371 posts
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Post by popcultureboy on Dec 24, 2019 8:23:25 GMT
These 'cats' look slightly (like VERY slightly) different to the way they have always looked since the musical debuted nearly 40 years ago. In fact from a distance they look EXACTLY the same. It has been filmed with them looking the same way a gazillion times on tv adverts, tv performances and even entire film versions of the stage play for 4 decades and yet everyone is acting like they have never seen anything like it before. Um, no. If memory (ha, see what I did there) serves, the costumes were VERY OBVIOUSLY costumes, especially Grizabella, so it was possible for a "I get these are humans playing at being Cats" disconnect. It was inherently massively theatrical. Gigantic set, bonkers costumes. The cats in the movie look nothing like this at all. They look like CGI horror shows. And you can't see them "from a distance" as they're constantly shoved in your face by the terrible editing. |
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Post by intoanewlife on Dec 24, 2019 17:18:19 GMT
These 'cats' look slightly (like VERY slightly) different to the way they have always looked since the musical debuted nearly 40 years ago. In fact from a distance they look EXACTLY the same. It has been filmed with them looking the same way a gazillion times on tv adverts, tv performances and even entire film versions of the stage play for 4 decades and yet everyone is acting like they have never seen anything like it before. Um, no. If memory (ha, see what I did there) serves, the costumes were VERY OBVIOUSLY costumes, especially Grizabella, so it was possible for a "I get these are humans playing at being Cats" disconnect. It was inherently massively theatrical. Gigantic set, bonkers costumes. The cats in the movie look nothing like this at all. They look like CGI horror shows. And you can't see them "from a distance" as they're constantly shoved in your face by the terrible editing.  |
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Post by Mark on Dec 24, 2019 17:42:27 GMT
Just back. The critics have been overly harsh I feel. It was enjoyable as a film but I can see that people who aren't fond of or haven't seen the stage show will wonder what on earth is going on.
Jellicle Ball especially a major disappointment though. I wanted to see more of the dancing.
Robbie Fairchild was a standout, and the Skimbleshanks number too.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 24, 2019 17:56:50 GMT
Just back. The critics have been overly harsh I feel. It was enjoyable as a film but I can see that people who aren't fond of or haven't seen the stage show will wonder what on earth is going on. Jellicle Ball especially a major disappointment though. I wanted to see more of the dancing. Robbie Fairchild was a standout, and the Skimbleshanks number too. Yeah I agree. I watched for second time this afternoon and must say I enjoyed it more than the first (maybe as I knew what to expect so could just relax and take it in). It's a good effort at a difficult to make film. Also fully understand it's not gonna be everyone's cup of tea. But it's underrated, no doubt. Agree the Jellicle Ball was such a let down. Should be a highlight. Just minimal thrilling ensemble dancing (Blankenbuehler just not as talented as Lynne I'd say). Also it needs some spectacular lighting. Could they not have pretented that "Egyptian" theatre was coming back to life and so had some multi-coloured theatrical style lighting as we get on stage? Just fell flat. Real shame. On stage the choreography and lighting design are epic for the Jellicle Ball. Didn't notice any CGI difference from last week btw. Mistoffeles still has human hands and feet so assume this is a creative choice. Anyway, a decent if flawed film. Don't be put off by the reviews and do check it out :-) |
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Post by intoanewlife on Dec 24, 2019 18:16:57 GMT
The Irishmen is the most critically acclaimed film of the year and I thought it was quite possibly the single most boring film I have ever seen. There wasn't a single likeable character in it. I didn't care what happened to any of them. It took them 3 and a half hours to tell a story they could've easily told in 90 minutes x
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Post by david on Dec 24, 2019 21:04:45 GMT
With being in London on Sunday night and having nothing to do in the evening after spending the day with family, I decided to venture out to the Odeon Leicester Square and see this. After handing over my £17.50, it wasn’t the total car crash that I was expecting based on the reviews I’ve read over the last few days. Ok, the CGI was terrible (and at times really creepy - Idris Elba) the fact that such basic stuff as deleting the ring on Judy Dench’s hand wasn’t done is unforgivable (was any sort out quality control used prior to release?) , though as a positive the film did add a little more to what is already a bizarre plot.
For the musical numbers, I didn’t get why did they reduce the Jellicle Ball sequence to what was filmed, On stage, this is great to watch live and on film if done properly should of been spectacular, but it just felt really flat. On the other hand, the Skimbleshanks number was well done.
I didn’t see any walk outs during the film which was positive and the trailer of In the Heights looks like it’s possibly going to be decent. A nice free souvenir brochure post film was given out out as a lovely memento of my CATS experience.
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Post by d'James on Dec 24, 2019 21:34:58 GMT
I think this is absolute nonsense. (I wanted to use a stronger word.) Avatar was by no means a great movie but they were supposed to be aliens. These are supposed to be real animals that a lot of people see every day. Yes they’re singing and dancing cats and you have to suspend your disbelief but they clearly weren’t one hundred percent sure or ready with the concept for this. It works in the theatre but clearly this concept doesn’t. Maybe people weren’t ready for this, or it’s just bad but the gun argument is way too simplistic. Nothing wrong with Avatar, I like Avatar. It is a big dumb boy movie and my 50 year old ass feels like a big dumb boy every time I watch it. But those aliens still look as weird AF, no matter how many times I watch it. I also love Bridesmaids and Mean Girls (and I didn't even hate Ghostbusters, even though I hated Ghostbusters), so nothing wrong with a good silly girl movie over here either. However, not everyone feels the same way and they are loud and they have internet connections... These 'cats' look slightly (like VERY slightly) different to the way they have always looked since the musical debuted nearly 40 years ago. In fact from a distance they look EXACTLY the same. It has been filmed with them looking the same way a gazillion times on tv adverts, tv performances and even entire film versions of the stage play for 4 decades and yet everyone is acting like they have never seen anything like it before. It is completely baffling to me that their look is getting the reception it is and it has baffled me since the first trailer over reaction. If they didn't look the way they do ie a slightly updated version of the originals, there would've probably been an even bigger hissyfit. You like making bold sweeping hypothetical statements without anything to back them up don’t you?! Especially to end your posts. ‘If this was a film where the cats looked exactly the same but were all running around with machine guns shooting each other, their appearance would not be a problem I'm sure...’ ‘If they didn't look the way they do ie a slightly updated version of the originals, there would've probably been an even bigger hissyfit.’ Or there might not have been at all. |
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Post by intoanewlife on Dec 24, 2019 21:41:56 GMT
Nothing wrong with Avatar, I like Avatar. It is a big dumb boy movie and my 50 year old ass feels like a big dumb boy every time I watch it. But those aliens still look as weird AF, no matter how many times I watch it. I also love Bridesmaids and Mean Girls (and I didn't even hate Ghostbusters, even though I hated Ghostbusters), so nothing wrong with a good silly girl movie over here either. However, not everyone feels the same way and they are loud and they have internet connections... These 'cats' look slightly (like VERY slightly) different to the way they have always looked since the musical debuted nearly 40 years ago. In fact from a distance they look EXACTLY the same. It has been filmed with them looking the same way a gazillion times on tv adverts, tv performances and even entire film versions of the stage play for 4 decades and yet everyone is acting like they have never seen anything like it before. It is completely baffling to me that their look is getting the reception it is and it has baffled me since the first trailer over reaction. If they didn't look the way they do ie a slightly updated version of the originals, there would've probably been an even bigger hissyfit. You like making bold sweeping hypothetical statements without anything to back them up don’t you?! Especially to end your posts. ‘If this was a film where the cats looked exactly the same but were all running around with machine guns shooting each other, their appearance would not be a problem I'm sure...’ ‘If they didn't look the way they do ie a slightly updated version of the originals, there would've probably been an even bigger hissyfit.’ Or there might not have been at all. Who'd have thought someone's bold and sweeping hypothetical statements about Cats would cause someone such distress... It's REALLY not that serious x |
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Post by d'James on Dec 26, 2019 0:39:48 GMT
You like making bold sweeping hypothetical statements without anything to back them up don’t you?! Especially to end your posts. ‘If this was a film where the cats looked exactly the same but were all running around with machine guns shooting each other, their appearance would not be a problem I'm sure...’ ‘If they didn't look the way they do ie a slightly updated version of the originals, there would've probably been an even bigger hissyfit.’ Or there might not have been at all. Who'd have thought someone's bold and sweeping hypothetical statements about Cats would cause someone such distress... It's REALLY not that serious x Explain anywhere you see ‘distress.’ Then again, why let facts get in the way of hyperbole? |
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Post by oxfordsimon on Dec 26, 2019 18:11:22 GMT
If you take it on it's own terms with the limitations of the source material, it succeeds.
Yes there are scale issues. Yes it is odd to have this particular blend of human and CGI. Yes the dialogue is disconcerting.
But when you start with a dance show with almost no plot and you end up here, you have done a good job.
The performances work. Robbie Fairchild is delicious (which probably makes me a furry now). Sir Ian is lovely. Dame Judi almost made me forget Brian Blessed.
Was delighted to have the original Mungojerry and Rumpletezer setting rather than the updated versions.
I think there are better Grizabellas out there. And Elba was in a different film.
But I enjoyed it
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Post by viserys on Dec 26, 2019 18:26:35 GMT
OK, the Cats have finally arrived in Germany and luckily I live in a civilized place that manages to offer the original version, so here are my two Eurocents. Lots of spoilers ahead...
I liked it... quite a lot and certainly way more than I expected. The "look" of the cats stopped bothering me within two minutes (although I did wish they had let the performers wear slippers to cover up the human feet). I loved the setting of a nocturnal old-fashioned London and while Beautiful Ghosts as a song certainly doesn't rank among ALWs finest, it fits perfectly where it is. I loved the connection between Victoria and Grizabella, who couldn't be more different but still shared the same fate of being rejected, Victoria by her human owner, Grizabella by her tribe.
But there were a few issues for me. One that I'll file under "meh" is the Macavity subplot. It makes little sense and why did Idris Elba as the only performer have to wear those naff green contact lenses? All the same, I can to some extent understand the thought of wanting to have more of a plot... it was just daftly conceived.
The first thing that really bugged me were some directional choices, most notably for Memory. The whole song plays with outdoor imaginery - the moonlight, the dawn, etc - it really shouldn't take place inside the old theatre but out there under the moonlight, with the dawn only just breaking in the distance. Others have already mentioned the bizarre decision to include Jennifer Hudson's snot and to some extent she was too melodramatic for my liking but I understand it must be an incredible task to do something fresh with a song done to death like this one. And for my money, it still blows virtually everything that's been written in the last ten-fifteen years out of the water.
Other songs were wasted opportunities, too. When the cats all move out onto the railways and into the sleeping car during Skimbleshanks, their world suddenly opens up so much and it's such a fun number to watch. The worst ones for me were Gus and Mistoffelees. Ian McKellen, bless him, isn't much of a singer, which is fine, but in the stage version this song is mostly carried by whoever plays/sings Jellylorum. Without her, it gets rather dull fast. The direction could have done so much here that isn't possible live in the theatre - have Gus "see" his former grand roles in his mind, bring the theatre alive again for a few moments, stuff like that. Completely wasted. Similarly Mr Mistoffelees, who, in the show, is a self-assured charmer, why make him such an insecure awkward cat here and why oh why didn't he dance?
Which brings me to the main problem: The dancing. Gillian Lynne created nothing short of a miracle with the Cats choreography, translating feline moves for human dancers. The new choreography did nothing of the sort. I got the sense that Blankenbuehler tried for a more contemporary "street" style of dancing but... that's not the magic of Cats, the incredible grace of real cats translated to dance. And so many songs were wasted, beginning with "Jellicle Songs for Jellicle Cats" and finding its nadir in the Jellicle Ball, where so little of the stunning ensemble choreography with all the cats moving in sync has been lost. Other wasted opportunities, too, like the aforementioned Mistoffelees or the Gumbie Cat - when all the cockroaches appeared on the table and on that cake, I expected for a brief moment some grand Busby Berkeley-style number, but it just fizzled out.
And well, to me the dancing was always the highlight of the show - you could move past the thin plot and the weaker numbers, but you can't fail to be in awe of the dancers' talents and Francesca Hayward aside, far too little was on show here. So on the whole... I did enjoy it. I will certainly watch it again when the DVD comes out and I don't think it deserves some of the ridicule and bile it's beein receiving. At the same time... lots of wasted opportunities, so I can also understand why it fails to impress, especially people who don't know the stage show.
PS: Bad Audience Behaviour of the Day: Some Taylor Swift fan (presumably) blithely filming the whole of her Macavity number on her phone.
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Dec 26, 2019 18:30:58 GMT
For those who aren’t fans of the show, would this change their minds?
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Post by intoanewlife on Dec 26, 2019 18:47:03 GMT
For those who aren’t fans of the show, would this change their minds? It may, but there's nothing there lol |
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Post by anthem on Dec 27, 2019 0:26:30 GMT
For those who aren’t fans of the show, would this change their minds? I would say No, but I gave it a three star rating. You never know though! |
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Post by steve10086 on Dec 27, 2019 9:05:57 GMT
For those who aren’t fans of the show, would this change their minds? I would have said no, but my bf hates the show and, much to my surprise, enjoyed the film! |
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Post by crabtree on Dec 27, 2019 10:49:13 GMT
To be fair, whilst the unzipping of Rebel Wilson is one of the most horrid and illogical sights ever committed to screen, The Gumbie Cat/Jennyanydots did always wear a big hooped overcoat that she discarded for her layered tassled outfit in the beetle tattoo.
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Post by alece10 on Dec 27, 2019 17:37:41 GMT
Well I am going to go against the grain as say that I really enjoyed the film.
The last time I saw Cats was on stage with the original cast back around the time of the 1st world war.
Thought it sounded absolutely glorious especially the Jellicoe Ball which is one of my top 10 favourite tunes.
Just a couple of minor gripes like the mice not being in proportion to the cats size wise and the cameras filming more of the cats faces and upper bodies during the big dance scenes.
Thought Judi Dench, Ian McKellen, and Steven McRae (who I had to look up) were brilliant and I even liked James Corden being himself. Slightly disappointed with Rebel Wilson who wasn't as good as she usually is. However the best bit of all was Robert Fairchild (is he now called Robbie?) who is a favourite of mine, and although he didn't have his own song, was in practically every scene so a big plus there.
I've given it a 4 stars.
2 people walked out after about 20 mins but I think they were actually at the wrong film as they looked more action adventure than musical theatre types and 2 people walked in during the opening number and proceeded to turn on their spotlight on their phone to find their seat and stand in the aisle talking about what row they should be sitting in very loudly. For pity sake, there are about 3 hours of adverts and trailers before a film starts so no excuse for being there on time.
We also got a trailer for Blyth Spirit with Judi Dench which looks marvellous.
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Post by peterbrook on Dec 28, 2019 8:45:46 GMT
Saw this yesterday,
As someone who loved the stage show, I was determined to see this film version whatever the critics said. OK, so the story was thin and sagged a bit in the middle of the first half. But the talent on display, both visually and aurally, was tremendous (including the orchestra which sounded great). The stand-outs for me from this highly talented cast were Judi Dench and Ian McKellen – two genius performers at the top of their game – and also the tap-dancing Royal Ballet principal, Steven McRae as Skimbleshanks the railway cat.
My advice is: if you liked the stage show, go along and see the film. Just sit back and let it entertain you.
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Post by horton on Dec 28, 2019 11:32:33 GMT
Has ALW made any comment of late? He seems unusually low-profile.
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Post by alece10 on Dec 28, 2019 11:46:30 GMT
I am surprised they haven't released the soundtrack
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Post by oxfordsimon on Dec 28, 2019 13:21:39 GMT
I was thinking about the soundtrack - and if it is taken directly from the screen version, it will sound very odd - the way they brought out certain voices in the mix when they were closer to the camera makes perfect sense in a visual presentation - but to just listen to it that way, it would be very, very disconcerting.
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Post by oxfordsimon on Dec 28, 2019 13:27:51 GMT
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Post by anthem on Dec 28, 2019 13:41:47 GMT
Thanks, I think she means the full score rather than the highlights? Not sure. |
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Post by duncan on Dec 28, 2019 13:45:30 GMT
2 people walked out after about 20 mins but I think they were actually at the wrong film as they looked more action adventure than musical theatre types That's says a lot about your prejudices. |
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Post by d'James on Dec 28, 2019 14:33:01 GMT
2 people walked out after about 20 mins but I think they were actually at the wrong film as they looked more action adventure than musical theatre types That's says a lot about your prejudices. I’m glad you said it. |
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