It woud perhaps be too predictable for me to say that I thought it was PURRfect. So I will use these words, instead: Wonderful. Beautiful. Exciting. Fun. Emotional. Uplifting. Amazing.
Jacaranda2 said: "It would perhaps be too predictable for me to say that I thought it was PURRfect. So I will use thesewords, instead:Wonderful. Beautiful. Exciting. Fun. Emotional. Uplifting. Amazing.
It's as fabulously terrible as I expected it to be, but also shockingly freakier than I thought it would be.
And I'm so tired of Jennifer Hudson singing the sh*t out of everything in the place of actual emotion. There's nothing behind her singing besides power. Where's the character aside from looking shocked and confused?
And as one person tweeted:
"Pity the poor horror directors who have spent their whole careers trying to make scary movies, and then along comes the CATS trailer and it’s 100 times more terrifying without even trying."
"Hey little girls, look at all the men in shiny shirts and no wives!" - Jackie Hoffman, Xanadu, 19 Feb 2008
I think I liked it - or at least was intrigued by it. The stylistic cats are just....different. They are not the human cats on the stage - but they don't look like "real" cats in any way either. This does look like it's going to be very stylistic (I'm getting a Streets of Fire vibe). And it looks like they tried to put in some kind of story with Victoria? She's new and doesn't understand what's going on? So, the cats all sing to her to clue her in? I don't know. This could be one big beautiful mess - but I'm going to be looking forward to what non-theatre people think.
Am I in a fever dream right now? Is this a fever dream? Are you all in MY fever dream or am I in YOUR fever dream because that's what this is right? This is........ oh sweet baby Jesus am I dead? Are we ALL dead? IS THIS HELL!?
This what I expected when Im heard CGI would be used for the "cats". Faces look too large for heads and the bodies are still obviously human. It all looks incredible silly. There was a grandeur and a dilapidated elegance to Betty Buckley's Grizabella in the Broadway production. Here,Jennifer Hudson just looks strange. Since Cats has no real story to tell, I can't imagine this movie will do all that well at the BO.
After watching it a couple more times - I'm just surprised they aren't a little more cat-like since they went to the trouble of using CGI. For example, I would have liked to see them with cat eyes and a cat nose.
I was a little encouraged after seeing the featurette but now having seen the trailer I have to wonder what was the point of building all of those sets and choreographing all those wonderful dancers if they were just going to paint over everything with CGI and make it look like a cartoon?
everythingtaboo said: "And I'm so tired of Jennifer Hudson singing the sh*t out of everything in the place of actual emotion. There's nothing behind her singing besides power. Where's the character aside from looking shocked and confused?""
Yes. I'm glad someone said it. Hudson has two volumes: Loud and very loud. Her technique is sloppy. Her phrasing shows how much she could use some additional coaching in the breath control department. While on film, she can be edited to come across very well, her live performances can't hide her inherent problems. Color Purple was well above what she looked comfortable doing. Thankfully Heather Headley came along a little later to make sure we all understood how great a role Shug really is.
I don't think she deserved this role. People often confuse power-belting with emoting and connecting with a song. Hudson has yet to show people that she can, in fact, act.