The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Friday, January 5, 2007 - 5 A rather good Dream LATEST MUSICAL BREAKS LACKLUSTER TREND By HYATT MICHAELS Daily Arts Writer Since the trailer hit theaters last year and its critical explosion at this summer's Cannes film festival (for a 20-minute preview, no less), "Dream- Dreamgiris girls" left fans of the origi- At the nal musical salivating for Showcase and its opening. After all the Quality 16 hype, the final product is inevitably disappointing DreamWorks - but even in its missteps, the film is one of this years finest. The movie focuses on the rise of Detroit- based girl group The Dreamettes. Led by defiant diva Effie (Jennifer Hudson, TV's "American Idol") and backed by the gorgeous Denna (singer Beyonce Knowles) and adorable Loreal (Anika Noni Rose, "Surviving Christmas"), the girls are offered the chance to sing background for R&B crooner James "Thunder" Early (Eddie Murphy, "I Spy") thanks to the help of conniv- ing car-salesmen-turned-music-tycoon Curtis Taylor Jr. (Jamie Foxx, "Ray"). From there the Dreamettes leave Early, shorten their name to the Dreams and watch their careers take off - with varied consequences for all involved that highlight the backstabbing inherent in the music industry. "Dreamgirls" especially shines compared to the recent string of musical adaptation flops like "Phantom of the Opera" and "Rent," but after its gorgeous first act, the kinetic pacing of the film becomes a problem. With a running time of more than two hours, nine years worth of events pass so fast it takes a while to become attached to the characters. Problems arise when the cast ages too quickly and their personal relationships sour before there's enough connection made with the audience. Academy Award-winning writer/ director Condon ("Kinsey," writer of "Chicago") fills the void with enough knee-tapping choreog- raphy from music-video maven Fatima and daz- zling backdrops to make up for its problems. The film undoubtedly triumphs with Hud- son. When she's ousted from the Dreams, she responds with an incredibly moving rendition of "I'm Telling You I'm Not Going," and there's courtesy of MGM/columbia Same steps. same chucks. same Stallone. In'Balboa'a legacy we can respect "Together, we can turn Motown into Gotown." enough power and subtle rage in her voice that any formal problems with the film are forgot- ten, if only momentarily. There should be no comparisons to Jennifer Holiday's renowned performance as Effie in the original 1981 Broad- way production, but Hudson owns the character with a fierce grip - a feat somewhat absent with the rest of the cast. Take Jamie Foxx's sly performance as the snake who betrays Effie and shatters the origi- nal Dreams. He doesn't shine the way he did in "Ray," but it's not because of poor acting. Foxx's understated Curtis is actually effective as he slowly transforms from boyish car salesmen to sneaky record producer. Supporting players Anika Noni Rose and Eddie Murphy are also strong, but like Foxx, they make the most of thin roles. Even with short screen time, Murphy conjures an intensity that's been absent in his recent work. His flailing has-been Thunder Early is at times hilarious and later heartbreaking. Tony Award-winner Rose's glorious turn as Loreal, Murphy's long-suffering mistress, is missed whenever she's forced back into the shadows of Knowles and Hudson. Although it's easy to complain about the thin- ly drawn characters, it's still hard to deny the LIKE STAGE, LIKE SCREEN After a special debut over break, The Michigan Theater will continue to guarantee all seating for "Dreamgirls," emulating the experience of going to the original must- cal. Regular ticket prices apply to all performances. This weekend, it will show at:: Friday: 7:15 p.m., 10 p.m. Saturday: 4:15 p.m., 7:15 p.m., 10 p.m. Sunday: 3 p.m., 6:15 p.m., 9 p.m. genuine joy of watching the actors giving their all in every scene - both singing and acted. "Dreamgirls" isn't meant to be a groundbreak- ing dramatic achievement, but a roaring confec- tion of music and glittering costumes. Like the original musical, the only person you should be rooting for by the film's end is Effie. "Dreamgirls" suffers, indeed, from flaws in its adaptation. As with many filmed stage musicals, sometimes it just doesn't work. But the passion and energy put into the production practically spills from the screen and into the audience, and that's already much more than can be said of its recent competition. By PAUL TASSI DailyFilm Editor Unless "Rocky VII" is Balboa boxing George Foreman in a retire- ment home or fightingApollo Creed in heaven, "Rocky Bal- boa" will be the last we see Rocky of the Italian Balboa Stallion, and At Showcase it really is a and Quality 16 fitting good- MGM/Columbia bye. After the travesty of "V," Stallone heard the disenchanted masses wanting more and set to work on the film he knew he had to make. A metaphor for his own career, "Rocky Balboa" sets out to prove that both Stallone and Rocky have what it takes to go the distance and be the best, even after all these years. We reunite with Rocky (Stal- lone) as an aging former champ who recently lost his wife, Adrian, to cancer. He barely talks to his workaholic son (Milo Ventimiglia, TV's "Heroes") and watches as the old neighborhood crumbles around him. In a world where professional boxing has become stale and rou- tine, a computer simulation on SportsCenter predicts that in his primeRockywouldK.O. thecurrent champ, Mason "The Line" Dixon (real life boxer Antonio Tarver). The simulation gets a lot of people talking and the ex-champ thinking about what he's still got left in him. Dixon extends a fight invitation and after a classic "Rocky" train- ing montage, the Stallion is ready to come out of retirement. The old and new champions come together in a surprisingly fierce clash that closely mirrors Rocky's first big bout against Apollo Creed. The biggest disappoint- ment of the film is Tarver's Dixon. Previous "Rocky" rivals have not been nearly as eas- ily forgotten ranging from the cocky, charming champion Apollo Creed to the hulking Soviet termi- nator Ivan Drago. Dixon is entirely too static, not arrogant or vicious enough to inspire real hatred and not intimidating or bold enough to command the audience's respect. Perhaps his character suffers from a lack of personality since Tarver is actually a real boxer rather than an actor. Whatever the issue, it drags the rest of the film down as the audience lacks a villain to really root against. A large part of the film consists of Stallone's Rocky giving mono- logues about "how things used tuh be" and how he "still gots sum stuff left inside a me." It's nice to see Rocky still has that loveable teddy bear charm from past films. But more often than not this time around, Rocky triumphs over his ultimate foe: the English language. The majority of his speeches come across as quite heartfelt and com- pelling. Corny lines that would nor- mally have you rolling your eyes in other films feel right at home here, and only add to the awkward Bal- boa charm. If Rocky's brains or heart don't do it for you, his body should round out the package. If you think a sixty-year old man can't have an eight-pack, you're wrong. With veins erupting all over his body like the Incredible Hulk, it's clear that Sylvester Stallone hasn't stopped Stallone still has pecs, develops acting chops. hitting the "Bowflex" since the last film. It is truly impressive to see Stallone reprise this extremely physical role after all this time, and do so without missing a step. Very rarely does a film series "need" to have another sequel. With films like "Indiana Jones and the Ravages of Time" and "pie Hard 4" in the works, sometimes it might be better to quite while you're ahead. In this case however, "Rocky V" left a taste in fans mouths that needed to be washed away and "Rocky Bal- boa" was a sequel that absolutely had to be made. Stallone effectively places the bookend on this classic series and leaves fans satisfied. Just as inspiring as the first films, it's a relief to see Rocky leave how we met him, a champion of the people. The dragon is solid, all else is dubious in__f TTT1TCTl1T1TT TT/ T 114ITTATTTI L_____I____ By CHRISTOPHER LECHNER Daily Arts Writer Christopher Paolini's story is the stuff of dreams: He is the teenager who wrote a novel and had * it published by his parents, Eragon only to watch At Showcase as it became and Quality 16 a wildly suc- 20th century Fox cessful New York Times bestseller. That book was "Eragon"; now, with one sequel down and one more in the works, the first book of the Inheri- tance Trilogy has been adapted for the screen. While the book was ultimately unoriginal and derivative, it had a certain charm that made it plea- surable and fun when taken for S what it was: light entertainment. The film, however, can only dupli- cate the book's flaws. The movie opens with Eragon (newcomer Ed Speleers), a young farmboy egg whi The egg and Eras life befo forces o (John M fidential is wise a (Jeremy en"), wh Kenobi a hob swordpl, ing. The w is the ser podge o and hor , who discovers a dragon even come close to presenting the ile hunting in the forest. original story, and there is no logi- hatches into a dragon, cal reason for the many changes. gon is forced to flee for his For example, Murtagh (Garrett re he gets captured by the Hedlund, "Four Brothers"), who f the evil king Galbatorix plays quite an important role in alkovich, "Art School Con- the book, is reduced to a cameo. "). Accompanying Eragon Ultimately, those who have not nd grizzled veteran Brom read the book will probably be Irons, "Kingdom of Heav- confused as each scene plays out io does his best Obi-Wan independently of the others - this, is he teaches Eragon about makes the film at times almost incomprehensible without some prior knowledge of the characters here are the and their quest. Perhaps worst of all is that this bits when you epic story was reduced to a mere 99 minutes. There's no time to teed them? flesh out any of the characters or plotlines. But the location where the film is shot (mostly Hungary) is breath- ay, magic and dragon rid- taking, and the set production is excellent. The digital effects, no vorst part about the movie doubt the reason that first-time eenplay, which is a hodge- director and special-effects wiz- f familiar visual setups ard Stefen Fangmeier ("Lemony rible dialogue. It doesn't Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events") was hired, are crisp and work well. And Eragon's drag- on Saphira (voiced by Rachael Weisz, "The Constant Gardener") is among the only places the film matches the magic of the text. The acting in the film is erratic, even though Fangmeier has an A- list cast including not only irons and Malkovich, but Djimon Hon- sou ("The Island"). Speleers in the lead is adequate, though it's painfully clear he has not had any acting experience when he has to share the screen with Irons. "Eragon" is mostunsatisfying as a movie because of how easily cor- rectable so many of the problems with the film are. It's just another example of a cheap studio cash-in of a literary phenomenon. THE BIGGEST BACK TO SCHOOL Most Images Only $6, $7 and $8 000:S ' ') 2 a F 4