Just saw "Chicago"

[Imran Siddiqui]

What a flick .

Great movie. Now I haven't seen 'The Gangs of New York' but 'Chicago' is definetly worthy of an Academy Award. I totally enjoyed it. Great acting and singing by Richard Gere, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Renee Zellweger, and Queen Latifah (believe it or not ).

Very worthy choice for the award.

[monolith94]

I agree. The use of lighting alone is revolutionary.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Who cares about the lighting... the musical numbers were great! Especially the one with all the women signing they were innocent and the one where Gere was the puppet master.

[self biased]

eh. from what i saw, it was nothing to the broadway production i saw. Catherine Zeta-Jones? nah. i'll take Bebe Neuworth (most noted for her role as lilith on cheers) any day of the week as Velma.

i do have to give props to gere. better tapdancers have worn those shoes, and he filled them nicely.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Bah... taking ANYONE over Catherine Zeta-Jones in anything is folly .

[Asher]

Am I the only one left in the world that cringes when people break out singing and dancing in movies?

[Imran Siddiqui]

Yes.

Some of the best movies in recent years have been musicals.... 'Chicago', 'South Park: Bigger, Longer, Uncut' .

[self biased]

you obviously haven't seen the stage show. it would have been great when i went to see it, 'cause we got there early and i was flirting with one of the dancers. she seemed interested too, but then my GF had to show up and spoil my fun.

[Asher]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
Yes.

Some of the best movies in recent years have been musicals.... 'Chicago', 'South Park: Bigger, Longer, Uncut' .

You have interesting tastes in movies.

I couldn't stand Mary Poppins, I couldn't stand Bednobs and Broomsticks, and even the commercials for Chicago had me laughing.

[Imran Siddiqui]

you obviously haven't seen the stage show.

All I know is that I've seen Catherine Zeta-Jones and I've seen Bebe Neuworth. Give me CZJ .

[Imran Siddiqui]

I couldn't stand Mary Poppins, I couldn't stand Bednobs and Broomsticks

Because Mary Poppins and Bednobs and Broomsticks represent the modern musical movie so very well

[Asher]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
Because Mary Poppins and Bednobs and Broomsticks represent the modern musical movie so very well

It's still singing and dancing and general silliness.

/me twirls around a pole swinging a cane in a top hat, "He must die!"
Crowd: "He must die!"
Me: "Die!"
Crowd :"Die!"
Me: "Diiiieeeee, heeeeeeeee musssssssssst dieeeeeeeeeeee" (fluctuating)
/me tosses a cane in the air, having it land perfectly in his hand without looking, and opens up his arms and bows.

[Imran Siddiqui]

It's still singing and dancing and general silliness.

And what is wrong with singing and dancing? There is absolutely nothing wrong, of course, with general sillyness. It works well for plenty of movies: Big Lebowski, Monty Python's Quest for the Holy Grail, Monty Python's Life of Brian (hell, Monty Python ANYTHING), etc.

[Mordoch]

Originally posted by Asher
Am I the only one left in the world that cringes when people break out singing and dancing in movies?

Actually, an interesting aspect of Chicago is that in a sense all the dancing scenes were quite justified. You had the rest of the movie, representing what was actually happening, and the scenes involving singing and dancing representing how Renee Zellweger's charactor is imagining and interpreting things in her mind. Since she had previously worked in productions as one of the dancing extras in musicals, she tended to see things in those terms. There were only two musical scenes not simply existing in the charactor's mind and those scenes actually made sense and related to the plot. You could actually say that Chicago is a musical in which all the musical scenes actually make sense.

[FrustratedPoet]

Originally posted by Asher
Am I the only one left in the world that cringes when people break out singing and dancing in movies?

No you're not. I hate it too.