Mooney Does Movies: "Hairspray"

QUICK! If you have any of the premium channels, this movie is showing this month. Better yet, dance your butt to your nearest video store and rent it!

I loved the movie, but I'm NUTS over the music! So open your iTunes and buy the whole album. Now. Just be sure you get the movie soundtrack with Blonsky and Travolta.

This movie comes on the heels of the Broadway version. I have no idea why I never glomed onto it before now, but if ever you need a pick-me-up music-wise, this puppy will do it. :D

A brief synopsis: Tracy Turnblad (newcomer Nikki Blonsky) has a crush on Link (Zac Efron), a boy who appears on a daily teenage dance show called The Corny Collins Show. Link also attends the high school where Tracy goes. But Tracy doesn't believe she has a chance with him because she's very overweight.

To make this the Reader's Digest version: Link falls for Tracy. Tracy can dance her ample derriere off, and gets onto the Corny Collins show. Mom Travolta finally gets out of the house after a decade of seclusion, and "she" can dance the house down, too (natch - It's Travolta!)

There's more, but you'll have to watch the movie to see it. G!

Oh, and why a Travolta as the mother? That's the way it was done in the B-way version, too, with Harvey Fierstein reprising that role. (You probably best know him as the "I gotta call Mama" guy in the movie Independence Day, or as Robin Williams' make-up artist gay brother in Mrs. Doubtfire.) Trust me on this one - Travolta does good. So do all the cast members in this songfest.

I give both the movie and the soundtrack Full Moon ratings!

Now, go get the soundtrack! Then jack up the sound and relive the 60s!

Joss Whedon Strikes Again! "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog"

QUICK! BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE! If you loved the Buffy musical/episode, you'll love this!

Click here to view and purchase for just $3.99 at iTunes. But hurry! This puppy leaves the planet on Sunday, July 20th!

Mooney Does Movies: "Krrish"

First off, I’m going to tell you right off the bat that this movie, quality-wise, is not that good. We in the U.S. have action and super heroes coming out the wazoo, so we’re pretty much over-saturated when it comes to plot, etc., when it comes to the next super-powered being coming out of the gate. But when they look as lick-a-licious as Krrish, with or without the coat, you gotta give allowances. (I saw the movie at my local Hastings, and just had to see if the man was as yummy on screen as he appeared on the DVD cover.)

Secondly, this is a movie from India, done in the Bollywood style that is wildly successful overseas. So take that into account when the hero starts prancing about like a doofus on tippy toes, and the heroine sings like a cartoon mouse. Despite that, the songs are catchy, dadgum it! Better, the DVD gives you the option of watching just the musical numbers without having to scan through the rest of the movie, hunting for them.

Thirdly, I was surprised to find out that this movie was a sequel, and also the first Hindi picture to feature a super hero. Despite the fact that the first movie ended on such a downer, this one stands on its own and gives us an HEA.


The heart of this 185 min. movie revolves around Krishna "Krrish" Mehra, played by Hrithik Roshan. Girls, the muscles are real, the face is to die for, and those green eyes will steal your breath. As a boy, Krishna is taken to the middle of nowhere by his grandmother, and raised in secret. Seems there’s a bad man out there who had killed Krishna’s father because the father had super-human mental gifts, and the son is also demonstrating super powers, but of the physical kind.

Along comes Priya (Priyanka Chopra) with her camping group. She of the flawless face and hair is saved by Krishna, and they sing of their attraction to each other. So when Priya returns home to Singapore, Krishna has to follow her. It’s while he’s in the big city, he takes on a secret identity to help save lives, and Krrish becomes an instant hit with the public. (Add the black, shiny, patent leather, ankle-length coat and mask, and you’ll probably end up like me, scoping out additional pictures on the ‘net.)

To paraphrase Billy Bob Thornton, Krrish gives us:

Wire fu
Jumping Trees and Buildings in a Single Bound fu
Thick, long, gorgeous hair fu
song-and-dance fu
chasing horses and helicopters on foot fu
death by fire extinguisher
death by computer
explosions
guns
misunderstandings
teary confessions
and nary a kiss on the lips (against Hindu custom)


My rating? Half moon.
Like I said earlier, the movie is not that spectacular. But, damn! The eye candy sure makes up for it!