Les Misérables: So, what did you think?- Page 9

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 12/27/12 at 10:04am

Yeah, just slap a cape on her and watch her fly. She's a "hero". (Yes, quotation marks intended)

Updated On: 12/27/12 at 10:04 AM

[Jane2]

Posted: 12/27/12 at 10:05am

someone needs a hug.

[Freeman5]

Posted: 12/27/12 at 10:48am

I felt that 75% of the film deserves an A and 25% deserves a C, so I give it a B+.

What I loved the most about the movie were the wonderful performances - in order of preference: Samantha Barks, Eddie Redmayne, Aaron Tveit, Amanda Seyfried (I love her singing voice; Cosette simply doesn't have a standout solo like Fantine and Eponine), Anne Hathaway, Hugh Jackman, Colm Wilkinson, Helena Bonham Carter, Sasha Boren Cohen, Russell Crowe.

I prefer the second half of the movie to the first half - the younger quartet enthralled me. Once I accepted that musicals have a different set of rules, I could enjoy the "love at first sight" hokiness and relax and enjoy it.

O.K., my quibbles: I disliked the too grand opening - the images were wrong imo - love the song but the images needed to start out more simply; there was a lack of menace when Inspector Jalvert shows up - Crowe plays the role conflicted whereas Charles Laughton and Charles Vanel (the best film Jalvert) play it without conflict, as someone who knows he is right all the way through to the end; a few scenes go on too long and lose focus; the new song, "Suddenly", is O.K. but needed to be better; the scene at Marius' family house after their wedding was jarring for me - why was Marius involved in the student rebellion? In the novel and the 1934 movie, this is explored better; some of the editing and camera work is brilliant but some of it is off kilter; I get that the Thenadiers are meant to be musical comedy relief but I am used to seeing them as outright villains in other film versions and the novel.

However, the vocal performances are wonderful and the performances kept me involved throughout the film. I am now a huge Samantha Barks fan and hope she has more film roles for us to enjoy. As for the Oscars, I'd like to see the film nominated for Best Picture, Actor (Hugh Jackman), Supporting Actor (Eddie Redmayne), and Supporting Actress (Samantha Barks and Anne Hathaway), as well as many technical nods for art direction, costumes, and sound editing/mixing.

[mamaleh]

Posted: 12/27/12 at 11:00am

I have seen the film three times already and will be back for another visit soon. Hugh Jackman's heart and soul carried the film beautifully; I do hope he gets the Oscar nomination he so deserves. Someone on this board praised the "directional choice" of Javert's placing the medal on the body of little Gavroche. I read an interview in which it was revealed that it was Russell Crowe's idea; Hooper liked it so much he kept it in. On my first viewing, I thought that touch took away from the image of Javert as a villain, but then realized Crowe was humanizing him, even after singing that the "schoolboys" will "wet themselves in blood." These are all complicated individuals, from Valjean on down, so adding shades of gray only added to their humanity.

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 12/27/12 at 11:02am

THREE TIMES?!!! Bless your soul!

[HumATune]

Posted: 12/27/12 at 11:56am

Yes, I misspelled Colm Wilkinson. That's what I get for typing while tired and not proofreading.

Carry on with your bickering; I shall pop some popcorn and continue to read this thread. :)

[best12bars]

Posted: 12/27/12 at 12:05pm

Why was Marius involved in the student rebellion? In the novel and the 1934 movie, this is explored better.

I agree Freeman5. This really bugged me when I saw the movie. I think Eddie Redmayne does a great job with the material he's given, but I also think one of the reasons he's not receiving more attention for his fine work is that his character is pretty two-dimensional. He's almost put into the story just as a "Ken doll" love interest for Cosette. We don't hear any of his motivations in his life outside of his love for her.

Even with his performance having depth, his character does not. I give him all the more credit for making Marius "flesh and blood" on the big screen in this adaptation. He made more out of the material than is actually there.

I'll also add that Samantha Barks did a fine job. I was not a fan of her Eponine in the concert video. She didn't connect to the material as an actress at all (to me), but in the film she did. Her voice is fine, better than most, but not extraordinary. Her acting, combined with her singing (some of the best among this particular cast), put her in the "really good" category. I think she will get more film work out of this. She proved she can act and has an interesting look for film. I wish her luck. A promising screen debut.

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 12/27/12 at 12:09pm

What an ingenious idea HumATune, I think I will pop some popcorn as well. This thread is quite entertaining.

[BroadwayKiwi]

Posted: 12/27/12 at 12:30pm

I would like to give my thoughts in the style of parody lyrics, thus:

There was a time when rhymes were rhymes
And orchestrations weren't soft
Tempo changes weren't biting
There was a time when pitch was right
And a song was a song
Songs which had no re-writing
There was a time...

Then the movie came.

(Segue to)

HUGH VALJEAN:
Enter Monsieur, please take your seat
But not too close, or you'll see what we eat
The shoot was no fun but this cast's so diverse
Screenings will sell 'til cheques break my purse.
Have you seen the show? Tears flowed from your eyes?
Well here's a Les Misérables you won't re-cog-nise...

Music you can't hear!
Cuts you won't believe!
Claude-Michel and Alain watched it once and heaved.
Con-tin-u-i-ty? What the hell is that?
Fauchelevent is gardening after being crushed flat!

What's the rule-of-thumb in theatre?
"Must be faithful to the text."
Well, that doesn't matter. Here's a bit of what you can expect...
Marius, quite good
Enjolras, just wood
Cosette, much less vibrato, only if she could!
Here, a sweeping view. There, extreme close up.
Looks like he directed it with his eyes shut!
When it came to making Les Mis
Tom used ev'ry trick he knows
Most of ya won't like it
Well, get on yer bike it's
Worth destroying hist'ry for the gross!!!

ENSEMBLE (SEWING AND LOADING RIFLES IN PERFECT RHYTHM):
Les Mis On The Screen!
Hear non-singers sing!
Javert should be a baritone but tone-deaf zings!
Hugh's easy to watch
There it's either just
Wide-eyed-looks-of-shock or chest-hair-bared-in-lust
Russell said we'd join the students
But he joined them by himself
Then he goes and pins a medal onto Gavroche the blonde elf.

FANTANNE HATHAWAY:
I used to dream that I would play Fantine
But now this movie's gone and killed the Dream I Dreamed...
Les Mis on the screen? Should have been a hit.
Decades of great theatre now reduced to ****.
Doesn't Valjean age? Why not grey his hair?
'Bring Him Home' falsetto? Well it's just not there.
Wish I'd run it by my agent...
Tom and this Ben Hur of his...
God knows how's I've lasted acting in this bastardized Les Mis!

BOTH:
Les Mis On The Screen.
Les Mis played for laughs!

Leaves you warm and fuzzy!
Get those whores a scarf!

Swim around in poo...
Swim until you drown...

Some guy steals a loaf of bread and **** goes down!

Everybody go and see it.
Just to say that it you've seen.

Everybody raise a glass!
Raise it up Tom Hooper's arse!

And make sure you use the bathroom
Before Les Mis On The Screen.

[Iris Chacon]

Posted: 12/27/12 at 12:39pm

LMis wonderful and a big freaking hit. Was so looking forward to all of you turning nasty and bitter and trying to top each other in viciousness.. BWW never disappoints.

[JP2]

Posted: 12/27/12 at 12:42pm

Seriously!

Meanwhile the film has already earned $30 million at the box office, and looks to make back its entire budget (minus the sure to be huge promo budget) this weekend.

I realize not everything is for everyone, and some snark is expected (and if its funny, it's welcome) but if all some of you can do is reply to EVERY last post in this thread with bitterness and sarcasm, well, that's just a shame. Updated On: 12/27/12 at 12:42 PM

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 12/27/12 at 12:46pm

You realize Forbidden Broadway took care of this decades ago, right?

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 12/27/12 at 12:49pm

Yes BWW NEVER disappoints. Les Mis on the other hand DOES! Voila!

Some of you seriously need to get a grip...it's not that serious.



Updated On: 12/27/12 at 12:49 PM

[JP2]

Posted: 12/27/12 at 12:51pm

Right on schedule.

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 12/27/12 at 12:52pm

Hey, the legendary Iris Chacon has given it two buns up! Maybe I should reconsider?

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 12/27/12 at 12:52pm

I aim to please JP2.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 12/27/12 at 12:58pm

I loved the movie, but as I said, I knew it was going to divide people.

But this comment is my favorite thing ever:

Still, I can almost guarantee that, if you cried during "E.T.," you will cry at the end of "Les Miserables," despite the flaws..

[theaternut]

Posted: 12/27/12 at 12:59pm

Hey Carlos.. sorry to hear you did not enjoy it . Did you happen to see it in a theater full of them Mexicans and Puerto Ricans?

[StageManager2]

Posted: 12/27/12 at 1:28pm

LOL @ BroadwayKiwi!

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 12/27/12 at 1:30pm

I enjoyed it for the most part. I didn't HATE it. I also didn't think it was the second coming of movie musicals either. No, I didn't see it in a theater full of dem Mexicans and Puerto Ricans. I saw it in a theater full of white folks. Maybe that was the problem.

[theaternut]

Posted: 12/27/12 at 1:32pm

Oh good. You know how sometimes you cant seem to get out of the barrio. But who said anything about it being the "second coming of musicals"?

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 12/27/12 at 1:36pm

This is very true. But you know what they say, you can take the boy out of the barrio but you can't take the barrio out of the boy.
But can you imagine all the Puerto Ricans at a screening of Les Miserables? They wouldn't know how to act. They'd be hootin' and hollerin' and stinkin' up the theater with their arroz con pollo.

And the way some people are carrying on about this film you would think it was the "second coming of musicals".

[theaternut]

Posted: 12/27/12 at 1:40pm

Well.. it IS a musical. And this IS a Broadway chat board. What would you like them to be talking about on the week of a major movie musical opening? MENUDO?

And burritos make a lot less noise than the munching of popcorn.

[TheatreDiva90016]

Posted: 12/27/12 at 1:40pm

I liked the part where Liza sang.

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 12/27/12 at 1:44pm

I will take the burrito versus popcorn theory into consideration.

But while we are on the subject of MENUDO, maybe I am secretly pissed off they didn't cast Ricky Martin in this.

Instead they went with Wolverine, Catwoman, Gladiator and that chick from MAMMA MIA.