oneshortkat's reviews

This movie wasn't horrible, as some other people have stated, in my opinion it's a little better than mediocre. If you ignore the clichéd dialogue and let yourself get caught up in the action and intensity of the scenes then it's a much better film. As Kurt Russell said about Wofgang Peterson's other film Troy, I bet if you watch this film with the dialogue, not the music, off it would be a completely different film. The acting in this film was terrific except for Jimmy Bennet and Jacinda Barret. Maybe if they had been given more dialogue, I would've liked them better, but what lines they were given were delivered...not so good. I felt that the best actors in the whole film were Emmy Rossum and Josh Lucas. They really made me feel for their characters and I wanted them to survive this horrific ordeal. The special effects were the best I've seen in any film. The capsize was amazing to see on the big screen. My stomach tensed up the whole time. I know that there were quite a few scenes cut out before the final release and I hope when Poseidon is released on DVD it will have a directors cut. Maybe then I would empathize with all of the characters.

I read a lot of the review on here saying that this was a pretty bad movie but I have to disagree. I thought is was beautifully filmed and had a great storyline. But then again, many of the complaints were from people who had read the book and I haven't read the book yet. I thought that the actresses were terrific, especially Zhy Zhang(sp?) and the women who played her mentor and her enemy were awesome as well. The scenery and costumes were all beautiful and the music, be still my heart, was absolutely gorgeous. I bought the score as soon as possible after seeing the movie. I did have a few problems with the movie though. I thought that the movie should have had subtitles because some of the women seemed to be having trouble speaking in English and it was hard to understand what they were saying. Also the movie dragged a little at the beginning, they could have cut out a few of the scenes. But other than that I thought it was a beautiful movie with awesome acting.

Songcatcher is a film that shows the side of the mountain people that has been unknown for years. It's kind of like an indie, female version of Oh Brother Where Art Thou, but with a feminist touch and more and better music. The film is very enjoyable with some exceptional acting particularly in the case of Janet McTeer, Aidan Quinn and Emmy Rossum and features some lovely and moving renditions of classic ballads. Maggie Greenwald (The Ballad of Little Jo, for which she wrote and directed) is also both the director and writer of Songcatcher and she has done a fabulous job. The film's focus is on musicologist Lily Penleric (Janet McTeer) in the early 1900s who has just been passed over for a permanent teaching position for the second time. She becomes embittered and decides to leave the school and go to the mountains to visit her sister (Jane Adams) at her school in the mountains of North Carolina. There she learns, to her delight, that many of the old Irish/Scottish ballads have been preserved in their original form, after hearing them sung by her sister's warden Deladis Slocumb (the always delightful Emmy Rossum). After hearing Deladis sing these ballads Lily becomes obsessed with collecting and publishing the songs. With the help of Deladis and her boyfriend Fate Honeycutt (don't you just love these names) Lily goes around the mountain collecting songs. One of her first stops is at incorrigible Viney Butler (Pat Carroll). While she's there Lily meets Viney's grandson Tom Bledsoe (a nearly unrecognizable Aidan Quinn).

The two clash at first but they eventually become, no surprise, romantically involved. Along the way we also meet Lily's antagonist Earl Giddens (David Patrick Kelly) who's has been 'educated' down the mountain and wants to turn the mountain in a coal mine. While collecting the songs, Lily slowly begins to crack from her shell and she learns to love the people of the mountain. The photography in the film is spectacular. It's vibrant and bright with some terrific shots of the wizardly Carolina Mountains. Maggie Greenwald brings the beauty of the mountains out with long-range shots at sunset. As I stated earlier the acting in this film is superb so there are no complaints from me. Lily Penleric was played perfectly by Janet McTeer who seems to be able to convey so much emotion through her eyes. Tom Bledsoe was such a different character than I had ever seen Aidan Quinn play before and it was quite refreshing. He was great as a grumbling, dirty yet somehow attractive mountain man. And Emmy Rossum, in her feature film debut, gives a stunning performance as the angelic voiced ward.

The music in the film is probably it's best asset. Greenwald had actual singers and musicians play the musical parts. Iris Dement and Taj Mahal were just two of the musicians in this film and they added an authenticity to the film. All the songs in this movie were amazing and as soon as I saw this film I went out and bought the soundtrack. The only problems I had with the film are that the plot sometimes seemed a little forced, a little contrived and that there were too many subplots. There were probably in total about seven or eight different plot lines weaved in and out throughout the film. In some films this might work but Greenwald doesn't quite pull it off. The lesbian subplot was not needed at all. It actually took away from the authenticity of the film and didn't seem to fit in with the time period, which was the late Victorian era. Overall I would definitely recommend this movie, especially to those that really enjoyed movies like Oh Brother Where Art Thou. This film captivates the beauty of the Carolina Mountains and shows what the music of the mountains is really like.

"Your music is like the air you breathe" Lily Penleric, Songcatcher

I must admit that after reading all of the reviews to be horrified by JLH presentation as Audrey Hepburn. But I was somewhat surprised. I didn't think that she was the best actress available, I think Emmy Rossum should have played Audrey the entire movie, but JLH does an alright job. She doesn't do the perfect accent, but then I don't think that any actress could do the accent perfectly.

I never knew of the horrible things that happened to Audrey during her life and this movie made me cry, especially during Emmy's scenes. I have such respect for Audrey Hepburn now. The work she did made such a difference and it's sad that she is gone now.

I found this movie to be very enjoyable. The singing, especially Emmy Rossum's, is fantastic. The direction and settings were beautiful and the music moving. This is my favorite musical of all time and it lived up to my expectations. I've seen it four times in theaters and bought the soundtrack. Patrick Wilson and Gerard Buttler were great as the two lovers fighting over Christine's love. All the actors in this movie did a terrific job acting and singing. I enjoyed Miranda Richardson tremendously. This the second movie i had seen Emmy Rossum sing in. The first was her feature film debut, Songcatcher. She has such a range of different singing, it's amazing. She is a phenomenal talent.