It’s strange. Even with the involvement of the ever charming Tom Hanks as the director and writer, and a film that features him as a prominent supporting character amidst a slew of up and coming young stars (including Charlize Theron), “That Thing You Do!” is still just an average movie. It’s simply nineties mediocrity. It’s never a remarkable musical comedy, nor is it abysmal. It’s merely a movie you watch and never plan to re-visit again unless you’re absolutely bored.
When I was a kid, “Moonwalker” was on constant rotation on our VCR and for ninety minutes, it kept me and my brother quiet and out of my mom’s hair. As brothers prone to fighting and bickering, movies are what usually kept us shut, especially since we couldn’t even afford basic cable back then. Around the time “Moonwalker” came to VHS, we knew perfectly clear that the movie itself was nothing but a promotional tool for Michael Jackson.
Back then, Jackson ruled the world and was considered the most iconic person on the face of the Earth. He was pretty much a God, so we didn’t care that the VHS was just nothing but a commercial for Jackson’s incredible abilities, we just wanted Michael Jackson. Pretty much in the same way we didn’t care “Kriss Kross: Jump” or “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Making of the Coming Out of Their Shells Tour” were just tapes intent on promoting a product, we didn’t care” Moonwalker” was just for Michael Jackson’s publicity team. It was our fix of the popular Jackson, and we loved it.
When I was a kid one of my favorite movies on constant rotation was “Grease.” It’s still one of the most entertaining movies I’ve ever seen, and downright spectacular adaptation of one of the most interesting stage musicals ever introduced to audiences. Upon discovering there was a “Grease 2,” I was ecstatic. Another chapter to one of the most bad ass movies ever made? It’s too good to be true. It was during the middle of the opening number to “Grease 2” that my excitement dropped down to an immediate disappointment and I struggled through what is easily one of the cheapest and worst sequels ever devised.
Director Travis Betz, if anything, tries for originality and for the most part achieves it. Though “Lo” strives for simplicity and a downbeat nature, it’s a rather spectacular feat to comprise an entire film and story, as well as a horrific world, around one setting and one room only. Comprised very much like a stage play, “Lo” begins as a creepy trip in to the supernatural, and ends as a tragic love tale. “Lo” is about a man who simply can’t let his loved one go, and the trip he takes to ensure that he can re-claim the one he lost a long time ago.
Sadly, I’ve never been to the iconic musical of “Les Miserables,” nor have I ever seen any of the previous adaptations of the Victor Hugo novel. I’ve also never read the novel. In actuality the most I’ve ever seen or known about “Les Miserables” is through an episode of “Animaniacs” where a condensed version of the musical was adapted through animated cats and dogs. When you’re through laughing at me, I like to think that not being knowledgeable about the material gives me somewhat of a different perspective. I’ve seen fans of the musical bash the film for missing the point, and vice versa. As for my thoughts on Tom Hooper’s 2012 adaptation, director Tom Hooper’s adaptation of Victor Hugo’s novel is an often breathtaking and compelling bit of epic musical that kept me considerably compelled and entertained from the moment it began.
Ticket-Keeper: A rebel in hell–how original.
Apparently Darren Lynn Bousman’s “Repo! The Genetic Opera” has not only become a massive cult classic, but it’s rising to the status of “Rocky Horror Picture Show” where fans swarm in droves to pay homage to the punk rock horror musical engineered by the director. While its initial release was piss poor, that never means it’s the death of an actual film. Quality always rises above horrible marketing and advertising. While “Repo!” was an entertaining enough horror treat, director Darren Lynn Bousman follows up his hit musical with a quasi-sequel of a sorts. While it’s not a direct continuation of “Repo!” it definitely garners the spirit of the former film, and even casts some actors from “Repo!” including Paul Sorvino, Bill Mosely, and Alex Vega in an especially saucy role as the demonic Wick.
There’s a real under current of sadness and tragedy behind Rob Reiner’s “This is Spinal Tap.” As character Marty DiBergi, a commercial director looking to break in to film, Reiner stands back and films Spinal Tap, a group that is literally running against the clock to make some impact on music. Granted, the threesome of inept rock stars love music to death, but the sad fact is in all the years they’ve made music, they haven’t influenced anyone, nor have they managed to become legends like the Beatles or Led Zeppelin. Since music is an ever evolving and fickle medium, Spinal Tap has spent many decades trying to roll with the changing demand for different music and have literally lost all sense of their own identity. They produce massive presentations during concerts about druids and gothic cocoons, neither of which they have any interest in, and during desperate attempts to seem chic, they fail spectacularly.