Rating of
3/4
Cadillac Records
Allison - wrote on 11/25/08
Cadillac Records has a lot of potential for Oscar season. It had everything Walk the Line had, only multiply that by five. We are not talking about one story, but stories centered around about five top blues artists from the fifties period.
Some people would say it's about Leonard Chess, since "Chess Records" gave out Cadillacs to its artists. That is probably why the movie is called Cadillac Records. The movie seems to center on Muddy Waters, before also exploring the careers of Little Walter, Howlin' Wolf, Etta James, and Chuck Berry.
In the beginning it started out well. But when some of the musicians were supposed to be playing, the camera focused on the actors' faces, then it cut to a close-up of fingers on guitar, and no wide shots, meaning that not all actors were actually playing the instruments. Even in a movie like School of Rock, they got kids that could play their instruments! However, that became a non-issue after Beyonce as Etta James became part of the movie. She was emotionally moving in this movie and I would be surprised if she wasn't nominated for an Oscar.
The music in this movie was especially good, and I wouldn't be surprised if a whole new generation of "kids" came to love these old blues artists because of the attention brought to them by this movie.
Recent Comments
Pervenia - wrote on 12/09/08 at 10:47 AM CT
Cadillac Records Review comment
Is Cadillac Records Oscar material? For certain actors—yes.
In a film about Chess Records and its recording artists, I looked forward to its cast to embodying the persona of legendary artists’, who made groundbreaking strides to carve out a place for themselves in the music industry. How skillfully did the cast personify these distinguished artists?
Without a doubt, Columbus Short (Little Walter) was a natural. Short threw himself wholeheartedly into his role. Not only did he …
