Musical

Cute, but not exactly Pitch Perfect

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Pitch Perfect
  • IMDB: link

“I don’t have a girlfriend.”
“But you have fruit punch and Rocky!”

pitch-perfect-posterCashing in on the success of Glee, Pitch Perfect takes viewers on the wacky ride of competitive a capella competition. Based on the book by Mickey Rapkin which examined the real-life underground subculture of competitive collegiate a cappella groups at three separate universities, Pitch Perfect desperately wants a to be a celebratory parody for college choirs in the same way Bring It On was for cheerleading. Sadly, nowhere near as clever, Pitch Perfect plays much more like one of Bring It On‘s straight-to-video sequels.

Anna Kendrick stars as Beca, a disgruntled college freshman whose father (John Benjamin Hickey), a professor at the university, is forcing her to get an education (what a dick, right?) when all she wants to do is head to New York and begin a career as a DJ. Making a deal to give college life a try, Beca begins working at the college radio station and is pressured into signing up for The Barden Bellas, an all female singing group, by an upperclassman (Brittany Snow) who hears Beca singing in the shower (and jumps in to sing along with her in one of the film’s more awkward scenes).

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Guilty Pleasure – The Pirate Movie

/ / Home Video
  • Title: The Pirate Movie
  • IMDb: link

pirate-movie-dvd

Loosely based on Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance, 1982’s The Pirate Movie starred Kristy McNichol as mousey young Mabel lost in a dream of swashbuckling, and singing, pirates. After an accident leaves her thrown overboard and washed up on a beach, Mabel’s imagination creates a fantasy world casting herself as the youngest daughter of a Major-General (Bill Kerr) who falls for a young pirate named Frederic (Christopher Atkins) adamant on leaving his service of the Pirate King (Ted Hamilton) to start a new life.

The plot, which involves Fredric’s attempt to leave his old life behind while trying to stay true to his word and duty, is secondary to how insanely everything is played including some memorable music numbers such as “Pumpin’ and Blowin'” (you can find the video below). I’ll be honest, the film doesn’t work as well for me as it did when I was seven years-old, but it still provides enough enjoyment for me to classify it as a guilty pleasure.

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Rock of Ages

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Rock of Ages
  • IMDB: link

 

 

rock-of-ages-posterBrought from Broadway to the silver screen by director Adam Shankman and screenwriters Justin Theroux, Chris D’Arienzo, and Allan Loeb, Rock of Ages is a celebration of classic 1980’s rock that gives us the story of a small town girl (Julianne Hough) and a city boy raised in south Detroit (Diego Boneta) whose paths cross in a famous Hollywood bar on the Sunset Strip known as The Bourbon Room.

Adapted from the Broadway musical of the same name, the film makes both big and small changes in regards to both characters and music.

For two-hours the script weaves Drew (Boneta) and Sherrie (Hough), and countless supporting characters, through a story built on the back of several 80’s hits from the likes of Journey, Foreigner, Pat Benatar, Bon Jovi,  Whitesnake, Def Leppard, Night Ranger, Warrant, Poison, Guns N’ Roses, Twisted Sister, and REO Speedwagon which the characters not only perform, but live.

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A World of Pure Imagination

/ / Home Video
  • Title: Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
  • IMDb: link

Willy Wonka

Years ago Willy Wonka (Gene Wilder), the world’s foremost creator of chocolate treats, closed his factory to the public to prevent people from stealing the secrets of his candy making. Out of nowhere the reclusive inventor ships five hidden golden tickets hidden in Wonka bars. Whoever finds a ticket will be allowed to enter the Wonka factory.

The five children include Augustus Gloop (Michael Bollner) who never saw a snack he didn’t eat, Violet Beauregarde (Denise Nickerson), spoiled rich girl Veruca Salt (Julie Dawn Cole), and television obsessed Mike Teevee (Paris Themmen). The fifth ticket is found by Charlie Bucket (Peter Ostrum) who lives in the slums just blocks away from the fatory with his mother (Diana Sowle) and his bedridden grandparents: Grandpa Joe (Jack Albertson), Grandma Georgina (Dora Altmann), Grandma Josephine (Franziska Liebing) and Grandpa George (Ernst Ziegler). Charlie and Grandpa Joe join the others for the tour of the factory led by Willy Wonka himself. Inside they find wonders that they could not even imagine.

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Country Strong

/ / Home Video
  • Title: Country Strong
  • IMDB: link

“Was [Townes Van Zandt] famous?”
“In some circles. But not as famous as Carrie Underwood.”

Coming out of rehab (again) country music star Kelly Canter (Gwyneth Paltrow) hits the road with her manager and husband (Tim McGraw), and two young aspiring stars (Garrett Hedlund, Leighton Meester) on a comeback tour.

The film’s running time is under two hours but it feels much longer as the characters and plot struggle to make their way to the story’s climactic performance in Dallas.

The performances are solid, but nothing special. The music is more country pop than country, and both Paltrow and Meester are adequate at performing them. However, neither the songs nor the performances will make you buy the soundtrack. And the story itself, aside from the ending (which serves up a very questionable message), is all to predictable.

Although the version I viewed contained no extras (not even the trailer was included), some version do include deleted scenes, the film’s original ending, an extended musical performance, and cast and crew featurettes.

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