Wicked: For Good is the follow up and conclusion to last years Wicked. Picking up where the first film leaves off, we are thrown into an authoritarian hellscape that is not unlike our own at the moment. The more I think about it, the more I stand by a thought I had last year: it’s a mistake to split the musical into two movies. That’s … Continue reading Wicked: For Good (2025) Review
One of my all-time favorite films is Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. NO. Not the Tim Burton/Johnny Depp one. That one is called Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.. I’m talking about Gene Wilder in all his screaming glory Willy Wonka. Now, just because I love a film, does not mean that I am blind to any flaws that it may have. Or, in this … Continue reading The Villainy of Grandpa Joe and Willy Wonka
I want to talk about the delicacy of the movie musical. And, how it’s not often that somebody has a grasp on both stage musicals and movie musicals, simultaneously. Earlier this week, a much anticipated deleted scene from Tick, Tick…BOOM! was released. Fans of the film finally got to see the much-talked about sequence, which had required an awful lot of choreography on the parts of … Continue reading A Green Dress, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Understanding the Delicate Formula of the Movie Musical
Tick, Tick…BOOM! is Lin Manuel-Miranda’s directorial debut. It’s also Andrew Garfield’s singing debut. And, honestly, both of them have done phenomenal. Miranda, being both a lover of film and theater, was able to help translate Tick, Tick…BOOM! from stage to screen, with Steven Levenson’s screenplay adapted from Jonathan Larson’s stage musical of the same name. For those unfamiliar with the musical, Tick, Tick…Boom! was written and performed by … Continue reading Tick, Tick…BOOM! (2021)
Movie musicals are never easy to make. You have to figure out who you want to please more: the musical theater fans or the movie crowd because there is not actually a lot of crossover there. And I don’t know that The Prom appeases either set of fans. Directed by Ryan Murphy, The Prom is a film based on the musical of the same name … Continue reading The Prom (2020)
If you are not familiar with the films of Christopher Guest, please for the love of god familiarize yourself with them. He is a genius when it comes to making “mockumentaries”. Waiting for Guffman is his 1996 mockumentary about small town musical theater. And, as a person who is familiar with small town musical theater, he hits the nail on the head in every aspect of the … Continue reading 90s Flashback: Waiting for Guffman (1996)
A woman leaves an Austrian convent to become a governess to the children of a Naval officer widower. If there’s one thing you should know about me, it’s this: I once watched The Sound of Music everyday for six months straight. Now, for clarification, this was years ago when I had first seen the film and did not own the motion picture soundtrack. This was long … Continue reading 40. The Sound of Music (1965)
This film has haunted me for literally days. I cannot stop thinking about it. I wish that I could. As you all may know at this point, Cats has majorly tanked. I kept reading bad reviews which honestly just made me more interested in seeing the disaster. So, I braved the theater and I have seen things that no human being should ever see. Let … Continue reading Cats (2019) : Please Make It Stop
Movie Musical Monday: Hairspray (2007) I wish that Disney, with all its recent musical live action versions of their animated films, would take a hint from 2007’s Hairspray, and cast properly with actors who can actually sing. The casting for this film is near perfect. Nearly every person, save for Christopher Walken, has a legitimate singing voice. And even then with Walken, the one song … Continue reading Movie Musical Monday: Hairspray (2007)
Two youngsters from rival New York City gangs fall in love, but tensions between their respective friends build toward tragedy. Ok, I’m going to be completely honest: I do not like West Side Story. It is my least favorite movie musical, possibly of all time (right up there with Annie). But, seeing as the film comes in at number 51 on this list, I had … Continue reading 51. West Side Story (1961)
