Musicals & Music Films > Classical Musicals & Music Films > 2002

Advantages: Really funny, slapstick, harmless fun
Disadvantages: Dragged a bit, not great singing

Stars - Meryl Streep Pierce Brosnan Colin Firth Good points - Harmless cheerful fun Bad points - Far too much ABBA for me! My ears are ringing I was a bit weary of this film but both my mother and my aunt were extremely excited about this film so I thought I would go along with them to see what the fuss was about. I have to admit this film was really funny, if not a bit ridiculous and I did enjoy it. However Im in my 20s so missed the whole Abba ...
...a bit much and was slightly relieved when it was over. Julie Walters is the best thing about this whole film though, she is fantastic. The singing wasnt up to scratch to me. None of these people would have made it on the west end. HOWEVER I think those who remember Abba from the first time round will love this. ... Read review

Advantages: Funny, warm, great cast, great songs, a real feel-good film that will make you smile
Disadvantages: Very slightly inferior to the stage version

...to the cinema to see Mamma Mia with my mother-in-law (while my husband, son and youngest daughter saw Hancock). I saw the stage version of Mamma Mia in January this year and thought it was brilliant. I'm also a big Abba fan and have been for about thirty years, so I'm in the ideal demographic for this movie. The cinema was almost full and those seeing Mamma Mia were admittedly mainly women, but from the elderly down to young kids. There was a bit ...
...The basic plot to Mamma Mia (on stage and screen) is that Sophie is getting married. She's twenty and lives on a small Greek island with Donna, her single mother. Being brought up never knowing her father, Sophie discovers an old diary of her mother's and reading through it, she realises her father is one of three men - Harry, Sam or Bill. So she invites all three to her wedding, hoping that she'll recognise which one is her father and her wedding ... Read review

Advantages: Hilarious - didn't take itself seriously - great songs
Disadvantages: Pierce Brosnan can't sing.

Went to see this film at the cinema with a group of friends from work, and the general consenus was that you either loved it or hated it. In the most part, those in the hating catergory didn't realise it was a musical, so a little warning if you are planning on seeing it and will be offended by the characters bursting into song at the drop of a hat! It wasn't technically good, the cast aren't trained in musical theatre, and it shows (particularly ...
...was full of fantasic people who could all sing and dance, but weren't well known, it wouldn't have been so entertaining. I've never seen Mama Mia the musical at a theatre, so wasn't familiar with the plot, but as musicals go, it was a quite interesting. A young girl is getting married, and decides to try and find out who her father is to invite him. She reads her mum's diary from the year she was born and finds three potential dads. They all arrive, ... Read review

Advantages: A great piece of Metallica history, great setlist
Disadvantages: None

...be different from anything else Metallica have ever offered on DVD before becomes immediately apparent - as the 'Ecstasy of Gold' (the theme tune from 'The Good, The Bad and The Ugly' that has accompanied a great many Metallica concerts since the 1980s) is played live by the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra. Call of the Ktulu follows, and one can only imagine just how tremendous the performance would have been to experience live, judging from the ...
...work very well. Clearly, Metallica have a great many songs to choose from, and so the setlist does not disappoint. Although there is nothing from Kill 'Em All, highlights from Ride the Lightning, Master of Puppets, And Justice for All, Metallica, Load and Reload all appear, and the orchestra generally adds to the experience nicely. Nothing Else Matters, Bleeding Me and Memory Remains are particularly worthy of a mention, as these really come alive ... Read review

Advantages: Energetic fun.
Disadvantages: Some bad notes.

...film. What is Mamma Mia? A film adaptation on the west end musical based on the songs of the pop group ABBA. The film follows Sophie Sheridan (Amanda Seyfried) as she plans to get married to Sky (Dominic Cooper) and her doting mother Donna Sheridan (Meryl Streep). However there's one thing missing from her life, her father. She reads her mother's diary and finds out she has three possible fathers: Sam (Peirce Brosnon), who was the love of her ...
...Meryl Streep singing Mamma Mia was great and could have been so much better if the camera work wasn't so dodgy. She's got an amazing voice. Dancing Queen preformed by every woman on the island was a great uplifiting moment. SOS is a good performance just because it drowns out Peirce's Brosnon's voice a lot. The Winner Takes It All preformed by Meryl Streep is a fantastic piece in the movie. She puts all of the emotion in she can. Brilliant. My ... Read review