Movie Night: Dreamgirls.

Review #339: Dreamgirls.

Cast

Jamie Foxx (Curtis Taylor, Jr), Beyoncé Knowles (Deena Jones), Eddie Murphy (James Early), Jennifer Hudson (Effie White), Danny Glover (Marty Madison), Anika Noni Rose (Lorrell Robinson), Keith Robinson (C.C. White), Sharon Leal (Michelle Morris), and Hinton Battle (Wayne) Directed by Bill Condon.

Review

It's been a while since I've reviewed a musical, so I decided to watch this for hopefully some good entertainment. So how is it? It's fine. I'd mention that this was apparently based off a musical based on real events, but trying to review a film with that history never ends well for me, but oh well. Knowles does a fine job, bringing some good depth. Hudson does an excellent job, working very well, especially when paired with others in the cast. But strangely the two I seem to like for this film are Eddie Murphy and Danny Glover, as they seem to bring a lot of depth and a lot of excellence. That or the fact it's a good job by Murphy, which seems to be a bit rare in the 2000's. And then there is Jamie Foxx as our (spoiler alert) villain. I get it, he is one of the main contributors to the group's success...even though yea, he's the villain. He does a good job, but somehow I feel he is a bit off. There's something about having a villain in a musical that could work...most of the time. The songs are good, having some soul, though I find it to be a bit awkward to have the cast sing some of their lines when their is no people to listen to. While it does have some small flaws, this is not a bad film. It works well and it does have some use for the most part.

Overall, I give it 8 out of 10 stars. 

Movie Night: Austin Powers in Goldmember.

Review #134: Austin Powers in Goldmember.

Cast
Mike Myers (Austin Powers, Dr. Evil, Goldmember, Fat Bastard), Beyoncé Knowles (Foxxy Cleopatra), Michael Caine (Nigel Powers), Seth Green (Scott Evil), and Verne Troyer (Mini-Me), Michael York (Basil Exposition), Robert Wagner (Number 2), Mindy Sterling (Frau Farbissina), and Fred Savage (Number 3/Mole) Directed by Jay Roach.

Review
It might interest you to know that the first Austin Powers film was released on May 2, 1997 (15 years Wednesday) Anyway, this film is not as good as the second or the first. The jokes are alright, except that some of them are recycled from the last one (Even pointed out by the Osbournes of all people) Even the new ones feel a bit off, as the film wants to do more of the sense of plot, but it just doesn't feel right (One thing to note that they literally reverse the polarity in one scene) The film has a plot twist in the end which is right out of left field, which makes you wonder how the film wasn't as good as the second. It has decent acting, but it just doesn't measure up as well. And that's the 20th Review of this month, the most since July 2011 (Which had 21)

Overall, I give it 6 out of 10 stars.