Posted: 12/20/19 at 5:40pm
Posted: 12/20/19 at 6:43pm
I thought it was very enjoyable! Absolutely bonkers, but so is the stage show. A lot of the negative reviewers seemingly just didn't know what they were in for. I think if you can get past the CGI (I could--clearly some can't), it's pretty much the same as the show, which also has numerous flaws and requires a huge suspension of disbelief/willingness to subscribe to a non-existent plot. Could it have been better? Sure--for one they could have cut Bustopher Jones and Jennyanydots, easily the weakest numbers in the piece and Corden/Wilson did them no favors. Why they used the original melody (if you can call it that) for Mungojerry and Rumpleteaser is beyond me. Taylor Swift's new song "Beautiful Ghosts" serves absolutely no purpose and is a huge tonal shift from the rest of the numbers. Jason Derulo was truly uninspired. Overall though? I can't wait to see it again (especially Ian McKellen's Gus).
Posted: 12/20/19 at 7:12pm
Posted: 12/20/19 at 10:28pm
Beautiful Ghosts" serves absolutely no purpose
Yes it does. An Oscar Nomination for Best Original Song. Probably the only one it will get. (For Your Consideration) ( Not for ALW I know)
Posted: 12/20/19 at 10:42pm
Posted: 12/20/19 at 11:07pm
sabrelady said: "Beautiful Ghosts" serves absolutely no purpose
Yes it does. An Oscar Nomination for Best Original Song. Probably the only one it will get. (For Your Consideration) ( Not for ALW I know)"
Beautiful Ghosts did not make the Oscar shortlist, therefore it is not eligible to be nominated.
Posted: 12/21/19 at 12:14am
That it did not achieve its purpose. U r Correct
BUT that was the only reason for its existence.
Posted: 12/21/19 at 1:01am
Does the movie cut The Jellicle Ball?
Posted: 12/21/19 at 3:20am
Posted: 12/21/19 at 11:11am
Posted: 12/21/19 at 2:35pm
As mentioned before I have never seen CATS in any previous version or rendition. And I really haven’t even been able to listen to the OBCR because I couldn’t get past the first two songs. Sounded awful. I was sure it would be better in context and in person. So I basically went into this movie blind knowing the bare, very basics of the storyline.
As for the movie, I didn’t hate it. It’s definitely different, and I think that I just sat there for a while basically stunned (30 plus minutes) just absorbing and trying to digest what I was looking at. I think after the first hour - which were basically introductions of all the cats and their stories and origins, etc. - did it really find its footing. This happened around the first singing of Memory and Beautiful Ghosts. Both are fantastic songs. After that it was much better and focused.
And I really didn’t care that they had human fingers and noses, human feet, or the snot/tears trail running down Jennifer Hudson’s face/upper lip. At those moments I just tried to focus on her eyes. And I certainly didn’t find any of this creepy.
The final rendition of Memory is stunning. I’d even say breathtaking. I definitely teared up and got watery-eyed.
Our theater auditorium had all of 17 people in it, and was next to the one showing Star Wars. It was loud. I’m sure it was packed.
They had a small souvenir CATS popcorn bucket and plastic cup for 8$ which I bought but didn’t fill, opting to get the giant popcorn/drink in regular packing as well.
Overall, I’m glad I went. This really isn’t a movie for everyone, and definitely not so much the average kid - I think they be bored out of their minds. I’d at least see it on the big screen instead of television, think it’ll lose much more in a miniature version.
A quick question for those who have seen it or may know. At the very end of the credits it mentioned The Shubert Organization. What was that for, because I totally missed reading it.
Updated On: 12/21/19 at 02:35 PM
Posted: 12/21/19 at 2:41pm
dmwnc1959 said: "A quick question for those who have seen it or may know. At the very end of the credits it mentioned The Shubert Organization. What was that for, because I totally missed reading it."
It was basically a "produced on the New York stage by Cameron Mackintosh, Geffen, Shubert..." credit.
Posted: 12/21/19 at 2:44pm
I was shocked when I discovered how minimal Taylor Swift's role was. She's probably one of the bigger names in the cast, and they do nothing with her until the end.
Posted: 12/21/19 at 2:48pm
Globefan said: "I was shocked when I discovered how minimal Taylor Swift's role was. She's probably one of the bigger names in the cast, and they do nothing with her until the end."
I was even more surprised at how big Robert Fairchild’s role is (amount of screen time) and he’s not even credited in most/all of the previews. At least I think I was looking at the right cat. LOL
Updated On: 12/21/19 at 02:48 PM
Posted: 12/21/19 at 7:10pm
Posted: 12/21/19 at 7:27pm
Only $7 million for its opening weekend? That's really sad. I'm sure it'll do okay during Christmas break, but this is 100% a flop.
Posted: 12/21/19 at 7:35pm
Posted: 12/21/19 at 7:49pm
Posted: 12/21/19 at 8:07pm
Posted: 12/21/19 at 9:29pm
This note was reportedly sent to movie theater operations staff and managers: “DCDC and Deluxe-Technicolor will be sending updated FTR-20 SMPTE DCPs of Cats which will include some improved visual effects. The runtime is unchanged.”
Posted: 12/21/19 at 9:29pm
morosco said: "This note was reportedly sent to movie theater operations staff and managers: “DCDC and Deluxe-Technicolor will be sending updated FTR-20 SMPTE DCPs ofCatswhich will include some improved visual effects. The runtime is unchanged.”"
More details in the link I posted above.
Posted: 12/21/19 at 10:16pm
Wow - reading the article about the "update" is really not going to add anything but more bad press/wild speculation about the whole film. A few weeks ago, I forget what entertainment site it was, but they had mentioned the delays and suggested they postpone the December release for a January seeing that it wasn't going to be released in time to be eligible for award screenings/deadlines and instead basically saying "take the time to get it right."
I haven't seen it yet - as much as I'm trying to be supportive and will go - these days before Christmas are insanely busy for me to spend 2-3 hours with a movie. But I really wonder how much difference/improvement any of this will be. For the most part, Cats was going to be a hard sell to non-fans anyway whether they did CGI, animation or used the costumes from the original stage production. If it is a substantial change - then this was incredibly foolish to rush the film out. If its not, this added "story" just brought more negative press.
Really sad to see this turning into a debacle. It's just a part of the theatre arts form that sometimes creatives get too close to their work and let deadlines and other factors to distract them from what their main focus should be. ALW can relate as he thinks back to the Sunset Blvd World Premiere compared to the LA premiere (but in this case, the costs are about 10 times what a theatre production would cost).
Interestingly though, a UK theatre site I visit has a lot of posts from people who are much more enthusiastic about CATS and completely disagree with the critics.
Posted: 12/21/19 at 10:29pm
If the "improved" version is already available to theaters this Sunday (and for some as late as Tuesday), why wouldn't they just opened on Christmas Day? They would have still been in consideration for awards season. (right?) If I had paid already to see this and learned there was an "improved" version available a couple of days later, I wouldn't be happy.
Updated On: 12/21/19 at 10:29 PM
Posted: 12/21/19 at 10:30pm
After seeing the misguided designs for the film I've come to the conclusion that John Napier's original designs were rather brilliant. His designs made it much easier for the audiences to suspend disbelief.
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