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Post by Someone in a tree on Feb 14, 2020 17:54:30 GMT
Finally watched it this afternoon. Eek. It's terrible. I'm now on tramadol
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Post by djp on Feb 15, 2020 21:08:52 GMT
I am always amazed when seemingly sane people like producers, designers, actors and in this case the composer of the show go into this project, must have been shown some sort of concept and VFX tests and then gush about how great and revolutionary it is. Still hearing James Corden and the rest praising it to the skies in the behind-the-scenes video released before the trailer. Money is very powerful... Depends how they read Les Mis. People who appreciate who can sing well noted that only a couple of names in that were really up to singing it, and some were ghastly or panto. It made money.Cats followed the logic of name casting to the litter tray.
Cat's failure is based not on the poor visual effect people but the belief that if you throw some big names in the people will come regardless. Worse they picked some terrible names , with few exceptions. They then created a story and scenes based on projecting their names - which obviously was going o undermine a musical based on athleticism, ballet , and character- with the character conveyed by very individual make up, the ability to sing the lyric, and the full dance sequences. Faux fur makes everyone look more similar and hides the emotions , but the game was lost before the computer kids started playing.
Its predictable that the characters that worked least well , are the ones blaming it on visual effects, when the bigger problem was their singing, their acting , and whoever was allowing it to go that way.
And the big wonder is that ALW and those who do understand how the musical works, didn't scream no at the name casting stage , if not when the concept was first described to them.
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Post by chernjam on Mar 19, 2020 4:05:11 GMT
OK - so I'm just watching this for the very first time. (Digital release on Apple TV)
1 - I had never been a fan of Cats - (only saw it once, which was enough) - although as an ALW fan, I did enjoy the music
2 - Was not put off by the early trailers and was actually intrigued/curious about it
3 - Most definitely was swayed by the visceral negative reaction to not bother going to see it in the theaters
Now, I don't know if being self-quarantined is getting to me... maybe I have the corona - but honestly I don't get all the negativity about this or see why it tanked. I mean - it's Cats - it's a known thing that was a crazy premise to begin with but was wildly successful. For me, setting the whole thing from Victoria's perspective gave the show a stronger semblance of a story then it had on stage. Singing and orchestrations are awesome (and saddens me that I doubt we'll ever get a full length soundtrack release after it bombed).
As for the CGI - it doesn't seem that awkward to me. I mean is it a bit weird? OK, I'll grant you that. But what did anyone think it would be when you had Cats... singing, dancing, talking about a new Jellicle life? To me, the critics - saw lashing this as a softball for them to smash and see who could out snark the next one (and in some cases I wonder if they even saw it).
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Post by Deleted on Mar 19, 2020 8:28:25 GMT
Rumours have been circulating of cat buttholes being digitally added and then removed. This appears to be the definitive answer to what happened ...
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Post by olliebean on Mar 19, 2020 12:12:10 GMT
The important phrase there is "as typical with heavy cg shows." Somewhere in Hollywood there's a vault full of inadvertent cg butthole shots.
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Post by horton on Mar 19, 2020 13:32:50 GMT
What would Sidney Poitier have done?
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Post by couldileaveyou on Mar 19, 2020 16:42:16 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Mar 19, 2020 16:51:29 GMT
Now it's available to stream in the US, i have downloaded it and keen to give it a look this weekend. It can't be THAT bad, can it??
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Post by Deleted on Mar 19, 2020 16:55:42 GMT
OK - so I'm just watching this for the very first time. (Digital release on Apple TV) 1 - I had never been a fan of Cats - (only saw it once, which was enough) - although as an ALW fan, I did enjoy the music 2 - Was not put off by the early trailers and was actually intrigued/curious about it 3 - Most definitely was swayed by the visceral negative reaction to not bother going to see it in the theaters Now, I don't know if being self-quarantined is getting to me... maybe I have the corona - but honestly I don't get all the negativity about this or see why it tanked. I mean - it's Cats - it's a known thing that was a crazy premise to begin with but was wildly successful. For me, setting the whole thing from Victoria's perspective gave the show a stronger semblance of a story then it had on stage. Singing and orchestrations are awesome (and saddens me that I doubt we'll ever get a full length soundtrack release after it bombed). As for the CGI - it doesn't seem that awkward to me. I mean is it a bit weird? OK, I'll grant you that. But what did anyone think it would be when you had Cats... singing, dancing, talking about a new Jellicle life? To me, the critics - saw lashing this as a softball for them to smash and see who could out snark the next one (and in some cases I wonder if they even saw it). Agree! And also gutted re lack of full length soundtrack (I may have mentioned this at the time lol ;-)) |
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1,760 posts
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Post by FrontrowverPaul on Mar 19, 2020 19:13:30 GMT
We finally saw Cats at the cinema last week thanks to the Odeon's great Silver Cinema showings for people age 55 + ( £3 including coffee/tea + biscuits).
Thoroughly enjoyed it and will be buying the DVD.
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Post by intoanewlife on Mar 19, 2020 21:10:24 GMT
OK - so I'm just watching this for the very first time. (Digital release on Apple TV) 1 - I had never been a fan of Cats - (only saw it once, which was enough) - although as an ALW fan, I did enjoy the music 2 - Was not put off by the early trailers and was actually intrigued/curious about it 3 - Most definitely was swayed by the visceral negative reaction to not bother going to see it in the theaters Now, I don't know if being self-quarantined is getting to me... maybe I have the corona - but honestly I don't get all the negativity about this or see why it tanked. I mean - it's Cats - it's a known thing that was a crazy premise to begin with but was wildly successful. For me, setting the whole thing from Victoria's perspective gave the show a stronger semblance of a story then it had on stage. Singing and orchestrations are awesome (and saddens me that I doubt we'll ever get a full length soundtrack release after it bombed). As for the CGI - it doesn't seem that awkward to me. I mean is it a bit weird? OK, I'll grant you that. But what did anyone think it would be when you had Cats... singing, dancing, talking about a new Jellicle life? To me, the critics - saw lashing this as a softball for them to smash and see who could out snark the next one (and in some cases I wonder if they even saw it). I think the main problem is that if you haven't seen the show and the entire concept of it is totally foreign to you, it's all a bit more of a shock. Cats has always been my most hated show, I literally thought I was going insane while watching it, but I gave the movie a chance and hated it every bit as much. If you like the show though, I don't think it's a major stretch to say you'll at least find something entertaining in the film. I think it'd have been much easier to swallow if it had been fully animated or CGI animation with no 'humanity' involved. |
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Post by crabtree on Mar 19, 2020 22:09:24 GMT
My problem is that it is simply a very badly made film, with discombobulating editing, so many inconsistencies in the 'world' and the cats, unfortunate casting,and worst of all, it's not fair to the dancers. And certainly not fair to the dignity and wit of TSEliot.
I wonder if Andrew Lloyd Webber ever set 'Cat Morgan' to music. The one poem that's missing from the stage show. He was a pirate cat as I remember. He did wonders with the original poems without changing them
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Post by Deleted on Mar 20, 2020 16:33:20 GMT
Dunno if you guys have ever seen Luc Desmarchelier's concept art for Steven Spielberg's attempt at Cats, but the sketches look absolutely wonderful and I so wish we had this version instead That looks really good. I think the slinky flexibility of proper cat-shaped cats would make for wonderful animated choreography. |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 2, 2020 23:32:35 GMT
I watched this tonight. I have only ever seen Cats once, at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool, with Rosemarie Ford as Grizabella (anyone??) and never felt the need to see it again.
I don't understand why this film version was hated quite so much by the critics. Okay, it's not perfect and it's not the most coherent piece, but the CGI wasn't bad at all. I was much more distracted by the odd, constantly changing proportions. And i was strangely moved by Memory, a song i usually cant stand.
I think people just had it in for it, before it even opened. The only thing i really agree with the critics on, was that Rebel Wilson was just horrific in it. She can only ever do the same schtick in every film she does.
Allowing Victoria to lead gave it far more of a story than the stage version ever had.
Watch it when you get the chance.
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Post by NorthernAlien on Apr 3, 2020 22:51:20 GMT
@tbfl - I saw it at Blackpool Winter Gardens! I can't recall exactly when, but I was in Senior School, so it would have been late 80s or early 90s - would we have seen the same production?
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Post by Deleted on Apr 4, 2020 6:16:37 GMT
@tbfl - I saw it at Blackpool Winter Gardens! I can't recall exactly when, but I was in Senior School, so it would have been late 80s or early 90s - would we have seen the same production? I saw the same tour (I say tour, it was doing 4 ish month sit downs!) at the Bristol Hippodrome with What's On The Board Miss Ford as Grizabella! One of my earliest theatrical memories. I think it was early 90s! |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 4, 2020 21:48:43 GMT
@tbfl - I saw it at Blackpool Winter Gardens! I can't recall exactly when, but I was in Senior School, so it would have been late 80s or early 90s - would we have seen the same production? According to Wikipedia, the first UK tour opened in Blackpool in May 1989. Which is about right because i moved to London in 1990.
Apparently it stayed for 6 months. Has any tour since stayed anywhere for 6 months? Maybe the original Phantom and Les Mis tours did??
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Post by alece10 on Apr 5, 2020 6:17:04 GMT
Have I made this up or was Jane McDonald in Cats in Blackpool?
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Post by critchyboy on Apr 5, 2020 16:33:55 GMT
Have I made this up or was Jane McDonald in Cats in Blackpool? Jane McDonald was in the most recent Blackpool sitting for six weeks in summer 2015. |
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Post by anthony40 on Apr 5, 2020 19:35:01 GMT
so it seems that via this weblink each show is only available for 48 hours
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Post by NorthernAlien on Apr 6, 2020 22:35:21 GMT
@tbfl - I saw it at Blackpool Winter Gardens! I can't recall exactly when, but I was in Senior School, so it would have been late 80s or early 90s - would we have seen the same production? According to Wikipedia, the first UK tour opened in Blackpool in May 1989. Which is about right because i moved to London in 1990.
Apparently it stayed for 6 months. Has any tour since stayed anywhere for 6 months? Maybe the original Phantom and Les Mis tours did??
I recall a production of Les Mis at The Palace Theatre in Manchester, also early 90s (but probably c1993/4??), that I think was supposed to be a tour, but seemed to stay in Manchester for a very long time. At what point does a 'tour' become... not a tour? |
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Post by chernjam on Apr 8, 2020 5:53:25 GMT
I watched this tonight. I have only ever seen Cats once, at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool, with Rosemarie Ford as Grizabella (anyone??) and never felt the need to see it again. I don't understand why this film version was hated quite so much by the critics. Okay, it's not perfect and it's not the most coherent piece, but the CGI wasn't bad at all. I was much more distracted by the odd, constantly changing proportions. And i was strangely moved by Memory, a song i usually cant stand. I think people just had it in for it, before it even opened. The only thing i really agree with the critics on, was that Rebel Wilson was just horrific in it. She can only ever do the same schtick in every film she does. Allowing Victoria to lead gave it far more of a story than the stage version ever had. Watch it when you get the chance. glad I'm not the only one who kind of had the same reaction... honestly as someone not heavily invested in this (other than wanting ALW to succeed and spur other movie musicals - namely Sunset, but I digress) I actually liked the movie better than the stage show. Having watched it a second time (*Covid quarantine might be screwing with my mind - I dont mind putting that disclaimer out there) I really enjoyed it. The concept of putting Victoria front and center and explaining it to her made it much more accessible than the first visit to the Winter Garden. "Whats a Jellicle cat?" they kept asking - how the f should I know and stop running up and down the aisles... One disagreement - Rebel didn't bother me at all. Then again, I've not really seen any of her other stuff, so... James Corden was actually good in it and had he not decided to sh*t all over it right after its premiere, I would've enjoyed his performance a lot more. Jason Derulo really was awesome. Seeing it a second time, I'm more convinced that this film really got a bad rap. Here's hoping with it being released during this quarantine time that it gets a second life in home release (And maybe we get a release of the full soundtrack. How did they not have the Journey to the Heavyside Layer in the highlights?) |
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Post by intoanewlife on Apr 8, 2020 14:21:50 GMT
Can I ask for anyone who is a fan of the show, is the 'kidnap' plot with Elba's character at the end of the film in the show?
I only ever saw it once and don't remember that being a part of it.
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Post by anthony40 on Apr 8, 2020 16:27:51 GMT
Can I ask for anyone who is a fan of the show, is the 'kidnap' plot with Elba's character at the end of the film in the show? I only ever saw it once and don't remember that being a part of it. No |
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Post by olliebean on Apr 8, 2020 22:29:16 GMT
Macavity does kidnap Old Deuteronomy in the show, doesn't he? But we don't see where he's taken him, and he doesn't kidnap any other cats.
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