By Ryan Parsons | Image property of The Weinstein Company
Nine
I read one review for the upcoming musical Nine before the weekend and it was amazingly positive. Singing the film praises. I pointed this out to buddy, and he told me that he heard the film was no good. Wha? Well, I've looked up his source, and can now confirm that the first two official reviews for Nine couldn't disagree more.
Nine Reviewed
Check out snippets from the Nine reviews (below) to see what I mean.
Variety
"Nine" is a savvy piece of musical filmmaking. Sophisticated, sexy and stylishly decked out, Rob Marshall's disciplined, tightly focused film impresses and amuses as it extravagantly renders the creative crisis of a middle-aged Italian director, circa 1965. Given its basis in a 27-year-old Broadway show, which itself had its unlikely origins in Federico Fellini's self-reflective 1963 classic "8½," the Stateside Weinstein release will probably find a more receptive audience among culture vultures than with the masses. But a robust marketing push stressing the stellar cast, strong notices and the "another 'Chicago' " vibe should still generate solid returns, especially in urban areas.
Hollywood Reporter
The disappointments here are many, from a starry cast the film ill-uses to flat musical numbers that never fully integrate into the dramatic story. The only easy prediction is that "Nine" is not going to revive the slumbering musical-film genre. Boxoffice looks problematic, too, but moviegoers are going to be enticed by that cast, and the Weinstein brothers certainly know how to promote a movie. So modest returns are the most optimistic possibility.
Fellini's 1963 masterpiece takes you inside a man's head. Because he happens to be a movie director, his daydreams and recollections are visually striking, but more to the point, you sense, through the nightmares of an artist blocked from his own creativity, everything that is going on inside this man. In "Nine," written by Michael Tolkin and the late Anthony Minghella, you get a tired filmmaker with too many women in his life and not enough movie ideas.
See what I mean? Mixed. Check out the full reviews for Nine by clicking the bold links above.
Nine opens to theaters on December 18th.
For the trailers, stills and more movie info, go to the Nine Movie Page.
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