Cast: John Travolta (Edna Turnblad), Nikki Blonsky (Tracy Turnblad), Michelle Pfeiffer (Velma Von Tussle), Christopher Walken (Wilbur Turnblad), Amanda Bynes (Penny Pingleton), Zac Efron (Link Larkin), Queen Latifah (Motormouth Maybelle), James Marsden (Corny Collins), Elijah Kelley (Seeweed)
For complete info on the amazing cast and crew, see IMDb's Hairspray page.
I love musical movies and I'm very happy that the genre is thriving again. A movie based on a Broadway musical based on a movie is an amusing thought, even though they did the same thing with The Producers. The cast they chose for the Hairspray revival really could not have been better. While I agree with many who say that Harvey Fierstein should have been in the movie and is a big enough draw for the movie (Heck, did they need more of a draw? Look at the rest of the cast.), John Travolta did a wonderful job as Edna Turnblad!
The crowd at the movie theatre was ready to enjoy the movie. They were applauding at the beginning of the movie and cheered throughout the movie for some of the better scenes. It was definitely the right theatre to enjoy Hairspray, since it's such an outrageous movie.
Nikki Blonsky did a wonderful job in her first movie. I'm glad that they found the star of the movie much in the same way they found the star of the Broadway show. Tracy Turnblad being played by an amazingly talented unknown actress just seems to fit the part at this point.
They did an amazing job bringing the Broadway adaptation of the original movie back to the big screen. If you like musicals, you definitely need to see this one. Hairspray is a fun movie with a very good message.
Grade: A-
Labels: 2007, Amanda Bynes, Brittany Snow, Christopher Walken, comedy, dancing, drama, James Marsden, John Travolta, Michelle Pfeiffer, movie, musical, Nikki Blonsky, Queen Latifah, Zac Efron
Reviewed by Kat at the 8:30 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Amanda Bynes (Viola), Channing Tatum (Duke), Laura Ramsey (Olivia), Robert Hoffman (Justin)
For complete cast info, see IMDb's She's the Man page.
When I saw ads for this, it reminded me of all the other Amanda Bynes movies and I was immediately positive that it wasn't even worth renting. I saw it, since I was awake on my flight back from Washington/Dulles and knew my computer wouldn't last the full flight time without being plugged in. (Besides, it's easier to watch their movie when eating a snack, drinking, etc. and it contained soccer, which I used to play and really enjoy.)
I was pleasantly surprised by She's the Man. I'm not saying I'm going to go watch the other movies Amanda has been in, but she's a good actress and I'm sure at some point she'll graduate out of the teen comedy/drama. Although I didn't see it mentioned anywhere (even on IMDb), I was surprised to realize early in the movie that She's the Man was based on Twelfthy Night by William Shakespeare. Had they mentioned that in the previews, I might have been interested enough to rent the movie.
I love that there are so many modern movies that are based on the works of William Shakespeare. It shows that although his language may not be timeless his concepts and stories definitely translate into this era. She's the Man is about a girl whose soccer team gets shut down, since there weren't enough girls for the team. Viola pretends to be her brother and goes to his school to get on the team and beat her former school's boys team, since they wouldn't let her try out for their team.
Like the play, there are all kinds of misunderstandings as well as the other themes that are common in Shakespeare's comedies.
Perhaps worth renting. Definitely worth it if you're a teenager and if you like to see updated Shakespeare works, this one is worth it, though not spectacular.
Grade: C+
Labels: 2006, Amanda Bynes, comedy, movie, romance, Shakespeare, sports
Reviewed by Kat at the 10:40 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Ewan McGregor, Robin Williams, Amanda Bynes, Mel Brooks
For complete info, see IMDb's Robots page.
Definitely better to see all the animation huge on an IMAX screen. The quality really makes the robot world look amazingly real. The story was definitely not as good as a Pixar story and the animation quality wasn't quite as good, but with Robin Williams to ad lib, there's always some great material in the movie!
The story about a young idealist traveling to robot city to join a company he finds was just taken over by evil new management and his fight to change the way it runs is very cute. It's got some good messages for kids and is definitely something I think everyone can enjoy.
Worth renting.
Grade: B-
Labels: 2005, adventure, Amanda Bynes, animated, comedy, Ewan McGregor, family, fantasy, IMAX, movie, sci-fi
Reviewed by Kat at the 1:00 PM show | 0 screams