High School Musical 3

High School Musical 3: Senior Year ~ What needs to be understood is that HSM is not just a movie, it’s a phenomenon. The theatre that we saw this in is one where I have never seen anyone younger than their twenties in attendance. The lobby and parking lot was packed. I had never seen so many folks there before, ever. And they were all under twenty.

Further evidence would be the origins of this flick – it was intended as a made-for-TV movie for the Disney Channel, and its just as popular sequel was made for straight-to-DVD, now, number three is the number one opener for this weekend’s box office. Thus is the power of HSM.

Yes, we know that Zac Efron has irresistible baby blues but that doesn’t mean he gets to look directly I to the camera whenever possible. Unlike the original, I found Vanessa Anne Hudgens about as charismatic as toast. She really didn’t want to be there for whatever reason. Ashley Tisdale makes every scene she’s in hers and hers alone. Her portrayal as Sharpay is a scene-devouring monster and it’s a delight. There should have been more. Lucas Grabeel is fun and also shines, but not as brightly as previously. The underclassmen are played simply for laughs – I certainly hope the powers that be don’t expect them to carry the franchise if it continues.

The finale, featuring songs from not only this flick but its predecessors, is a high point, but the real tour de force is “The Boys Are Back,” a song that is one of the only ones to showcase Corbin Bleu. He and Efron dance up a storm in a junkyard using moves reminiscent of the King of Pop in his heyday. Great sequence, really.



The biggest secret of HSM, and especially Senior Year, is that it’s actually good, and not just for kids. Yes, it’s a bit simplistic, and predictable, and suffers from the same faulty logic all musicals do – but it is very entertaining for kids of all ages. Recommended.

Quickies 8-9-2008

Picture This! ~ An Ashley Tisdale vehicle to whet the kids’ appetites for the High School Musical sequel hitting theatres in October, this really isn’t as bad as it could have been. As a matter of fact, it’s quite a lot of fun. Clever cellphone hijinks abound in this Disney family flick as well as a musical number or two. And Ashley is much more grounded and likable here than in the HSMs. Recommended.


Thomas and Friends: The Great Discovery ~ Yes, that’s right, it’s a “Thomas the Tank Engine” movie. My nephew was in town so we went to the movies. Once I got over the acid trip weirdness that all the vehicles had faces it wasn’t bad. Wonderfully narrated by Pierce Brosnan and easily accessible to adults it wasn’t bad. I did fall asleep however, not because I was bored, but tired from the night before. The point at which I fell asleep had Thomas jealous of a competitor, when I awoke that competitor had vanished and didn’t show up again for about twenty minutes (an eternity in a kid flick). I thought for sure Martin Scorsese was actually a ghost director and Thomas had done his rival in! Trust me, that nod-off made for a much more exciting film. Good one for the pre-school set, and also for sleepy, imaginative adults.


Hancock ~ I really wasn’t expecting much from this year’s Will Smith Fourth of July offering. It looked more like a rip-off or parody of the superhero genre than anything else. I was surprised. Hancock, while a bit predictable in places (mostly from the later previews and trailers), is still this summer’s best superhero flick this side of Iron Man. Smith plays a man gifted with superpowers but with little regard for the people (or property) his position indicates he protect. An alcoholic, a slacker and a drifter he’s just not your typical hero. The police hate him more than they probably would a super-villain. As PR worker Jason Bateman tries to help Hancock we learn more about his past and where he came form, and from there the action really starts rolling. Not really a parody at all, but a sly homage to the genre, this one is worth seeing in the theatre.


Déjà Vu ~ I hate movies whose synopses give away vital plot points. This one did it for me, and because I loved this film so much, I won’t do it for you. This Denzel Washington thriller comes with my highest recommendation, along with the proviso you don’t read anything about it before you see it. That’s right, it’s Sixth Sense secret cool. I loved it.