1557 - Nine

I remember seeing the marketing campaign for this film and thinking it looked pretty damn cool - and of course, that's exactly what they wanted you to think.  It's a beautiful looking film, it's full of talented people, and it's a re-make/re-imagining of one of the most beloved foreign films of all time, and it's spear-headed by Rob Marshall who did a pretty damn good job with Chicago.  What could possibly go wrong?
Well, there is great irony in this, a film about a director who has lost the ability to make something with substance, ends up being the lead character in a film that's about as shallow as it can come.  The film just feels like we're waiting for the next set-up to a dance sequence - all of which look more or less the same but with different people singing them.  It's probably unaware of the comment this film is actually making on current cinema - the idea that all these people have been hired and are sitting around and waiting even though there is no script, probably isn't far off some productions made these days.  As long as it looks good and you through the right cast in there shouldn't be a problem, right?  Sadly, it appears that they applied that logic to this film. 
I didn't have massive built up expectations going into this film but given how many talented people were involved in this I have to say that I was greatly disappointed in it from nuts to bolts.  Does it look good?  Does it have some fun song and dance sequences?  Sure.  But it's not enough.
If you're looking for a good english-language homage to 8 1/2 then instead I recommend checking out one of my favourite Woody Allen films Stardust Memories - classic vintage Woody filled with wonderful characters, dialogue, and ideas that, in the end, actually amounts to something in the end.
Nine  Nine [Blu-ray]