NINE

Just got home from seeing this film.... been waiting for NINE with bated breath ever since I so the first PREVIEWS a few months back.... what a cast and helmed by the same director of CHICAGO -- so right away one has HIGH HOPES... not to mention, the fact that I had seen the play many years ago with Mr Antonio Banderas in it and loved it... so am a bit familiar with the songs....

okay, i think you all know where am going with this one... Yes, I was a bit disappointed.... not that it is BAD... it was NOT... actually the production numbers are pretty good... the actors - every single one of them did well with their parts and musical numbers.... most exceptional for me is Penelope Cruz... I did not even know she could dance and sing -- another well deserved Oscar Nomination,as her part was much more developed and explored -- and she did it all oh-so-seductively!.... Fergie in her little role still stood out... truly a belter!!! and Kate Hudson's number was KICKY FUN... was also a TREAT to see Sophia Loren up in the big screen.... and what can one say about Daniel Day Lewis and Dame Judi Dench - they are actors ALL THE WAY!!!

Having Nicole Kidman as the director's muse could not have been any more RIGHT on... she is as luminous as ever..... SADLY, and this is one of the biggest DISAPPOINTED for me, her song was cut up by intertwining it with dialogues -- which is a bit annoying through most of the musical numbers.... unlike CHICAGO, one does not get to witness the musical numbers as they should have been - to the fullest... most especially, Nicole's lament to a love that never saw its fruition number... a wonderful, subtle, and emotional ballad - and actually my FAVE song from the musical... by cutting back & forth between the song and the dialogues - it lost it's EMOTIONAL IMPACT....

So, though it was entertaining to see the wonderful cast in the musical... see beautiful parts of Italy.... and see another Broadway Musical get a movie treatment - am afraid the movie, as a whole just did not do it for me... Still, it is always GREAT to see Musical Numbers in the big screen as they are meant to be seen... afterwards, just go on YOU TUBE and watch & enjoy each of the numbers, in full, again and again...

Nicole Kidman's "Unusual Way"

anyone else out there looking forward to seeing the movie adaptation of the Broadway Musical, NINE??? how could you NOT with it's stellar cast: Daniel Day Lewis, Penelope Cruz, Dame Judi Dench, Marion Coitlard, Fergie, Sophia Loren, Kate Hudson, & Nicole Kidman -- some of the finest actresses in the BIZ... singing their hearts out for director, Rob Marshall... same one who helmed the FAB CHICAGO....

am so HAPPY this movie is finally coming out as I have been excited about it since it was announced.... and for the little clips I have been seeing here and there, am sure am going to LOVE it.... and as an added BONUS, Miss Kidman gets to sing my most FAVE song from the movie, the haunting, UNUSUAL WAY (full recording version here), which I think she did well with.... not as dramatic as most of the Broadway stars who have recorded it but I actually liked the simpleness and subtleties of her delivery here.... see Preview below:

NINE Movie Trailer

Finally... somebody listened!!!!

PENELOPE CRUZ Wins An Oscar -- and I could not be HAPPIER!!!
as I blogged about the her movie -- Vicky, Christina, Barcelona -- Hollywood finally got it right, and put Penelope Cruzin a movie that showcases her raw talents, instead of the usual, pretty girlfriend roles -- something that Pedro, Almodovar (check out Volver, where she was nominated for a Best Actress Oscar & All About My Mother) and other foreign directors (see Jamon, Jamon & Abre Sus Ojos), have always known and done so...

Vicky Christina Barcelona : Movie Review

Over the weekend, I finally got to see Woody Allen's latest film - yes, it has just come out here - "Vicky Christina Barcelona" I was dying to see this film because I am a BIIIG FAN of Spanish Actress, Penelope Cruz and I read soooo much POSITIVE reviews, if not RAVES, about her performance here....

At first I was getting antsy as 1) I realized her name is not even one of the title characters names... and 2) almost 3/4 of the film before she actually came out.... But BOY - it was totally worth it... she made the film come alive even more.... her PASSION... her FIRE.... one of the few HOLLYWOOD films that actually knew how to use and showcase her talents.... for the most part, in other films, only her beauty comes through....

This is not to say that Scarlett, Javier and the other actors were not worth watching...everyone was just right on with their portrayals.... and this is one of those WOODY ALLEN films that really HIT all the RIGHT SPOTS... But it IS Penelope's film... she is the LIFE of the whole film - displaying so much raw emotions -- happiness, sorrow, hope, desperation.... an OSCAR, or at least, a nomination - I HOPE!!!

and I MUST say, having set the movie in Barcelona's BEST and most beautiful places was an added BONUS for me... seeing Las Ramblas, Gaudi's Parc Guell, La Sagrada, Barri Gothic, etc... was almost like being there again... and if you did not know any better, one can actually assume one is watching an ALMODOVAR film -- in English....