*** Official CADILLAC RECORDS Review Thread (1 Viewer)

[Henry Gale]

Saw Cadillac Records the other night.
There are probably half a dozen films out right now that I consider more worthy of my time, and yours, but I knew I would enjoy this.
For starters, Beyoncé is gonna sing "At Last".
I know next to nothing about Beyoncé, but a few seconds of this in a teaser was enough to let me know that I would surrender gladly.

So, we got Darnell Martin writing and directing. Up 'til now she [thanks for the correction Crawdaddy!]
has mostly directed some quite respectable TV shows.
Cadillac Records is the story of Chess Records in Chicago. Solid Rolling Stones fans even know the address, 2120 S. Michigan Ave.
It would be easy to whine about liberties taken with facts and that it's not fair to try to tell the story of this many truly legendary musicians in one flick.
Better to enjoy all the talent and music that we do get.
Adrien Brody is cast as Leonard Chess. His brother Phil Chess is in the movie so briefly that I didn't notice him.
Jeffrey Wright, who you know as Felix Leiter, is Muddy Waters.
Jeffrey has played musical gods before, he was cast as Sidney Bechet in the Young Indiana Jones series. He was also Basquiat.
Gabrielle Union is Muddys ill-treated mate.

I own a LOT of the music of these characters, but I knew almost nothing about Little Walter before seeing Cadillac Records. Columbus Short plays the very troubled Walter.
Cedric The Entertainer is Willie Dixon, standup bass player and writer of many of Muddy's songs.
British actor Eamonn Walker does a fine job as the seriously menacing and scary Howlin' Wolf.
Mos Def is a lot of fun as Chuck Berry.

And then there is Beyoncé Knowles as Etta James.
I was fantasizing about watching the movie with Madonna and leaning over to whisper in her ear, "Now, Madge, THIS is acting, THIS is what you are incapable of."
Etta James is a major part of the movie and Beyoncé does a fantastic job.
When she sang "At Last", I was glad I was in a dark room.

 

[Robert Crawford]

This thread is now the Official Review Thread for "Cadillac Records". Please post all HTF member reviews in this thread.

Any other comments, links to other reviews, or discussion items will be deleted from this thread without warning!

If you need to discuss those type of issues then I have designated an Official Discussion Thread.



Crawdaddy

 

[Robert Crawford]

I viewed this film last week, I thought it was good, but it could've been much better with a tighter script and direction. However, with that being said, the music was great and I will definitely buy this on Blu-ray when it comes out. I thought the acting was top-notch, but I had a problem with them not acknowledging Bo Diddley in the film, who was a major force for Chess or much mention of Phil Chess.

Anyhow, a nice little film that should educate some people about a segment of American music in this country from the late 40s to late 60s.

By the way, Darnell Martin is a female director and writer.




Crawdaddy

 

[Michael Reuben]

Crawdaddy beat me to it.

I've admired Darnell Martin ever since her 1994 feature I Like It Like That, starring a then-unknown Lauren Velez (long before Oz and Dexter). Considering how much ground it has to cover, and the limited budget, I was impressed with Cadillac Records. A cast this good will get you a long way. Martin knows the New York theater scene, and even the small parts are filled out with veteran character actors like Jay O. Sanders, Eric Bogosian and Isiah Whitlock Jr. (a fan favorite from The Wire) -- the kind of people who specialize in creating vivid impressions in just a few minutes of screen time.