The energetic but overlong In the Heights is a contemporary urban musical with a New York street setting and Hispanic cultural context that evokes West Side Story as well as social and politically themed hip hop extravaganzas like Hamilton. The film is in fact an adaptation of a successful stage musical from Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda and playwright Quiara Alegría
Read moreWhen the trailer for Tom Hooper’s cinematic version of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Cats hit the internet a few months ago it’s images of venerable actors like Judy Dench prancing around in furry-faced cat costumes were met with a torrent of ridicule. Sometimes trailers can be deceiving and in the broader context of the film itself, bizarre and ludicrous
Read moreThe Aladdin story has been the subject of numerous cinema adaptations including the 1940 classic The Thief of Baghdad, the much-loved animated 1992 version with the late Robin Williams and outrageously camp English pantomimes. The latest version, a musical directed by Guy Richie, is elaborate, colourful and energetic but tonally inconsistent and not always as funny or charming as it
Read moreLa La Land is Whiplash director Damien Chazelle’s exhilarating homage to 1950’s musicals and the artists who struggle to make it in the dubious city of dreams that is LA. Superbly crafted from its touching love story to its vibrant cinematography and sprightly musical numbers this is a cinematic experiment that works from beginning to end. Chazelle’s triumph is his
Read moreClint Eastwood probably wouldn’t be the first director to come to mind when thinking of someone to adapt to the big screen the hit stage musical about Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, Jersey Boys. Then again, few would have expected him to make a film about the South African rugby team as he did with Invictus. Like any director,
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