Post by ~Crystal~ on Sept 22, 2008 16:54:17 GMT -5
Along with books, I carry a deep love for movies. I love to write reviews of them for another website I frequent so I thought I'd share some views here on some films I've recently seen.
Mamma Mia! (2008)
With her wedding approaching, Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) wants nothing more than to have her dad walk her down the aisle. Unfortunately she doesn't know who he is. To complicate things further, a peek through her mother Donna's (Meryl Streep) diary reveals that there are 3 possible candidates. So to make her dream come true, she invites all three to the Greek island where she lives. But who is her dad - free spirited Bill (Stellan Skarsgard), English gentleman Harry (Colin Firth) or Donna's former true love Sam (Pierce Brosnan)?
I love musicals. I always have. Mamma Mia is one of the only West End shows I've seen on stage so I couldn't wait to see it on the screen, with such an excellent cast. One of the difficulties with moving a show from the stage to the screen is keeping the spirit alive. Mamma Mia does this well. It has this really infectious energy. You feel so happy when you're watching the film, the combination of beautiful Greek setting, sing-along ABBA songs and fairytale story is enough to cheer up the saddest of people.
ABBA are one of my favourite bands, they hold a lot of great memories for me. Each song in the film fits the moment and the cast give it their all. It isn't always the perfect voice though. Some of the actors have trouble holding the tune, notably Pierce Brosnan. He is painfully bad. There's an ironic scene where he mentions bagpipes and Meryl Streep says they're good for warding off unwanted visitors. His voice is good enough to do that! 10 out of 10 for effort though. Skarsgard and Firth are a little better. All three men are game for anything (as witnessed in the encore ending) and have great fun with their roles. Everybody actually looks like they're having the most fun ever. It's wonderfully contagious happiness. The best voice voice out of the cast and the star of the show is the completely luminous Amanda Seyfried. Most famous for being the stupidest Mean Girl, Amanda is a complete ray of sunshine. She's naturally beautiful, full of charm and has a lovely voice. Someone I know described her as Little Miss Sunshine which is pretty apt. Expect more from this lady in the future. It also helps that she looks rather similar to Meryl Streep. Streep is known as the best actress of her generation and it's fab to see her letting it all loose and having fun. She's the perfect worn down and panicking single mum. Her voice is so natural. It's not perfect and she had trouble with some bits (ABBA is harder to sing than people give it credit for) but she is so emotive. When she sings The Winner Takes It All, you can see and sense every ounce of love, regret and sadness that Donna is going through. Some critics have cruelly dubbed this her worst ever performance but it's far from it. She's a consistently excellent actress and always will be. Christine Brasinski and Julie Walters provide ample support and comedy relief as the bonkers aunts refusing to grow up. Dominic Cooper is solid but nothing spectacular as Sky, the fiancee. Part of me feels he was only there for the 20 something viewers to have some young eye candy. The cast weren't hired for their voices, they were hired for their acting and their energy. I'd always pick that over a trained but cold voice. The one little thing hat bugs me is that many of the actors seem to feel the need to act out each lyric and it's a little childish and unnecessary.
I know that many people hate musicals. I noticed the severe lack of men in the cinema. This won't win over any new viewers, this is for the lovers of ABBA, musicals and camp joy. The script is cheesy, weak and predictable but it's not supposed to be a challenge for the mind. It's a happy-ever-after tale with soap opera elements and a lot of girly laughs. My auntie described the film as a hen night party on celluoid which is perfect. It's something you'd watch with your friends before going out to enjoy yourself. Froth of the highest order and it's happy about that! Cynical sorts need to stay away!
8/10 (take away 4 marks if you hate musicals.)
Mamma Mia! (2008)
With her wedding approaching, Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) wants nothing more than to have her dad walk her down the aisle. Unfortunately she doesn't know who he is. To complicate things further, a peek through her mother Donna's (Meryl Streep) diary reveals that there are 3 possible candidates. So to make her dream come true, she invites all three to the Greek island where she lives. But who is her dad - free spirited Bill (Stellan Skarsgard), English gentleman Harry (Colin Firth) or Donna's former true love Sam (Pierce Brosnan)?
I love musicals. I always have. Mamma Mia is one of the only West End shows I've seen on stage so I couldn't wait to see it on the screen, with such an excellent cast. One of the difficulties with moving a show from the stage to the screen is keeping the spirit alive. Mamma Mia does this well. It has this really infectious energy. You feel so happy when you're watching the film, the combination of beautiful Greek setting, sing-along ABBA songs and fairytale story is enough to cheer up the saddest of people.
ABBA are one of my favourite bands, they hold a lot of great memories for me. Each song in the film fits the moment and the cast give it their all. It isn't always the perfect voice though. Some of the actors have trouble holding the tune, notably Pierce Brosnan. He is painfully bad. There's an ironic scene where he mentions bagpipes and Meryl Streep says they're good for warding off unwanted visitors. His voice is good enough to do that! 10 out of 10 for effort though. Skarsgard and Firth are a little better. All three men are game for anything (as witnessed in the encore ending) and have great fun with their roles. Everybody actually looks like they're having the most fun ever. It's wonderfully contagious happiness. The best voice voice out of the cast and the star of the show is the completely luminous Amanda Seyfried. Most famous for being the stupidest Mean Girl, Amanda is a complete ray of sunshine. She's naturally beautiful, full of charm and has a lovely voice. Someone I know described her as Little Miss Sunshine which is pretty apt. Expect more from this lady in the future. It also helps that she looks rather similar to Meryl Streep. Streep is known as the best actress of her generation and it's fab to see her letting it all loose and having fun. She's the perfect worn down and panicking single mum. Her voice is so natural. It's not perfect and she had trouble with some bits (ABBA is harder to sing than people give it credit for) but she is so emotive. When she sings The Winner Takes It All, you can see and sense every ounce of love, regret and sadness that Donna is going through. Some critics have cruelly dubbed this her worst ever performance but it's far from it. She's a consistently excellent actress and always will be. Christine Brasinski and Julie Walters provide ample support and comedy relief as the bonkers aunts refusing to grow up. Dominic Cooper is solid but nothing spectacular as Sky, the fiancee. Part of me feels he was only there for the 20 something viewers to have some young eye candy. The cast weren't hired for their voices, they were hired for their acting and their energy. I'd always pick that over a trained but cold voice. The one little thing hat bugs me is that many of the actors seem to feel the need to act out each lyric and it's a little childish and unnecessary.
I know that many people hate musicals. I noticed the severe lack of men in the cinema. This won't win over any new viewers, this is for the lovers of ABBA, musicals and camp joy. The script is cheesy, weak and predictable but it's not supposed to be a challenge for the mind. It's a happy-ever-after tale with soap opera elements and a lot of girly laughs. My auntie described the film as a hen night party on celluoid which is perfect. It's something you'd watch with your friends before going out to enjoy yourself. Froth of the highest order and it's happy about that! Cynical sorts need to stay away!
8/10 (take away 4 marks if you hate musicals.)
