Across the Universe (2007)

Posted : 6 months, 2 weeks ago at Dec 16 23:56

"Music's the only thing that makes sense anymore, man. Play it loud enough, it keeps the demons away." Director Julie Taymor's trippy, psychedelic, lush tribute to the music of The Beatles can be suitably branded as ambitious and audacious. Across the Universe seeks to tell a fictional love story set amid the tumultuous years of the 1960s, and utilises countless Beatles songs in its storytelling - naming characters, planting allusions, and drawing plot inspiration from the Fab Four's musical oeuvre. All told, almost three dozen Beatles songs feature on the soundtrack. Taymor was responsible for the Broadway retelling of The Lion King, thus the songs employed therein are largely reconceptualised to suit the medium of film. Visually, Across the Universe is a marvel - it's exquisite, cleve...Read more

Posted : 8 months ago at Nov 6 7:58

This psychedelic film is very entertaining. Thanks for the good-looking actors who star in it, except for that Prudence girl who has a face that's full of banters. Haha. Beatles songs were everywhere. Really everywhere that sometimes you don't expect that someone would be singing but still they do suddenly - that was almost lame. I love the Strawberry Fields part, though. I wish it was more psychedelic though. That '70s Show gave me more of that era's feel. :)

Rating : 7/10

Posted : 9 months ago at Oct 6 19:59

''We're navigators, we're aviators, eatin' taters, masturbatin' alligators, bombardiers, we got no fears, won't shed no tears, we're pushin' the frontiers of transcendental perception.'' The music of the Beatles and the Vietnam War form the backdrop for the romance between an upper-class American girl and a poor Liverpudlian artist. Evan Rachel Wood: Lucy Jim Sturgess: Jude ''All you need is love, All you need is love! Love is all you need!'' The musical surreal wonder that is Across the Universe is truly a vision to behold. I don't think I've seen anything this artistic, visual, and musically vibrant in a long time. The Beatles songs used to knit the Movie together really give Across the Universe an edge and power that retains it's glow long after it finishes. There'...Read more

Rating : 8/10

Posted : 10 months ago at Sep 8 13:13

Taymor's trippy love poem to The Beatles, the 60s, and the bohemian artistic, peaceful nature is either completely embraced or completely despised. But how could you hate a musical with Beatles music, a cute English boy as it's lead, Evan Rachel Wood as a good girl with a power pop-rock voice, a Janis Joplin clone, a Marvin Gaye-Jimi Hendrix hybrid, surreal scenes, and cameos from Joe Cocker, Bono, and Salma Hayek? Especially if Hayek multiples five times. That's five times the sexy nurse fantasy fulfillment during "Happiness Is a Warm Gun." The story might be beyond thin, if non-existent, but the experience is so joyous that I cannot do anything but love it.

Posted : 1 year ago at Jul 1 14:41

What I did know: it is a musical.
What I did not know: it is based on Beatles songs/music.

Typical love story. Nothing new here.

What saves me from giving a 1 or 2/10 rating is the singing. The performers are talented - luckily - and it somewhat makes the film bearable.
The cinematography, the directing, the costumes, the settings... Nothing is memorable.


Rating : 3/10

Posted : 1 year, 1 month ago at May 6 20:20

I really enjoyed this movie and i thought it was great. If you really enjoy the Beatles then you should definitely watch this movie. All of the songs in it are from the Beatles which made it even more enjoyable.

Rating : 8/10

Posted : 1 year, 3 months ago at Mar 23 18:18

Not bad... and this from someone who isn't actually a Beatles fan (gasp, shock, I know). It's really just a teen musical, but might prove more interesting to those who've lived through this era. For others, it might just feel like a really long music video.

Posted : 1 year, 4 months ago at Feb 25 0:51

I know that the Beatles are loved by many and I do like some of their music but when I heard that Across The Universe was really about telling a story using only Beatles songs I wasn't really interested. But my sister bought the DVD and some of my friends had really liked it, I said "meh" and watched it. Now that I've seen it, I really don't know what's so special about it. The story isn't that interesting even if it was showing the changes that were going on around the Vietnam war which I really disagree with but that isn't important in my review. The music was nice but again I'm not a Beatles fan so I didn't really care. The acting was nice and it's what saved the movie for getting a 2. What really killed the movie for me was the mid part of the movie when all the "psychedelic" ima...Read more

Rating : 3/10

Posted : 1 year, 4 months ago at Feb 10 21:24

The idea behind this film is something that makes so much sense, I’m shocked it took so long for it to come about. A musical, set in a film, containing only renditions of popular Beatles music. Does it work? Well, I suppose that depends on what exactly it was that you wanted from the film. A lot of people responded negatively, attacking the weak story and method in which it was filmed. Others responded very positively, but their views of the movie may be more about The Beatles than the movie itself. Overall, I think it’s almost a guaranteed win for all Beatles and musical fans, and it’s really hit or miss for anybody else. That’s not really a fault, but it may end up hurting the film anyway. The story behind the movie is very simple. A group of strangers meet up, become friends...Read more

Rating : 8/10

Posted : 1 year, 8 months ago at Nov 3 20:49

OK the first guy that reviewed this movie seems to be a little on the young side for a Beatles based film. I have to admit I did live through the sixties and survive. I do remember the Vietnam War, flower children, and the saying, "Make love not war." With that said I have to admit I really loved this movie. If you haven't heard about it, it is a love story that revolves around Beatles songs. And yes, the characters are such because there are Beatles songs with their names in them. Jude is a young man that comes to the U.S. from England and along the way falls for a young lady named Lucy. If you know the Beatles, those names will sound familiar. Prudence also has a part in the film and needs to come out and play. The film is based on the sixties when pot was smoked freely and ...Read more

Rating : 9/10

Posted : 1 year, 8 months ago at Oct 16 22:06

My friends dragged me into this movie and I admit I've never been much of a Beatles fan though I find myself leaning towards becoming one in the near future because I didn't realize the songs were rather catchy. The movie itself was an affair of you either loved it or hated it. It can come off as a pretentious art film or something of a work of art. To me it was an okay movie, the drug trips aside I didn't find it that bad but it probably will look pretty cool if you are high or something. It's one of those movies that also seems to beat you on the head with a message of some sort. (oh dear!) This of course was all lost on me during the weird possibly drug induced scenes. Plus it seems, no, I'm pretty sure that the whole reason some characters were there so they can sing all those ...Read more

Rating : 6/10