Rock of Ages

It has been a really long time since we have got the opportunity to watch a musical in the purest sense of the word. And whats more, I cannot reemeber the last time I saw a musical which was based solely on Rock!!! School of Rock technically was a Rock movie but not really a musical all the way. Rock of Ages addresses that gap – and does it quite well I must say.

Drew Boley (Diego Boneta) is an aspiring musician who has found his way to the most sought after night spot on the famous or should we say infamous “strip” @ Los Angeles. Its called The Bourbon. A place that has been the launch pad for many an artist of the past few years. Chief amongst them being the lead singer of a band called “Arsenal” – Stacee Jaxx (Tom Cruise). A rock star par excellence. A star whose fame precedes him like nothing else. A fame that makes women throw themselves at him and give up every single piece of their honour and self respect like no one else can. But even Jaxx has his nuances and is going through a really rough patch.

Coming into the scene early on is Sherrie Christian who comes to LA to make a name for herself in the music world and of course the Bourbon is the place she would ideally like to start off with. However, the small town girl gets robbed of all her records on the strip. And guess what – as luck would have it – right in front of the Bourbon. And right when Drew is on the other side of the road. Drew finds her a job @ the Bourbon despite the resistance from Bourbon’s owner – Dennis Dupree (Alec Baldwin).

On the other side, there is the recently elected mayor Mike Whitmore (Bryan Cranston) whose campaign mantra has been cleaning the city of everything that can be harmful to their kids. And chief among the clean up targets is the strip. He is not only supported but also leading the charge is his wife Patricia (Catherine Zeta Jones) who seems to be obsessed with shutting The Bourbon down.

One of the better musicals in recent times and definitely one worth watching, Rock of Ages show cases some really good talent in mixing new age lyrics with some totally classic rock. Don’t look much at direction or acting talent per se. Although there is sufficient amounts of the latter. Nothing much that Adam Shankman could have got to the table per se. But he is definitely saved with some solid performances from the entire cast. I particularly liked Baldwin and Russel Brand. I give it 6.5 on 10. Watch it.

Trailer on http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi956080153/

Footloose (2011)

I must admit that the reason I saw Footloose (1984) for the nth time was that Footloose (2011) was also playing in-flight en route to Oz. I first noticed the 2011 version was playing and luckily the 1984 original also happened to be on the list. I am glad I saw the 2011 version in-flight and not in the theatre because it is really not a movie that will finish with a feeling of you having utilized your time well for nearly 2 hours.

Firstly let me dispel any doubts that anyone may have had about the 2011 being different from the 1984 hit. 27 years on, Craig Brewer has done nothing to add any value to the classic. In fact if anything, he has eroded the classic tag that the movie had and ruined any possibility of a fan following from the generation of today. Neither Kenny Wormald nor Julianne Hough can come close to the acting capabilities of Kevin Bacon or Lori Singer. Maybe I am begin harsh when I say that of Hough because Singer wasn’t anything much of an actress as such. So I could reconsider that opinion. But Wormald has a long way to go and if he harbours any hope of becoming as versatile as Bacon turned out to be, then I guess he has to put in many times more the effort that what Bacon had to. What disappointed me most was the severe cut in the role of Dennis Quaid and therefore I am probably not surprised with his lack luster effort. Surely Quaid is a better performer than what I saw. More or less the same analysis for Andie MacDowell.

The 2011 version of Footloose is so uncreative that Brewer has taken the concept of a “remake” to the level of a Xerox Machine. Even the dialogues are the same. And the famous scene where Ren reads out passages from the Bible just falls so flat on its face that it ceases to get funny after a while. Changes if any are exceptionally few in number and may get missed as well. The feet tapping in the titling is marginally different but nowhere close to being better.

Footloose (2011) hasn’t released yet in India and for once I would say that the people in the business have made a sensible decision. It really doesn’t have much to offer that is different, new, inspiring or fresh from the original. If you would really want to watch the movie, see the original. Even if I were to ignore the existence of an orginal, independently, Footloose (2011) would be an average movie at best. With the benefit of the doubt – 5 on 10. Sorry Craig Brewer. Got this one wrong I guess.

Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi1510841369/

Burlesque

Spunky is the word that first comes to mind when you watch Burlesque. First time director Steve Antin (well almost first time since his other video movie didn’t really create waves) gives us an extremely heady mix of jazz put together in a style that can only be described as Coyote Ugly meets Moulin Rouge. One could choose add a taste of Chicago to it as well but just a dash mind you. Small town girl aiming to make it to the bright arc lights of Los Angeles. Spice it up with a couple of affairs. Add to that 2 of the best voices known to man. Garnish it with a reasonable story and a feel good ending and voila you have Burlesque.

Alice Rose (the oh so sizzling Christina Aguilera), Ali for short is all starry eyed about song and dance. She has the voice to make her feel that way. But she is from Iowa where she works at a local deli. Fed up with waiting tables – one would automatically be that way if you are not paid for a while – she takes off for LA to do what she really wants to do. As she is moving from place to place to place she passes by a neon sign that says – Burlesque Lounge. Intrigued, she walks in to see what it is all about and reluctantly pays the $20 entry fee (she is really short on money right). And its love at first sight. She asks the bartender Jack (Cam Gigandet) as to who is in charge and is directed to Tess (Cher). But Tess doesn’t have the patience to meet some new wannabe starlet and brushes her off. She sends her to Sean (Stanley Tucci) the arranger who asks her to leave her name and number with Jack again. Back to square one I guess.

Not willing to give up, Ali uses her charm to get herself a job at Burlesque itself. Jack is more than willing to accommodate. At this time, I would like to clarify that Jack is a genuinely nice guy and does not give Ali the job because of the size of her hooters. A couple of days into the job, Ali comes back to see her house looted. With nowhere else to go she lands up – no points for guessing – at Jack’s place for help and Jack being the good friend he is, offers her the place for the night. Till the next morning, Ali thinks Jack is gay but is not too comfortable when she finds out otherwise and that Jack is engaged to be married to Natalie, a struggling actress who spends more time in NY than in LA. She however stays back because as I said earlier, Jack is a really good guy.

Ali’s efforts to get herself into the main act keep falling flat but her break does come in when one of the dancers, Georgia (Julianne Hough) gets knocked up. Tess is mighty impressed to see that she has learnt all the dance moves by just being a waitress. An even big break comes up when the jealous Nikki (Kirsten Bell) decides to pull the DJ plug while Ali is performing. Not wanting to waste the opportunity, Ali decides to sing and continue with the performance and before you can say Jack Daniels, the show is aligned with her as the star attraction. All this is however happening with Tess being on the verge of bankruptcy and an aggressive developer, Marcus (Eric Dane) on her back to force her to sell the bar.

If you like all the things that I mentioned earlier in this review then Burlesque is a must must watch. The soundtrack is a must have too I am definitely going to try and get my hands on it at the earliest. Cher and Aguilera are both fabulous with their voices although their acting talent can be questioned. Also, Aguilera can be questioned on her dancing capabilities with most of the supporting cast being much more talented in this aspect. If, however, you don’t like musicals, then this is definitely not the place to be. Overall, Burlesque is a well made movie. Not in the class of a Chicago or not remotely as larger than life like Moulin Rouge but an entertainer nevertheless. 6 on 10 is what I would give it. But watch it on the big screen to feel the experience.

Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi1405094169/