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Reviews
Great Performances: Jesus Christ Superstar (2000)
JCS= great update of 70's video, good performance of the musical overall.
This video presents the final days of Jesus Christ, and the lives of those that followed and betrayed him. This is a Rock Opera, so don't expect to hear spoken dialogue. This was, all in all, a great rendition of Jesus Christ Superstar. The sets were great, the update was interesting (from the desert in the 70's film), and the acting was outstanding. The only noticeable flaw was that this IS a theatrical event, and it doesn't translate into film perfectly. The transitions from scene to scene, for some reason, seem cheesy to me. The older film was able to make transitions artistically and very well, but this version reeks of "studio", which doesn't help the viewer travel back to the days of Jesus Christ.
Glenn Carter (Jesus) was originally Simon Zealotes in the London cast of '96. He wasn't able to make Christ all that interesting in the present show. His singing is good, but it doesn't ever surprise us HOW he hits certain notes. It gets monotonous listening to him, but with all due respect to Carter, Jesus isn't one of the best-written parts in Superstar. Ironic enough.
Jérôme Pradon (Judas) may not be the greatest singer, but his acting is magnificent. Judas is probably the best-written character in Superstar. The whole play seems to be a metaphor for how the present day believer can accept Christianity, despite its flaws. We can identify with Judas more than any other character in the musical, and as a result, I tend to get bored when Judas isn't on camera.
Renee Castle....Mary Magdalene= great singer, great job, but I couldn't care less about Mary Magdalene.
Fred Johanson....Pontius Pilate= great actor. Pilate and Judas are really the best-written parts.
Rik Mayall....King Herod= this is the best rendition of Herod I have seen. Much better than the fat hippie in the 70's picture. His appearance seems random, but I guess I would be critiquing the bible to pursue that point. Herod's number is wonderful, and Mayall (best known for Drop Dead Fred) plays him well. I didn't especially like Alice Cooper's rendition in the 96' London performance. The original Broadway Herod is the only rendition that might top Mayall's.
Frederick B. Owens....Caiaphas. Michael Shaeffer....Annas. These two were great. Owens is the bald black villain with a deep voice. Schaeffer is the bald (almost albino) white villain who is counterpart to Caiaphas. I like these guys. Heh.
Tony Vincent....Simon Zealotes= This guy can sing. The Backstreet Boys pale next to Vincent's pop talent.
Cavin Cornwall....Peter. You can tell why this guy got the part; he's very talented.
The seventies Superstar took us to a desert wasteland. The new Superstar takes us to a fascist wasteland that reflects all the evils of the MTV culture. I didn't care much for Judas's final number because it came out like mellow drama in trying to drive the point home. Overall, this is a wonderful presentation of Superstar; I would suggest it to any fan of this Musical.
Cat People (1982)
This was THE movie of whatever day it opened in 1982, that is all.
This is almost a vampire flick, which is a risky thing for a movie to be > how many GOOD vampire movies are there? Only a handful. How many Vampire flicks are there? A lot. Cat People was an interesting, but on the whole, a mediocre film. I will start with the positive aspects. This has excellent dialogue (in many parts) as written by writer/director Paul Schrader. Nastassja Kinski shines in her role as Irena; the seduction is very real. The soundtrack created by Giorgio Moroder accentuates the suspense, which is also very real.
Now for the negatives. This film starts out on the wrong foot = I felt like I was watching Conan the Barbarian and not an Erotic Thriller (which is what this should have been) This film has a horrible soundtrack whenever suspense is not the main focus. The film actually freezes at one point just so we can take in the David Bowie score. This might have been good in the early eighties, but it isn't good anymore. Maybe I thought this was more than a horror flick...maybe it was. The point is that it throws in nudity and cheesy gore in excessive doses. This is not erotic or thrilling in the long run. Once I see Nastassja Kinski naked once, I probably won't have an "emotional" response if she does it many times afterwards. Part of this is probably due to the fact that Paul Schrader is not much of film director when it comes to "love." He does a nice job when he's trying to scare us, but really, why can't he just stick to writing? The actual plot is very weak, despite the witty script. The whole panther thing (I don't want to give too much away) is inconsistent as far as timing. The end of this movie feels like an unwanted encore. It never ends. Irena's purpose and motives are never clear because reasons are never really given. This is a good remake of a bad 1940's movie. This is a mediocre movie; I can't stress this enough.
The Visit (2000)
Very moving and powerful film, but somewhat slow.
I saw this at the Chicago Film Festival when it premiered, and as such was able to attend a talk back with the director, Jordan Walker Pearlman, and Hill Harper. Pearlman explained how he truly did believe that he was insane, while Harper joked about how "City of Angels" (2000) was probably not going to survive due to its competitive schedule. I'm just pointing this out to note that my opinion might be slightly biased, because I really did enjoy talking to these two people. I can truthfully say that this was the best film at the Festival.
The movie centers on the prison visitations Hill Harper's character receives from his family. (Mainly his brother, Tony) He must struggle to find hope and wishes to say his good-byes while he is still health. (He is dying of AIDS) These struggles he has to overcome include an unforgiving father, the parole board, an old crush, and ultimately his bought with AIDS. This movie made me feel sad and free at the same time. This is a celebration of the human spirit in a very bleak situation. The visit does move a little slow, but it was not intended to move quickly. The acting is outstanding form every cast member. It is an important picture, but is low on replay value. This was an experience, and I wouldn't want to corrupt the original viewing by seeing again. The ultimate message was very touching and still sticks with me. That's why I'd give this film a nine. I strongly suggest The Visit, but I do not ever wish to see it again.