Cats (1998)

This was one of my first musicals I ever heard. Since then I've listened to it so many times that it had started to lose its musical beauty to me. Then I rewatched the movie and... wow. Lots of energy. Lots of beautiful tunes. Lots of great dancing. This is one of those shows that just makes you all happy when you're watching it, even if it is disjointed plotwise. And who could resist Mr. Mistoffelees? He's just SO cool-looking. Erm... for a person dressed up as a cat, that is. :-) 4 stars.

Camelot (1967)

I have the Broadway cast recording and love it. I don't know WHAT they thought they were doing when they made this movie. Cast as Arthur: guy who comes across as very effeminate and does this freaky whispering thing. Cast as Guinvere: someone who's quite lovely but can't really sing, and definitely not at the original notes for Guinevere's songs. Lancelot was tolerable, but only that. Gah. Makes me wish I were alive when the Broadway cast was on so I could have that visual in my mind instead of this. 1.5 stars.

Basic (2003)

If you don't work TOO hard to try to make everything fit together and make sense, this is quite an acceptable movie. In fact, it's actually pretty fun, if you can keep all the characters and their names and their REAL names straight... 2.5 stars.

And Then There Were None (1945)

Maybe it was just me, but this movie made me go, "Huh?" I mean, I can accept changing the book so that we do have someone left alive at the end. I mean, Christie herself did that when she wrote it as a play. But... they changed EVERYTHING. None of those characters I came to know and... well, maybe not love, but at least know... survived the transition to movie. Too bad... because this really is a brilliant story. 1.5 stars.

12 Angry Men (1997)

Plot: Twelve men must decide the fate of one when one juror objects to the jury's decision.

For being a remake, this was quite good. Most of that goodness rested on the fact that the screenplay was almost identical to the original's and the acting, while not as amazing as the original's, was still quite solid. Definitely not bad. 3.5 stars.

How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying (1967)

Oh, my gosh. I like a fluffy musical! *gasp* I must officially die now... Oh, wait - it's a witty bit of fluff with Frank Loesser songs. *sits back up* That makes it okay. No, seriously, this is about as silly and meaningless as you can get, but whoever wrote the book was a genius because 'twas VERY fun in spite of its silliness. And again, Frank Loesser...how can you go wrong with Frank Loesser? 3.5 stars.

Big Fish (2003)

I LIKED this movie. A LOT. It mixes sweet with comedic and while that sometimes doesn't work, this did. Yeah, it was a "weird" movie, but it was an awesome weird. The penultimate scene, where the kid tells the story back to his father, almost had me crying, it was so touching. I'm really baffled by the people who hated it. I thought it was pretty darn close to "brilliant." However, note to Naomi L: I am still not wowed by either EM's looks OR his acting. 4.5 stars.