"Les Misérables (2012)" Movie Review

"Les Misérables" movie poster.

"Based on the novel by Victor Hugo, 'Les Misérables' travels with prisoner-on-parole, 24601, Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman), as he runs from the ruthless Inspector Javert (Russell Crowe) on a journey beyond the barricades, at the center of the June Rebellion. Meanwhile, the life of a working class girl (Anne Hathaway) with a child is at a turning point when she turns to prostitution to pay money to the evil innkeeper and his wife (Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter) who look after her child, Cosette (Isabelle Allen). Valjean promise to take care of the child, eventually leads to a love triangle between Cosette (Amanda Seyfried), Marius (Eddie Redmayne) who is a student of the rebellion, and Eponine (Samantha Barks), a girl of the streets. The people sing of their anger and Enjolras (Aaron Tveit) leads the students to fight upon the barricades." Written by JBW (Source below.)

Anne Hathaway (being carried) and Hugh Jackman.

Directed by Tom Hooper ("The King's Speech", "John Adams" TV Mini-Series, "Elizabeth I" TV Mini-Series) and based on the original stage musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg, Alain Boubil, Jean-Marc Natel, and Herbert Kretzmer. The screenplay was written by William Nicholson ("Elizabeth: The Golden Age", "Gladiator", "First Knight") with additional text written by James Fenton.

Russell Crowe.

In the starring role is Hugh Jackman ("The Prestige", "X-Men"). He does an excellent job and I don't think he's getting enough accolades for it. Opposite him is Russell Crowe ("Gladiator", "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World"), who, though not a singer, holds his own. He wasn't terrible and I think he acted the part rather well. For the record, Javert is my favorite character out of the whole musical. Anne Hathaway ("The Devil Wears Prada", "The Dark Knight Rises") isn't in it for very long, but she is brilliant and will probably win supporting actress come Oscar time.  Though her vibrato bothered me a bit, Amanda Seyfried ("Mean Girls", "Mamma Mia") was also very good. Her character doesn't have too much depth to her so in consideration of that she did well. 

Amanda Seyfried (L)
and Eddie Redmayne.

Sacha Baron Cohen ("Hugo", "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street") and Helena Bonham Carter ("Alice in Wonderful", "The King's Speech"), even though they tried really hard to be funny, it just didn't work for me. Cohen was the only one with a French accent and it was a bad French accent. They were okay, Carter could've sung her parts louder, but her acting was good. Eddie Redmayne ("Black Death", "My Week With Marilyn") was good, but his face shook every time he sung a long note out and that was a bit distracting. Aaron Tveit ("Ghost Town", "Howl", "Premium Rush") was cute and had a great voice, but in comparison to the Enjolras I saw on Broadway (in about 2009) really got me gung-ho about the revolution. Tveit was adorable, but I didn't fall in love with him like I did the one onstage. 

Samantha Barks.

Samantha Barks ("Les Misérables in Concert: The 25th Anniversary") is basically known for being an amazing Eponine onstage so I think she suffers from the same thing that Jackman is going through right now: because everyone knows that she's a great stage actress, she's not getting the praise that is due her way. Daniel Huttlestone was wonderful as Gavroche. He has an excellent voice and was oftentimes singing rings around the other actors in the scene. And Colm Wilkinson ("The Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall") was the Bishop that shows Jean Valjean some kindness and helps him to become a better man. He wasn't in it very long but he does an excellent job with his part as well.

"Les Misérables"
movie poster.

The makeup, or rather lack thereof, was brilliant. Everything was done very realistically. You saw how dirty, disgusting and sick everyone was. Also, everything seemed historically accurate which is something that can't always be shown in a musical stage production. The clothes were very good. I still don't think it's going to win "Best Picture" though. Because of the way they filmed everything, they had to keep very close to the actors. The actors were really singing while they were being filmed. This is what people actually sound like when they sing. 

Russell Crowe.

I had to watch this musical two times before I could write a review (damn people!). If you know the musical, you will notice that they cut some parts out and put some parts in. Most of it doesn't matter to the overall movie. I really liked how they humanized Javert. This wasn't something that could be done onstage. He was obviously changed by the end of the movie.

Also, Lisa Schwarzbaum: who the hell watches a movie musical when they don't even like musicals?!

I would like to read the book one day. I read an abridged version in high school some years ago, but the only part I remember is when Eponine is helping some old guy water his flowers while spouting off revolutionary, political jargon. 

Also, this review, featuring Sourcefed's Meg and Trisha:

Sources: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1707386/plotsummary and http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1707386/fullcredits#cast.

"The Phantom of the Opera" at the Royal Albert Hall Review

"The Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall" movie poster.

"In 1986, Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera arrived on the West End stage at Her Majesty's Theatre. Fast forward 25 years and Phantom has achieved global success, millions of viewers, a film adaptation in 2004 and a musical sequel. Now viewers have the chance to experience this phenomenal show right from their own screens. Filmed at the Royal Albert Hall, this stunning performance brings the show to a bigger stage and celebrates its role as one of the biggest shows in theatre history, with speeches, performances and appearances by the original cast and some of the show's most notable Phantoms, including Anthony Warlow, Peter Joback, John Owen-Jones, Colm Wilkinson, and Michael Crawford. Starring Ramin Karimloo and Sierra Boggess, Phantom tells the story of a deformed musical genius who lives in the catacombs of the Paris Opera House. Shunned by society, the Phantom seeks revenge in cruel and often violent acts. The Phantom is in love with chorus girl Christine Daaé and has been secretly training her to replace La Carlotta as the opera's reigning diva. However, when Christine is thrust into the spotlight, she is also reunited with childhood friend Raoul. Passion, obsession and chaos ensue as Christine finds herself torn between her love for Raoul and her strange pull towards the mysterious and dangerous Phantom." Written by LadyN1 (Link below.)

"The Phantom of the Opera
at the Royal Albert Hall" dvd cover.

Sierra Boggess as Christine.

That was a beautifully orchestrated version of the musical. I loved the clothes as well. It definitely reminded me of the first time I saw this on Broadway nearly seven years ago now. It was awesome. I loved the sets and everything. The Phantom I saw in real life, Howard McGillin (site here), is probably still my favorite, but this one, Ramin Karimloo, was great as well, though I thought a bit young for the role, but he had a beautiful voice.

Raoul, played by Hadley Fraser, was handsome as well and was very spirited onstage (he should update his IMDB profile - hint hint). Christine, played by Sierra Boggess, was also beautiful and I thought a better actress than Sarah Brightman.

Scene from "The Phantom of the Opera
at the Royal Albert Hall".

This should definitely appeal to those who didn't like the movie version of this popular musical. While I liked the movie version, many others didn't, most say because they thought the actors in it weren't good enough singers to have participated. There were little bits in it that made it more like the movie version rather than the original onstage musical, but they were practically unnoticeable unless you're obsessed like I once was.

I really appreciated how the makeup artists tried really hard not to make the makeup look overmuch as it usually is in a play. That would've been ghastly.

(L to R) Hadley Fraser, Ramin Kaminloo,
and Sierra Boggess.

The only thing I would say that I didn't like about the production was how technologically advanced they tried to make it. There were LED screens for the backdrops and it was interesting to look at from far away and surely easier for the stage crew as they didn't have to load heavy set pieces onstage. But when you got up real close it became pixelated and really freaking ugly, whereas a real set would probably have only looked cheap up close rather than nonexistent. So that's where I would say I preferred a real set to an LED screen if I was watching a musical or stage play on screen, but if I had been there I don't know if it would have bothered me as much. It probably looked cool.

The libretto is available here: http://www.scribd.com/doc/25668194/Phantom-of-the-Opera-Script-Libretto.

Sources: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2077886/fullcredits#cast, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2077886/plotsummary, and http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2077886/.

Ramin Karimloo as the Phantom.