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Film Reviews Headlines
- Forgetting Sarah Marshall
- The Dark Knight
- Mamma Mia
- Hancock
- Kung Fu Panda
- The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
- The Incredible Hulk
- Sex and the City
- 21
- Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
- What Happens in Vegas
- Made Of Honor
- Iron Man
- Plenty of gems in blockbuster season
- Horton Hears A Who
- The Spiderwick Chronicles
- Definitely, Maybe
- Rambo: To Hell and Back
- 3.10 To Yuma
- Run Fatboy Run
Film Reviews
Mamma Mia
Mamma Mia. With Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgård, Christine Baranski, Julie Walters, Amanda Seyfried and Dominic Cooper. Rating: PG (contains low level offensive language). Running time: 110 minutes.
Times rating:
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Mamma Mia the musical has been seen by more than 30 million people in 160 cities and heard in eight languages around the world. 
Mamma Mia the movie sees the same creative team behind the stage show bringing the timeless lyrics and melodies of iconic super group ABBA to the big screen. Meryl Streep leads an all star cast including Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgård, Christine Baranski, Julie Walters, Amanda Seyfried and Dominic Cooper.
The premise of the story, for those not familiar with the musical, is based around a single mother who owns a small hotel on an idyllic Greek island. Donna (Streep) is about to let go of Sophie (Amanda Seyfried), the spirited daughter she’s raised alone.
For Sophie’s wedding, Donna has invited her two lifelong best girlfriends – practical, no-nonsense Rosie (Julie Walters) and wealthy, multi-divorcee Tanya (Christine Baranski), both from her one-time hit backing band, Donna and the Dynamos.
But Sophie has secretly invited three guests of her own. On a quest to find the identity of her unknown father, whom she wants to walk her down the aisle, Sophie invites three men from Donna’s past to the Mediterranean paradise they visited 20 years earlier, in the hopes one of them will be her father.
Over 24 hours, new love blooms and old romances are rekindled. Just as with the stage show, the film contains all of the ABBA songs that made the musical a success, from “Dancing Queen” and “S.O.S.” to “Money, Money, and Money “ and “Take a Chance on Me.”
Mamma Mia is simply a fun movie, which really transports the audience; it doesn’t try to be anything different than what it is and the formula that made the stage show so successful is not tampered with.
Meryl Streep is a joy to watch and her singing is not too bad either. But the highlight for me was Julie Walters. For those of you familiar with her work, you will already understand her comic ability; those of you who aren’t are in for a real treat, as she tends to steal every scene she is in.
If I was picking holes, the only down side to this film was Pierce Brosnan’s below average singing. It is very hard to take the former James Bond seriously – but then there is nothing serious about this film, so he fits right in.
Personally I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and can’t wait to see it again. From what I could see there wasn’t a person in the cinema that didn’t seem to be enjoying themselves. As I looked to the left and right of me there were a lot of smiles and legs bouncing up a down to the beat; the film seemed to grasp all ages and sexes.
Mamma Mia is truly the feel good hit of the year; with its Greek Island setting and the toe tapping upbeat songs of Abba this is the perfect recipe for a midwinter escape.
Forget the expensive island holiday, two hours immersed in this movie may be just the break from reality everyone needs.
– Scotty Moorhead