I was on UKmix and forever9481 post a lot of CR reviews so I felt like sharing it with you guys cause I tear a little by reading them. There you go:
The critics thought she did a fantastic job in Cadillac Records and she was even referenced in some of Xtina's Burlesqure reviews. Just for your information:
http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/...dillac_records
Beyoncé Knowles could have nabbed an Oscar nomination as Best Supporting Actress. That's how good she is playing it all sexy, sassy and druggy as Etta James, the R&B singer who found the soul in songs like "At Last." Too bad for Knowles that she's only part of Darnell Martin's rushed mess of a movie that jams the story of Chicago-based Chess Records into one incoherent package. Adrien Brody plays Leonard Chess, who started the company in the 1950s with his brother Phil (we hardly see him) to record great blues artists and pay them with Caddys. There's Jeffrey Wright as Muddy Waters, Eamonn Walker's as Howlin' Wolf, and a lively Mos Def as Chuck Berry. It's all a blur, except for the music. That's workin'.
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"And Beyonce Knowles roars with passion, in musical performance and tearful histrionics, as Etta James."
http://www.mlive.com/movies/index.ss...mes_among.html
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She is blessed, however, with a talented cast that shares her belief in the importance of the project. Wright and Mos Def give their best performances in recent memory,
Beyoncé finds just the right note of bruised vulnerability, and the intensely charismatic Walker does tremendous work with an underwritten role.
http://www.nydailynews.com/entertain...sthits_ap.html
"Earning the respect she started to win with Dreamgirls, Knowles comes into her own as an actress playing James as an impossibly needy, extravagantly gifted, nearly always over-the-edge artist."
http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertai...,4498183.story
Yet it's Beyoncé Knowles as Etta James who's the movie's revelation. Going in, that seemed unlikely. Knowles looks about as much like Etta James as I do, and when you add in the fact that she executive-produced the movie, the casting sounds suspiciously like a vanity exercise, as a bid for credibility or a chance to play dress-up.
Well, forget that. She's great.
First of all, she has a terrific voice, and this is a movie in which all the actors do their own vocals.
She has a gifted singer's capacity for reaching deep into her own emotions with ease, so she hits every song out of the park. What's more, she's a real actress, who brings out James in all her complex shadings - the scalding anger, the pain, the self-hatred, the unwillingness to trust anybody and the helplessness to control her own turbulence.
Knowles gives us a James who is almost a monster, but Chess sees something inside her, the vulnerability she tries to hide, and when James realizes he sees it, the two establish an unspoken connection that's really the loveliest thing in the movie. The reward is a miraculous little scene that Martin films in an extended, extreme close-up, just Knowles' and Brody's faces as they talk. Just beautiful.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...DDGB14GFCC.DTL
And Knowles does her best screen acting to date here, slinking into the movie with a sidelong glance and a "Don't be lookin' at me like I ain't wearin' no drawers." Her Etta acts perpetually disinterested, to avoid disappointment; she even sings "At Last" while looking breezily around the room.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/htm...5cadillac.html
The cast members do their own singing, and while only Knowles comes close to surpassing the original recordings they’re all perfectly competent.
http://www.kansascity.com/entertainm...ry/922096.html
..current rock superstar Beyonce Knowles is
an overpoweringly sexy and lyrically anguished Etta James.
...as mentioned, Beyonce’s Etta James, whom the movie identifies as an illegitimate daughter of pool shark Minnesota Fats --
is a star making role if ever I’ve seen one.
http://www.moviecitynews.com/columni...08/081205.html
Detroit News (they graded it a B):
"Beyonce's Etta enters the scene late, but has enough diva moments to fuel a dozen "Dreamgirls."
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll...=2008812050326
Jeffrey Wright convinces as Muddy Waters and Mos Def dazzles as rock-'n'-roller Chuck Berry,
but it's Beyonce who upstages everyone as singer Etta James. Beyonce served as executive producer, so it's no wonder she gets to sing three show-stopping numbers. Fortunately, she has the pipes and the soulful presence to deliver on all three.
http://www.reeltalkreviews.com/brows...feature&id=453
Beyonce Knowles (who also produced) gives James a gritty authenticity this glossy pop star has not reached before.
http://blog.beliefnet.com/moviemom/2...c-records.html
Columbus Short on Bee's performance:
"with this movie, you have to give Beyonce credit. Like when you have a persona that big, to help break down those walls.I think Beyonce deserves kudos. Because she did the work.
She broke down those walls, and she delivered a performance that transcends her persona. So here we are, well known or not, this is the movie we did. And I'm proud of it."
http://newsblaze.com/story/200812050.../topstory.html
New York Times review:
“Cadillac Records” would be worth seeing for the music alone. Mr. Wright’s renditions of Muddy Waters’s signature songs are more than respectable, while Ms. Knowles’s interpretations of Ms. James’s hits — “At Last” and “I’d Rather Go Blind,” in particular — are downright revelatory.
And so, it should be said, is Ms. Knowles’s performance. In her previous film roles she has seemed guarded and tentative, as if worried that her charisma would melt from too much emotional heat. H
ere, playing a needy, angry, ferociously talented and fantastically undisciplined woman, she is as volcanic and voluptuous as an Italian movie star. Or, more to the point, a real soul diva of the old school.
http://movies.nytimes.com/2008/12/05...matoes&ei=5083
"Particularly good is Beyonce Knowles as Etta James, the baby-faced addict filled to bursting with fragile vulnerability and
explosive talent. She's so good, in fact, you want the whole movie to be about her, her love for the label owner, and her battles with heroin; it's her chance, a real "Lady Sings the Rhythm and Blues" part, and you want more. "
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepu...illac1205.html
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Brody and Knowles, meanwhile, have screen chemistry like you’ve hardly seen lately. Her depiction of James’ agonized private life and addiction and her performance of James’ legendary, sexual anthem “At Last” electrify the film.
Not only does that hit song crossover into the mainstream, but mutual love for it, and many other songs like it, causes the races to crossover as well, at least in terms of shared musical tastes, embarking on on a journey of reconciliation that has just reached another milestone. At last, indeed.
http://news.bostonherald.com/enterta...&position=also
Beyonce, who served as the film’s executive producer, obviously recognized the power of the supporting role and
stretched artistically to play the equally brilliant and troubled James. The singing star’s strong belief in the material might earn her an Oscar nomination as best supporting actress.
http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/ne...8-1632410.html
When Beyoncé commands the screen as drug-addled or music-channeling James, though, this stage belongs solely to her.
http://www.mysanantonio.com/entertainment/35542094.html
As the tough yet troubled Etta James, Beyoncé Knowles (2006's "Dreamgirls") is also a standout, running away with all her scenes and showing giant strides in her climb toward becoming a legitimate actress. Knowles' onscreen performances of songs "At Last," "All I Could Do Is Cry," and "Once in a Lifetime" are such heart-rending powerhouses that, in the moment, the viewer is almost willing to forgive the film for being so uneven. Almost.
http://www.themovieboy.com/reviews/c...lacrecords.htm
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Here are some more....
As Etta James, Beyoncé Knowles gives one of the year's best performances in this ensemble film about the legendary artists of a Chicago music label.
http://www.salon.com/entertainment/m...dillac_records
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His slot gets filled by Etta James, a torch rocker and junkie played by Beyoncé Knowles, who just about burns a hole in the screen with her sultry torment. As a woman who rocked the house but could get no satisfaction, Beyoncé does a Lady Sings the Blues in miniature. Now will someone give this lady a great lead role?
http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20243936,00.html
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As the casting suggests, most contemporary R'n'B – and all rock'n'roll (the Rolling Stones have an amusing cameo) – originated here, resulting in a busy, somewhat crowded two hours: though Knowles is remarkable (and remarkably foul-mouthed), Etta James almost certainly deserves a biopic of her own.
http://living.scotsman.com/movies/Fi...rds.5000215.jp
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Brody is too opaque to give the movie a real centre, but the music kicks up a storm, and the real revelation is Knowles, who burns a hole in the screen as sexy, drug-addled siren Etta — in a better film she’d be Oscar-nominated, no worries.
Verdict
Beyoncé proves her Dreamgirls turn was no fluke in this so-so Blues melodrama.
http://www.empireonline.com/reviews/...asp?FID=135903
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Since Chess had a genius for talent-spotting, the movie cuts him a little slack, though it dwells too much on his more than professional interest in the troubled, voluptuous James (Beyoncé Knowles, nuanced and credible). Her searing vocalising takes pride of place on the lovingly recreated soundtrack, which misses the raw electricity of the Chess recordings but, like the film, is good enough to drive you to the peerless originals
http://www.timeout.com/film/reviews/...c-records.html
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The story of Chess Records (Muddy Waters, Chuck Berry etc) is a tad episodic, but the cast, including Beyonce, is strong. -Heat Magazine
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Beyonce Knowles as the troubled James and Eamonn Walker as the fearless Wolf, on the other hand, really stand out.
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage...cle2255097.ece
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Clearly, troubled waiter Etta James deserves her own 90 minutes, and when she's onscreen Beyonce is luminous as the driven diva.
http://www.totalfilm.com/reviews/cin...dillac-records
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This terrifically tuneful movie offers a fascinating taste of musical history, with Beyonce just fine as Etta James.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/tv-entertain...5875-21126168/
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It seems unfair to single out any particular actor, but Beyonce Knowles is sensational as Etta James, particularly during her stunning rendition of I'd Rather Go Blind.
http://www.viewlondon.co.uk/films/ca...iew-27040.html
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And then there are Def and Knowles, who tear up the screen whenever they appear; both have infectious spark and raw talent to spare, and are barely contained within the limits of this film. It's in their scenes that we get a glimpse of how truly vital Chess Records was in the musical history of the 20th century.
http://www.shadowsonthewall.co.uk/09/cadireco.htm
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Beyoncé Knowles’ (Dream Girls, 2006) portrayal of Etta James was first rate. Her acting was nuanced and her singing captured the essence of Etta James. Not an easy thing to do.
http://www.culturevulture.net/Movies...ords_12-08.htm
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Beyonce Knowles, by the way, only appears in the second hour, but she delivers. Her acting has always been adequate, but here she reveals a talent and a passion that could really turn her into a major actress. And the covers of Etta James’ songs that she performs (“At Last,” “I’d Rather Go Blind,” “All I Could Do was Cry”) are terrific.
http://www.thecinemasource.com/movie...ew-3754-0.html
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Knowles does a wonderful job of playing James, right down to her vocals.
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/cadi...e_music_alone/
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Even Knowles, looking spot-on as the frosted-haired James, proves she has some acting chops hidden beneath that gorgeous, impenetrable persona.
http://www.commonsensemedia.org/movi...dillac-records
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Stars like Wright and Beyoncé prove themselves able to handle both the singing and acting needs of their roles.
http://www.reelviews.net/php_review_...dentifier=1412
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The acting is exceptional. Beyoncé gives a terrific performance as the flawed James.
http://www.tonymedley.com/2008/Cadillac_Records.htm
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Beyoncé sinks her big, gorgeous white choppers into the role of Etta James. She has James’ stiff, almost angular physique when singing down pat, and lets loose on a glorious rendition of “At Last.”
http://www.filmjournal.com/filmjourn...ed944b8933bfb1
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It comes across in the strong performance she gives as the tough-talking, hard-living singer that is highlighted with close-ups and glamour lighting, even during the overdose sequence when she's under the shower.
http://www.killermoviereviews.com/ma...splay&dId=1086
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Playing the troubled Etta James during a period of heavy addiction and depression, Beyoncé emotes and cries and seduces at all the right moments.
http://www.cinemablend.com/reviews/C...ords-3563.html
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Then there’s the sensational Dreamgirl Beyonce (who also co-produced) as the inimitable Etta James. She not only sings up a storm with such James standards as “At Last,” she proves she can really act in a couple of rousing dramatic moments.
http://www.hollywood.com/review/Cadi...ecords/5360902
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And stealing the show, so to speak are Beyonce's mesmerizing Etta James, Eamonn Walker's stunning Howlin' Wolf impression, and without question, Mos Def's hilariously irreverent reprisal of rock 'n roll's young rabble-rouser founding father extraordinaire, Chuck Berry.
http://newsblaze.com/story/200903010.../topstory.html
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