DREAMGIRLS

my sis is watchin lame drama series, so i'm suffering from 1hr's worth of Idol 6 withdrawal while writing this. sigh.....

on a better note, i finally caught Dreamgirls with Quin today. hooray!!! after all the anticipation, it's finally here.loosely based on the story of Diana Ross and the Supremes, Dreamgirls is a dazzling 2hr song-and-dance spectacle, seldom stopping down for intimate moments of pensive thought whatsoever. every 10 mins or so, a song wld break out and someone wld be singing their lungs out.

i cant help but think that if Chicago, that Best Picture winner from 2002 or so, were to be released today, or Dreamgirls in 2002or-so, Chicago wld have been trampled by Dreamgirls. watching DG onli made me realise what a terrible musical C was. such a shame that out of the 8 nominations Dreamgirls received for the Oscars this yr, 3 are for Best song, two for the supporting actors (Eddie Murphy and Jennifer Hudson), and the three other are minor/technical nominations. they've been obviously snubbed. and Catherine Zeta Jones wldnt even have gotten that nomination, let alone the Oscars.

if Chicago was a white man's musical featuring a career breakthrough performance of Richard Gere tap-dancing and singing, then Dreamgirls would be the black person's answer featuring a startling Jennifer Hudson blowing people's minds everywhere. i cant help but notice the racial disparity, and when the 'Cadillac' number switched from a very soulful Eddie Murphy to an acoustic version featuring an all-white cast singing to a beach backdrop, the whites are made to look like mannequins with no soul. more so when at an all-white venue, the first-black-performer-performing-there Eddie Murphy actually scared some of the audience away and had some puzzled at his over-the-top performance.

i saw a different side of Eddie Murphy today. no longer the Norbit-slapstick comedian, he actually got serious, and is quite good at it. i love Keith Robinson's voice and performance. it was smooth and comfortable for the ears, sorta refreshing after all the diva-belting and riotous stage performances. he got me interested and wanting to watch his other movies.

Beyonce was overshadowed, but i'm quite impressed with her acting this time. definitely an improvement from Goldmember.oh and she's such eye candy and picture perfect. there were many beautiful shots of her in various outfits and makeup. Jamie Foxx was aight,as usual.

and of cos, the scene stealer was Jennifer Hudson. what can i say that hasnt already been said here before? when she sings, you listen. really, it's that commanding. it sure beats watching her tell me 'and i'm telling you i'm not going' on youtube for a zillion times. the Oscar might just be hers, less the hype killed her chances of having the ultimate American success story. but i cant help but to feel that this is just a case of deft casting. given another role, without her carrying a note, i wonder if she'd still shine. not everyone can be a Barbra Streisand u know.

talking bout deft casting, all the actors were definitely made to play these roles. the cinematography was lovely, so were the costumes and hairdo. and of cos, the music infectious. critics said the first hour was more interesting, and the 2nd hour sagged. but i thought it was all right, thou less dazzling. if the first hour is about the dramatic downfall of Effie White(which, with her always comes the drama,hence the snippy editing, the second is about the increasingly jaded concerns of Deena Jones(which, throughout the film, has fizzled beside Effie, short for that breakthru Listen). my only concern wld be the ending. they made it too easy. it didnt make me feel "awwwwwww...they're reunited!". it was more like, "they're friends now?!?".

go watch. i'm ashamed i actually gushed so much already.


and to top everythin with icing, py got me tics to the 曹格 NTU concert!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THANKYOU PEIYIH!!! LOVELOVELOVE YOU TO BITS!!!!!!









should have known.