And Then We Danced/და ჩვენ ვიცეკვეთ (Da chven vitsek'vet) (2019) - Swede strikes for LGBT rights in Georgia

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The fantastical emotion of unhindered freedom found in folk dance is encapsulated beautifully on this elegant poster for Levan Akin's And Then We Danced

Merab is a passionate dancer in the tradition of Georgian folk dance, who falls for a new, male dance colleague and competitor during a period leading up to a pivotal audition in the traditional and Conservative country.

And Then We Danced is written, directed and co-edited by Levan Akin (Katinkas Kalas (2011)). The original Georgian title translates to, 'and we danced'.

With a dedicated and strong performance by debuting Levan Gelbakhiani as Merab and a thrilling insight into a rarely seen nation and culture, And Then We Danced attracts its viewers.  But its secret taboo romance is seen many times before and is related in a very leisurely pace, which dramatically slows our investment in the film, which is lifted by the finishing audition dance scene.

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: Unknown

Box office: 625k $

= Uncertain but likely a huge flop (projected return of 0.625 times its cost)

[And Then We Danced premiered 16 May (Cannes Film Festival, Director's Fortnight section) and runs 105 minutes. Akin, born in Sweden with Georgian ex-pat parents, decided to make the film after seeing footage of a Gay Pride parade in Georgia getting attacked by homophobes. 10 companies and support bodies collaborated in the financing and production of the film. Shooting took place in Georgia, including in Tbilisi. The film was met with death threats, protests, dismissals and a refusal for support by official Georgia, including the Culture Ministry, the Church and the National Ballet, due to the country's homophobic culture. Hundreds protested the films cinema screenings in Georgia, with the police forcefully enforcing the peace and safety of cinema-goers. The Georgian gross is regrettably not reported online. The film opened #48 to a 13k $ first weekend in 2 theaters in North America, where it peaked at #43 and in 23 theaters (different weekends), grossing 177k $ (28.3 % of the total gross). North America was the film's 2nd biggest market. The biggest was Spain with 182k $ (29.1 %); 3rd biggest was the Netherlands with 142k $ (22.7 %). The cost of the film is unknown but is here projected to have been a low 1 mil. $. The film was nominated for a European Film award and won 4/7 Guldbagge award nominations, among other honors. It was chosen as Sweden's film for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar but did not get nominated. Akin returned with Deg (2021, TV-series) and theatrically with Crossing (2024). Gelbakhiani has not returned in a film yet but is slated to return in two films in post production, Don't Let the Sun (Catch You Crying) and Youri. And Then We Danced is certified fresh at 93 % with a 7.90/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of And Then We Danced?

Pitch Perfect (2012) - Genuinely funny crowd-pleaser

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A group of young women wearing sunglasses while posing makes up this poster for Jason Moore's Pitch Perfect

Beca begins college but has to pull tight to fit into life there, which for her becomes through the companionship found in a cappella group The Bellas, which - along with the campus' male group the Treblemakers, - compete for national victory!

 

Pitch Perfect is written by Kay Cannon (Let It Snow (2019)), based on Michael Rapkin's same-titled 2008 book, and directed by great debuting Arkansan filmmaker Jason Moore (Tales of the City (2021)).

The film is a party that arrives as a cinematic answer to television's seemingly endless, highly popular talent shows of the post-millennial era - as well as TV series sensation Glee (2009-15). Anna Kendrick's (Noelle (2019)) charm and natural sweetness is a major plus, and Pitch Perfect also becomes a springboard for funny, unembarrassed Rebel Wilson (The Hustle (2019)), sweet Skylar Astin (Ghosts of War (2020)) and foolish Adam Devine (Jexi (2019)). - And Elizabeth Banks (Charlie's Angels (2019)), who also co-produced, and John Michael Higgins (Licorice Pizza (2021)) are a welcome - and often hilarious - element as ex a cappella performers who are now a cappella contest commentators. 

Pitch Perfect is not perfect in any way, - but it sparkles with energy and is both funny, romantic and fresh. It is among the most delightful favorites of 2012.

 

Watch a trailer for the movie here

 

Cost: 17 mil. $

Box office: 115.6 mil. $

= Huge hit (returned 6.8 times its cost)

[Pitch Perfect opened 28 September (North America) and runs 112 minutes. Wilson was paid 65k $ for her performance in the film. Shooting took place around October 2011 in Louisiana. The film opened #6 to a 5.1 mil. $ weekend in North America, spending the next weekend at #3, its only in the top 5, grossing 65 mil. $ (56.2 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were Australia with 13 mil. $ (11.2 %) and Germany with 10.1 mil. $ (8.7 %). Roger Ebert gave it a 2/4 star review, translating to 3 notches under this one. Two sequels followed, Pitch Perfect 2 (2015) and Pitch Perfect 3 (2017). Moore returned with Trophy Wives (2013-14) and theatrically with Sisters (2015). Kendrick returned in Drinking Buddies (2013). Pitch Perfect is certified fresh at 82 % with a 6.50/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Pitch Perfect?

The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994) - The outback gets a festive make-over

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The three stars in gorgeous costumes have their backs turned to us on the open road under a sweltering sky on this poster for Stephan Elliott's The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert

Two drag queens and one more or less honorable, aging transsexual decide to head way inland in Australia to stage shows, and they buy an old bus they name Priscilla for the occasion, which is regrettably not always trustworthy...

 

The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert is written and directed by Stephan Elliott (Frauds (1993)).

The three leads: Hugo Weaving (We're All Going to Die (2017, short)), Guy Pearce (Without Remorse (2021)) and (especially fabulous) Terence Stamp (Bitter Harvest (2017)), - as the three eternally bitching 'disco age' cliche gays are all in high-spirited form and give lots of life to their characters. Bill Hunter (Australia (2008)) is also outstanding as the gentleman Bob, who decides to join the trio on their adventures. 

Whether the film is as funny and good as its similarly long-titled To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar (1995) and also content-wise very similar American film that was made apparently coincidentally (incredible as it may seem) at the same time, is up to each audience member's individual taste. (Mine lead me in favor of the American saga.) In any case: Whoa, is Pearce in strapping form here!

Priscilla both shows a bright corner of an easier, less judgmental future while also brimming with the unbeatable spirit of the LGBT world. It gives a damn about realism in favor of concept and world-class glitzy costumes, wigs and makeup that is out of this world. It is a very gay-positive cult movie that wins on heart and good moments of which it has many.

 

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 2 mil. $

Box office: 29.7 mil. $

= Mega-hit (returned 14.85 times its cost)

[The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert was released 30 January (Spain) and runs 103 minutes. Shooting took place from September - October 1993 in Australia. The film opened #14 to a 219k $ first weekend in 7 theaters in North America, where it grossed 11.2 mil. $ (37.7 % of the total gross). It earned 16.4 mil. $ (55.2 %) in Australia. The box office record is likely missing information, and the world gross is likely higher than reported here. The film won the Best Costumes Oscar. It also won 2/7 BAFTA awards, was nominated for 2 Golden Globes, among other honors. Roger Ebert gave it a 2.5/4 star review, translating to a notch under this one. Elliott returned with Welcome to Woop Woop (1997). Weaving returned in Exile (1994); Pearce in Dating the Enemy (1996) and Stamp in Mindbender (1996, TV movie) and theatrically in Tiré à Part (1996). The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert is certified fresh at 94 % with a 7.30/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert? 

Showgirls (1995) - Verhoeven's outrageous, ridiculous, hilarious Hollywood anomaly

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A nubile, long-legged blond figure adorns this dark poster for Paul Verhoeven's Showgirls

Nomi arrives in Las Vegas without her suitcase but with her head full of dreams. And luckily she soon befriends Molly, a seamstress who introduces her to the town's adult dance scene.

 

Showgirls is written by Joe Eszterhas (Flashdance (1983)) and directed by Dutch master filmmaker Paul Verhoeven (Wat Zien Ik (1971)), whose 11th feature it is. 

It is an anomaly in Hollywood history: The first and only wide release NC-17 rated movie, Showgirls is likely the big studio pic with most bare breasts, a giant budget and no major stars. It is a lustful, young-boyishly-enthused, strange work that could only come from Verhoeven.

Elizabeth Berkley (Meet Market (2004)) is wild and electric as Nomi, (and writhes almost convulsively in her sex scenes), but in the context of the fever dream-like film her ridiculed performance actually could hardly have been better. Gina Gershon (P.S. I Love You (2007)) camps it up as the show's star Cristal. Robert Davi (The Hot Chick (2002)) is ideal as a creep, and Kyle MacLachlan (Free Jimmy (2006)) is funny (and shows off his great ass) as a rich playboy.

The melodrama gets another gear here. The photography (by Jost Vacano (Supermarket (1974))) and execution is highly competent and vivid, and the result is an outrageous, ridiculous, hilarious bucket of juicy, rich entertainment, a good/bad reflection on the American performance culture. The dance acts are phenomenal, and once the news sensation of the nudity evaporates, Showgirls still has more and more laughable developments to offer. It may be exploitation, (as Quentin Tarantino has called it), but in any case Showgirls is delivered with a major twinkle in the eye. 

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Top 10: Best cop movies reviewed by Film Excess to date  
Basic Instinct (1992) or, Irresistable Desire!  

Top 10: Best erotic movies reviewed by Film Excess to date 

The Fourth Man/De Vierde Man (1983) - Verhoeven's amazing Dutch sex thriller nightmare

 

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 45 mil. $

Box office: 37.7 mil. $

= Huge flop (returned 0.83 times its cost)

[Showgirls premiered 21 September (California) and runs 131 minutes. Eszterhas became the highest-paid screenwriter in movie history for Showgirls: He was reportedly given a 2 mil. $ advance based on an idea scribbled on a napkin at a meeting with Verhoeven, and then another 1.7 mil. $ once the film began production. Verhoeven was paid 2 mil. $ for directing; and Berkley was paid 100k $ for her performance in the film. Shooting took place from August - December 1994 in Los Angeles, California and in Nevada, including in Las Vegas. Distributor United Artists reportedly dispatched hundreds of employees to cinemas in the US to make sure no patrons snuck into showings and that the 17 age requirement was upheld. The film opened #2, behind fellow new release Seven, to an 8.1 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it spent another weekend in the top 5 (#5) and grossed 20.3 mil. $ (53.8 % of the total gross). The film was banned in Ireland for blasphemy. Berkley was dropped by her agent following the film's release and was ignored by other agents. Although theatrically a huge flop, the film since became a cult favorite, accruing a reported 100 mil. $ through its video release. Roger Ebert gave it a 2/4 star review, translating to 2 notches under this one. Verhoeven returned with Starship Troopers (1997). Berkley returned in White Wolves II: Legend of the Wild (1996). Showgirls is rotten at 23 % with a 3.90/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

 

What do you think of Showgirls?

Happy Feet (2006) - Mind-numbing one-trick pony animation

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A happy-faced penguin is dancing on a - presumably thawing - block of ice on this poster for George Miller, Warren Coleman and Judy Morris' Happy Feet

In the world of emperor penguins singing is pivotal. But young Mumble doesn't have the knack for it. What he can do, however, is dance!

 

Happy Feet is written by John Collee (Wolf Totem (2015)) and co-writer/directors Judy Morris (Luigi's Ladies (1989)), Warren Coleman (Effie: Just Quietly (2001, TV-series)) and great Australian filmmaker George Miller (Mad Max (1979)).

The animation of Antarctic animals is impressive. - Regrettably they are dropped into an insultingly hollow and unoriginal film, which seems to promise us a gay penguin story - but instead settles for tap-dancing penguin idiocy, and an environmental afterthought ending that's just twaddle. Happy Feet is intolerable.

 

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2015 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED IV]

2015 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]
2015 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2015 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I] 

2015 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess 

Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) or, Furiosa: Desert Warrior 

2006 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]

Twilight Zone The Movie (1983) - Fear takes many forms in tragedy-struck anthology (segment director)

 

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 100 mil. $

Box office: 384.3 mil. $

= Big hit (returned 3.84 times its cost)

[Happy Feet was released 16 November (Malaysia, Thailand) and runs 108 minutes. Production took place in Sydney, Australia and lasted 4 years. Motion capture was used to make the penguins dance convincingly like humans. The film opened #1 to a 41.5 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it spent another 2 weekends at #1 and then another 2 in the top 5 (#2-#4), grossing 198 mil. $ (51.5 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were the UK with 37.7 mil. $ (9.8 %) and Australia with 26.2 mil. $ (6.9 %). The film won the Best Animated Feature Oscar. It also won 1/2 BAFTA nominations, an AFI award, 1/2 Golden Globe nominations, was nominated for 2 Grammys and many other honors. It also made in excess of 213.8 mil. $ on DVD and Blu-ray sales in North America. Miller (and several voice stars) returned with Happy Feet Two (2011), a major flop. Morris and Coleman have not directed since. Elijah Wood (Cooties (2014)) returned in 3 TV and video game credits prior to his theatrical return in Year Zero (2007); Brittany Murphy (Drive (1997)) in The Ramen Girl (2008). Happy Feet is certified fresh at 76 % with a 6.90/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Happy Feet?

The White Crow (2018) - Fiennes puts real-life ballet master Ivenko in front of his honest and good Nureyev biopic

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+ Best Biopic of the Year + Best Dance Movie of the Year + Best Paris Movie of the Year + Best Political Movie of the Year

Star Oleg Ivenko's arms, head and torso stretch out as if in a classical painting on this magnificent poster for Ralph Fienes' The White Crow

Rudolf Nureyev was a precocious outsider from childhood, when he discovered the marvel of ballet. As a young man, he evolved into a master dancer with huge self-confidence but little knack for submitting to the restrictive realities of life in the USSR.

The White Crow is written by David Hare (The Hours (2002)), based on the book Rudolf Nureyev: The Life (2007) by Julie Kavanagh, and directed by Ralph Fiennes (Coriolanus (2011)).
The film skips back and forth in chronology, and the resulting impression isn't so much disjointed as just not parallel to the elegance of the exquisite dancing we witness. The story comes across, anyhow.
And the story of The White Crow, (which is a Russian nickname that Nureyev gets attached to himself from boyhood due to his qualities as sticking out and being 'different'), is one of the need and thirst for freedom, which again proves a compelling conflict here. Nureyev needs freedom to dance and spread his talent to the foreign lands that want to book him and the Soviet company he dances with, but he also thirsts for freedom simply because he is a wild soul, who does not and doesn't want to conform to the dictates of the grey, despicable figures of the Communist regime.
Ballet-lovers should find plenty to like in The White Crow, which stars acting newcomer Oleg Ivenko, a Ukrainian-born, celebrated dancer based in Tatarstan, Russia, who has trained ballet since the age of 5. Fiennes and Hare also stick with plenty of Russian dialog (as well as French and English when it makes sense story-wise), and Ivenko impresses especially in his dancing scenes, in which he is superb. Nureyev is a head-strong character, not always sympathetically so, and I believed in Ivenko in his portrayal.
Nureyev was also likely bisexual, though The White Crow is content to let the matter fly: SPOILER Nureyev sleeps with his possibly impotent teacher (Fiennes also gives a solid performance, speaking convincing Russian) and a beautiful male German ballet student (Louis Hofmann (Land of Mine/Under Sandet (2015))). The film adores the male physique unapologetically throughout, which is only right.
Adèle Exarchopoulos (Pieces of Me/Des Morceaux de Moi (2012)) gives another strong and sensual performance as another friend of Nureyev's, who due to her connection to the French minister of culture is able to help the dancer with his highly-charged defecting to the West: This short but pivotal hour or two in the artist's life is brought to vivid life, as Nureyev realizes that the weary company manager of the KGB has gotten orders to restrain him back to the Soviet Union and possibly end his career; and a high-stakes defection drama plays out in the Paris airport. The life-altering tension is very palpable, and the malign realities of the USSR regime are laid bare on film again.

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Ralph Fiennes: 2018 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) - A very very good dream (starring actor) 
Wrath of the Titans (2012) or, Trash of the Titans (co-star)
Skyfall (2012) - Mendes elevates a slickly produced modern Bond to thrilling heights (co-star)
The Reader (2008) or, Guilt, Words and Love (starring actor)
The Constant Gardner (2005) - Meirelles' first-rate third world thriller  (starring actor)
Spider (2002) - Cronenberg takes us to the tormented (and slightly dull) mind of a schizophrenic (starring actor)
The English Patient (1996) - Minghella's oppulent, beautifully produced and shot, but nevertheless boring classic (starring actor)

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: Unknown
Box office: 7. 2 mil. $ and counting
= Uncertain - but likely a big flop
[The White Crow premiered 31 August (Telluride Film Festival, Colorado) and runs 127 minutes. Hayden Christensen was first choice to star in the film, but an ankle injury made this impossible. Fiennes did not want to co-star in the film but was pressured to do so to secure financing. Shooting took place in France, Belgrade, Serbia, St. Petersburg, Russia and in Croatia, completed in October 2017. The film opened #29 to a 78k $ first weekend in 5 theaters in North America, where it peaked at #19 and in 365 theaters, grossing 1.8 mil. $ (25 % of the gross to date). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets so far are main production country the UK with 1.5 mil. $ (20.8 %) and France with 1.1 mil. $ (15.3 %). The film has one announced market left to open in: Germany on 26 September. If made on a low budget of 5 mil. $, the film still ranks as a big flop. Fiennes does not have his next directing job announced yet. Ivenko also does not have another film lined up and has returned to the stage for now. The White Crow is fresh at 66 % with a 6.37/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The White Crow?

Napoleon Dynamite (2004) - You'll wanna visit Preston, Idaho!

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+ Best Dance Movie of the Year + Best Dollar Return of the Year: 115.25 Times the Cost + Best Idahoan Movie of the Year + Best High School Movie of the Year + Best Independent Movie of the Year + Best Low-Budget Movie of the Year + Best Youth Movie of the Year

Jon Heder looks, well, ridiculous in moonboots and a brown suit on this funny poster for Jared Hess' Napoleon Dynamite

In small Idaho town Preston, Napoleon lives with his grandmother and uncle. His best friend is Pedro, who is running for student president at their high school. And a dance there is fast approaching.

Napoleon Dynamite is written by Jerusha Hess and her husband, debuting great Arizonan co-writer/director Jared Hess (Don Verdean (2015)). This cursing and sex-free teenage romcom lights up with originality and humanity in all of its groovy parts.
We are invited to get to know all the weirdos, all the imperfect people of Preston, and if the script is a bit lean, the film makes up for it with wonderful music and precise, memorable photography full of good, static compositions, (by Munn Powell (Gentlemen Broncos (2009))). And, of course, Jon Heder (Wildlife (2014, short)) is a dancing sensation as the title character, and Efren Ramirez (Mad Families (2017)) is hilarious as his buddy Pedro.

 

Related post:

 

Jared Hess: 2004 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]

Watch a trailer for the film here 

Cost: 400k $
Box office: 46.1 mil. $
= Mega-hit (returned 115.25 times its cost)
[Napoleon Dynamite premiered 17 January (Sundance Film Festival, Utah) and runs 95 minutes. The film is inspired by Hess' short film Peluca (2003). Shooting took place in Idaho, including the real Preston, and in Utah in 23 days from July - August 2003. A reportedly substantial part of the tiny budget was spent on music rights licensing. Heder was paid only 1,000 $ for his performance but later renegotiated and received an undisclosed cut of the film's profits. The film opened #29 to a 116k $ first weekend in 6 theaters in North America, where it peaked at #8 and in 1,024 theaters, grossing 44.5 mil. $ (96.5 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were the UK with 1 mil. $ (2.2 %) and Australia with 0.38 mil. $ (0.8 %). Roger Ebert gave the film a 1.5/4 star review, translating to 4 notches worse than this one. It was nominated for 3 Independent Spirit awards and a Grammy, among other honors. The cast and filmmakers returned with a same-titled TV-series in 2012, which was canceled after 6 episodes. Hess returned with The Postal Service: We Will Become Silhouettes (2005, short) and theatrically with Nacho Libre (2006). Heder returned in 2 shorts and a TV-series, before he returned to the big screen in Just Like Heaven (2005). Napoleon Dynamite is fresh at 71 % with a 6.31/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Napoleon Dynamite?

Burlesque (2010) - Love the stars and the flashing lights like a real fangirl

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1 Film Excess nomination:

Best Song: You Haven't Seen the Last of Me - Diane Warren, performed by Cher (lost to The Treme Song - John Boutté for Treme S1)
 
+ Best Music Movie of the Year
+ Best Comeback Actress of the Year: Cher

Cher and Christina Aguilera on the appropriately glitzy poster for Steve Antin's Burlesque

A beautiful, blond songbird with star dreams comes to LA and promptly finds the vampy, incredible Burlesque club, where she begins to work her way up the ranks.

Burlesque is an enjoyable, glitzy trifle. If you're a Cher (Moonstruck (1987)) fan, - and this reviewer sure is, - you'll enjoy her performance, warmth and the two fine songs she performs. Christina Aguilera (Pitch Perfect 2 (2015)) also impresses with her vocal and show talents, making her starring debut here. Cam Gigandet (Twilight (2008)) is the hot roommate, Kristen Bell (The Lifeguard (2013)) is the scheming star of the club, and Stanley Tucci (Shall We Dance (2004)) gives fine life to its backstage homo.
Burlesque is a chick-flick guilty pleasure romance, and if one is in the mood for it, it's a good one of its kind. It's light as a merengue and a fantasy, essentially, - a beautiful place cut off from reality, - that magical place called Hollywood.
Burlesque is the feature debut of actor Steve Antin (Inside Monkey Zetterland (1992)), who has written and directed it. 

Related posts:

2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess 

Watch a clip from the film here

Cost: 55 mil. $
Box office: 89.5 mil. $
= Big flop
[Burlesque was released November 24 and runs 119 minutes. Filming lasted from November 2009 - March 2010. The film opened #4 (behind Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1, Tangled and Megamind) to a 11.9 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it grossed 39.4 mil. $ (44 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were Japan with 9.4 mil.$ (10.5 %) and Australia 7.6 mil. $ (8.5 %). The film was nominated for 3 Golden Globes and won one of them, for Best Song (You Haven't Said the Last of Me) as well as 2 Grammys. Burlesque is rotten at 36 % with a 4.8 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Burlesque?