Last night I had a chance to take in Hugh Jackman’s passion project, The Greatest Showman, a musical based on the life of P.T. Barnum, as well as his famed circus. Jackman plays the titular character and easily slips back into his song and dance roots. Joining him on-screen is Michelle Williams, as Barnum’s wife,…
Tag: music
Forrest Gump (1994) – Robert Zemeckis
The final recommendation from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film following my screening of Apocalypse Now is Forrest Gump, Robert Zemeckis’ incredibly powerful, entertaining and Oscar winning film. While the film is not predominantly about Vietnam, the war sequences are very intense and well-crafted. The story, featuring an Tom Hanks in the titular…
South Park: The Complete Third Season
The fun, comedy, and sheer insanity of what is South Park Season Three blazed across my screen this week, as I delved into The Complete Third Season of the Comedy Central show available now on blu-ray from Paramount Pictures. Over the course of seventeen episodes the small Colorado town of South Park is explored through…
Doctor Who (Matt Smith) – The God Complex, and Closing Time
The Doctor (Smith), Amy (Karen Gillan) and Rory (Arthur Darvill) find themselves in a spooky hotel when the TARDIS lands in this week’s episode… The God Complex. Written by Toby Whithouse, this occasionally scary episode first aired on 17 September, 2011. It seems the hotel that the Time Lord and his Companions are stuck in,…
The Magnificent Seven (1960) – John Sturges
That music, that cast… It’s no wonder that Sturges’ Americanisation of Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai is one of my all time favourite westerns, and the first recommendation from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book following my screening of The Wild Bunch. Elmer Bernstein’s rousing and memorable score supports Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen, Eli…
Fantasia (1940) – James Algar, Samuel Armstrong, Ford Beebe jr., Norman Ferguson, David Hand, Jim Handley, T. Hee, Wilfred Jackson, Hamilton Luske, Bill Roberts, Paul Satterfield, and Ben Sharpsteen
After Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Disney’s Fantasia, from 1940, was quite possibly the studio’s riskiest and definitely their most experimental film. Before 1938, the idea of animated feature was unheard of. The thought that a story could be created, and cartoon characters could be involving enough to carry an entire full length film…
Billy Elliot (2000) – Stephen Daldry
The final recommendation from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book for my viewing of West Side Story isn’t necessarily a musical, but it definitely shares the same love of dance. Billy Elliot, which has since inspired a stage musical perfectly captures joy in dance and simultaneously juxtaposes the ordinary events of day…
Evita (1996) – Alan Parker
Let’s face it, they can’t all be winners. I’m enjoying the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book, and have always enjoyed a good musical. Unfortunately, this one, Evita, a recommendation following my screening of West Side Story just couldn’t hold my attention. A theatrical adaptation of the long running stage musical featuring music…
Toronto After Dark 2017: Rabbit – Luke Shanahan
The Australian film, Rabbit from writer/director Luke Shanahan has it’s Canadian premiere tonight at Scotiabank Theatre for the Toronto After Dark film festival. The film, a slow burn character drama that messes with your mind, stars Adelaide Clemens as Maude, an identical twin who believes that her twin, Cleo, who has been missing for over…
Aladdin (1992) – Ron Clements and John Musker
The next recommendation from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book following my screening of The Lion King, is yet another modern Disney classic, and once again like Beauty and the Beast and The Little Mermaid features music by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman. Featuring a wonderfully manic performance by Robin Williams as…
The Mind Reels 