Gideon58's Reviews

Wired is the 1989 film version of Bob Woodward's book, which looks into the final days of SNL legend John Belushi that works so hard at not being the standard Hollywood biopic that it fails miserably on being what it should be, as well as being so unworthy of its subject.

In the tradition of A Christmas Carol and It's a Wonderful Life, the film opens with Belushi's ghost being introduced to pertinent events in his life by a guardian angel (Ray Sharkey), in the guise of a cab driver and then switches to the discovery of Belushi's body and the investigation that leads to one Cathy Smith, allegedly the last person to see Belushi alive and to put that fatal needle full of heroine into Belushi's arm. Then there's yet another switch of focus when Bob Woodward suddenly becomes involved and decides to get to the bottom of what happened after a discussion with Belushi's widow where he learned that Belushi hated needles and would never use heroine.

The jarring switches in focus are just the tip of the iceberg of what's wrong with this movie. The movie never really never gives us any insight into Belushi and the whole "Drugs is Bad" message is delivered with a sledgehammer, a message that has been delivered much more effectively in at least 50 or 60 movies of the past. There is too much focus on Belushi's death and not enough on his life to make us really care about what's going on. It's also never made clear why someone like Bob Woodward would have such a keen interest in Belushi.

Earl Mac Rauch's screenplay employs every show business and drug cliche imaginable and Larry Peerce's manic direction doesn't help. The film is cheap looking on what appears to be a budget of about $40.00. I've seen Lifetime TV movies that looked better than this.

Michael Chiklis works very hard at being believable as Belushi but the rest of the performances are dull and unconvincing. The usually reliable JT Walsh is wooden as Bob Woodward, as is Gary Groomes as Dan Aykroyd. A real disappointment and here's to hoping someday the subject will be given a film tribute worthy of him. .

As a director, Danny DeVito has proven to have a real flair for bringing black comedy to the screen, evidenced in his films Throw Momma from the Train and The War of the Roses, but his 2003 film Duplex isn't quite as effective as the other two films, primarily due to a screenplay that provides unrealistic motivations for the central characters.

The film stars Ben Stiller and Drew Barrymore as Alex and Nancy, married upwardly mobiles who find a beautiful duplex in Brooklyn and plan to convert the second floor into a nursery, a plan halted by the fact that an old woman named Mrs. Connelly still resides on the second floor who refuses to move out. Things get complicated when Mrs. Connelly starts driving our young couple crazy with outrageous demands and behavior unbecoming a good tenant, forcing the couple to actually consider murdering the woman to get her out of their lives.

The film's primary problem lies with Larry Doyle's screenplay and his presentation of the character of Mrs. Connelly. The character is unbelievable because at one moment the character appears to be a sweet old lady who innocently causes problems for this couple and at other moments she appears to be this sneaky and manipulative woman determined to make these people miserable. If the character had just been a sweet old lady or a manipulative bitch, the story would have been more believable. Even if she started out as a sweet old lady and became a manipulative bitch, I might have believed that, but the character doesn't come off that way and the way her personality changes from one scene to the next, makes it hard to believe the character or have sympathy for her. If the character evoked some kind of sympathy, the whole story might have made more sense.

Stiller and Barrymore work well together, with a special nod to Stiller, underplaying effectively and displaying a genuine gift for physical comedy and Eileen Essell's sweet face works for the character of Mrs. Connelly, though the screenplay is fighting her all the way.

DeVito creates an atmosphere suited to what's going on here, utilizing some imaginative camerawork and employs some wonderful art direction/set direction, providing a wonderful setting for this story. It's a shame that the problematic screenplay takes away from the technical expertise that DeVito and company have employed here.

As with a few of Drew's comedies, this is something I only saw because she was in it. I think I've seen all those other comedies again at least once (and a couple of them I really like a lot/love) but this I've only seen once. I thought it was pretty awful. I do hate Ben Stiller, though. It's a shame, as Drew looks great in this. OK, I think she looks great most of the time in most things, but especially so in this.

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5-time MoFo Award winner.

The romantic comedy of the two lead characters being formerly married but still in love with each other is not an original concept, but 2010's The Bounty Hunter attempts to give this well worn premise a fresh coat of paint, even if it is an overly complex one.

Jennifer Aniston plays Nicole Hurley, an investigative reporter whose belief that a reported suicide was not a suicide, leads her to jump bail after not showing up in court for having an accident with a police horse. Enter Milo Boyd (Gerard Butler), an ex-cop turned bounty hunter and Nicole's ex-husband, who has been offered $5000 to bring her in and that's just the beginning of a comic adventure that rarely gives the viewer a chance to breathe.

Director Andy Tennant displays some talent for mounting a viable action sequence but when the movie slows down and Nicole and Milo start talking about their "feelings", the film comes to a dead halt. The other problem is Sarah Thorp's extremely complex screenplay which involves way too many bad guys and good guys pretending to be bad guys.making the story kind of hard to follow, right up to the multiple and unnecessary endings. I also found it hard to believe that Milo and Nicole were only married for nine months because they fought and read each other like they had been married 20 years.

Butler is energetic as Milo and does display a penchant for physical comedy (despite the fact the guy could use a little more time in the gym) and he does create a viable chemistry with Aniston (who looks incredible). Jason Sudekis has some funny moments as a co-worker of Aniston's who is obsessed with her as does the always reliable Christine Baranski as Aniston's mother.

If you're a fan of Butler and Aniston, this is definitely worth a look, but others beware that this is a film that suffers from trying to be too many things for too many kinds of moviegoers.

Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story is a slightly over-the-top but still very amusing lampooning of a movie genre that is relatively new to this kind of spoof: the musical biopic.

Though the primary inspiration for this movie appears to be the Johnny Cash biopic Walk the Line, I also noticed brief winks to Coal Miner's Daughter, Sweet Dreams, and Ray as well.

The 2007 film follows Dewey from a childhood tragedy that left him and his father forever estranged to his first appearance at a talent show and the two ladies in his life (Kristin Wiig, Jenna Fischer), his discovery of drugs, and a journey of self-discovery leading that leads our hero back to a possible comeback.

Director and co-screenwriter Jake Kasdan has done his homework here...every scene you have ever seen in a musical biopic is accurately spoofed here...from the childhood incident that haunts our hero to the "rise to success" montage to the hero's first discovery of drugs, to his lesson that love and family are more important than fame. Kasdan and co-screenwriter Judd Apatow have constructed a laugh-filled screenplay that gets a little too silly in points but delivers.

John C. Reilly is energetic and sincere in the title role and proves to be a strong singer as well, which was documented five years earlier in Chicago. Also loved Tim Meadows and Chris Parnell as members of Dewey's band and Raymond Barry as Dewey's father. There are also a slew of cameos including Jackson Brown, Jewel, Morgan Fairchild, Patrick Duffy, Cheryl Ladd, Lyle Lovett, and Cheryl Tiegs. There's also a hysterical cameo appearance by Jack Black, Justin Long, Paul Rudd, and Jason Schwartzman as the Beatles.

This spoof of the musical biopic works because it is played with a straight face by the cast and those straight faces manage to bring the laughs.

Baz Luhrmann has always been a director obsessed with the visual...a director who seems to prefer flash over substance at times, not always trusting that his source material is strong enough to stand on its own power. This has never been more apparent than in his 2013 re-thinking of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby.

This third theatrical version of the classic Fitzgerald novel begins with Nick Carroway (Tobey Maguire) talking to a doctor who suggests that he recount in writing his relationship with an enigmatic neighbor named Jay Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio), a billionaire who lives in a huge mansion and throws elaborate parties on a regular basis that everyone in Manhattan attends but Nick doesn't show up until he receives a written invitation. Nick then learns the reason that he has been befriended by this lonely millionaire is that he wants to enlist Nick's help in reuniting with Nick's cousin, Daisy (Carey Mulligan), a long lost love who is now married to Tom Buchanan (Joel Edgerton), but Gatsby doesn't seem to care about that or even consider it an issue.

As he always does, Luhrman creates a vivid and striking atmosphere that is deliciously appealing. He makes New York in the roaring 20's seem like the only time and place that was ever worth living and makes sure the view never feels like an outsider looking in...he puts us directly in the center of what is happening and makes us immediately care about these characters and question their motivations as well.

I have never seen the 1949 version with Alan Ladd as Gatsby but I have seen the 1974 version with Robert Redford as Gatsby and that is the primary difference between this version and that version, the way the character of Gatsby is presented. In the '74 version, Gatsby is portrayed as a little obsessive and self-absorbed, but Luhrmann gives us a Gatsby who is more than obsessed...this Gatsby seems more than a little obsessed with Daisy and displays possible mental issues that might be due to PTSD from Gatsby's time in the military, an issue that was glossed over in the '74 version and in Fitzgerald's novel, but Luhrmann chose to put it front and center as the through line for the character, making certain things the character does cringe-worthy.

It is this part of DiCaprio's performance that really works...watch him in the scene where he has Nick's house turned upside down for Daisy's first visit and is waiting on her arrival...he's like a ticking time bomb. Or when he tells Nick that Daisy has to tell Tom that she never loved Tom. Gatsby is not satisfied with Daisy loving him now, he is only happy with Daisy telling Tom she NEVER loved him and this I think the "a-ha" moment for Daisy when even she realizes this man is not all there. The rest of DiCaprio's performance, anything that has nothing to do with Daisy, is a little affected and stagy...the way he says the phrase "Old Sport" really grated on my nerves.

Tobey Maguire's wide-eyed sincerity was perfect for the role of Nick and Carey Mulligan made an enchanting Daisy. Joel Edgerton is effective as Tom, even though the character comes off dumb as a box of rocks (preferred Bruce Dern in the '74 version), but I loved Elizabeth Debicki as Jordan Baker and Isla Fisher as the tragic Myrtle Wilson.

Luhrmann's creative team is on-target as always...the film is beautifully photographed with Oscar winning production and costume design from Catherine Martin that serve Lurhmann and Craig Pearce's screenplay to maximum effect. The film is worth seeing if you've never seen any other version of this story, but I wish Luhrmann might have put more trust in the power of F. Scott Fitzgerald that he didn't feel the need to enhance this classic story with a lot of smoke and mirrors.

Nicely done review on The Great Gatsby, Gideon.

I loved the sets and the rich details in how they were dressed out. The clothes, especially the women's A line gowns looked fabulous. Wow, I have to say the women looked really good decked out in flapper fashions. The casting choices were great and I was actually very happy to see DiCaprio in this. I think the role suits him to a tee. But the tradionalist in me couldn't go for the modern music score set to the roaring 1920s and all the CG splash lost me. Still I enjoyed your review!

I've only seen Walk Hard once, but I find myself talking about it and referring to it a lot. That's probably because, as you mentioned, Gideon, it's a parody of the music biopic. And the great thing is it lampoons so many of them as there are both overt & subtle reference to almost every rocker that ever had a movie made about them.

My problem with the movie is it had such potential, but as you pointed out, it's sometimes silly to a fault - if it had played it slightly more straight, but maintained its comic edge, it could've been great(er)! My other problem is it's a bit too vulgar at parts which was unnecessary since the laughs are contained in the parody aspects - it didn't require extra raunchiness. I thought the performance of "Let's Duet" was ingenious, but that's about as suggestive as it should have gotten. (I was really turned off by the flash of frontal male nudity - I just don't need to see that.)

Other things are hilarious - the progressive drug scenes (which have been a part of most every music biopics) and Tim Meadow's lines, the spoofs on Bob Dylan, and of course the Beatles scene. Having Jack Black as Paul was comedic insanity as they could not have found a comedian who resembles McCartney LESS than Jack Black.

For fun, here's one of the Dylan scenes - listen to the lyrics - they're very deep. (Also, an appearance by Ed Sullivan!)

Thank you Citizen...I totally agree with you regarding the costumes and regarding the music...Luhrmann's attempts to mash contemporary music with roaring 20's music just didn't work.

Man of Steel is an ambitious and somewhat successful re-thinking of the Superman legend that , which not only provides a classic good vs evil story rooted in Superman's legacy but a character study of the conflicted man inside the red cape and blue tights.

This 2013 film seems to borrow inspiration from the 1978 Richard Donner film and the 1981 Richard Lester film, minus the tongue-in-cheek aspect that the screenplays for those films had. This story is told with a straight face, but not a somber or dull one. The film recounts the end of Krypton and the conflict between Jo-Rel and General Zod which revealed a dangerous agenda for Zod, which reaches far beyond a personal grudge with Jo-Rel. We see how this agenda brings together Superman and Lois Lane, before he assumes his job at the Daily Planet, but what makes this story unique is that we get to see a young Clark Kent deal with his complicated legacy, his extraordinary powers and their origins and how they affect his life with adopted parents Jonathan and Martha Kent.

This was the most interesting aspect of the film for me...it was so fascinating watching a pre-teen Clark Kent trying to figure out what his powers mean while heeding Martha and Jonathan's warnings about how important it is to keep them hidden. This is the first time where young Clark is observed utilizing his powers to save lives, rather than showing off like in the Donner film. As the adult Clark ventures out into the world, we see him continue to try to live by his parents' warning, evidenced in a scene where he is bullied in a diner, similar to a scene in the Richard Lester film, but we see Clark handle it without directly displaying his powers. I also loved Clark's first encounter with Jo-Rel where he learned who he is and where he came from and the way it was unfolded in front of Clark.

This film is non-stop action that barely gives the viewer a chance to breathe. Director Zack Snyder shows a definitive flair for mounting viable action sequences and though screenwriter David S. Goyer's screenplay is a little cliche-ridden, it works for this story. There are some visual images that are burned in memory...the final moments of Jonathan Kent onscreen are startling and heartbreaking and there is a shot of Superman flying out of explosive debris with Lois in his arms that seemed to encompass the entire legend of this character, while putting a genuine human face to him, even though, technically he isn't human.

This fresh look at this character required a fresh face in the title role and Henry Cavill fills the blue tights admirably. Amy Adams makes the best Lois Lane since Margot Kidder and produces a viable chemistry with Cavill. Michael Shannon is brilliant as General Zod and Russell Crowe is equally solid as Jo-Rel. Kevin Costner and Diane Lane are also wonderful as Jonathan and Martha Kent. Needless to say, the film is technically flawless, with special nods to the art direction, cinematography, and sound editing departments. I was troubled by the full circle ending, which once again finds Lois Lane being fooled by a pair of glasses, which was the main reason the rating for this film is not as high as it should have been.

Crisp and detailed Oscar-worthy direction, an uncompromising screenplay, and on-target performances are the primary components of the 2009 docudrama Frost/Nixon that make it the riveting film experience it is, possible the finest work of director Ron Howard, for my money, the industry's most underrated director.

As he did with Apollo 13, Howard has mounted a dazzling cinematic entertainment based on real-life events and the figures involved in them. In 1974, Richard M. Nixon resigned as the 37th President of the United States, in order to avoid impeachment and criminal prosecution for his involvement in the Watergate scandal. A few years later, Nixon agreed to sit down with British television talk show host David Frost for a series of interviews, during which Watergate would only be discussed in their final interview. I was in high school when the Watergate scandal broke but only saw snippets of the interviews that are the subject of this film.

Howard has mounted a fascinating look at this historic event, what led up to it, and an unbiased look at this controversial politician and this on-the-surface charming talk show host. This film puts front and center the oily quality of both of these men in a bare spotlight that at times is hardly flattering. On the plane to meet Nixon for the first time, Frost actually invites a woman, a complete stranger, to attend the historic meeting with him, apparently for no other reason than to get in her pants.

Peter Morgan's brilliant screenplay, based on his stage play, which can only be a combination of fact and speculation, takes us up close and behind closed doors that no could have been privy to. We watch as Nixon's agreement to do this interview not to be the magnanimous gesture he initially tries to portray...the man only agrees to do it for an obscene amount of money that Frost doesn't have but goes through tireless fundraising and we watch Nixon's struggle right down to the climactic moment to avoid Frost's primary purpose of the interview...to get an admission of guilt and contrition from the President for his role in Watergate, a moment in the drama that literally had me holding my breath and on the edge of seat. This moment works because of nearly perfect direction and acting.

The acting in the movie is exemplary, led by an extraordinary performance by Frank Langella, whose all-consuming portrait of Richard Nixon earned the actor his first Oscar nomination after 40 years as a working actor and this one the Academy got right...Langella disappears inside this character, making him human and not shying away from the previously mentioned oily factor...watch him in the moments before the initial interview where he plays mind games with Frost to throw him off his game and how well it works. Michael Sheen matches Langella in his intense and slightly manic David Frost, the journalist who definitely underestimated his opponent and did his homework too late. Kudos as well to Oliver Platt, Kevin Bacon, Matthew MacFadyen, and especially Sam Rockwell as Nixon and Frost's various handlers and front men, who know the opponents better than they know themselves.

This movie brought up a myriad of emotions and I actually found my allegiance to the two central characters switching from scene to scene and that is a testament to Peter Morgan's screenplay and the undeniable genius that is Ron Howard. Obviously, this film and All the President's Men would make a fantastic double bill.

In the tradition of stories like Romeo and Juliet and West Side Story comes 1995's Pocahontas, Disney's darkly romantic animated re-imagining of the romance between the Indian Princess and an English soldier named John Smith. This story of star-crossed lovers kept apart by social class and family had the potential to be something really special but suffers a bit due to Disney's relentless pandering to its intended demographic.

The story opens with our heroine (speaking voice by Irene Bedard; singing voice by Judy Kuhns), the daughter of an Algonquin Indian chief, restless and not terribly thrilled about her arranged engagement to an Indian warrior named Kocoum (voiced by James Apaumut Fall). Meanwhile, a group of English soldiers, employed by a Governor Ratcliffe (voiced by David Ogden Stiers), arrive at the village in search gold and other foreseen riches. It is the accidental meeting of English soldier John Smith (voiced by Mel Gibson) and the Indian Princess, who fall in love at first sight, that provides the canvas for this romantic tale.

Directors Mike Gabriel and Eric Goldberg have mounted a tale that effectively combines action and romance to great effect, thanks to some colorful and skillful animation which features most of the story bathed in beautiful green and brown hues that are, at certain times, visually arresting. Some lovely cinematic pictures are featured throughout, especially in demonstrating the simple ways of Indian culture and heroine's desire for something more.

Like Belle in Beauty and the Beast, the screenwriters have created a strong and independent-minded heroine here...she has enormous respect for her father, her people, and her culture, but she is clearly discontent and has an outlet for her discontentment in a magical talking tree (voiced by Linda Hunt). And you can see that she has found what she has been looking for in her initial face to face meeting with John Smith...I love the moment where she arranges the face to face, stalking him through the woods like a wild jungle panther and the moment they come face to face is magical...a scene done with minimal dialogue and believable facial expressions that appear real. I cannot recall the last time I saw so much viable onscreen chemistry between two animated characters.

The film features a handful of effective songs by Alan Mencken including "Savages", "The Bend of the River" and "The Colors of the Wind", which won the 1995 Oscar for Best Song. Judy Kuhn's crystal clear coloratura was perfect for the lead and I also was impressed with the fact that some of the voice actors not really known for being singers, like David Ogden Stiers, Mel Gibson, and Linda Hunt, are all given a chance to sing.

My only problem with this film was Disney's obsession with providing the story with comic relief, through allegedly cute and cuddly animal characters...in this case, a raccoon named Meeko, a humming bird named Flit, and a bulldog named Percy. I found these characters completely unnecessary to the story and totally annoying. Every time one of them appeared, it took me totally out of the really lovely story being told. I wish the writers and directors had enough confidence in the primary story being told that they didn't feel the need for comic relief. Yes, we expect laughs in an animated film, but a relatively serious love story was being presented here and it's a shame that the creative team didn't have the confidence to let this story stand on its own. If they had, this film could have been something really incredible, but as it stands, still watchable and worth your time.

It's always interesting to see what a star on the rise will do when they have achieved enough success that they have the juice to put whatever they want on the screen, get the biggest stars in Hollywood on board, and have an unlimited budget to work with. Sometimes you get a disturbing final product like the 2010 action comedy The Other Guys, a film with a logical and believable comedic premise that gets blown way out of proportion with enough plot holes and nonsensical story elements that somehow provided very selective and very forced laughs.

This story about two very different kind of police detectives, both on desk duty for very different reasons, who finally get a chance to break away from their desk with a big case and the expected bonding of the two main characters.

Will Ferrell plays Allen Gamble, a cop who LOVES desk duty and is happy to do everyone else's paperwork due to a troubled past. His partner, Terry Hoitz (Mark Wahlberg)was a front line cop who was assigned to desk duty after accidentally shooting baseball legend Derek Jeter. These central characters provide the framework for a story with promise, but somehow got away from the director and screenwriter.

Ferrell's longtime collaborator Adam McKay is the creative force behind this one, serving as director and co-screenwriter and assuming that Ferrell has such a solid fan base that they will accept and embrace anything he does, but it's hard to accept a lot of what's going on here...there's a lot of stuff here that doesn't make sense and there is a modicum of cheap and unmotivated laughs here and there, but not nearly enough to sustain a film of this length and expense and the huge budget Ferrell and McKay were clearly given is evident in every frame.

Ferrell is kind of funny playing against type as an extremely anal cop consumed with fear, but Mark Wahlberg is ridiculously over-the-top as Hoitz, a role that as I watched, had a feeling was meant for John C. Reilly but I guess he was unavailable. Michael Keaton is very funny as their captain with the obsession for R&B group TLC and there is a hilarious cameo at the beginning of the film by Samuel L. Jackson and Dwayne Johnson as rogue cops whose actions ignites this ridiculous story. As the usual with Ferrell's films, there are a lot of great actors wasted in pointless roles who apparently just wanted to work with Ferrell.

I have to admit that I did find myself chuckling now and then in spite of myself, and kept asking myself why because so little that happens in this movie makes sense...though I did love the gimmick of Gamble being married to a babe (Eva Mendes) and Hoitz being completely confused by it, but this is definitely one of those cases where the parts are better than the hole and the star is definitely overestimating what his fans will tolerate from him...a lot of money wasted here...what a shame.

A powerhouse, Oscar-worthy performance from Sean Penn is the primary reason to check out a 2004 docudrama called The Assassination of Richard Nixon, the story of a man who actually tried to hijack a jet to force it to fly him to Washington so that he could assassinate Nixon. But it is the up close and personal look at the main character's methodical decay as a human being that forms the framework for this film.

Penn plays Sam Bicke, a pathetic loser who works in an office furniture store and is on the verge of being fired. He is in complete denial about the end of his marriage to Marie (Naomi Watts) and has stolen money from his brother (Michael Wincott) in order to jump start his own business, money he planned to payback with the loan he applied for which was denied. Throw into the mix Sam's disillusionment with Nixon's role in the Watergate scandal and you have all the ingredients of a heartbreaking mental breakdown which, at times, is very difficult to watch.

The first thing I noticed as I was watching this film was the startling resemblance between the central character, Sam Bicke, and the character of Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver and the similar surnames notwithstanding, I have to wonder if the Bickle character was inspired by Bicke, the similarities between the two characters are no coincidence...the mental decay and pathetic factor are practically identical, not to mention their obsessions with politicians and the women in their lives. The latter being the primary thing about the characters that are so similar...they are so pathetic and you just want to shake them out of their denial and their OCD behavior.

There is a school of thought that Penn's performance here is a little over-the-top but I think it rings true throughout...his breakdown in the furniture store and his late-night phone call to Marie were just heartbreaking. I still think Penn should have received an Oscar nomination for this one, even though I don't know half a dozen people who have actually seen this movie.

Director and co-screenwriter Niels Mueller has crafted an extraordinary and compelling story about an everyman whose mental decay is evident in every frame for the viewer even if the character himself doesn't see it. It's not an easy watch, but I think fans of the 1976 Martin Scorsese classic would find some rewards here.

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I seen The Assassination of Richard Nixon, you're right it was a powerful movie....and it's true story which makes it all the more ominous. Not many people know that Nixon was almost assassinated. Good review Gideon.

Thanks Citizen...had some technical difficulties on the computer I was working on, but I've added some pictures. I actually saw this movie the first time a couple of years ago, but at the time didn't catch that this was a true story, which made it all the more compelling and I think Sean Penn is ALWAYS worth watching.

NBC definitely had middling results last year when they presented a live remake of the classic musical The Sound of Music, but they fared much better this year with their re-mounting of The Wiz, the urban re-thinking of The Wizard of Oz, which takes the original story and employs a new score and an entirely African American cast. Despite a couple of questionable casting choices and an overly padded screenplay, this is a splashy and entertaining update of this musical.

The Wiz first hit the Broadway stage in 1975 and won the Tony Award for Best Musical, making a star out of a young Stephanie Mills as Dorothy. The show became a dreadful movie in 1978 with Diana Ross inheriting the role of Dorothy and with major changes in story and the score that just didn't work.

Director Kenny Leon has gone back to the show's roots here and though the show has been updated for the computer age, Leon respects the origins of the 1975 stage musical, unlike Sidney Lumet's 1978 film. Once again, Dorothy is a little girl as she should be, and the story here utilizes the same musical comedy symbolism that made it so groundbreaking in 1975...once again, the tornado is represented by dancers and not computer-generated effects. Harvey Fierstein, seemingly an odd choice for the job, does a competent job with the teleplay, keeping the story and characters true to their original spirit, though the script could have used a little tightening as some rather minor scenes went on way longer than they needed to be, particularly the scenes involving the gatekeeper (Common), which I'm thinking were expanded in order for Common to accept the role.

Most of the casting is on the money...Shanice Williams does a lovely job inheriting the role of Dorothy, combining the child-like innocence and the powerhouse pipes required to do this role. Elijah Kelly, Ne-Yo, and David Alan Grier are all perfection as the Scacrecrow, the Tinman and the Lion, understanding their characters and all making their musical moments shine...Kelly shines in "You Can't Win", a number originated in the '78 film by Michael Jackson but Kelley makes it his own. Ne-Yo's "What Would I Do If I Could Feel" is quite moving and Grier's duet with Williams "Be a Lion" brings down the house.

Also loved Amber Riley (Mercedes on Glee) as Addeperle and Uzo Adoba as Glinda. And the original Dorothy on Broadway, Stephanie Mills, is a lovely Aunt Em and nails "The Feeling We Once Had." My only casting problems were with the roles of Evillene and The Wiz....Mary J. Blige was not the least bit convincing as Evillene and Queen Latifah seemed confused as to how to justify her casting in a role that was written for a male. It was odd that the Wiz is referred to as "he" throughout the story here and when we learn that he is a she, it is never really addressed.

These are minor quibbles though in a production that spares no expense...the scenery is gorgeous and the costumes and makeup are definitely Emmy-worthy, as was the choreography that never got in the way of the songs. Not perfect, but a dazzling entertainment that works for the most part.

I've never seen the movie The Wiz, but I watched The Wiz Live! (that aired last night) while I was getting work done today. I didn't have high hopes for it because I've heard the movie version wasn't very good, so it didn't have my full attention, but I love the movie The Wizard of Oz, so I wanted to see this. (It's still on my DVR, so I'm sure that I'll watch it again before I delete it.)

I thought it was very enjoyable. I agree that the casting was great, with the exception being the role of The Wiz, but it wasn't off enough that it bothered me at all. I thought it was a nice update to the story, with several jokes bringing it into the modern age. I liked the music, but I didn't find any of the songs memorable, with the exception of "Ease on Down the Road", which I've heard before.

But overall, I think they did a very good job.

Wow, this is the first comment I've received regarding Adventures in Babysitting...I loved her in this movie and I think she made the movie a lot better than it really is. I also liked her in Leaving Las Vegas though I'm not sure she deserved an Oscar nomination. Oh, and for the record, Shue was in Back to the Future II, not the first film.

Just when I think I've seen everything I can possibly imagine from the elaborately complex mind of Woody Allen, he always finds something a little more offbeat and nutty that is not necessarily rooted in realism, but because it is Woody, you forgive and accept and expect the unexpected. It happened with Purple Rose of Cairo and it happened with Deconstructing Harry and it happened with Everyone Says I Love You and it has again happened with a 1990 comedy-drama called Alice.

This is the story of Alice Tait (Mia Farrow), a pampered and wealthy Manhattan housewife and mother who seemingly has the perfect life, but it is clear from jump that this is another one of those housewives who is screaming on the inside. Alice is experiencing back problems and is referred to an acupuncturist named Dr. Yang (Keye Luke) who takes one look at Alice and realizes her problems have nothing to do with her back. He prescribes some herbs to Alice which have some startling effects, turning Alice into a person she doesn't know, embarking on a journey of self-discovery that has her questioning her marriage to an insensitive clod (William Hurt) and contemplating an affair with a charming divorced musician (Joe Montegna).

As always, Woody's imaginative screenplay takes Alice and the moviegoer to unexpected and sometimes unrealistic places...one of the herbs that Dr. Yang gives to Alice makes her invisible. This is the point in the film where the real Woody-philes separate from the neophytes and decide whether they want to be a part of Woody's deliciously eccentric journey into self-help, the validity of therapy, materialism, and the pros and cons of alternative medicine. Each herb takes Alice somewhere different, my favorite journey was a reunion with the ghost of an ex-lover (Alec Baldwin), who knows and still remembers the Alice that her husband doesn't care about. An audio flashback to their marriage while Alice dances with the ghost is one of the film's loveliest moments.

Woody's direction, unlike his screenplay, is steeped in realism...I love the way his characters talk over each other yet never seem to miss anything that they are saying to each other. And like a lot of Woody's stronger work, the film has a quietly voyeuristic feel to it like we're watching Alice and we're not supposed to be.

Woody's hand-picked cast makes up for a lot of the nuttiness. Mia Farrow completely invests in the complex role of Alice, a character whose through line changes with every scene and she makes what could have been a very unsympathetic character fascinating to watch. Montegna is charming and Hurt is appropriately greasy as her husband. Luke was a bit much and the way he always referred to himself and Alice in the third person was kind of annoying, but I loved Blythe Danner as Alice's sister and Robin Bartlett as her best friend.

Once again, Woody uses Manhattan as the ultimate cinematic landscape to maximum effect and surrounds the proceedings with some lovely music. Not for all tastes, but Woody-philes will definitely have a head start.