Beauty and the Beast

Ever since the trailer first dropped, the live adaptation of a beloved Disney classic has been heavily marketed with tons of behind the scenes, features, and song numbers to boot. The heavy marketing deemed this adaptation to high expectations. Reigning in names like Emma Watson, Ewan McGregor and Ian McKellen certainly makes the pull of the movie stronger. However, did it meet expectations?

Blind Spot: The Rocky Horror Picture Show

The Rocky Horror Picture Show is one of those popular movies with a huge following but I know nothing about the plot. The only person I knew in this movie was Tim Curry, and that’s because his face is usually plastered when this movie comes up in conversations. When I started my viewing, I immediately understood why this has such a big following; it was really fun.

Double Feature: Gone Baby Gone / God Help the Girl

When I write my double features I try to make them relevant to each other. Whether they be sequels, or have a familiar co-star or concept. In this case, it’s the directorial debut of an actor and a musician.

Begin Again

Someone give Keira Knightley a record deal pronto! From the writer and the director of Once, a musical drama springs up again, involving a scorned woman and a down on his luck record producer, whose lives intertwine on one open mic night. It was a simple story, elevated by the performances of the actors, and a soundtrack that is quite fitting to the film. Begin Again was charming, and I could just see myself watching this over again.

Chicago

Murder, conspiracy, and extravagant musical numbers - these are some of the factors that make the film take off, garnering enough interest to earn itself an Academy Award. While it took a couple of years for me to actually sit this one through (it's just because I'm not so much into musicals - I don't think I can stress that enough in my life), the film does deliver its pizzazz, allowing the movement of the music to incorporate itself to the film. While this was based on the Broadway musical, the film literally takes the concept of Broadway when it came to the productions.