Favorite Movie Musicals

10. Pitch Perfect (2012)
This one was a great surprise.  The best way to describe this movie is infectious.  It really makes you want to sing and dance.  The a cappella arrangements make this much more energetic than the usual coming of age comedy.  The likable cast is lead beautifully by Anna Kendrick, Skylar Astin, Anna Camp and the breakout Rebel Wilson.  This movie has hit multiple demographics and has a sequel coming next year.

9. Moulin Rouge (2001)

This movie has a huge cult following, coupled with a contrarian critical backlash.  I don't think it is the greatest movie ever, but it is a great movie musical.  Really the first modern movie musical, it is from back when arrangements of pop songs were a rare thing.  The arrangements are memorable and Baz Luhrmann's visual style is appropriately flashy.  The cast is great with Nicole Kidman, Ewan McGregor and Jim Broadbent.  It is both theatrical and cinematic all while being incredibly overdramatic.

8. Annie (1982)
These musical blogposts were inspired by the trailer for the Annie remake.  I grew up with the 1982 Annie and still love it.  Sure it is a corny kiddie musical, but that really is what makes it so great.  It goes for the heartstrings and is just fun.  This film has an incredible cast with hammy performances from Albert Finney, Ann Reinking, Tim Curry, Bernadette Peters and especially Carol Burnett who is one of the greatest kid movie villains of all time.  The Disney TV version from 1999 is just as good too with another great lineup featuring Kathy Bates, Victor Garber, Audra McDonald, Alan Cumming and Kristen Chenoweth.  It unfortunately looks like the upcoming remake will not allow much room for great character actors though.

7. Little Shop of Horrors (1986)
Both hilarious and uncomfortably dark, this adaptation of the Menken/Ashman show is one of the best horror comedies.  Frank Oz utilizes his comedy and puppeteering expertise as the film's director.  The movie has some impressive puppeteering.  Highlights from the great cast include a hilarious Bill Murray cameo and a tour de force performance from Steve Martin.  Even with studio interference this remains one of my favorite movie musicals.

6. Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella (1997)
This has to be among the best TV movies of all time.  The sets and costumes are great along with Rob Marshall's choreography.  The movie adds new songs to Rodgers and Hammerstein's TV classic.  The cast is diverse with Brandy, Whitney Houston, Bernadette Peters, Jason Alexander, Whoopi Goldberg and more all having a lot of fun.  This is one of the best adaptations of Cinderella and a really sweet love story.

5. The Sound of Music (1965)
A classic movie that has immortalized a classic show.  Julie Andrews is pitch perfect as Maria and there are so many iconic moments from this film.  This is one of the few classic movies that still does well with primetime TV airings.  People love this and it just can't be topped.

4. Les Miserables (2012)
People are really split on this movie, I understand how it does not live up to the stage show for many.  But this is as good of a film adaptation as this show was going to get.  Tom Hooper took a lot of risks to make this work on the screen.  I know that the close-ups bother many, but they really allow the stars to really emote in a way they can't on stage.  The cast is great for a movie, even if Russell Crowe's vocals are not great he has a great presence for Javert.  The cast is great with Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway, Eddie Redmayne, Samantha Barks, Sacha Baron Cohen, Helena Bonham Carter, Aaron Tveit and Colm Wilkinson all impressing.  I cried several times in this movie and that is enough of a reason to recommend it.  The finale with Jean Valjean going to Heaven is a beautiful image that has stuck with me.

3. Mary Poppins (1964)
One of the best Disney movies of all time and a huge achievement in film making.  It is a perfect combination of live-action and animation.  The writing and characters are top notch with great performances from Julie Andrews, Ed Wynn and the underrated David Tomlinson.  Dick van Dyke has gotten a poor reputation for an inaccurate dialect, but honestly that makes the character of Bert more iconic and fantastic.  The score and songs from the Sherman Brothers are wonderful and still inspiring.  Last year's Saving Mr. Banks is a terrific love letter to this amazing film.

2. Singin' in the Rain (1952)
Of course this needs to be mentioned.  Not a Broadway style musical, but the best movie musical of all time.  A movie that is an excuse for talented singers and dancers to just sing and dance.  A great movie with many iconic numbers and an incredibly clever plot.

1. The Wizard of Oz (1939)
This is not only one of the best movie musicals of all time, it is one of the best family movies of all time, one of the best fantasies of all time and just simply one of the best movies of all time.  It is completely accessible and timeless.  People enjoy it as much now as they did when it first came out.  It still captures people's imaginations and never gets old.

Producers Guild Shakes Up Best Picture Race

Been a few weeks since my last Oscar predictions.  The Producers Guild is usually a good gage for the best picture race.  Last year seven of their nominations matched the Academy's (Bridesmaids, Dragon Tattoo and Ides of March instead of Tree of Life and Extremely Loud), the year before they were only one film off (The Town instead of Winter's Bone) and in 2009 they were two off (Star Trek and Invictus instead of A Serious Man and Blind Side).

Included in the nominations are the locks of Zero Dark Thirty, Les Miserables, Argo, Lincoln, and Silver Linings Playbook.  The best picture winner is still one of these five.

Life of Pi looks to be a lock now too, along with the financially successful Django Unchained.  Both had good showings at the Globes, several critics groups and now here.  They are becoming much more stable predictions.

Receiving boosts from the PGA are the early releases of  Moonrise Kingdom and Beasts of the Southern Wild.  Moonrise has been popping up infrequently in precursors but this nod bodes well for the small film.  Southern Wild on the other hand has its first big precursor nod.  A few weeks ago I was almost ready to count it out of the race, but it may have more support than I had initially thought.

The film with that was helped the most by these nominations however is Skyfall.  It looks like there is a sizable chance for the Academy celebrating Bond's 50th Anniversary and one of his best films.  It is the PGA nominated film with the lowest chances at an Oscar nomination, but the film keeps popping up in precursors.  With this and Bardem's SAG nomination it looks like voters are taking this one seriously.

There are two movies that are hurt by these nominations.  Best Exotic Marigold Hotel was a contender when SAG and Globes announced their nominations, but a SAG ensemble nomination does not always equate to serious contender (Hairspray and 3:10 to Yuma).  Also a Globe nominated comedy is not the same as a Globe nominated drama.  I would say that the chances for Best Exotic to surprise with a best picture nomination is getting slimmer.

And almost out of the race is The Master.  It has not done well with the Guilds and the Globes.  Critics groups have been its only real Oscar attention, and critics aren't academy members.  Also I am sure Weinstein is campaigning Silver Linings and Django over his earlier, smaller release.  I know it has its ardent supporters, but be careful in predicting The Master for an Oscar.

So right now I would predict that the Best Picture nominations will be:

Argo

Django Unchained

Les Miserables

Life of Pi

Lincoln

Silver Linings Playbook

Zero Dark Thirty

with Moonrise Kingdom and Beasts of the Southern Wild as potential upsets.  I am not discounting Skyfall yet either.  It has been an interesting race, there may be some surprises this year too, you never know.