Chicago
Directed by Rob Marshall
By Erin Oke

Musicals are making a distinct comeback as a film genre, as evidenced by the success of Moulin Rouge last year, and Chicago is a welcome addition to that trend. The stage musical Chicago, brainchild of Fred Ebb and Bob Fosse, is adapted here for the screen by director/choreographer Rob Marshall, a newcomer to filmmaking who comes from a long career in Broadway musicals. Marshall's vision is impeccable, choosing a stylised and theatrical method of telling the story that is incredibly visually engaging while driving the plot forward quickly enough to almost entirely distract from the wan jazz-era story of a wannabe starlet Roxie (Renee Zellweger) and a bona fide star Velma (Catherine Zeta-Jones) who are both imprisoned for murder and try to parlay their infamy into lasting success with the help of their manipulative lawyer (Richard Gere).

The film isn't entirely without substance either, having some relevant (if not a bit obvious) statements to make about the twisted nature of celebrity culture and the sensationalising role of the media. It\'s the execution though that really makes this movie fun to watch. Marshall employs a smart structure that interweaves the reality of the plot with parallel fantasy sequences that are expressed through song and dance numbers. The choreography is consistently interesting and the design is amazing, both drawing heavily on the style and look of vaudeville acts. The three lead actors are all in fine form, putting enough glitz and guts into their performances that you don't really mind that their characters are uniformly shallow, vain, and ambitious. More than a few scenes are stolen from the stars by a great supporting cast, especially Queen Latifah in the role of prison matron "Mama" Morton and John C. Reilly as Roxie's pathetic, cuckolded husband, whose fantasy song and dance number transforms him into a perfect tramp clown.

40 Days and 40 Nights - Dir. by Michael Lehmann
8 Crazy Nights - Dir. by Seth Kearsley
8 Mile - Dir. by Curtis Hanson
A Guy Thing - Dir. by Chris Koch
About A Boy - Dir. by Paul and Chris Weitz
About Schmidt - Dir. by Alexander Payne
Bad Company - Dir. by Joel Schumacher
Blade 2 - Dir. by Guillermo Del Toro
Blue Crush - Dir. by John Stockwell
Cherish - Dir. by Finn Taylor
Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course - Dir. by John Stainton
Deuces Wild - Dir. by Scott Kalvert
Dirty Deeds - Dir. by David Caesar
Eight Legged Freaks - Dir. by Ellory Elkayem
El Crimen Del Padre Amaro - Dir. by Carlos Carrera
Frailty - Dir. by Bill Paxton
Fubar - Dir. by Michael Dowse
Human Nature - Dir. by Michel Gondry
Ice Age - Dir. by Carlos Saldanha and Chris Wedge
Igby Goes Down - Dir. by Burr Steers
Italian For Beginners - Dir. by Lone Scherfig
Just A Kiss - Dir. by Fisher Stevens
Lovely and Amazing - Dir. by Nicole Holofcener
Master of Disguise - Dir. by Perry Andelin Blake
MC5: A True Testimonial - Dir. by David C. Thomas
Men In Black II - Dir. by Barry Sonnenfeld
Minority Report - Dir. by Steven Spielberg
Panic Room - Dir. by David Fincher
Personal Velocity - Dir. by Rebecca Miller
Red Dragon - Dir. by Brett Ratner
Reign of Fire - Dir. by Rob Bowman
Resident Evil - Dir. by Paul W.S. Anderson
Road To Perdition - Dir. by Sam Mendes
Signs - Dir. by M. Night Shyamalan
Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones - Dir. by George Lucas
Stolen Summer - Dir. by Pete Jones
Strass - Dir. by Vincent Lannoo
Tadpole - Dir. by Gary Winick
The Banger Sisters - Dir. by Bob Dolman
The Bay of Love and Sorrows - Dir. by Tim Southam
The Bourne Identity - Dir. by Doug Liman
The Burial Society - Dir. by Nick Racz
The Cat's Meow - Dir. by Peter Bogdanovich
The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys - Dir. by Peter Care
The Emperor's Club - Dir. by Michael Hoffman
The Importance of Being Earnest - Dir. by Oliver Parker
The Kid Stays In the Picture - Dir. by Brett Morgan and Nanette Burstein
The Salton Sea - Dir. by DJ Caruso
The Scorpion King - Dir. by Chuck Russell
The Time Machine - Dir. by Simon Wells
Windtalkers - Dir. by John Woo
Y Tu Mama Tambien - Dir. by Alfonso Cuaron
Toronto Punk Finds A Voice
If you've ever wondered why Toronto's first wave punk scene lacks the oral histories, band biographies, and memoirs pouring out of similar scenes, Treat Me Like Dirt is for you — as evidenced by a first printing selling out a week before its release. "I didn't know that any of this had happened the way I knew that New York and London had these great punk movements," says author Liz Worth.... Read More
The Hurt Locker Dir. by Kathryn Bigelow
Taking a break at about the halfway mark of director Kathryn Bigelow's Iraq war drama, The Hurt Locker, I realized my jaw was sore. I had been unconsciously clenching it from the first moment of The Hurt Locker, which chronicles a three-man team of explosives ordinance disposal (bomb s... Full Review
The Nope (Moka Only & Psy) - Melba
Vancouver, BC rapper/producer Moka Only has always been diverse, dropping everything from dusty underground jams to shiny commercial songs, but Melba might just be his most out there yet, invading Kool Keith's turf. Most of Moka's beats for Melba are made with emphasis on the low-end o... Full Review
Social Networking
• Be our friend on MySpace
• Be our fan on Facebook
• Tweet us on twitter
Viewing the December 2002 Issue: • Contents Page • News • Click Hear • Articles --> On the Cover  •  Points  •  Blab  •  Comics  •  Year In Review  •  Critics Cliches  •  Film commentary  •  Net  •  Point of View  •  Questionnaire  •  Research  •  Timeline • Music Reviews --> Recently Reviewed  •  Aggressive Tendencies  •  Beats & Rhymes  •  Destination Out  •  Frequencies  •  Groove  •  Pop Rocks  •  Wood, Wires & Whiskey  •  Concert Reviews • Motion Reviews --> Recently Reviewed  •  Film Reviews  •  TIFF • Music School --> N/A • Contests • Contact --> About Us  • Advertising  • Distribution  • Getting Reviewed  • Getting Published  • Letters To The Editor  • Partnerships  • Subscriptions • Exclaim! Radio --> Aggressive Tendencies Radio  • Beats & Rhymes Radio  • Frequencies Radio  • Destination Out Radio  • Groove Radio  • No Future Radio  • Pop Rocks Radio  • Wood, Wires & Whiskey Radio • Exclaim! TV • Home & Latest Issue • Browse Issues