Showing posts with label musical. Show all posts
Showing posts with label musical. Show all posts

Friday, August 22, 2008

Mama Mia

Mama Mia had been well-liked by others so we went to it with moderately high expectations. Audrey liked it well enough, and made comments like "It was cute..." and "It was a little bit silly, but fun."

Steve and Audrey both agreed that the music was fun to listen to. It was also fun to see Meryl Streep looking happy on-screen and hearing her sing surprisingly well. On the other hand, it was a little shocking to hear how poor was the singing of her co-star, Pierce Brosnon. Another shock was the homeliness of Streeps two sidekicks. They obviously were cast to present the star in a more favorable light by the ineveitable comparisons that occur through close juxtopositioning.

Steve thought that the movie was okay, but not really worth seeing except as a favor to his wife. While the more popular songs were entertaining, there were many obscure songs that will not be familiar to most viewers. It did have the effect of reminding Steve that he should re-watch Across The Universe.

Friday, July 4, 2008

1776

1776 has become a family tradition in our home. It is a musical telling of the story of the drafting and signing of the Declaration of Independence. Each year around July 4th we like to watch the movie and sing along with the clever, compelling, and even educating songs. This year the girls (Courtney and Belle) both watched it more than once. The role of John Adams is played by the actor William Daniels (known for his turse attitude in such roles as Mr Feeney in Boy Meets World, Dr Craig in St Elsewhere, and the voice of the car KITT in Knight Rider). There may be other recognizable actors, but the characters really steal the attention and the songs capture the mood and the story is incredibly compelling. This movie is highly recommended by all in my family.