NINE - The Movie Musical - Review Thread

[Pgenre]

Posted: 11/24/09 at 4:30pm

OK, the NINE review embargo ends at midnight so all the critics will be chiming in with their views very shortly.

Let's all cross our fingers and hope for the best!

Please post any reviews you may find, professional or otherwise, here.

P
Updated On: 11/24/09 at 04:30 PM

[Pgenre]

Posted: 11/25/09 at 4:03pm

Pete Hammond: NINE and LOVELY BONES lead the race

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 11/25/09 at 4:19pm

The Variety for THE LOVELY BONES was not very nice. I am starting to get the sense that it's not gonna be the winner that people thought it'd be.
I don't think I believe O'Neil when he says that the audience at the SAG screening only went wild because of the stars being there. Can anyone who was there shed some light on this? (I believe this is the screening MichaelBennett attended).
Sad to see that O'Neil predicts Cotillard has no chances of a nomination, but he says Dench and Cruz do.

Updated On: 11/25/09 at 04:19 PM

[E.Davis]

Posted: 11/25/09 at 4:24pm

You have to take what ever he says with a grain of salt....Some of his past stuff....well he is no fan of DDL...It seems that he is just pushing the bad stuff out but does not comment on any of the great stuff in the movie.(I have not seen it, but from what everyone has said and what i have read on IMDB) it will be a winner of alot of hopeful GG and Oscars...but I don't know

[jovie27]

Posted: 11/25/09 at 4:31pm

Any clips of DDL singing, yet?

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 11/25/09 at 4:36pm

Tom O'Neill is the nicest guy in the world but he's not a very good Oscar predictor. If you are into following that race - I suggest Kris Tapley of incontention.com.

Yes, that was the screening I went to Jazz. It was the first major screening of the film in Los Angeles and the audience was mostly male SAG members (who typically would probably be more responsive to say Inglorious Bastards than a movie musical).

You always have your dissenters at these kinds of screenings but the people I talked to by and large really enjoyed the film - sure it helps to have stars at a talk back but you have to take it all with a grain of salt. The members of SAG at the screenings are for the most part unemployed working class actors - both star struck and resentful of movie stars in attendance.

By and large - they don't really represent the same people voting for the Oscars.

[Kad]

Posted: 11/25/09 at 6:17pm

I would bet on O'Neil's predictions not coming to fruition.

Another great blog/site to follow for the Oscar race is thefilmexperience.net

[GoSmileLaughCryClap]

Posted: 12/3/09 at 8:09pm

If you haven’t seen or don’t know the original musical, and if you are seduced by the spectacular trailers, you might expect Nine to be a glittering cavalcade of frouffed and bouffed leading ladies (Penélope Cruz and Nicole Kidman among them), prowling slinkily around leading man Daniel Day-Lewis. But Nine is one of those rare things: a sombre musical, as gritty as it is glittery.
UK Times 4 Stars

[GoSmileLaughCryClap]

Posted: 12/3/09 at 8:12pm

Nine, Rob Marshall’s film adaptation of a Broadway Show, which stars Daniel Day-Lewis and Penelope Cruz amongst others is a ravishing looking beast.
The Telegraph 4 Stars

[Pgenre]

Posted: 12/3/09 at 8:15pm

YES!

2 Four Star Reviews!

THAT's how to kick off this thread!



P

[wickedfan]

Posted: 12/3/09 at 8:27pm

Roger Friedman's mini-review: He loves it. Says it's less like Chicago and more like All That Jazz.
http://showbiz411.blogs.thr.com/oscars-nine-premieres-in-london-its-a-ten/

[wickedfan]

Posted: 12/3/09 at 8:31pm

And the UK Daily Mail gives it a 10.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1233043/The-review-Star-studded-musical-Nine-sparkling-ten.html?ITO=1490

[Pgenre]

Posted: 12/3/09 at 8:32pm

"By the way, you can listen to the whole score from “Nine” here. Press number 5 and listen to Nicole Kidman sing “Unusual Way.” It’s a hit!"

And with that Marquise jumped off the ledge of the building,

P

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 12/3/09 at 8:37pm

The clips I've seen from it definitely remind me of ALL THAT JAZZ...which is great!

[Marquise]

Posted: 12/4/09 at 4:41am

Pgenre, I have a right to my opinion just like everyone else here. I don't understand what your problem is with me not liking Nicole Kidman's rendition of UNUSUAL WAY. You like it. Good for you, that is you're right you are entitled. I don't and that's okay to. There's no reason for you to continue bashing on me because my opinion differs from yours.

I'm not saying you're wrong for liking it, that's your prerogative so please accord me the same respect for not liking it.

And trust me, I'm not going to jump off a ledge or lose sleep over Nicole Kidman's warbling. I have more important things going on in my life than NINE.
Updated On: 12/4/09 at 04:41 AM

[GoSmileLaughCryClap]

Posted: 12/4/09 at 7:17am

Hollywood Reporter is very negative.
PAN

[Smaxie]

Posted: 12/4/09 at 7:53am

Variety is very positive.
RAVE

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 12/4/09 at 11:50am

Variety is usually my go-to source for film reviews, it's nice to see they liked it so much. I hope the film keeps getting good notices.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 12/4/09 at 11:57am

I think the film will receive decidedly mixed reviews. There for whatever reason is a certain amount of distaste in Hollywood circles for movie musicals, and in particular CHICAGO, for which there seems to now be the sentiment it was over praised and not deserving of a Best Picture Oscar win.

Not saying that all reviewers are going to be influenced by that, and there will be many that will praise or criticize the film based on their own experience of it.

But most people I know who are of the Hollywood reviewing ilk were going into this film expecting to hate it - and frankly several of them have.

[MrMidwest]

Posted: 12/4/09 at 12:34pm

Dave Poland (a big lover of musicals) didn't care for it:

http://www.mcnblogs.com/thehotblog/archives/2009/12/review_nein_aka.html

[DAME]

Posted: 12/4/09 at 12:53pm

I didn't care for it either. Two hours of a man treating women like crap and them singing overblown numbers about it. Liked Lewis and Fergie.. That's about it.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 12/4/09 at 1:02pm

David Poland is the man who famously said after viewing PHANTOM OF THE OPERA that it was a slam dunk to win Best Picture...

Poland misses the point about the musical numbers as fantasies. They aren't mean to further the plot because there is no covert plot to NINE (or 8 1/2). They are as in the Fellini film emotional and intellectual fantasies.

The point is, that NINE doesn't really have a plot. Guido can't find a plot for his film (or for his life) and the films 8 1/2 and now NINE (more more heavily inspired by the Fellini film than the musical is) follow suit.

For audiences expecting or demanding a plot driven musical like DREAMGIRLS or SWEENEY TODD - they will probably largely find NINE an unfulfilling experience.

[musicalfandukie]

Posted: 12/4/09 at 1:29pm

The Fact that the Hollywood Reporter reviewer thinks that Sweet Charity was a pretty terrific film tells you right there he doesn't really know what he is talking about.
Updated On: 12/4/09 at 01:29 PM

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 12/4/09 at 2:11pm

Agreed, musicalfan, I did a double take when I read that and yes, it immediately discredits the review.
It's also absurd that the Hollywood Reporter reviewer argues that the actors can't dance. From what I understand the only dancing numbers are "Cinema Italiano" and "Be Italian" (I imagine not much dancing is required from Judi Dench in "Folies Bergeres") and to say that Kate Hudson or Fergie can't dance in those numbers is absurd. Not only that, but what's his problem with Marshall's editing? This is film. I understand people on this site criticizing the cuts during the dance sequences, but film audiences won't think that Kate Hudson can't dance just because of Marshall's fast-paced cutting. At the end of the day, she looks wonderful in it and her dancing seems to be one of the highlights of the film.
MichaelBennett, I keep reading people saying that CHICAGO shouldn't have won and that THE PIANIST was robbed. I'm of the personal opinion that it was Rob Marshall who was robbed of an Oscar for CHICAGO. Still, I imagine that what you are saying is true, which is a pity since the film looks great, the singing is wonderful, the new songs are out of the world, and the cast couldn't be stronger.
I'd love for the movie to be a box office hit, get good reviews, and do well at the Oscars. But if it doesn't, I'll just be pleased that Rob Marshall gave us yet another fantastic stage-to-movie adaptation. I can't wait to see what his next musical will be, hopefully he'll do that after the PIRATES sequel.

[uncageg]

Posted: 12/4/09 at 2:45pm

I thought Sweet Charity was a pretty terrific movie. JMO