Chocolate City

 Released Year: 2015

Directed by Jean-Claude La Marre

Casted by:

Robert Ri'chard as Michael McCoy

Eurika Pratts as DeDe
Vivica Fox as Katherine McCoy

DeRay Davis as Chris McCoy

Michael Jai White as Princeton

Tyson Beckford as Adrian "Rude Boy"

Darrin Dewitt Henson as Magnus

Jean-Claude La Marre as Pastor Jones
Carmen Electra as DJ

Story:

College boy Michael's family is facing financial problem and their house's electricity might be cut off because not afford to pay for the utility bill. But his cute face and hot body has attracted a black guy to offers him as a stripper. Michael has no idea how to earn money to cover back his family financial crisis and his brother Chris keep on persuading him, Michael decided to accept the job offer.

First night dancing in the club, Michael's performance makes the ladies very excited and earning a big amount of money make him overwhelmed with the stripper industry. However his college sweetheart DeDe was slowly being neglected by him because of the work. Until an extend that Michael feel lost because he has to hide all this from his mother and girlfriend.

DeDe was brought to the strip club by her friends and discover Michael working at there, leaving there sadly while Michael decided to confront his mother about the job. Katherine, Michael's mother forgive him and wanted him to win back DeDe as she is a good girl. In the same time, Michael is being jealous by another stripper Adrian & was beaten up badly.

After that Michael confronted DeDe and managed to win her back when he promised her not to work as a stripper anymore...

L² Scored: 5.5/10

L² Comment: 

Well, this movie is mainly just selling the sexy male body only. By getting the hottest male supermodel Tyson Beckford  and showing his ass in this movie definitely win a lot of female audience's applause. The main actor Robert Ri'chard is also hot as hell, yummy :) However, the storyline was just so so and the ending is quite lousy seriously. But if you are watching this movie just for Tyson Beckford, then it is worth it then lol~

Step Up 3D

 Released Year: 2010

Directed by Jon M. Chu

Casted by:
Adam Sevani as Robert "Moose" Alexander III
Rick Malambri as Luke Katcher
Sharni Vinson as Natalie
Alyson Stoner as Camille Gage
Joe Slaughter as Julien

Story:

The story begins in traditional video style, as several of the film's characters are recorded and asked a series of questions about why they dance. The film then cuts to Moose and Camille who attend New York University. Moose is majoring in electrical engineering after promising his father that he would not dance anymore. While touring the campus, he sees a pair of Limited Edition Gun Metal Nike Dunks worn by Luke Katcher. Moose follows the shoes and then accidentally stumbles upon a dance battle, where he beats Kid Darkness from the dancing crew "House of Samurai". Luke takes him back to his place, an old warehouse converted into a club. Luke shows Moose the House of Pirates, his dance crew, where he later teams up with them to compete in the World Jam dance contest against their rivals, the House of Samurai dance crew. But then, Jacob, a member of House of Pirates, informs Luke that the warehouse will be put up for auction if the overdue rents are not made.

Luke meets a girl named Natalie at his club and quickly takes notice of her dancing abilities, enlisting her to become part of his crew. However, he is unaware of Natalie's true motives.

Moose finds his time to be increasingly tight as he has to choose between his studies and dance frequently, including once when his test clashes with a dance competition. He decides to go for the test, but upon seeing the test paper and receiving a message from Luke, he rushes to the competition in the nick of time.

Luke and Natalie become increasingly close as the movie progresses, sharing many intimate moments. Luke explains his true intentions with his recordings and dance interviews. Yet, Natalie is hiding the fact that her brother is Julien (Joe Slaughter) the leader of the House of Samurai, and lies about everything but the love connection between her and Luke.

Natalie faces a hard decision torn between her love and her family. She confronts Luke and asks what happened with him and Julien. To her surprise, he says that Julien was a member of the House of Pirates. He had a gambling problem and he once put a wager against the Pirates and then threw away a battle, so the Pirates kicked him out. After arguing with Julien, she decides to leave Luke. Julien then uses her phone to invite Luke for her birthday party. Luke asks Moose to attend the party with him, as he wants a friend with him, but because they have no invitation, they are not permitted to enter. They find a way to get in, Luke sees Natalie on the dance floor and they dance tango. While they are having an intimate moment, Julien takes the chance to appear and reveals Natalie's identity. Luke is angry with Natalie. When Luke arrives back at the warehouse, he finds it is foreclosed. Angry at himself for not being a better leader, he exclaims that the House of Pirates is over, and the crew members go their separate ways.

Meanwhile, Moose and Camille are best friends but Moose does not seem to see that Camille is in love with him. The two fall out during the film because Moose lies to Camille about dancing and she feels like he cannot talk to her anymore. Camille feels that Moose does not have time for her anymore and tells him she misses him and feels like he does not miss her at all. Moose tells Camille that he misses dancing but misses her more and that she is his best friend in the whole world.

The two make up on NYC streets by dancing to a remix of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Camille tells Moose that he can never give up dancing as he was born to do it. Moose then helps out Luke by bringing the House of Pirates back together, and giving him additional members for his crew including Camille and The MSA Crew from Step Up 2: The Streets. They then discover that the former members who left earlier are now performing with the House of Samurai. They also find out Julien is buying their warehouse, but says if they throw the battle, they can have it back. They do not take the offer.

Natalie helps Luke and the Pirates to win the World Jam at the end with the routine they had practiced in the past. She invites him to come with her to California, which he does at the end of the film, meeting her at the train station and kissing her just as Moose kisses Camille. Before leaving for California with Natalie, Luke gives Moose a pair of Limited Edition Gun Metal Nike Dunks which he saw at the beginning of the film, symbolizing that he has been left in charge of the group. The film ends with Moose saying "Let's party, people!" to the crew.

L² Scored: 10/10

L² Comment: 

Amazing dance film, basically those who love dancing will never miss the Step Up series. I have been trying to find the first movie for a long time, but finally i gave up and decided to watch what I have in my laptop all these while. I'm not gonna talk about the storyline much but the dance... dude~ its so damn cool... I wish i can dance like them, but too bad i cant and i'm too old to start learning now either~

Damned Love - Kambakkht Ishq कमबख़्त इश्क़

 Released Year: 2009

Directed by Sabbir Khan

Casted by:

Akshay Kumar as Viraj Shergill

Kareena Kapoor as Simrita Rai

Aftab Shivdasani as Lucky

Amrita Arora as Kamini

Denise Richards as Herself

Boman Irani as ENT Doctor

Brandon Routh as Himself

Holly Valance as Herself

Sylvester Stallone as Himself

Story: 

When Hollywood stuntman Viraj Shergill and medical student Simrita Rai come across each other at his brother Lucky's and her best friend Kamini's hastily planned wedding ceremony, they instantly develop a dislike for each other. They both have a very low opinion of the opposite sex, and staunchly believe marriage is not the way to go for the two newlyweds, whom they try to discourage from proceeding further.

Simrita convinces Kamini to test out her theory that men are after only one thing, by forcing Lucky to delay their marriage vows for three months. She is sure, Lucky will not be able to do so and this will prove to Kamini that Lucky is just another low-class male, like all others, and her claims of him being different than most men are unfounded. Viraj, upon hearing about this new development, tries to do the exact opposite. This results in a hilarious scene at a local disco bar, where Viraj lures Kamini with the hope of her finding Lucky with a "girlfriend" that he has planted in the lap of Lucky in order to make Kamini jealous. The plan backfires and Kamini and Lucky end up in divorce court where the judge puts them on a three-month probation and marriage counselling. Simrita keeps on telling kamini that all men are the same and that all they want is sex. Lucky tries to make love with kamini but kamini never lets him come near her.

Meanwhile, Simrita and Viraj keep bumping into each other when they both travel to Italy independently; the former to make some quick cash as a model to pay for her medical bills, and the latter, with Lucky, to chill out and take a vacation from all of the marital stress Lucky has been facing back home. Upon returning home, Simrita is given a watch pendant by her Dolly Aunty to wear as a good luck charm. The pendant hangs from a bracelet on her wrist. Viraj gets seriously hurt in an accident at work and is brought for emergency surgery to the hospital where Simrita is an intern. Much to each other's irritation, Simrita is given the charge to perform surgery on Viraj. After the surgery, while looking at the X-rays, she is horrified to discover that the watch on her wrist has accidentally ended up in Viraj's stomach.

Simrita tries various ways of getting the watch out. During one such process, which fails, it becomes clear that Simrita is bitter about her perceived unfaithfulness of the two most prominent men from her childhood: her divorced father and her elder sister's ex-husband. By this time, Viraj is secretly beginning to fall in love with Simrita. Several days later, Simrita is successful in removing the watch from Viraj's stomach. Following the surgery, Viraj overhears the truth and leaves. Several days later, he proposes to Denise Richards in an attempt to forget about Simrita. Upon realising her mistake, Simrita helps Lucky and Kamini reconcile and decides to confess her love for Viraj at the wedding ceremony. At first, Denise is upset but then tells Viraj to go to Simrita. The two embrace and go off together in the car sharing a few passionate kisses.

 L² Scored: 7/10

L² Comment:

Spend a 2 hours and 14 minutes to finish this film, not regret about it, but might not be wanna watch it again as its a bit long haha. Overall the storyline is cute and nice, a lots of hollywood guest appearance in this movie such as Denise Richards, Sylvester Stallone, Brandon Routh and Holly Valance. The best scene would be when Akshay Kumar propose to Kareena Kapoor in the deep ocean, omg~ so fucking romantic

Coyote Ugly

 Released Year: 2000

Directed by David McNally

 

Casted by:

Piper Perabo as Violet Sanford
 Adam Garcia as Kevin O'Donnell
 John Goodman as William Sanford
 Maria Bello as Lil
 Izabella Miko as Cammie
 Tyra Banks as Zoe
 Bridget Moynahan as Rachel
 Melanie Lynskey as Gloria

  Story:

Violet Sanford leaves her hometown of South Amboy, New Jersey, her father Bill, and best friend Gloria to pursue her dreams of becoming a songwriter in nearby New York City. The pizza shop where she works has a wall covered with the autographs of employees that left, hoping to make it big, and Violet adds hers to the wall.

Violet tries unsuccessfully, dozens of times, to get her demo tape noticed by the recording studios. One night, she tries to get herself noticed by a music industry scout. The bartender jokingly points out Kevin O'Donnell, making her believe that he is the bar owner. When the joke is discovered, Violet feels that Kevin was making a fool out of her. With only a few dollars left in her pocket after her apartment is robbed, she goes to an all-night diner and notices three girls, Cammie, Rachel, and Zoe, flaunting the hundreds of dollars in tips they earned. After inquiring, she finds out that they work at a trendy bar named Coyote Ugly.

She finds her way to the bar and convinces the bar owner Lil to give her an audition. Violet's first audition does not go well; but after breaking up a fight between two customers, Lil agrees to give her a second audition. At her second audition, Violet douses the fire warden in water costing Lil $250. In order to keep her job, she has to make up $250 in one night. Kevin turns up at the bar to give Violet her tape back, but ends up being auctioned off to one of the women in the bar. In order to pay off her debt to Kevin, Violet agrees to go on four dates with him. The two begin a relationship.

Kevin commits himself to helping Violet overcome her stage fright so that she can sell her music. It is discovered that Violet's stage fright is inherited from her mother who also came to New York to be a singer. It is also discovered that Violet can sing to songs that aren't her own. We learn this when she sings on the bar in the bar in order to save the necks of Cammie and Rachel who were trying to break up a fight between the customers.

One night a patron takes a picture of Violet in the middle of a raunchy move and with water pouring on her. When the picture appears in the paper, Violet's father happens to see it and gets angry at her. She continues to pursue her dream, though, and performs at an open mic night at the Bowery Ballroom with the "Coyotes" from the Coyote Ugly saloon, her father, her best friend, and Kevin all there for moral support. The performance goes over very well and she finally lands a deal with a record label.

The film concludes back at Coyote Ugly with LeAnn Rimes, as a Coyote, singing Violet's song. Violet joins in as her father and Kevin watch from the audience.

 L² Scored: 10/10

 

L² Comment:

Para Para Sakura 芭拉芭拉櫻之花

 Released Year: 2001

Directed by 馬楚成 Jingle Ma

Casted by:

郭富城 Aaron Kwok as 王锦胜 Philip
张柏芝 Cecilia Cheung as 乐儿 Yee
 陈庆祥  Ah- Niu as Henry Ko

 Story:

Phillip Wong, a colour-blind dance instructor who holds a class devoted to the latest dance craze, the Japanese Para Para. While in Shanghai, Phillip meets Yee, a spoiled rich girl who is running away from her up-coming arranged marriage. Soon, Yee begins using Phillip's dance studio as a sanctuary from her responsibilities, and an attraction begins to form between the two. However, Yee is called back to Japan to be married before long, and Phillip must use more than his dance skills and charisma to prevent her from taking her vows.

L² Scored: 4/10

L² Comment:

Nothing really special about this movie, except the para para dance which is quite famous at that time. Of course having Aaron Kwok & Cecilia Cheung in this movie can guarantee certain percentage of the tickets to be sold off. Basically all the actors/actresses are just simply acting in the film...

Saturday Night Fever

 Released Year: 1977

Directed by John Badham

Casted by:

John Travolta as Tony Manero
Karen Lynn Gorney as Stephanie Mangano
Barry Miller as Bobby C.
Joseph Cali as Joey
Paul Pape as Double J.
Donna Pescow as Annette

 Story:

Tony Manero is a 19-year old Italian American from the Bay Ridge, Brooklyn neighborhood of New York City. Tony lives at home with his parents, and works a dead-end job in a small hardware store by day. But every Saturday night, Tony is "king of the dance floor" at 2001 Odyssey, a local disco club. Tony has four close friends: Joey; Double J; Gus; and the diminutive Bobby C. Another informal member of their group is Annette, a neighborhood girl who longs for a more permanent and physical relationship with Tony.

One plot device in the story is the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, on which the friends ritually stop to clown around, but is particularly symbolic to Tony as an escape to a better life on the other side.

Tony agrees to be Annette's partner in an upcoming dance contest at 2001 Odyssey, but her happiness is short-lived when Tony becomes infatuated with another girl dancing at the club, Stephanie Mangano. Stephanie coldly rejects Tony's advances, but eventually agrees to be his partner in the competition, nothing more. Tony's older brother, Frank Jr., who was the pride of the family since becoming a priest in the Catholic Church, brings despair to their parents when he quits the priesthood. Tony shares a warm relationship with Frank Jr., but feels vindicated, no longer being the black sheep.

While on his way home from the grocery store, Gus is attacked by a Hispanic gang and is hospitalized, and tells the guys it was the Barracudas. Meanwhile, Bobby C. has been trying to get out of his relationship with his devoutly Catholic girlfriend, Pauline, who is pregnant with his child. Facing pressure from his family and others to marry her, Bobby asks former priest Frank Jr., if the Pope would grant him dispensation for an abortion. But when Frank tells him this would be highly unlikely, Bobby's feelings of despair deepen. Bobby C also lets Tony borrow his 1964 Chevrolet Impala to help move Stephanie from Bay Ridge to Manhattan, with Tony promising to call him later that night, but Tony does not.

Eventually, the group gets their revenge on the Barracudas, and crash Bobby C's car into their hangout. Tony, Double J and Joey get out to fight, but Bobby C. takes off when a gang member tries to attack him in the car. When the guys visit Gus in the hospital, they are angry when he tells them that he may have fingered the wrong gang. Later, Tony and Stephanie dance at the competition and end up winning first prize. However, Tony believes that a Puerto Rican couple performed better, and the judges' decision was based on racism. He gives the Puerto Ricans the first prize, and leaves with Stephanie in tow. Once outside in the car, he tries to rape Stephanie, resulting in her fleeing from him.

Tony's friends come to the car along with a drunken and stoned Annette, who Joey says has agreed to have sex with everyone. Tony tries to lead her away, but is subdued by Double J and Joey, and sullenly leaves with the group in the car. Double J and Joey take turns with Annette, who begins to sober up during what has become a rape scene. Bobby C. pulls the car over on the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge for the usual cable-climbing antics. Typically abstaining, Bobby gets out and performs more dangerous stunts than the rest. Realizing that he is acting recklessly, Tony tries to get him to come down. But upset at his lonely life, his situation with Pauline, and a broken promise from Tony earlier, Bobby issues a tirade at Tony's lack of care before slipping and falling to his death more than two hundred feet in the water below.

Disgusted and disillusioned by his friends, his life and his family, Tony spends the rest of the night riding the subway. As morning comes, he finally shows up at Stephanie's apartment in Manhattan, apologizing for his bad behavior. He tells her that he plans to leave Brooklyn and come to Manhattan to try and start a new life. Tony and Stephanie salvage their relationship and agree to be friends, sharing a tender moment as the credits roll.

L² Scored: 10/10

L² Comment:

A classic dance movie ever by John Travolta, especially with all the hits disco song of Bee Gees in this movie, i believe all movie fans will not miss out this movie. The whole story is not bad, but not very good if comparing with Grease. But the dance and the music make the whole movie works~ :)

StreetDance

 Released Year: 2010

Directed by Max Giwa

Casted by:

Nichola Burley as Carly
Richard Winsor as Tomas
Ukweli Roach as Jay
Frank Harper as Fred
George Sampson as Eddie
Charlotte Rampling as Helena
Eleanor Bron as Madame Fluerie
Patrick Baladi as Mr Harding
Teneisha Bonner as Shawna
Lex Milczarek as Boogie
Kofi Agyemang-Prempeh as Mac
Hugo Cortes as Gabe
Sianad Gregory as Chloe
Jennifer Leung as Bex
Rachel McDowall as Isabella
Rhimes Lecointe as Justine
Sacha Chang as Aimee
Bradley Charles as Frankie

 Story:

In inner city London, a street dance crew is on the verge of breaking up after its leader, Jay, leaves the group unexpectedly. The group loses the use of their rehearsal space, forcing them to try to raise money or practice in other locations. Eventually they secure a space in a ballet school, on the condition that they include five ballet dancers in their routine. At first, they struggle to get along, but they all become friends in the end.

One of the teachers at the ballet school, Helena, takes Carly to a ballet where she starts getting ideas for their routine. When she arrives home, Carly finds Jay waiting for her and the two spend the night together. During a dance battle in a club the next night, the team learn that Jay has betrayed the team by joining The Surge, a rival crew. Jay brags about his sex with Carly and Tomas, a ballet dancer, punches Jay out of anger. Jay is furious and swears revenge. Carly, upset over the betrayal, leaves the club and is nearly hit by a car before Tomas pulls her out of the way. Tomas then takes Carly back to his apartment where they dance on the roof, eventually kissing. Carly then leaves him alone on the roof, while they both look at the sunrise and smile.

The next day at the school, Carly announces the new name of their dance crew: Breakin Point. Another teacher at the school, outraged that her students are being corrupted, deliberately plans a Royal Ballet audition for the same day as the street dance finals. The ballet dancers promise Carly they will make it, but the auditions were running overtime.

In an attempt to give Breakin Point more time to wait for the ballet dancers, Carly's friend Eddie goes out onto the dance floor and starts dancing, surprising the crew and wowing the audience. The ballet team turn up at the final anyway, and their teacher Helena drives the judges to the final so they can see the dancers perform. The routine is a success, Carly and Tomas kiss during the performance, and the crowd is enthralled. Jay is furious that The Surge have been beaten and he's lost Carly.

The film ends with Breakin Point and The Surge dancing to N-Dubz' "We Dance On".

L² Scored: 10/10

L² Comment:

Oh God, i really love this movie a lot :) The dance, the choreography, the acting... all of them seems to be so perfect. Heard that they are coming out with the sequeal to shows the team went over to US for competition. But up till now, there is no news on filming the 2nd movie yet :(

Grease

 Released Year: 1978

Directed by Randal Kleiser

Casted by:

John Travolta as Danny Zuko
Olivia Newton-John as Sandy Olsson
  Stockard Channing as Betty Rizzo

Jeff Conaway as Kenickie

 Story:

 In the summer of 1958, local teenager Danny Zuko and vacationing Sandy Olsson meet at the beach and fall in love. When the summer comes to an end, Sandy, who is going back to Australia, worries that they may never see each other again, but Danny tells her that their love is "only the beginning". Later, on the first day of Danny's senior year at Rydell High School, meets with his friends, the T-Birds, who like Danny, are greasers. The group consists of his best friend Kenickie, Doody, Putzie and Sonny. A group of girls, the "Pink Ladies", consisting of Betty Rizzo, Frenchie, Jan and Marty, declare they want to "rule the school". Sandy, unbeknownst to Danny, is also at the school, having enrolled after her parents decided not to return to Australia. Sandy befriends Pink Lady Frenchie, who considers dropping out of school to become a beautician. Oblivious to each other's presence at school, Danny and Sandy tell the T-Birds and Pink Ladies their respective accounts of their summer romance.

Upon learning Danny was Sandy's summer romance, Rizzo arranges for the two to reunite, but Danny is forced to maintain his nonchalant badboy attitude in front of his friends, which upsets Sandy, who sees Danny as pretentious. Frenchie invites the girls to a sleepover, but Sandy gets sick after Frenchie pierces her ears. The T-Birds almost crash the party, but a guilty Danny leaves just as Rizzo sneaks out of the house. Kenickie tells the rest of the T-Birds to leave the car so he can be alone with his girlfriend. Rizzo and Kenickie head to lover's lane and have sex in the back seat, but the condom Kenickie has been carrying in his wallet since junior school breaks, and they decide to go ahead anyway. They are disturbed by Leo, leader of the T-Birds' rival gang, the Scorpions, and his girlfriend Cha-Cha, who bump into Kenickie's fender. Kenickie yells at Leo for criticizing his car. Wishing to win his way back into Sandy's affection after Danny spies her flirting with Rydell's muscular football star, Danny turns to Coach Calhoun to get into sports, eventually becoming a runner. He reunites with Sandy and they attempt to go on a date, but their friends crash it, resulting in Kenickie and Rizzo breaking up over a fight. Left alone, Frenchie is visited by a guardian angel who advises her to return to high school.

The school dance arrives, broadcast live on television and hosted by DJ Vince Fontaine who flirts with Marty. Rizzo and Kenickie attempt to spite one another by bringing Leo and Cha Cha as their dates, while Danny and Sandy come together. During a dance, Danny and Cha Cha reunite, once boyfriend and girlfriend, and win a dance-off. Danny tries to make it up to Sandy by taking her to a drive-in theatre but ends up making several passes at her, causing Sandy to flee. Meanwhile, Rizzo fears she is pregnant after missing a period and confides to Marty, who tells Sonny, who in turn spreads the rumour which eventually reaches Kenickie, who is the potential father. Kenickie apologizes to Rizzo for their fight and says he'll be there for her and the baby, but Rizzo tells him out of spite that it isn't his. The implication is that it's Leo's, and Leo and Kenickie challenge each other to a car race.

The race arrives and Sandy is desperate to find Danny. She happens by Rizzo, who is being mocked by Patty Simcox and her crew. Sandy offers to be there for Rizzo and they two share a friendly moment. Rizzo ponders her future and her relationship with Kenickie but is startled when she sees him in the distance. Rizzo runs off as Kenickie heads for the race track and Sandy goes to watch.

They are ready to race, but Kenickie is knocked out by Putzie when he opened the door and hit Kenickie while he was reaching down for a penny so Danny takes up the challenge. He and Leo race until Leo crashes and is left humiliated, with Danny as the victor. Sandy watches from afar, concluding she still loves Danny and decides to change her attitude and look to impress him. On the last day of school, while Principal McGee and her assistant Blanche sob about the departing class, the class celebrate their graduation at the fair on the school grounds. Rizzo discovers she is not pregnant after all and an overjoyed Kenickie offers to "make an honest woman" of her as they reconcile. Danny has become a jock but is shocked when Sandy appears smoking and dressed in black leather and teased hair. In song, the two admit they love each other and reunite. The film ends with Danny and Sandy departing in Danny's car which takes flight, and wave goodbye to their friends as they leave. The film ends with credits in the style of a yearbook.

  L² Scored: 10/10

L² Comment:

How couldn't i not to score this a 10/10 for this movie? This is most probably the best film in that period ever, even my parent is a huge fans of this film. John Travolta is so good looking at his young age, but watching him and his behavior nowadays, i wonder how he could ever spoil his image in front of his fans who have been loving him all these years... 

Back to the storyline, its been fun and nice to watch with. The dances and songs are nothing to be pin-point of, especially the scenery that keep on changing, feel like a Bollywood movie for me :) I haven't watch the Grease 2 (1982), hopefully it will be nice as well...

Moulin Rouge!

Released Year: 2001
Directed by Baz Luhrmann

Casted by:
Ewan McGregor as Christian
Nicole Kidman as Satine
Jim Broadbent as Harold Zidler
Richard Roxburgh as The Duke of Monroth
Story:

The film opens in the year 1900, where a suffering and depressed writer named Christian is mourning the loss of his true love: Satine. Determined to have her story written, Christian sits at his desk and begins to type it out on a typewriter.

In 1899, one year before, Christian moves to the Montmartre district of Paris to become a writer among the Bohemian culture. He encounters performers led by Toulouse-Lautrec; his writing skills allow them to finish their proposed show, "Spectacular Spectacular", that they wish to sell to Harold Zidler, owner of the Moulin Rouge. The group arrives at the Moulin Rouge as Zidler and his "Diamond Dog Dancers" perform for the audience (Lady Marmalade/Zidler's Rap (Can Can)/Smells Like Teen Spirit). Toulouse-Lautrec arranges for Christian to see Satine, the star courtesan, in her private quarters to present the work, unaware that Zidler is promising Satine to the wealthy and unscrupulous Duke of Monroth, a potential investor in the cabaret ("Sparkling Diamonds" medley).

Satine mistakes Christian for the Duke, and dances with him before retiring to her private chamber with him in order to discuss things "privately" (Rhythm of the Night) but soon learns that he is just a writer; by this time Christian has fallen in love with her ("Your Song"). The Duke interrupts them; Christian and Satine claim they were practicing the lines for the Moulin Rouge's new show, "Spectacular Spectacular". With the help of Zidler, Toulouse-Lautrec and the rest of the troupe pitch the show to the Duke with an improvised plot about an evil maharajah attempting to woo an Indian courtesan who is in love with a poor sitar player ("The Pitch (Spectacular Spectacular)"). The Duke agrees to back the show on the condition that only he is allowed to see Satine. Meanwhile, Satine contemplates on Christian and her longing to leave the Moulin Rouge to become "a real actress" (One Day I'll Fly Away). Christian later goes back to Satine to convince her that she loves him ("Elephant Love Medley"). As the cabaret is converted to a theater, Christian and Satine continue seeing each other under the pretense of rehearsing Satine's lines. The Duke becomes jealous and warns Zidler that he may stop financing the show; Zidler arranges for Satine to dine with the Duke that evening, but during practice she falls ill (Gorecki). That night, Zidler makes excuses to the Duke, claiming that Satine has gone to confession ("Like a Virgin"). Zidler learns that Satine is dying from consumption. Satine tries to convince Christian that their relationship endangers the show, but he counters by writing a secret love song into the show to affirm their love ("Come What May").

As the Duke watches Christian rehearse lines with Satine, Nini, a jealous performer, points out that the play is a metaphor for Christian, Satine and the Duke. Enraged, the Duke demands that the play ending be changed so that the courtesan ends up with the maharajah; Satine offers to spend the night with the Duke to keep the original ending. While at the Duke's quarters, Satine sees Christian on the streets below, and realizes she cannot go through with this ("El Tango de Roxanne"). The Duke tries taking her forcibly, but she is saved by Le Chocolat, one of the cabaret dancers, and reunited with Christian, who recommends they run away together. The Duke tells Zidler that he will have Christian killed if Satine is not his. Zidler reiterates this warning to Satine, but when she refuses to return, he finally informs her that she is dying (The Show Must Go On). Acting on the threat to Christian's life, Satine tells Christian they can no longer see each other as she will be staying with the Duke. Christian tries following her, but is denied entry to the Moulin Rouge, and falls into a state of depression, even though Toulouse-Lautrec insists that Satine loves him.

On the night of the show, Christian sneaks into the Moulin Rouge, ready to pay Satine to return his love just as the Duke has paid for her (Hindi Sad Diamonds). He catches Satine before she steps on stage, and he demands she tells him that she does not love him. Suddenly they find themselves in the spotlight; Zidler convinces the audience that Christian is the disguised sitar player. Christian reviles Satine for her perceived betrayal and walks off the stage. From the rafters, Toulouse-Lautrec, cries out, "The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return", spurring Satine to sing the secret love song Christian wrote to express their love. Christian returns to the stage, joining her in the song. The Duke's bodyguard tries killing Christian but is thwarted by Toulouse-Lautrec and Valeria (a dancer in the Moulin Rouge), while the Duke's own attempt is stopped by Zidler. The Duke storms out of the cabaret as Christian and Satine complete their song ("Come What May (Reprise)", "Coup d'État (Finale)").

After the curtain closes, Satine succumbs to her illness. She and Christian affirm their love before she dies. A year later the Moulin Rouge has closed down, and Christian is writing the tale of his love for Satine, a "love that will live forever" (Nature Boy (Reprise)).

L² Scored: 7.5/10

L² Comment:

Oh Lord, if this is the first time i watch this movie, i'll definitely give it a score below 5 because it's quite confuse at the beginning of 20 minutes. Luckily this is my 3rd time watching this movie and i like it a bit better each time i watch it :)

There's really not much acting on the actors/actresses side, though there's a lot of nomination in multiple awards, and though they win some, but not on all the main category anyway... But this is quite new during 2001, that's why a lot of musical style film come out later~ :)

High School Musical 3: Senior Year

Released Year: 2008
Directed by Kenny Ortega

Casted by:
Zac Efron as Troy Bolton
Vanessa Hudgens as Gabriella Montez
Ashley Tisdale as Sharpay Evans
Lucas Grabeel as Ryan Evans
Corbin Bleu as Chad Danforth
Monique Coleman as Taylor McKessie
Olesya Rulin as Kelsi Nielsen
Story:

Team captain Troy rallies the team's spirit ("Now or Never") and they win the championship game which is the last one for the seniors on the squad at East High. Later, at Troy's after-match party at his house, Troy and Gabriella are seen thinking about their future and wishing that their last few months at East High would not end. ("Right Here, Right Now").

Sharpay meets Tiara Gold, a British exchange student whom she hires to be her personal assistant. When drama teacher Ms. Darbus notices that there were so few sign-ups for the spring musical, Sharpay suggests she could do a one-woman show. This alarms Kelsi, who is writing the show, so she immediately signs up everyone in their homeroom for it instead. This results in Ms. Darbus announcing they will create a play about their final days at East High, called Senior Year. In addition, she reveals that Sharpay, Ryan, Kelsi, and Troy have all been considered for a scholarship at Juilliard School, but only one of them is to be chosen. Troy is confused, because he did not apply to Juilliard. Seeing his friends laughing, he believes they gave his name to Juilliard. (We later find out that it was Ms. Darbus who gave his name to Juilliard). Sharpay becomes desperate to win the scholarship, and knowing that Kelsi will give the best songs to Troy and Gabriella in the musical, she gets Ryan to try to persuade Kelsi to give them a song, by predicting her (and Ryan's) future ("I Want It All").

The next day, Troy asks Gabriella to the dance while on the rooftop (seen previously in High School Musical as The Garden Club, a place where Troy goes seeking some quiet). She then teaches him how to waltz ("Can I Have This Dance?"). Chad then asks Taylor to go to prom with him with a cheesy pick-up line. She initially refuses, but later agrees when Chad proves he can put in some effort and asks again in front of everyone in the school. The group rehearses for the musical, a scene about their prom night ("A Night to Remember"). The next day Ryan walks in on Kelsi composing in the music room and they start to sing ("Just Wanna Be With You") which leads to Ryan asking Kelsi to prom. While Troy and Chad reminisce about their past ("The Boys Are Back"), Sharpay and Tiara discover that Gabriella has a chance to go to college early to Stanford. Sharpay convinces Troy that he is the only thing keeping Gabriella from her dream. Troy talks to Gabriella about this and after sharing an awkward goodnight, Gabriella sings ("Walk Away") and leaves for college the next day.

Troy's dad, Jack, talks to him about his academic future, which he expects will be in the University of Albuquerque. This assumption makes Troy become angry and confused, and he runs away, storming around East High bewildered until he finally screams at the top of his lungs in the theater ("Scream"). Ms. Darbus is secretly watching and reveals that she sent in his application for Juilliard. Troy later gets a call from Gabriella saying that although she loves him, she will not return to Albuquerque. However, on the day of the prom, Troy visits Gabriella at Stanford University and convinces her to return and they kiss sweetly together during ("Can I Have This Dance? (Reprise)"). Back at East High, Sharpay is prepared for the last musical at East High and Troy's fellow basketball player Jimmie receives a text from Troy to tell him to cover for him onstage because he is going to be late. The Juilliard representatives are there, and watch as the show seems to go well.

Kelsi and Ryan start out the show followed by a couple other numbers; Jimmie then performs with Sharpay and embarrasses her, although the audience applauds him. Troy and Gabriella appear during the second half of the show and sing their duet together. Tiara then betrays Sharpay and tells her how she is going to take over next year in the drama department. Sharpay finally learns how it feels to be humiliated, but does not wish to go down. While Tiara performs, Sharpay immediately crashes her performance and upstages her ("Senior Year Spring Musical"). At the end of the musical, Ms. Darbus reveals that both Kelsi and Ryan have won the Juilliard scholarship and tells about everyone's future plans ("We're All In This Together (Graduation Mix)") .

At the graduation ceremony, Troy gives the class speech. Throwing their caps in the air, the graduates form a giant wildcat before breaking out into song and dance to the tune of ("High School Musical"). As the movie ends, the cast does their famous High School Musical jump with a close up of the six in order before bowing when the curtain falls.

L² Scored: 7.5/10

L² Comment:

Love watching High School Musical :) I have watched it in the cinema, but the DVD does attract me well enough for me to spend my night with it. Love the choreograph done by Kenny Ortega in this movie especially the last graduation scene, its awesome~ watching this kind of teenager movie always make me feel so much younger :)

"Once a Wildcats, always a Wildcats"