originally posted as a review at leaflens.multiply.com
--------------
cine chichirya muna.
DREAMGIRLS
d., s. bill condon (based on the broadway musical)
c. jaime foxx, beyonce knowles, eddie murphy, jennifer hudson
i was fixing some things earlier when i saw that i haven't seen this film pa nga pala. the dvd was just lying there so i thought it's a good lunchtime companion to watch while i violate some health thing and ate food that my doctor warned that i was not supposed to eat anymore na. heck, comfort food's comfort food--and i need comfort these days, so what the heck. so i did. eat the damn food and watched this film.
and i loved it. everyone's good here, hands down. the acting was great, the camerawork was cool, and the music and dancing were just fine. of course that's a given, given that this film is about the rise of a record company similar to the old decca/motown of yore back in the late '50s to '60s when white racist america was afraid to dabble into the music and culture of the black folks because they believed it had some voodoo and black magic thingamajigs with it, not to mention that rock 'n' roll was branded as the music of the devil back then. stupid di ba? but no, they still ended up "borrowing" this sound for their own culture and profit (which a sequence addressed in this film, ie yung pagnakaw ng isang kanta at ginawang acoustic). haller, elvis presley na lang kaya no. and his contemporary din, si jerry lee lewis na sabi nila e his one hand played gospel music and the other hand played rock 'n' roll (he was a pianist as elvis was a guitarist). kaloka. e tumambay lang naman siya sa mga black folks at nagets niya ang sound na yun e. sus. great balls of fire indeed. and elvis? hay. as much as the man was talented, i can't forget his quip saying "the only thing niggers are good for is to shine my shoes." da king ka talaga, indeed.
anyway, enough about rock 'n' roll history.
i loved this film because it had that sound that i love -- that soulful motown-like sound. sobra lang.i've always liked the soulful sound of the black folks, blues, jazz, rock 'n' roll man yan or what, even rap, the precursor of today's hiphop. i liked that it had that sort of history about a girl group that rose from being a back-up to a popular lead soloist (na usually lalaki) hanggang sa naging full act na sila on their own.
i liked girl groups like these din, kasi nakakatuwa ang songs at pagkanta nila. never mind the costumes and choreo, although that's the stuff that drag queen impersonation is built upon, so go go go girls! of course the most popular of this kind we know is the supremes, with no less than diana ross in the middle. pero meron ding iba, like the shirelles who originally recorded and sang carole king's penned song "will you still love me tomorrow" before carole decided to record it on her own. kakaiba talaga ang era na iyon. i so heart the music it produced.
okay yung mga angst nila, at tuwa akong hindi nila masyadong dinramahan sa emphasis nung ano ang nagagawa ng fame sa mga simple folks who just have superb singing talent ek, much like how stories like this have been filmed before. mga rags to riches, rise to fame, fall from fame plotlines ek. dami nang ganyan. what sets this film apart is that nag-focus sila sa interpersonal lives ng characters more, at reactionary lang sila sa surroundings nila. it was more human when treated that way, and they were never pictured as cookie cutter characters in a way.
case in point: yung ambitious producer role ni jamie foxx. may nuance ang character niya at subtle lang yung portrayal niya na gahaman siya ek. i especially like their tug-o-war ek nung character ni beyonce, lalo na nung nagkakalabuan na sila at nare-realize na ni girl na dapat e may sarili na siyang buhay na di dikta ni husband-manager.
i especially like that song na kinanta ni beyonce, yung self-realization song called "listen." nung una, sige lang, unfolding siya, pero in the middle part, especially when she sang that line about i don't feel home in my home or something, ay puta tumambling ako. slight nag-swak na ang rest of the lyric with me. hay... talk about identification with art...
eto i googled the words:
----------
Oh, the time has come
for my dreams to be heard
They will not be pushed aside and turned
Into your own
all cause you won't
Listen....
[Chorus]
Listen,
I am alone at a crossroads
I'm not at home, in my own home
And I tried and tried
To say what's on my mind
You should have known
Oh,
Now I'm done believin' you
You don't know what I'm feelin'
I'm more than what, you made of me
I followed the voice
you gave to me
But now I gotta find, my own..
You should have listened
There is someone here inside
Someone I'd thought had died
So long ago
Oh I'm free now and my dreams to be heard
They will not be pushed aside on words
Into your arms
All cause you won't
Listen...
----------------------------
patok di ba? pero ito ang pinaka:
I don't know where I belong
But i'll be movin' on
If you don't....
If you won't....
yun na.
hay. oh well. music really gets to me sometimes. and i guess i needed to hear that song today. if only today.
dreamgirls is not the kind of film you'll watch over and over. once is enough. but that one time is enough to leave a lasting impression on your mind, and your soul's music. happened to me. could happen to you.
try it.
--------------
cine chichirya muna.
DREAMGIRLSd., s. bill condon (based on the broadway musical)
c. jaime foxx, beyonce knowles, eddie murphy, jennifer hudson
i was fixing some things earlier when i saw that i haven't seen this film pa nga pala. the dvd was just lying there so i thought it's a good lunchtime companion to watch while i violate some health thing and ate food that my doctor warned that i was not supposed to eat anymore na. heck, comfort food's comfort food--and i need comfort these days, so what the heck. so i did. eat the damn food and watched this film.
and i loved it. everyone's good here, hands down. the acting was great, the camerawork was cool, and the music and dancing were just fine. of course that's a given, given that this film is about the rise of a record company similar to the old decca/motown of yore back in the late '50s to '60s when white racist america was afraid to dabble into the music and culture of the black folks because they believed it had some voodoo and black magic thingamajigs with it, not to mention that rock 'n' roll was branded as the music of the devil back then. stupid di ba? but no, they still ended up "borrowing" this sound for their own culture and profit (which a sequence addressed in this film, ie yung pagnakaw ng isang kanta at ginawang acoustic). haller, elvis presley na lang kaya no. and his contemporary din, si jerry lee lewis na sabi nila e his one hand played gospel music and the other hand played rock 'n' roll (he was a pianist as elvis was a guitarist). kaloka. e tumambay lang naman siya sa mga black folks at nagets niya ang sound na yun e. sus. great balls of fire indeed. and elvis? hay. as much as the man was talented, i can't forget his quip saying "the only thing niggers are good for is to shine my shoes." da king ka talaga, indeed.
anyway, enough about rock 'n' roll history.
i loved this film because it had that sound that i love -- that soulful motown-like sound. sobra lang.i've always liked the soulful sound of the black folks, blues, jazz, rock 'n' roll man yan or what, even rap, the precursor of today's hiphop. i liked that it had that sort of history about a girl group that rose from being a back-up to a popular lead soloist (na usually lalaki) hanggang sa naging full act na sila on their own.
i liked girl groups like these din, kasi nakakatuwa ang songs at pagkanta nila. never mind the costumes and choreo, although that's the stuff that drag queen impersonation is built upon, so go go go girls! of course the most popular of this kind we know is the supremes, with no less than diana ross in the middle. pero meron ding iba, like the shirelles who originally recorded and sang carole king's penned song "will you still love me tomorrow" before carole decided to record it on her own. kakaiba talaga ang era na iyon. i so heart the music it produced.
okay yung mga angst nila, at tuwa akong hindi nila masyadong dinramahan sa emphasis nung ano ang nagagawa ng fame sa mga simple folks who just have superb singing talent ek, much like how stories like this have been filmed before. mga rags to riches, rise to fame, fall from fame plotlines ek. dami nang ganyan. what sets this film apart is that nag-focus sila sa interpersonal lives ng characters more, at reactionary lang sila sa surroundings nila. it was more human when treated that way, and they were never pictured as cookie cutter characters in a way.
case in point: yung ambitious producer role ni jamie foxx. may nuance ang character niya at subtle lang yung portrayal niya na gahaman siya ek. i especially like their tug-o-war ek nung character ni beyonce, lalo na nung nagkakalabuan na sila at nare-realize na ni girl na dapat e may sarili na siyang buhay na di dikta ni husband-manager.
i especially like that song na kinanta ni beyonce, yung self-realization song called "listen." nung una, sige lang, unfolding siya, pero in the middle part, especially when she sang that line about i don't feel home in my home or something, ay puta tumambling ako. slight nag-swak na ang rest of the lyric with me. hay... talk about identification with art...
eto i googled the words:
----------
Oh, the time has come
for my dreams to be heard
They will not be pushed aside and turned
Into your own
all cause you won't
Listen....
[Chorus]
Listen,
I am alone at a crossroads
I'm not at home, in my own home
And I tried and tried
To say what's on my mind
You should have known
Oh,
Now I'm done believin' you
You don't know what I'm feelin'
I'm more than what, you made of me
I followed the voice
you gave to me
But now I gotta find, my own..
You should have listened
There is someone here inside
Someone I'd thought had died
So long ago
Oh I'm free now and my dreams to be heard
They will not be pushed aside on words
Into your arms
All cause you won't
Listen...
----------------------------
patok di ba? pero ito ang pinaka:
I don't know where I belong
But i'll be movin' on
If you don't....
If you won't....
yun na.
hay. oh well. music really gets to me sometimes. and i guess i needed to hear that song today. if only today.
dreamgirls is not the kind of film you'll watch over and over. once is enough. but that one time is enough to leave a lasting impression on your mind, and your soul's music. happened to me. could happen to you.
try it.
tumambling talaga e....look, great minds think alike. that's also my favorite song from that movie:
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