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nessathetyrant06
Reviews
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1966)
Has its moments
As a fan of the Broadway musical (I'm partial to the revival with Nathan Lane, myself), I was so excited to get to the video store and rent this movie with Zero Mostel, who I adored in Mel Brooks' "The Producers." What I found was huge disappointment. The original score, which included sixteen songs, had been butchered in this movie to include only six. I could almost understand this, because movies have time limits. But the movie dragged on anyway, and when I'd finished, I couldn't believe it had only been an hour and a half long. The ending was quite possibly the longest sequence of events in movie history, and as it's impossible to hold a horse chase on stage.
However, the movie does have its moments. Zero Mostel is still quite hilarious as Pseudolus the slave, and when Hysterium was forced into cross-dressing, my stomach hurt from laughing so much. Not to mention the fantastic Erronius, the befuddled old man looking for his children. If you're a Zero Mostel fan looking to kill some time, then I recommend this movie, but don't expect a whole lot of enjoyment out of it.
Cinderella (1997)
Almost great
First thing's first: I'm glad the prince and Cinderella have more depth than the all-too-well-known Disney classic. I'm delighted that they have FANTASTIC musical actors in this movie like Bernadette Peters (whom I absolutely adore), Jason Alexander, and Whitney Houston. But the thing is that Brandy just cannot act. A character like Cinderella has to be loved by everyone for the movie to be great, but she made Cinderella sound weak with her soft, breathy vocals. Don't get me wrong, I like Brandy as a singer. But she doesn't bring anything to the role of Cinderella, and quite frankly, she brought the movie down. She can't act well at all. She could have done well had it been a high school production, but there are thousands of actresses and singers who could have done a better job. It could have been great, but it really, really wasn't. Not to mention that there was a lot of color, but it was all too much to handle--it was just blues and purples and pinks.
It's worth watching for Bernadette Peters of course, and the stepsisters are hysterical. Jason Alexander is quite comical as always, and the king and queen are great examples of some of today's parents. Overall, it's a good movie, especially for the younger little kids, but don't get your hopes high before watching.
Antigone/Rites of Passion (1990)
Absolutely disgusted
I was forced to watch this movie in my English class after reading the play Antigone, and while the story itself is a classic, the movie is by far the most horrifying thing in the world. I'm a highly opinionated and talkative person, this movie left me absolutely speechless. I can't describe how horrible it is, just that it's enough to make anyone who dares watch it have nightmares for years to come. The effects are horrible, there was blood when there shouldn't have been, and there was no acting--just a bunch of monkeys moving around to a narration that held no emotion. The costuming is atrocious as well, because there was black leather and a Rolex on one character while the others wore colorful tunics and togas.
In short: don't waste your time with this abomination if you can help it.