I knew I just had to watch this movie from the first time I saw the trailer. And Nine surely didn’t disappoint my expectations. I expected it to be beautifully shot, which it definitely is. I expected it to be well acted, which it absolutely is. And I expected it to be sexy, which it is 100%.

The story I didn’t expect. Or at least I didn’t know anything about it. Famous Italian director Guido Contini (Daniel Day-Lewis) is about to shoot another movie but doesn’t have a script or even an idea what the movie should be about. All he has is the title: Italia. What he also has are lots and lots of muses to help him create his stories. The movie is divided in two parts: One is the story of him and his problems with women and his producers and in the other part we see his fantasies of the women around him singing songs and dancing to express their emotion. Whenever he is with a woman his thoughts drift off into this dream world.

The Girls: Nicole Kidman is the star of all of Guido’s movies. She has a smaller part and although she is perfect for the role and I  usually like her I didn’t believe that she was upset in this movie. She was just giving a performance. I wasn’t impressed. As Guido’s wife Marion Cotillard gave an outstanding performance. Her I believed. She was truly hurting. I don’t think I have ever seen such a moving performance in a musical before. Penélope Cruz is funny as Guido’s mistress although I was surprised of just how sexy her dance was. That must have taken some courage to do in front of a movie crew. Sophia Loren seems the obvious choice for the part of the mother. She is wonderful but extremely lifted. Judi Dench is always great. She is the costume designer for Guido’s films and also takes on another mother figure for him. A sort of side character is Stacy Ferguson although she has the best singing act (Be Italian). This song is really well choreographed, she has a great voice and its just a fantastic song. I didn’t like Kate Hudson in this movie. She somehow doesn’t have the look of that time and her costumes and the song in her singing sequence seemed out of place and too modern. I do love that the movie has such an international cast. That seems to be unusual in movies and I always wonder why. Maybe thanks to globalization we will see more of this in the future.

But the real star of the film is Daniel Day Lewis. I think it is great that he was up for doing a musical. He seems to be mostly in very serious movies. He does bring a certain sincerity to the movie. He just is that character. I believed that he is Italian (excellent accent!), he certainly must have watched a lot of Italian films from that time. He is also charmingly in love with all of these women and it doesn’t come across as pervy how much he wants and needs them. And although he is really arrogant and self centered, he is likable.

The first half of Nine was a bit slow and all about Guido wanting women and being a ladies man but then the film really comes together and becomes a very moving story about an ultimately broken man who doesn’t know how he got to be the person who he is and who has lost focus on what is important in life. So looking back on it maybe the first, very sexy, part is needed to get to that point. I really enjoyed this movie. It has a great soundtrack and a very different story to what I have seen in musicals so far.

I really hate flying. The only thing that keeps me going through a long flight are the films. So for me the worst thing that could happen is a really bad film (although I would still watch it to keep me occupied).

Yes Man

Jim Carrey in another comedy. In Yes Man he plays someone who says “no” to absolutely everything. He has been at the same job in a bank for the past five years and his wife left him a few years ago and now has a new boyfriend which really upsets Jim’s character. One day he runs into an old colleague of his who convinces him to come to a seminar to become a “yes man” in order to start living his life. To his own surprise the seminar actually does change him and from now on he has to say “yes” to every offer that comes his way.

The beginning of the film is completely flat. I mean, we get the fact that he says no to everything, you don’t have to show it over and over again. Once he becomes a “yes man” things get a bit funnier. But the jokes are not very good, quite bland. The only really fun thing about this film is Zooey Deschanel. I am amazed at her ability to light up the screen in any movie. She is a really unusual actress. I think she should be in a lot more films! Other than her I don’t see a reason for watching Yes Man.

Bride Wars

Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway play Liv and Emma, two best friends whose life dream it is to get married at the Plaza in Manhattan. Now that the time has finally come, there is one problem: Their wedding planner has booked the friends’ weddings on the same date. This means that one of them has to change the venue, but neither of them is prepared to give up their dream.

Bride Wars is a sort of amusing film but I just can’t understand this dream of the grand wedding at the Plaza. What is the big deal? I don’t even think the Plaza is particularly beautiful. How can two people be so utterly obsessed with getting married there? How can you even make a film about two people who are obsessed with getting married? The film is good enough to be entertained on an airplane, where there is really nothing else to do than watch it, but not more than that.

Both of the movies were fairly bad but entertaining on a level that is good for flying-mood. I wouldn’t recommend watching them under normal circumstances though.

Sex, drugs and rock’n’roll. This is one of the films I used to love as a teenager.

It is a coming-of-age story in which fifteen-year-old William is given, by chance, the opportunity to write the cover story for the Rolling Stone Magazine. He tours along with one of his favourite bands, Stillwater. His self-declared mentor Lester Bangs (Philip Seymour Hoffman) advises him under no circumstances to make friends with the rock stars.

But, of course, William is swept away by the situation and loses focus on his work. He falls in love with one of the “Band Aids”, adores the band leader Russell Hammond and on top of it all ends up getting “deflowered” by a group of girls. When the article is due, he has only a few notes written down…

The cast includes Kate Hudson as Penny Lane, Patrick Fugit as William and Billy Crudup as the band leader Russell Hammond. One of the most entertaining characters is William’s mother (Frances McDormand), who is extremely possessive of her children and only allows William to go on the trip if he doesn’t miss a single test in school (obviously he ends up missing quite a few).

Groovy entertainment with a great soundtrack. Filled with subtle humour, a beautiful first love and crazy rock musicians. It is definitely a film worth watching!

Almost Famous is being given the MovieCat Award for best musical road trip movie.