Welcome to the 333rd edition of my series. This is the second
all-music edition I have done. I have looked into live musicals, live
concerts, singing cowboys, animated musicals and live-action musicals.
Tonight I will be going to Anderson to see Wrestlemania 28 at Buffalo
Wild Wings. Now I will get on with my 10 recommendations for the week.
Memphis
the Musical (2011): This is a live performed musical written by David
Bryan and Joe DiPietro that won a Tony for Best musical at the 2010 Tony
Awards. This takes place in Memphis in the 1950s where segregation was
at its finest so in other words at its worst. Chad Kimball stars as
Huey Calhoun who has a passion for R & B music and becomes a DJ
who is the first to play black music on the radio. Montego Glover plays
aspiring singer Felicia Farrell who forms a liking to Calhoun who
played her music on the Memphis radio. Together they form a
relationship much to the dismay of Huey's close-minded mother and
Felicia's protective brother. Their ambitions also complicate their
relationship. I honestly did not know what to expect when watching this
but I really liked this musical in terms of the story, acting, and
music. I know many people who complain about the lack of original
musicals on Broadway but this is one of them. This is available on
Instant Netflix so if you can access this or there is a live performance
you must watch this one.
Dido: Live at Brixton
Academy (2005): On this one I go from live Broadway theater to a live
concert performance from the singer Dido. The Brixton Academy is in
London and was performed for her "Life for Rent" tour in 2004. She
performs things like HERE WITH ME, THANK YOU, WHITE FLAG, and many
others. She really has a great voice and performs well live. She gave
some pretty good insights before many of the songs. This is about 90
minutes long and something to enjoy if you like Dido. If this is not
your type of music, this may not be for you. If you have never heard
her music, just look her up and determine if this is for you.
Mulan
(1998): I go from two live performances and do my animated selection
for the week. This is a Disney film which comes from my favorite period
of Disney which is the 90s. This one takes place in an early Chinese
dynasty which was being invaded by the Huns. Each family had to send
out a representative to join the Army and Mulan's father was being sent
even though his health was deteriorating. Mulan, who is the daughter,
decides to pose as a man and take his place in turn becoming a hero.
Eddie Murphy provides the comic relief as Mushu, a disgraced dragon
looking to redeem himself and mentors Mulan. Matthew Wilder and David
Zippel wrote the musical numbers of this film and wrote some very good
ones. The song that really stands out to me is I'LL MAKE A MAN OUT OF
YOU which is sung by the character Shang and while B.D. Wong provides
the speaking voice, Donny Osmond shows his music talent by providing the
singing. Other voices include Pat Morita, James Hong, George Takei,
and many others provide voices. This movie has some good action and is
one the family can watch. It is a bit violent so maybe later elementary
would accommodate the most. This is actually based on a true story of
someone named Hua Mulan who actually did take the place of her father
and fought for 12 years in the army but refused any merit for her
services. It is good to see Disney paying such good tribute to China.
Sgt.
Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1978): I decided to use a bad
musical for the week that may be bad but just cannot take our eyes off
upon which was me. This is a movie which uses the music from the
popular Beatles album and put into a story. Peter Frampton and the Bee
Gees star in this film as the title band. Frankie Howard plays the
villain Mr. Mustard who hatches a plan to destroy their local town and
the band must do what they can to thwart the plan. Many big name bands
like Aerosmith, Earth Wind and Fire, and Alice Cooper have parts where
they sing some of these songs. Steve Martin had an amusing part as Dr.
Maxwell in his film debut. There was also really weird female robots
who worked for Mr. Mustard and were painted black, possibly some race
thing, I don't really know. Michael Schultz directed this film while
Henry Edwards wrote it. I really don't know what kind of vision they
had when making this movie and in terms of what they were expecting out
of quality. I am also not sure how the Beatles felt though they were
some of the many guests towards the end. If you are looking for a movie
which has great plot this is not it. This is something to get together
with friends and enjoy and even one RIFFTRAX would be able to do.
In
Old Caliente (1939): Now I go from a bad musical into the singing
cowboy genre which stars western legend Roy Rogers. Roy Rogers plays
himself who goes after a Mexican gang but is framed for a robbery and
then murder. Roy soon hatches a plan to clear his name and bring down
the gang. This is one of many B-movie westerns that stars Roy Rogers.
This movie was in the Golden Age of Film but this does not exactly rank
anywhere. This fits here because Roy sings a few music numbers like
WE'RE NOT COMING OUT TONIGHT. Roy Rogers was known as "the singing
cowboy" as well as Gene Autry. This is for people who like these old
westerns and fans of Roy Rogers. This is available on Instant Netflix
and is only 53 minutes so not a very long viewing.
An
American in Paris (1951): Now I bring you Gene Kelly. Vincente Minelli
directed this story written by Alan Jay Lerner. Gene stars as Jerry
Mulligan who is an American who is living in Paris. He is a painter who
soon falls in love with a French girl named Lise, played by Leslie
Caron in her film debut, but is already engaged to a cabaret singer.
The Gershwins wrote the music to this absolute classic including I GOT
RHYTHM and BY STRAUSS. My dad has cited this as the best musical ever
so I knew it had to be included in one of my music editions. Gene Kelly
did the choreography and at the end of the movie has a great 17 minute
ballet scene.
On an Island With You (1948): Now I
bring one of the aquatic musicals which stars Aquatic star Esther
Williams though this one shows a little less choreography in the water
than her others. Esther stars as movie star Rosalind Reynolds who is
filming at movie at the South Pacific. Peter Lawford plays a naval
officer who feels that she is the right one for her and Ricardo
Montalban plays Rosalind's co-star and actual fiance. Jimmy Durante is
very amusing as Buckley, a man trying to relive his glory days in film.
Cyd Charisse also co-stars one of the people in the movie being shot.
Nacio Herb Brown and Edward Heyman wrote the music on this one. There
is a pretty lavish pool number that is the highlight of the film.
Colma:
The Musical (2006): This is a more contemporary musical. This takes
place in Colma which is south of San Francisco where most of the
population is the cemetary. This centers around three friends named
Billy, Rodel, and Maribel who are just out of high school and do not
know what to do with their lives. They soon experience life like
sneaking into a college party and getting new jobs. They soon express
themselves in song. H.P. Mendoza wrote the music for this and did a
good job. I liked the musical number near the end that was at the
cemetary. Richard Wong wrote and directed this film which was a very
good coming of age movie. This is available on Instant Netflix.
Finian's
Rainbow (1968): I now bring you Fred Astaire in his last musical role
to my knowledge and my favorite of his. Francis Ford Coppola directs
this musical from E.Y. Harburg and Fred Saidy. Fred stars as the title
character who is an Irishman who along with his daughter Sharon, played
by Petula Clark, who arrive in a small town of sharecroppers. He comes
in with a pot of gold he steals and intends to bury it. Tommy Steele
plays the leprechaun on his trail. Keenan Wynn plays a bigoted senator
who gets a very interesting wish on him. Barbara Hancock is a lot of
fun as Susan the Silent who expresses herself through dance. Tommy
Steele was also very good as the leprechaun. There is not much more I
can explain on this one except that it was a little more unusual for
Astaire who is in the rags and no top hat but goes out well in his
dancing with everyone doing well.
Dr. Horrible's
Sing-Along Blog (2008): This is more of a tv series but I have the
right to call this a movie if I want. This one was written during the
Writer's Strike by Joss Whedon. Joss was able to find a loophole and
release this as an internet series. Neil Patrick Harris plays the title
character who is a supervillain hoping to get with the Evil League of
Evil whose plans are thwarted by egotistical superhero Captain Hammer,
played by Nathan Fillion. Horrible's plans also become complicated when
falling in love with Penny, played by Felicia Day, who is a big
advocate for the homeless. Things get even worse or Dr. Horrible when
she is dating Captain Hammer. THE BIG BANG THEORY co-star Simon Helberg
plays the part of Moist in this series and is quite amusing. This is a
very entertaining 43 minutes and has some good musical numbers showing
that Mr. Whedon can do just about anything. This is one I would love to
see done on stage sometime. This is available on Instant Netflix and
should be watched if you can get a copy.
Well, that is
it for this week. Tell me what you like and what you hate. Stay tuned
next for another special edition which will consist of 30 short films
which I feel is a very overlooked art of the world of film.
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