally Posted by alphabassettgrrl

Sure Kaylee's cute, but then Zoe looks at you with challenge in her eyes...

And Anara's another matter entirely. The only woman who gets to bathe in space. I bet she smells fantastic.

Hey, I just snapped out of it. I would love to be in a Wash, Jane, hot doctor and Captain sandwich!

[innerSpaceman]

Ok, I'll keep an open mind.





Oh, and definitely Zoe.

[Prudence]

I saw Stardust tonight. Now, granted it's not a great movie in the "quality cinema" sense. And yes, Claire Danes acts like she's on stage, not film. (And has a much larger nose than I remembered, but that's beside the point.) And there were a few moments of anachronism that bugged me. And Sienna Miller looked like she was about 45.

Still, I confess that I enjoyed it. I'm a huge sucker for fairy tales. Huge. I was prepared to hate this movie and pass the time thinking about how I would have done it better. Instead, I got sucked in, big ol' fairy tale sap that I am.

It had all the important elements - royalty, magic, a land just beyond our own, destiny, the love story developing between characters who start out fighting, and - very important - the young hero who magically becomes hotter with longer hair, frock coat, and sword.

I'm feeling all swoony now, and it's only partly due to the post-movie port.

[Babette]

High School Musical #1 on Disney Channel as I type! Get'cha head in the game! Can someone tell me how HSM2 already won an award? I caught 30 seconds of Teen Choice Awards tonight when they won. Ummm, it has only been out a week!

[innerSpaceman]

OMG, Zac's so young ... he's almost not even my type anymore!

[RStar]

I thought Stardust was pretty good also. A great fun ride, a huge fairytale show with just enough special effects and originality to make it "new". And the music almost made it epic. I enjoyed just about every minute of it.

Still, there was something about it that almost said "Made for TV" to me. Not sure what it was, perhaps it had that Hallmark sappy quality or something.

Spoiler:

And Robert De Niro was great as a cross-dressing gay pirate captain! Hilarious!

[innerSpaceman]

Well, I didn't end up seeing Stardust over the weekend. Next stop, Netflix. Sorry, Stardust.


Thanks for the heads-up on HSM, Babette. As GC said, it does indeed have a much better message than the sequel. So even with much worse choreography and Zac not having the services of his personal trainer yet, I liked it waaaay better than High School Musical 2.


I think the message for school age kids to live outside your peer-pressure box is hugely valuable. If you like to bake or sing or hip-hop dance, do it!


It was a much less generic moral than the sequel's cliche of don't-let-your-bigheadedness-ruin-your-friendships. Snore. So what if Zac was hotter in the second one?



(And, yeah, GC, his Dad was HOT in the original. Did they change dads or something??)