Cats

While not quite the abomination critics have described, Tom Hooper's Cats is an ostentatious exhibition of theatrical craftsmanship that, regrettably, is also frequently annoying, made so primarily by a story line that casts the mischievous Macavity (Idris Elba) as a sort of demon feline abducting his competition for the chance at another life. Elba and the other "big name" draws -- Taylor Swift, Dame Judi Dench, Sir Ian McKellen, James Cordon and Rebel Wilson -- acquit themselves admirably while not completely answering why they signed on to the project in the first place. (It probably all looked great on paper and Hooper is, after all, a celebrated, masterful director.) It is not a mystery why belter Jennifer Hudson is on board to serve up the timeless showstopper Memory. Despite all of the CGI motion fur and flopping ears, Hudson's performance practically drips with all of the melodic angst composer Andrew Lloyd Webber poured into it 40 years ago. The picture rewards the patient with more than a few outstanding production numbers and lots of splendid dancing by the company. (The Jellicle Ball sequence is particularly arresting and pretty freaking sexy.) The pas de deux by the leads, ballerina Francesca Hayward as the abandoned Victoria and Robbie Fairchild as the master-of-ceremonies Munkustrap, are especially lovely. Yes, there is more than enough visual absurdity for a half-dozen movies based on lesser material but the cast's treading and hoofing the boards is so top-shelf it almost makes one forget how unnecessary it all is.