Change Your Image
Danelle-3
Reviews
Pop Rocks (2004)
Delightful!
I sat down to watch this movie tonight, with dim expectations -- but was delightfully surprised! How could anyone not fall in love with Jerry "The Dagger" as he wrestles with his own unique midlife crisis? How could one not feel the joy and pride of his stunned family when they come to realize that their dad is no strait-laced bore after all? The characters were lovable, the plot was funny and engaging, and the comedic moments were many.
And the music -- it was great! [How well I remember (and loved) the "metal" bands of the 80s!] I hope this is the pilot for a series, because I want to see more. All in all, a delightful, funny, totally feel-good commentary about youth, music, and middle age. I thoroughly enjoyed it!!
Great Performances: Jesus Christ Superstar (2000)
A Pale Shadow of the Original
All right, I'll admit it right up front: Jesus Christ Superstar (1973) is one of my all time favorite movies, so when I bought this 2000 version, I did so with the dubious hope that I'd like it as much as the 1973 version immortalized by Ted Neeley and Carl Anderson. Unfortunately, I did not. Through at least the first half of this production, I felt as though I was watching a flat, dull, and passionless re-enactment of the 1973 version, with "imposters" playing the beloved roles of Jesus, Judas and Mary; both the acting and the music lacked the jubilant and triumphant energy, enthusiasm and passion of the 1973 version, and I felt as though I was listening to an old 45 record slowed down to 33 rpm speed. "Hosanna!" lacked the joy and energy of the 1973 version ... "Simon Zealotes" was missing the verve and glorious passion of the earlier movie. The music felt flat. I also wasn't satisfied with the acting in this version. Here, the actors seemed as though they were merely "going through the motions" and were guilty of such over-acting that much feeling and emotion was lost. Carter and Pradon lacked the soul, passion, and pure devotion to their roles that Neeley and Anderson brought to the earlier version, and lacked the same chemistry that the latter two shared. I just could not see, or stand, Glenn Carter as Jesus for the first half of the film: (SPOILERS AHEAD) ... He was far too intimate with Mary (and Judas) in ways that felt sexual rather than platonically loving, and he did not evoke in me the same level of feeling that Ted Neeley did, who *was* so very much his role, that it's hard to ever imagine anyone else as Jesus. To me, Carter felt like what he was: An actor playing Jesus, while Neeley almost *was* Jesus. To be fair, though, Carter started to redeem himself in "Gethsemane" (though nobody will EVER come close to Neeley's anguished and unforgettable performance of this song) and I must admit that Carter conveyed such anguish, suffering and emotion (far more than the more stoic Neeley did, I must admit) during the scourging, crowning and crucifixion scenes that I had tears running down my cheeks. Jerome Pradon's interpretation of Judas felt a bit too malicious, with his shoving Mary down the stairs, and there was a scene where he was rough on Jesus, too. I did, however, feel that the "evil" Caiphas and Annas were very well casted and absolutely brilliant in their roles, and were, perhaps, an improvement over the original, who didn't seem quite as malignant as these later two did. While the filmed-in-Israel setting of the 1973 version brought a certain reverence, awe and mystery to that film, with the desert, powerful sunsets, and vast emptiness of the setting actually bringing us back to the time of Christ and making us feel as though God was actually there, all in all, I felt as though this was exactly what it was -- a very modern, staged version of a classic. It didn't really fire up and pick up steam until "Gethsemane" and beyond. I gave the movie 8 stars, but only because of the second act, which redeemed the movie with powerful performances and music that finally got out of its own way. Still, though, it's worth a viewing... even if it does prove that some classics just can't be topped.