Following from my earlier post and all of the excitement that had been building up inside me, I finally got chance to see FAME 2009, and I have to say that I absolutely loved it!!
My initial reaction (as posted on twitter) was:
LOVED IT! LOVED IT! LOVED IT! LOVED IT LOVED IT! LOVED IT! few minor flaws, LOVED IT! LOVED IT!
Yes, I do have a few criticisms (notably the lack of depth to the characters; and the fact that I was only able to connect with two of them (I remember no character names!); plus the film is only 100 minutes long – so they realistically had room to character develop, but (scandalously!) didn’t!), however I do think that these minor flaws can be overlooked when taking the movie in as a whole.
For those seeking the more true-to-life grit of trying to get by in New York as a drama student, the original movie will still be your best bet, and will certainly still hold up against this, though I think comparison against the original (on which this is fairy loosely based) does work against the remake, fueling the negative reviews. I also wouldn’t have objected too much if they’d pushed the PG rating boundary up to a 12 or even a 15 however, and not gone for the mass teen market.
All in all though, a very fun film, with some amazing dance routines – I had chills come the last number (Hold Your Dreams)!
For anyone interested in the soundtrack to the movie, here is a YouTube clip (that I have not created) that gives a flavour of the music used in the film.
Definitely well worth the wait and my building excitement over many months. For those who saw my original post, yes, I still found it a zillion times better than anyone has ever told the story before!
Previously, I blogged about the trailer that was released for ‘This Is It’, the Michael Jackson documentary/film that is coming out on October 28th.
(I recommend watching the trailer in full screen HD – awesome!)
Following on from seeing the trailer, a few friends and I decided that we simply had to go see this, so I stayed up until midnight Sunday to book on a local cinema’s website.
Booked us in for a cinema in Greenwich, London, which is just outside the O2 Arena – kinda apt really! The showing that we’re booked into will be on the first evening and is on an IMAX screen with ’superior digital sound’, plus we have Premier class seating – woo – the only way to see this, I’m sure!
As an aside, I really disliked the confusion that surrounded the release of the tickets for the movie – it caused me no end of headaches, and I don’t see why cinemas couldn’t have been allowed to have announced listings the day before, for example. Plus, several cinemas had tickets onsale on Saturday afternoon (wrong 12:01 I guess!) and all had tickets on at 23:55!
Hopefully ‘This Is It’ will live up to the hype, for now I remain most excited!!
I’ve been a fan of it for years and, in light of today’s news on the sad passing of Patrick Swayze, I have suddenly re-remembered it and intend to dig out my old VHS copy to watch as soon as I can.
Although, for me, Swayze’s defining role will always be Sam in “Ghost” (I really disliked Dirty Dancing, though do like his song ‘She’s Like The Wind’), I would rate this as my second favourite piece of his work (and lets face it, compared to Ghost, second is not a ‘losing’ place!).
Below is a YouTube clip showing what someone has termed the ‘funniest’ bits of To Wong Foo…
For anyone who has not yet seen it, I’d recommend – dare I say it, but I actually prefer this film to Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert!
I have previously posted on the 2009 movie here, but HAD to share the new version/video for the titular ‘Fame’ on my blog, as I absolutely love it!
Of course, it’s not the original (and amazing/iconic) Irene Cara track, and I like how they’ve moved away from it slightly in the new stylings on the song – it’s gutsy, punchy and has me chair dancing already!
Did you know that I AM VERY EXCITED ABOUT FAME 2009!!!!!! ?
I am going to go out on a limb here and say that, despite my adulation for musicals, I absolutely abhored ‘original’ Fame. Having seen the film and various musical theatre productions of it, it has never grabbed me, and I would never have chosen to sit down and watch any version of it if I’m honest.
Saying that, I fully do appreciate what Fame did for the genre back in the day and would still say that it was pretty ground-breaking stuff, it is just not to my taste is all.
And remake or no remake, nobody will ever beat Irene Cara’s title song for the original film and the NY street sequence, and I really do hope that the new film doesn’t try and immitate that scene. (I also wonder if there is anyone alive who can actually say ‘Fame’ and not sing it 80s style heh!)
Cue the Fame 2009 re-invention, and, perhaps surprisingly, my building excitement for the film!
NB – Please have a look at my later blog post for the new official video for the song ‘Fame’ – it’s pretty awesome and everything that I had hoped it would be!
They seem to have dragged the story and themes explored right up to date, and made a ‘grown-up’ High School Musical’-esque film – hurrah!
“A reinvention of the Oscar-winning hit film, Fame follows a group of actors, singers, dancers and artists over four years at the New York City High School of Performing Arts, a diverse, creative powerhouse where students from all walks of life are given a chance to live out their dreams and achieve real and lasting fame…the kind that only from talent, dedication and hard work.
“In an incredibly competitive atmosphere, plagued by self-doubt, each student’s passion will be put to the test. In addition to their artistic goals, they have to deal with everything that goes along with high school, a tumultuous time full of schoolwork, deep friendships, budding romance and self-discovery.
“As each student strives for his or her moment in the spotlight, they’ll discover who among them has the innate talent and necessary discipline to succeed. With the love and support of their friends and fellow artists, they’ll find out who amongst them will achieve fame.“
Fame 2009 is due to his cinema screens worldwide on 25th September 2009.
I am also pleased to report that the film also has some totty courtesy of Paul McGill and Asher Book:
‘Ponyo On The Cliff By The Sea’, the latest film from Hayao Miyazaki / Studio Ghibli, opens in cinemas across the US today (14th August) having already been released in Japan last year.
Plot Synopsis (click this link to see the full plot synopsis from the source website, which does contain spoilers!)
Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea is Miyazaki’s own unique take on Hans Christian Anderson’s tale, “The Little Mermaid”. It tells the story of a young girl fish who defies her father’s wishes and beliefs about the human world to live with the boy she loves. After covertly travelling to the surface by jellyfish, Ponyo becomes stranded near a house on a seaside cliff, where she is found and rescued by a human boy named Sosuke. Sosuke names her Ponyo, and takes her to his school in a bucket, and shows her to the little old ladies who live in the nursing home where his mother, Lisa, works. Imagine Sosuke’s surprise when Ponyo speaks, and tells him that she likes him!
I have to say, given my current love of Studio Ghibli / Miyazaki, I am very jealous that the US are getting this now, whereas we in the UK are going to have to wait until early 2010 to get to see this (potentially February)
That said, I am sure that six months will fly by, so it’s not *all* bad I guess… just slightly disappointing.
The vocal talents that are being used by Disney to dub it into English are an interesting selection… though when I saw that Betty White was on board to voice the character of ‘Noriko’, I have to admit that I did squeal a little bit (everyone loves a bit of Betty, right?)
It’ll be fab to get to see this on a cinema screen when it finally gets over here, so do expect a review in February 2010 (when I’ll be reviewing a two year old film that will have been reviewed zillions of times already! … sorry, still bitter!! )
After watching Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle seemed to be the next logical Studio Ghibli film to watch.
I have to say that I rather liked this film – it certainly was different to what I was expecting, but in a good way. I would go so far as to say that it isn’t particularly comparable with either of the other films that I have mentioned, and would suggest it as a good stand-alone film that provides a good entry level into the more popular Anime films from Studio Ghibli.
I watched the English dubbed version, and loved pretty much every element of it. It was strange to watch Anime in an European setting and without too strong a socio-political message behind it (it was far more subtle and only inferred in this film), but nontheless a very enjoyable way to pass two hours.
I have a few more Anime films that we have nabbed from Greg’s sister for a while, so I am looking forward to watching those in due course.
Oh, and I really want me a Turnip-Head (and a moving castle too) please!!
Yesterday, I sat down to watch Summer Storm (‘Sommersturm’ in Germany where it was made), and I found it to be a marvelous little movie.
Another of the ‘gay’ movies, this film focuses on a group of Germanic folk who are part of a rowing regatta and ultimately turns into a coming out story for the lead character.
Tobi and Achim have been best friends for years. As cox and oarsman, they have helped their team win several rowing cups and are now looking forward to the important regatta in the countryside. As Achim’s relationship with his girlfriend grows more serious, Tobi becomes confused and increasingly left out. As the tension grows, Tobi, Achim and the others head towards a confrontation as fierce and liberating as the summer storm gathering over the lake…
Summer Storm highlights the emotional confusion of young people at the threshold of adulthood. Bolstering the film’s authenticity is the dazzling characterization of Tobi by award-winning young Robert Stadlober (Best Leading Actor at the Montreal Film Festival, 2001).
The film has it’s audio in German, and is subtitled accordingly, however don’t let that put you off watching it. I thought that it was really nice to see a foreign language ‘gay’ film and not another one just churned out of California or Vegas!
As with most films of this genre, some of it is a little OTT (e.g. a rival team being called Queerschlag…. you get the idea), however there is enough outside of that to make it a rather nice and warming film in my opinion.
I like the fact that it is set in what people may consider a typically non-gay environment – out in the woods, with a large group of people who are actively involved in a strenuous form of sporting activity. Most gay films take place in condos by the beach, or in hot sunny places, so an element of ‘real life’ really added to the experience I thought.
By the time the credits were rolling (it is around 98 mins long), I was thoroughly sold on the movie and reckon that it is potentially one of my favourites of the genre. I shall be purchasing it shortly I think – retailers still tend to have a few copies for around £7, though it is getting increasingly difficult to find.
And now, for the totty!!
(NB: all actors featured were in their early 20s when this was filmed! )
My excitement was only exacerbated when I came across the trailer!!
(n.b. – apparently YouTube made the poster place ‘evaluation copy’ over the video – the official Disney copy of the trailer (which is in a much higher resolution too) can be accessed on YouTube by clicking HERE).
OK, so I hold my hands up – when I initially posted the trailer and my thoughts on the then upcoming film, ‘Milk’, I got it completely wrong in terms of the distribution that this film would receive(!)
Nearly twelve months later, and after storming awards ceremonies across the globe, I am very pleased that this film made it to the mainstream after all.
I finally got around to watching it on DVD last night, and I thought that it was amazing. Perhaps the best bio-pic that I’ve ever sat down and watched. Many people of my age will always say it, but it really is hard to imagine that just outside of our generation, we had to fight for the simplest of rights; for example, the right to not to be branded a pervert and banned from becoming a teacher, or even for a heterosexual to support a gay person in their job. Ludicrous. This film really did hammer the story home with a lot more impact than reading the same story in print would have done I feel.
Perhaps being based on a real life person helped for the first, in my opinion, decent portrayal of a gay man on the silver screen. Normally we’re portrayed as psychos, old fat historical figures, or people who are damaged by life. Not Harvey Milk – he’s a man who wants to give us hope and will fight for injustice, and all without the stereotypical character flaws that are usually given to gay men in the movies. I found his characterisation to be endearing, and I finished the film wanting to know even more about him.
A strong cast and creative team (during the credits I ‘mmm’d’ my approval several times), really have helped to make this a remarkable movie and I found it truly compelling to watch. I really liked the occasional mixture of archive footage from the time being blended in with the newly recorded scenes. I think that it’s a film that I can actually take something out of, and I think that the Harvey Milk’s of the World definitely need much more recognition.
A marvellous film; if you have not yet had chance to see it, I urge you to.
As an aside, I’ve just been looking online at buying the DVD and find it a little strange to see that they give away the ending on the front cover?! What’s that about? Obviously, we all know that he was tragically gunned down and that the film isn’t going to end happily. However, the film is engineered in a way that, if you do not know the story, you start to panic when he’s on the stage at the parade, and then you calm down towards the end and ultimately get taken by surprise… so why ruin the ’surprise’, if you like, by having a picture of the shooting to ’sex-up’ the cover?! TSK!
