Step Up

Choreographer and now director Anne Fletcher hits the mother lode with this gem of a dance flick! Having painfully seen similar dance-themed teen movies in the past (Take the Lead, Save the Last Dance, etc.), Step Up does justice to its genre by not pulling any stops in delivering a truly enjoyable movie. Hindi nagtipid sa pasikat.

Unlike similar movies where the audience agonizingly waits through scene after scene of boredom for a grand dance finale (which usually fails to enthrall anyway), Step Up treats the audience to several impressive, memorable sequences thoughtfully scattered throughout the movie. Finally, we are entertained by a dance flick where the leads (Jenna Dewan and Channing Tatum) are both beautiful to watch, have good chemistry (enough to sustain the kilig factor) and can really deliver the moves.

Dewan is a superb dancer; she has a fabulously fit body, not the anorexic ballerina type, and she dons her outfits exceptionally well for someone who's only 5'3". It was also amazing to watch such a tall, gorgeous man like Tatum move the way he does (it must help that the boy knows his Kung Fu!). His deadpan facial expression makes his line deliveries unexpectedly funny. The supporting cast also amply sustains the rest of the story. Step Up churns out enough high points that you pardon its hiccuppy subplots and scene-stealing extras.

I thought this movie was really good. I'll admit the acting may not have been to it's full potential.. but I still thought it was pretty good. The movie is based on dancing and overall I thought the technique was very good. The talent displayed in this movie is extraordinary. The movie has romance, comedy, tragedy, and nearly everything else you would want in a good movie. The music in this movie is also really good. I would say this movie is well worth the money I spent. Step Up is inspirational and was everything I was expecting it to be. I'd highly recommend seeing it. If you enjoyed the movie Save The Last Dance this is probably a good movie for you. I found this movie to be very uplifting.

In Baltimore, the troublemaker and street dancer Tyler Gage (Channing Tatum) lives with his foster parents in an Afro-American lower class neighborhood. His best friends are Mac Carter (Damaine Radcliff) and his little brother Skinny Carter (De'Shawn Washington) and they use to hang around together, going to parties and stealing cars. After being expelled of a party, the trio breaks in the Maryland School of Arts and commits vandalism, destroying the stage. Tyler is arrested and sentenced to 200 hours of community service in the school and Director Gordon (Rachel Griffiths) assigns him to help the janitor cleaning the place. One afternoon, the ballet dancer Nora Clark (Jenna Dewan) sees Tyler dancing in the parking area and when her partner Andrew (Tim Lacatena) has a strain and Tyler offers to help her in the choreography, she accepts the offer; they rehearsal and become close to each other while Tyler becomes friend of the students Miles Darby (Mario) and Lucy Avila (Drew Sidora). When Andrew returns, Tyler that is known for quitting everything he starts gives up dancing and leaves Nora alone. After an incident, Tyler has to decide to follow his dream or return to his life of rebel loser.

"Step Up" was a wonderful and delightful surprise for me. The heartwarming romantic story shows a perfect chemistry between Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan, supported by a magnificent cast and awesome songs and choreographies of dance. There are also drama and tragedy, funny moments and I recalled Alan Parker's "Fame" and "Center Stage" with the students following their dreams in an art school. The characters are nice, the actors and actresses are excellent and I have really loved this movie. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Ela Dança, Eu Danço" ("She Dances, I Dance")

Going into the movie with the right expectations, I somewhat liked this movie. Like most reviewers who have seen this movie, I fully agree that the plot was razor thin, clichéd, and I could predict every plot twist from the very beginning of the movie. But, the dancing sequences were VERY well done, and I really enjoyed the fusion of classical and hip-hop dance (both which I enjoy watching). The music/soundtrack of the movie was also very good, which made the "drama" scenes more bearable. The leads (Jenna Dewan and Channing Tatum) were OK as actors, but their dancing throughout the movie was impressive and mesmerizing.

All in all, a movie worth watching if you like to watch good dance sequences, and this movie is MUCH MUCH MUCH better than "You Got Served" in terms of the plot and drama. Then again, that doesn't say much, does it? =P

The storyline is interesting, but no very unique and not as attractive as it could be. The acting is poor at times and not as emotional for a drama movie, as the story had everything for it but the young and raw actors could have made it so much better.