Movie musicals are often a hard nut to crack. While there were box-office winners like Chicago and Moulin Rouge. Some, like the highly acclaimed Rent and the cult favourite Hedwig and the Angry Inch, barely made headlines and money at the box-office despite their iconic songs, storylines and well-loved cast.

All that said, the one movie musical that seriously impressed me at the start of this year was Across the Universe.

If your're a movie nut like me and have watched any of Julie Taymore's previous work like the Oscar-winning Frida or the super chilling Titus, you know that you're be in for something different.

The storyline's pretty straightforward but what made the movie brilliant was it's excellent use of music (in this case, a whole lot of great Beatles songs) and visuals that are weaved almost seamlessly into the story. The director's choice of using mostly new or indie actors is great as the audience then focuses more on the story rather then on how well they sang.

Soundtrack-wise, the deluxe edition is brilliant (*hint, hint*). For the aficionados, the deluxe edition comes with all the songs in the movie. The songs are sung by the cast which gives the them a fresh, new appeal and will probably change the way you listen to these tunes now.

Verdict: You'll either love the movie or hate it. But you'll definately remember the songes long after the movie's done.