Across the Universe

a precious musical. for rich cultural references, for performances, for the trip in the heart of things, for special poetry, for the flavor of classics and for lovely simplicity. a love story. like many others. but special because it is in middle of a kind of magic, doing you nostalgic and dreamer and part of a colorful show. a film about Vietnam and beat generation and looking for real happiness. all - as a spell. so, a fireworks show. not great, maybe. but seductive at whole.and this, maybe, for me, as admirer of Jim Sturgess, it could be the purpose. a return to a form of pure joy , old and refreshing, to the musical who gives fresh air and a lot of hope.

... and it's nanny was Julie Taymor ...

This probably sounds like I hated the film, but I actually loved it.

It has the time line and self-consciously-culture-smart soundtrack of Hair, yet the campy fun and karaoke stylings of Moulin Rouge. Julie Taymor takes this combination and makes it fun, instead of extra cheesy, and it is visually fascinating instead of the obnoxious MTV-video nightmare it could have been.

I cared about the characters - and the cast of 'unknowns' have great star power and voices. Even though I knew exactly what would happen, the journey there was great. The cameos were fun. The lead was sufficiently hot. The soundtrack is stuck in my head as I write this (the new versions, not even the original songs) All corny jokes and references, and lapses in plot are forgiven, because Ms. Taymor manages to take a movie chock full of things that have been done a million times before and makes it as fresh and exciting as if it were all done for the first time. You may know exactly what's going to happen but you never know how. This is the director's movie!

Definitely a movie journey worth taking.

Pure emotion. No one can mix theater with film like Julie Taymor. From beginning to end the film takes you on a psychedelic beatle ride that grips you by the ears, the heart and the soul and never lets go. Even now. Hours after the projector was shut off. Every song adaptation interpretation and setting is spot on, fans of the Beatles will recognize that every detail in Taymor's images recall an instance, a photograph, a line or a quote from the band. Even the girl that comes in through the bathroom window. Nothing is left to chance, everything is on purpose. Amazing. Easily the best film of the year. And in regards to people saying it's a two hour music video.. well... yeah, what the heck were you expecting???

I have been anticipating this movie ever since I saw the trailer on IMDb like everyone else. When I first saw the trailer, I said to myself, I'm either going to consider this my favorite movies of all-time, or it's going to be trash. Being a huge Beatles fan and owning all their albums on CD, I had huge expectations about the covers of the songs. I saw it with my friend, who is also a huge Beatles fan but not a huge musical fan. Both of us saw it on opening night to the public and to our surprise it was really good! The covers of the songs were actually really good! Now don't get me wrong, the original Beatles songs will always be the best versions but for what they did, they did a pretty decent job. One of my favorite scenes was the "I've Just Seen a Face" bowling alley scene. So creative and fun! Also the "I Want You (She So Heavy) scene was…interesting…but fun to watch. Eddie Izzard's scene as Mr. Kite was hilarious! Both me and my friend where on the floor laughing. Also Bono's scene singing "I Am the Walrus" was great. Don't listen to the critics that say that "it doesn't do the Beatles justice". Actually, it's the opposite. Any hardcore Beatles fan will appreciate all the jokes that were thrown in there. Even if you're not a hardcore Beatles fan, you will appreciate the fantastic love story.

Just one word of advice, go to this with an open mind. Don't expect Oscar-worthy script and dialogue, expect clichés, not a whole lot of character development from the supporting cast but don't let that ruin the movie for you. Appreciate the artistic mind of the director. I mean who cares if they threw in a character like Prudence just to sing Dear Prudence? It's a great song! For all you "I hate every movie that comes out" critics don't see this. It's too artsy for you. Go see this with an open mind not expecting it to win Best Picture for the Oscar. This is one of the best experiences you will have watching a movie. I'm buying the DVD as soon as it comes out. See this movie Beatles fans!!! It does them justice!!! Please email me with any comments you have.

... to have been able to see this film in the beautiful Elgin Theatre with Julie Taymor there to answer questions / talk about the film afterwards (at the Toronto International Film Festival).

Wow!!!

I was carried away, I was moved to tears, I stood up and cheered.

For those who commented about the singing - the actors sang all the songs themselves. What's more, though they did record the songs in studio first as part of the rehearsal process, most of the song performances used in the film were recorded live as they played out the scenes. Perhaps that's why - for me - the songs worked so well; it actually felt like the characters were just moved to sing. Amazing performances from - mainly - unknown actors.

And I felt the story had a strong narrative line, aided / supported by the songs. It used the background of history, not just as a painted backdrop, but to add meaning and depth to the characters and the story they were living. Made me wish I'd been there (born in '65, too young to remember the 60's); I'll have to content myself with living vicariously through Jude and Lucy and the others.

Add to everything else Julie Taymor's glorious visuals, and I was truly swept away. I saw 36 films at the festival, but this was head and shoulders my favourite.

I fell in love with this film, and look forward to sharing it with friends and family who didn't have the luck to see it as I did. It's a film that will, I'm sure, reward repeated viewings.