i personally think that across the universe looks really good. i can't wait to see it!...is it out yet?

Saw it, really liked it! The new song arrangements are exciting and it's great to see the stories in each Beatles classic get brought to life as part of a longer narrative. Some of the songs are so seamlessly integrated into the story that were these songs not so famous already, you could almost forget this is a jukebox musical, and think it has an original score written specifically for the characters (of course, it helps that they're named Jude, Lucy, Prudence, etc, but the less obvious songs like I Want You work fantastically too.) Some Beatles purists might be alarmed by "musicalizing" (or even "gospelizing") some of these classics, but I think the arrangements stand on their own. I like Bono as a person, and often as a singer as well, but I found including him in the movie a bit distracting. The "I Am the Walrus" sequence is fun, but it's a bit jarring stylistically - I found myself wondering what a distinctly U2-sounding cover was doing in the middle of all these other arrangements sung by relative unknowns. (And I definitely did not like Bono's Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds which plays during the end credits...I've heard far better covers.).

The story itself isn't particularly complicated - young Liverpudlian comes to America in search of father, meets a bunch of creative hippie types including a new best friend whose younger sister becomes the English kid's love interest. They go through the tumult of the 60's and the tumult of personal relationships, and then - All You Need is Love. The end.

But it is definitely a visual feast - I especially liked the I Want You and the Strawberry Fields sequences. Jim Sturgess has a voice perfect for singing Beatles tunes, but the rest of the castmembers sound great too (from what I've read, many of the tracks used in the movie were used from the on-stage audio rather than re-recorded in the studio.) I recognized T.V. Carpio who plays Prudence - she was part of the ensemble when I saw Rent on Broadway.

Julie Taymor has hit another home run in my opinion :) The critics seemed to give it decidedly mixed reviews, so I'm guessing Hairspray will ultimately win out in the awards races. I highly recommend it though...came out of the theater humming all the way home!

-- Edited by NYC9758 at 02:10, 2007-09-23