Rocketman (2019)

I was around 17 when I was introduced to Elton John's music and it was love at first sight sound. No matter what mood I am in, there's always room for his music in my life because, whether it's a sad song, a happy, joyous one, or something just danceable, he always makes me feel something. It comes without saying that I was very excited about Dexter Fletcher's Rocketman and, having read plenty of positive reviews, I also had very high expectations. Expectations that were met as Fletcher's is a flamboyant and highly entertaining musical fantasy film, an emotional rollercoaster from start to finish.

How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966)

It was around this time last year when I complained about the fact that there are not enough animated Christmas movies out there and Dell from Dell on Movies suggested How the Grinch Stole Christmas!. Being a bit of a Grinch myself, and annoyed by Jim Carrey's version, I decided to give it a shot. 

As you know, unless you've been living under a rock for your entire life, this short animated film tells the story of the Grinch (voiced by Boris Karloff), a grumpy and hateful creature who hates Christmas and all the people having a happy time celebrating it. For this reason, he disguises himself as Santa and his dog as one of Santa's reindeers and raids the village to steal all the Christmas things so that everyone will have a very sad Christmas this year.

Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)

I was looking for must-watch Christmas movies and Meet Me in St. Louis popped out. It was already on my watchlist —I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure Birgit over BB Creations talked about it in one of her Thursday Movie Picks post— so I checked it out, and it was a very pleasant surprise —I'm not a fan of musicals, after all. 

Set in early 1900s St. Louis, the film follows Smith family in the months leading up to the city's 1904 World's Fair. The second eldest of the four Smith girls, Esther (Judy Garland), has an endless crush on the boy next door, John Truett (Tom Drake), who hasn't noticed her yet; the oldest sister, Rose (Lucille Bremer), has a romance with Warren Sheffield (Robert Sully) who is now in New York City; the other two Smith girls, the younger ones, Agnes (Joan Carroll) and Tootie (Margaret O'Brien), engage in shenanigans. The family's dynamics are disrupted when the father, Alonzo (Leon Ames), decides to take a new position in New York City.

The Lure (2015)

While I was searching the most popular movie websites for horror movies to watch for the 31 Days of Horror challenge, whether I was looking for musicals or foreign language, there's a movie I stumbled upon multiple times, The Lure (Polish: Córki dancingu), a Polish fantasy, horror, romantic and musical film. In other words, a movie I could not pass. 

Set in Warsaw in the 1980s, the film follows two mermaid sisters, Silver (Marta Mazurek) and Golden (Michalina Olszańska), who are adopted by a family of musicians after assuring them they won't eat them and soon start performing at a nightclub as strippers and backup singers. While Silver falls in love with the bassist, Mietek (Jakub Gierszał), Golden cannot escape her bloodthirsty nature and kills people.

The Phantom of the Opera (2004)

I have mixed feelings about Joel Schumacher as I loved Phone Booth and Tigerland, but I hated Batman Forever and Batman & Robin. Ergo, although Katy said very nice things about it in her Against the Crowd blogathon entry, I didn't know what to expect from The Phantom of the Opera.

The film tells the story of a disfigured man known only as the Phantom (Gerard Butler) who lives beneath the Paris Opera House. He falls deeply in love with Christine Daae (Emmy Rossum), a talented and young chorus singer, and starts tutoring her while terrorizing the rest of the opera house and demanding leading roles to be always given to her. When Christine meets back up with her childhood friend, Viscount Raoul de Chagny (Patrick Wilson), and they fall in love, the Phantom, insane with jealousy, kidnaps her.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)

I don't know exactly how I discovered The Rocky Horror Picture Show as cult movies weren't something I'd watch. I just know that, when I first watched it, many years ago (I believe I still was in my teens), I was not ready for it but I loved it nevertheless. Since I'm doing this Horror October thing, I figured it was time to rewatch it. 

The film follows Brad (Barry Bostwick) and Janet (Susan Sarandon), a newly engaged couple whose car broke down in the middle of nowhere during a rainstorm, and, while seeking a telephone, stumbled upon the castle of Dr. Frank-N-Furter (Tim Curry), a transvestite from transsexual Transylvania. From then on, a series of weird and bizarre things begins to happen.

Burlesque (2010)

I'm not a Christina Aguilera fan, nor Cher's, but they both have phenomenal voices and I like many of their songs, and I'm also fascinated by burlesque, so I thought I'd give this musical a chance. 

The film follows Ali (Christina Aguilera), a young waitress from Iowa who leaves her small town to pursue her dreams in Los Angeles. Once in L.A., she tries and fails every audition she does; then, one night, she finds herself in a burlesque club and falls in love with this art. When Tess (Cher), the club owner, refuses to audition her, Ali begins serving customers at the club as a waitress until she finds a place for herself in the show. Meanwhile, Tess must find a way to save her club from bankruptcy.

Moulin Rouge! (2001)

There's something I've noticed over the past months as I started watching more musicals and reading what other people think about them; most of the time, people either love them or hate them. Moulin Rouge! too has such a divided audience, and, curious to see where how I'd feel about it, I decided to watch it.

The film is set in 1889 and tells the story of Christian (Ewan McGregor), a young English man who moved to Paris to pursue a penniless career as a writer. Once there, he meets a group of Bohemians, led by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (John Leguizamo), who tells him he should write a musical show for them to be performed at the Moulin Rouge. While in the process of selling the show, Christian meets Satine (Nicole Kidman), the night club's star and courtesan, and falls for her. She eventually falls for him as well but the club's owner, Harold Zidler (Jim Broadbent), is planning to sell her to a Duke (Richard Roxburgh) who will help him turn the night club into a theatre only if he can have Satine.

High School Musical 3: Senior Year (2008)

I remember when I first saw High School Musical 3: Senior Year and all these teenage girls, myself excluded, were screaming when Zac Efron made his first appearance on the screen. That's all I could remember about the film as I've never rewatched it. And I even have it on DVD. The reason? It's simply terrible.

This time around, the East High School kids are getting ready to graduate which means each will go their separate ways. Troy (Zac Efron) and Gabriella (Vanessa Hudgens) are those having a tougher time as Troy is planning to attend the nearby University of Albuquerque and Gabriella wants to attend Stanford University in California. Meanwhile, Sharpay (Ashley Tisdale) still plots to steal Troy from Gabriella and to get her part in the school Spring musical.

High School Musical 2 (2007)

I don't know why, but High School Musical 2 has always been my favourite of the three. I would watch it over and over, especially when I was in bed, sick. I guess it's because it was more colourful --there's a lot of bright pink though-- and it wasn't set in the school. 

In this second entry, summer has arrived and Sharpay (Ashely Tisdale) still hasn't given up the idea of having Troy (Zac Efron) all for herself so she has him hired at her parents' country club. Unfortunately for Sharpay, all the Wildcats get a job at the country club, Gabriella (Vanessa Hudgens) included. As if having to compete with Gabriella for Troy wasn't enough, Sharpay also has to fight to win the talent show hosted at the club like her brother Ryan (Lucas Grabeel) and she do every year. 

High School Musical (2006)

It was summer 2007, about a year after it premiered on Disney channel, that I first watched High School Musical and I loved it. I was 13 at the time. I'm 24 now and, while wandering through the shelves, I picked High School Musical's DVD and rewatch it because, you know, we all need to do something stupid once in a while.

It's New Year's Eve at a ski resort. Troy Bolton (Zac Efron), the star of a small-town high school basketball team, and Gabriella Montez (Vanessa Hudgens), a math genius, are forced to sing karaoke together and instantly click. After the break, Troy returns to school only to find that Gabriella is a new student there. They become friends quickly and decide to audition for the upcoming school musical but the cliques they belong to don't approve and try to separate them. On top of that, drama queen Sharpay Evans (Ashley Tisdale) and her brother Ryan (Luca Grabeel) try to prevent them from getting the leading roles in the musical. 

A Star Is Born (1954)

I've been meaning to watch A Star Is Born since the dawn of time but I kept putting it off because of its length. Having read great things about it eventually got the best of me. I guess it's because I had very high expectations but I didn't find it that special, just an average musical. 

The film tells the story of Esther Blodgett (Judy Garland), a talented young singer with a band, and Norman Maine (James Mason), an alcoholic movie star whose career is on the wane. He drunkenly stumbles into her act one night, he is smitten by her voice, takes her under his wing and gets her a screen test at the studio he works for. She becomes a major star, their relationship grows and they eventually get married. But soon Norman loses control as he can't control his alcoholism.

Labyrinth (1986)

While searching the web for a musical that wasn't too long --which is basically an impossible task since most musicals last more than two hours-- I stumbled upon Labyrinth. I had never heard of it before but I did see pictures of David Bowie from this movie which is why I ended up watching it. 

The story follows Sarah (Jennifer Connelly), a teenager with a very vivid imagination. When her father (Christopher Malcolm) and stepmother (Shelley Thompson) go out and leave her to babysit her stepbrother, Toby (Toby Froud), she is so annoyed with his continuous crying that she wishes the goblins would take him away. Which they do and Sarah must solve the Goblin King's (David Bowie) labyrinth before midnight or else Toby will become a goblin.

Newsies (1992)

Since I'm out of musicals to watch (it's not entirely true though as I have A Star Is Born, the 1954 version, but I'm not ready to commit to such a long musical. I'm not to that point yet), so I let the internet inspire me. In spite of it being a Disney production, I ended up watching Newsies because I was very curious to see Christian Bale in such a different kind of movie. 

The film is set in 1899 in New York City and focuses on the newsies aka young boys who sell papers. When publisher Joseph Pulitzer (Robert Duvall) raises the distribution price one-tenth of a cent per paper, the already poor newsboys feel outraged and, led by the voice of the group, Jack Kelly (Christian Bale), and the head of the group, David Jacobs (David Moscow), they go on a strike. 

Mary Poppins (1964)

I never cared for Mary Poppins as a kid, which is why I never watched the film before. I loved Julie Andrews in The Sound of Music though and I'm kind of interested in seeing Mary Poppins Returns, the sequel starring Emily Blunt, so I checked this one out. 

Set in Edwardian London, the film tells the story of the Banks family. The parents, George (David Tomlison) and Winifred (Glynis Johns), advertise for a new nanny for their rowdy, neglected children, Jane (Karen Dotrice) and Michael (Matthew Garber). The children, not happy with the previous nannies, write their own advertisement for a kind and sweet nanny. All of a sudden, Mary Poppins (Julie Andrews) arrives and, with the help of Bert (Dick Van Dyke), a chimney sweep and performer, uses music and adventure to improve the family's dynamic.

Yentl (1983)

I added Yentl on my watchlist ages ago when I decided to watch more musicals but I kept putting it off because of its length. Also, the title didn't really appeal to me and make the film sound kind of boring (does that even make sense?). And I was right. 

Set in 1940 Eastern Europe, the film follows a young Jewish woman, Yentl (Barbra Streisand), who lives with her widowed father, Reb Mendel (Nehemiah Persoff). Rather than becoming a devoted wife, Yentl would like to study but it is prohibited by her religion. When her father dies, she leaves her village disguised as a young man so that she could gain admission to a Jewish religious school. Her life gets even more complicated when she falls in love with Avigdor (Mandy Patinkin), one of her colleagues, who in turn is engaged to a devoted young woman, Hadass (Amy Irving). 

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953)

I really enjoyed Marilyn Monroe in Billy Wilder's Some Like It Hot so I decided to check out some more of her work. My first choice fell on Gentlemen Prefer Blondes as I had heard of it many times before and was curious to see what it was about (yes, I still don't read plots before watching movies. I like it better that way). 

The film follows two showgirls and best friends, Lorelei Lee (Marilyn Monroe) and Dorothy Shaw (Jane Russell). Lorelai is engaged to a wealthy nerd, Gus Esmond (Tommy Noonan), whose father (Taylor Holmes) disapproves of their relationship and is convinced that Lorelei is only after his son's money. So when Lorelei and Dorothy go on a cruise together, Esmond Sr. hires a private detective, Ernie Malone (Elliott Reid), to keep an eye on her. 

The Sound of Music (1965)

I've been meaning to watch The Sound of Music for a very long time but always put it off because of its length. I just have to be in the mood to watch an almost 3-hour long musical which I'm usually not in. I finally felt like watching it and I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. 

Set in 1930's Austria, the film follows Maria (Julie Andrews), a young woman who wanted to be a nun since she was a little girl but when finally joins them, doesn't like it and keeps getting in trouble. For this reason, the Mother Abbess (Peggy Wood) sends her to the house of a retired naval captain (Christopher Plummer) to take care of his seven children.

All That Jazz (1979)

About a month ago, Steven from Surrender to the Void suggested me All That Jazz and since I loved Bob Fosse's Cabaret, I decided to check it out (it did take me a while to find this film though).

The film revolves around Joe Gideon (Roy Scheider), a director and choreographer who is simultaneously working on a Hollywood movie picture and on a Broadway production. At the same time, Gideon keeps leading his excessive lifestyle, by being a chain-smoking, hard-drink and drug-taking womanizer.

Mamma Mia! (2008)

Though I haven't seen it in ages, Mamma Mia! is still my favourite musical. Maybe it's because it's the first adult film, and by adult I mean non-animated film, I saw on the big screen with my mother, or maybe because it actually is a pretty good film, but I love it. Since there's still plenty of time since the sequel hits theatres (September in my shitty country and yes, I'm going with my mom this time too) I rewatched this and I took advantage of it to review it. 

Sophie Sheridan (Amanda Seyfried), a 20-year-old who lives on a beautiful Greek island with her mother Donna (Meryl Streep) and is about to get married, has only one dream, that her father walks her down the aisle. The problem is that she has no idea who her father is. So when she finds her mother's old diary and learns her mother had three relationships before she was born, she invites the three men on the island, absolutely positive that she would recognize her father as soon as she sees it. Of course she doesn't, and things get way more complicated as Donna finds out the three men are on the island.