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There are few film experiences as exhilarating as a terrific movie musical. When the thrill of the stage is harmoniously paired with the art of filmmaking, the razzle-dazzle result can send chills surging through you. Rob Marshall’s song-and-dance extravaganza “Nine,” an adaptation of the 1982 Tony-winning smash based on Federico Fellini’s classic film “8 ½”, doesn’t quite measure up to masterworks like “Cabaret” and Moulin Rouge!,” but it repeatedly gave me goosebumps.
Proving he truly can do anything, Daniel Day-Lewis exudes smoldering charisma (and sings!) as Guido Contini, a famous film director in the ’60s whose lapse in creativity has left everyone scrambling and scratching their heads as to when he’s going to deliver his much-anticipated ninth movie. Amidst his search for inspiration, he juggles relationships with the women in his life: his wife (Marion Cotillard), his mistress (Penelope Cruz), his muse (Nicole Kidman), his mother (Sophia Loren), his costume designer (Judi Dench), a reporter (Kate Hudson) and a hooker from his past (Fergie).
With so many big names crowding the house, “Nine” could have been a mess. But Marshall, who also helmed the Oscar-winning “Chicago,” makes the beautiful pieces fit. His performers are all very well-cast and each is given a moment to shine. Cruz burns up the screen with her super-sexy rendition of “A Call from the Vatican,” Fergie’s “Be Italian” segment is electrifying, and even Hudson, who admittedly sticks out like a sore thumb, impresses while shimmying through the comparatively lackluster “Cinema Italiano.”
“Nine” is episodic, moving from drama to song even more systematically than most musicals, and it definitely favors style over substance. But what episodes! And what style! The lighting is romantic and theatrical, the editing and choreography are top-notch, the setting is gorgeous and glamorous Rome, and the plot deals with movie-making, of all things. I was entranced.
Nine
PG-13
Three-and-a-half reels out of four
In area theaters Christmas Day
Paranormal Activity
R
Available Tuesday
It seemed everyone was raving about “Paranormal Activity” without acknowledging it was an obvious rip-off of “The Blair Witch Project,” a better film whose premise and approach were actually groundbreaking. Still, that’s no reason to condemn this scary sleeper, which was made for $15,000 and went on to earn a whopping $100 million domestically.
Focusing on a young couple (Katie Featherston and Micah Sloat) attempting to videotape the supernatural presence haunting their San Diego home, it’s a real nerve-jangler, leaving you in constant fear and anticipation of the next bump in the night.
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