Nine...or was it ten...nope maybe it was three

Hmmm, "Nine"...the musical starring such big names as Daniel Day Lewis, Penelope Cruz, Nicole Kidman, Marion Cotillard, Judi Dench, Kate Hudson, Sophia Loren and Fergie. What did I expect from the director of the much loved "Chicago"....more. I expected more.
Oy, Guido! You have some serious issues with women. Every woman that you come into contact with. haunts you - Your dead mother returning in your daydreams, the prostitute that you found when you were a little boy, your lusty mistress ready whenever you are, your delicate muse anticipating your new film endeavour, your trusty costume designer assistant dishing out advice, the American fashion writer desperate to become another notch on your bedpost and the wife desperate for attention from her philandering husband.
This movie disappointed me. It was too long. It was very, very choppy. For me it was basically like this...scene one: Guido can't find inspiration to create a new script, a woman arrives, she sings, there's a little dancing and cut to the next scene. Scene two, Guido can't find inspiration to create a new script, a woman arrives, she sings, there's a little dancing and cut to the next scene. Over two hours of this! You know when you have a film filled with actors who can sing, act, dance and are so electrically charged on the big screen it almost seems a disservice when you don't use them to the best of their abilities. This film lost my interest in the first quarter and never got it back.
There were small parts of the movie that I did enjoy. For instance Penelope Cruz and Marion Cotillard were absolutely my favourite ladies. Emotionally driven and filled with love, pride and intensity - both women grabbed my attention as soon as they were on screen and never let go. The music of the film was good. There were lots of songs, but only a couple that really resonated with me. Fergie's "Be Italian" was excellent. I would have loved to have seen more of her, but the role was small. Thank heavens her musical number was fantastic. I loved the song. Kate Hudson had a fun filled, high energy number that she did which was also quite good. But I don't want to mistake a fun dance number with a decent song. Sophia Loren, eh. Judi Dench - good as always but never stole the show.
Daniel Day Lewis. Daniel Day Lewis. I expected more from such a picky and established actor. Surprisingly, he sang better than I had anticipated but he was always so moody and egocentric, it was hard to watch him make all these poor choices. He acted like such a spoiled child with all the adults around to pick up his dirty socks...that's really how I felt. This was not the movie that I thought he would pick. He really didn't turn it on for me here. It was a sad situation that he had created for himself...quite self destructive. Maybe if it hadn't been filmed like MTV in 60's Italy, I would have found it more interesting. I needed more story in the storyline, not just song fillers.