The Official what you thought of the "Phantom of the Opera" Movie- Page 2

[cturtle]

Posted: 12/27/04 at 3:34am

songsstresss, i couldn't agree with you more regarding emmy's singing. when she replaced carlotta, i wondered why the crowd was cheering her. i DON'T think her acting was good, as she only had two expressions in the whole movie. i agree that patrick had the best voice of the three leads, but his vocal tracks were drowned out by the orchestration, and his part came across as too sappy. yes, gerard was "hot," but this is totally WRONG for the phantom character. yes, minnie was entertaining, because the rest of the movie was so weak, but she chewed holes in the scenery, and her "accent" sounded more spanish than italian. POINT OF NO RETURN is such a dramatic point in the story, but it doesn't work in the film. come on ... they sing for five minutes before anyone figures out that it's the phantom?

[Songsstresss]

Posted: 12/27/04 at 3:53am

lol... I was just trying to say a few nice things so everyone wouldn't accuse me of being too negative!

[GladysBumps]

Posted: 12/27/04 at 9:41am

Just looked up the word TURGID in my dictionary: swollen, distended,bombastic,pompous. Those dreary songs seemed to go on forever, and after the graveyard scene when I finally got interested in the plot, they seemed to keep getting in the way. I particulary take issue with the one that took place as my beautiful Patrick and the Julia Roberts lookalike girl were bounding up and down stairs. What breath control! HOW DO THEY DO IT? Wasn't Miranda a revelation, though! And I don't even remember that role in the stage version. But then I had my eyes shut in horror for most of it. I'll say this much about the film, at least these leads don't make you wretch. And say what you will about whatisname's singing, he does manage to make you feel sympathy for the Phantom in the final scenes. That the whole thing comes off as well as it does is a tribute to Director,JS, who was handed a sows ear and was expected to create a silk purse. I mean, the fact that it doesn't totally suck is somewhat of a mean feat, isn't it?

[Marquise]

Posted: 12/27/04 at 1:11pm

Phantom BETTER THAN Chicago?!!!

that's like saying Mame is BETTER THAN West Side Story...

[Ebonic_Singer]

Posted: 12/27/04 at 2:52pm

haha

[theatreangel]

Posted: 12/27/04 at 2:56pm

I certainly thought it was interesting. I prefer the stage version, but the film was all right. I didn't like Patrick or Minnie very much, but I liked Emmy's acting (the role is very thankless, you have to admit) and even her singing was okay, and I was pretty impressed with Gerard, whom I'd expected to hate after listening to the soundtrack.

I've seen it four times so far and I'm noticing new things each time, which I like. One thing I've really come to appreciate are the costumes, which I think are absolutely gorgeous.

[showmethetony]

Posted: 12/27/04 at 3:21pm

I don't think I could sit through that movie four times...I saw it last night and enjoyed it for the most part - mainly for the music and the hotness that is Patrick Wilson. Overall - the whole thing felt a little too "Moulin Rouge" for me and I couldn't tell if it was supposed to be that way or they just did a bad job of moving it from stage to screen. Plus - I didn't really care for Gerard whatsisname as the Phantom - yeah, he was good looking but his voice actually got on my nerves throughout the movie. The scenery/costumes/etc were wonderful and Emmy is a beautiful gal - but once was definitely enough for me. Oh - and I have to echo the that the vogue dancing in Masquerade was completely stupid and un called for.

[elvenprincess971]

Posted: 12/27/04 at 4:00pm

saw it on the 25th and loved it. Saw it 24 hours later on the 26th and still loved it.

In case it wasnt apparent, i love that movie.

Lol.

[wickedrentq]

Posted: 12/27/04 at 7:33pm

Well I guess it is more of a love/hate movie because I absolutely loved it! I've seen the stage show twice and I guess reading some of the bad reviews plus some of the people here who didn't like it but it was way more than I expected! The costume, sets, and cinematography I thought was amazing, and in terms of the actors I agree with the person who mentioned Emmy's Think of Me seemed kind of weird getting that much praise but her singing seemed to fit the role-Christine is supposed to be very young and you'd think someone who's been taught and that age should sing like that-she was fine on most of the songs and I thought reached the high notes fine(I'm an instrumentalist, not a singer though). Patrick of course was wonderful even though I think the role of Rauol is kind of a blah, he was definitely the best one I've seen(unless you count Michael Ball's performance of All I Ask of You w/ Sarah Brightman on the Andrew Lloyd Webber Royal Albert Hall Celebration DVD-one of the most amazing duets I've ever heard). As for Gerard, I don't really think he was bad as I was expecting. He was pretty dreadful on his first song, Phantom of the Opera, but he immediately improved with Music of the Night and I think both he and Emmy got better as the movie went on. By the end of the film where he sings a lot of the Music of the Night reprises I thought he was really good, or maybe I was just caught up in the drama, I don't know. Just my 2 cents. Hehe I'll probably see it two more times.

And one more note, and more of a reason I'm posting this that I was just amazed at, I live in the suburbs of NY and the movie was sold out at a local Loews theatre(the day after Christmas) and at the end of the movie I was so amazed I wanted to get up and applause...and I got to because the ENTIRE AUDIENCE APPLAUDED the movie at the end. That hardly ever happens when I go to the movies so I thought that was a really good sign for future box office numbers and a slight indication of how the public is receiving it-I highly doubt the whole theatre was filled with musical fanatics like myself.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 12/27/04 at 7:43pm

It is laying a colossal egg @ the box office. I will get the DVD. I never understood the wisdom of opening so many movies @ the same time. One cancels out the other.

The last time there was such a colossal bomb was a little number called "Heavens Gate" Warner Brothers is taking a huge bath on this.

[spiderdj82]

Posted: 12/27/04 at 7:53pm

Mr Roxy, how can you say that right now? It is not even opened nation-wide yet. Only in select cities. Of course it is not going to make lots of money in the box office just yet.

[uncageg]

Posted: 12/27/04 at 8:02pm

I found the movie to be quite flat. Mostly due to the acting. I really wanted to love this movie but I didn't. Great sets and costumes. Wht Emmy got a Golden Globe nomination is beyond me. The only actor that deserved to be nominated for anything is Minnie Driver. In my opinion, she perked up an otherwise dull movie. And I must add that I enjoyed the stage show and love the music.

[spiderdj82]

Posted: 12/27/04 at 8:12pm

I thought Minnie Driver tried a little too hard to be funny. She was funny, don't get me wrong. But, after awhile I just rolled my eyes and said, "Ok. I get it!"

[NativeNewYorker]

Posted: 12/28/04 at 12:24am

Absolutely loved it.

I admit, I wasn't crazy about Gerard's voice on the soundtrack, but I definitely got used to him as I watched the film tonight.

Emmy is completely enchanting, and are there words for Patrick Wilson???

I've seen the show twice (once as a young child and once about two years ago) and want to see it again now.

[NativeNewYorker]

Posted: 12/28/04 at 12:26am

"and I got to because the ENTIRE AUDIENCE APPLAUDED the movie at the end"

That happened when I saw it as well :)

[Phantom487]

Posted: 12/28/04 at 12:28am

I just got home from it... and I LOVED IT!!!!!

There were only a few minor things that ticked me off...
Emmy's poor job lip synching
Patrick's long hair
Carlotta being made too comical
Parts that are sung in the play and were spoken in the film (for example, "Think of it, a secret engagment, look your future bride" among other parts)

[More Cowbell]

Posted: 12/28/04 at 12:45am

I saw it last week...

I thought Gerard Butler was REALLY HOT, but totally miscast in the singing department. I think I can forgive them a little though, due to his hotness... I mean, I actually felt sorry for Christine, having to choose between Gerard and Patrick. So I guess the movie did its job in that respect..

Emmy Rossum looked high on valium for, like, the whole entire movie. Her acting was nothing better than your average high school theater student could pull off... I don't see why she deserves a Golden Globe for it. She really had no chemistry with Patrick Wilson, but I did feel like her scenes with Gerard were quite believable.

Minnie Driver was awesome!! Everyone says she was over-the-top and that her accent was bad, but I found her funny and very believable. I know her singing voice was dubbed, and I gotta give the girl props... she knew she wasn't vocally on-par so she decided to let a professional sing for her. If only Gerard did that...

I really have nothing bad to say about Patrick Wilson; I thought he was great. Probably the best actor in the film.

"Music of the Night"... that whole sequence was just wrong, wrong, wrong. Why did they make the song disco? Why did the boatride down to the Phantom's "lair" look EXACTLY like the Pirates of the Carribean ride at Disneyworld that I was on last month??? I smell a lawsuit...

"Masquerade" was just so bad it was good.

The blonde girl.... Madame Gerie's daughter... why did she sound like she was five years old when she sang?? Her voice was abnormally girlish for someone with breasts that huge.

During Patrick and Emmy's rendition of "All I Ask of You", the Phantom begins to cry and I swear to jebus there is a SNOT DROPLET about to fall out of Gerard Butler's nose! Like, dangerously close! I don't know if I was the only one who noticed this, but it caused me to laugh hysterically and choke on my popcorn.

All in all, the movie was "okay". I wouldn't see it again.

[Ebonic_Singer]

Posted: 12/28/04 at 12:46am

haha love the review.

[CurtainUp2]

Posted: 12/28/04 at 1:27am

I saw it this afternoon and thought it was an unmitigated disaster! Completely uninspired, entirely miscast, poorly directed, overly long, lacking any real feeling or emotion, and DULL, DULL, DULL!!! What a major disappointment! Absolutley nothing about it impressed me in the least. (With the exception of Minnie Driver, whose performance I found amusing.) And after hearing how visually beautiful it was, I wasn't even knocked out by the look of it. The colors were muted, the set design was stale (had a "seen it all before" look to it), and the costumes, for the most part, were nothing to write home about. This is one movie musical that I would never subject myself to sitting through a second time. I barely made it through the first.

[Ebonic_Singer]

Posted: 12/28/04 at 1:31am

'twas quite long. Unecessarily long.

[bronxboundexpress]

Posted: 12/28/04 at 1:40am

A verse of Music of the Night needs to be cut. The whole 5 minutes where shes getting ready to go to the graveyard can be cut. the part with meg going into the dressing room the morning after the title song part could be cut. so could a verse of Point of no return and the verse that was cut from the title song needs to be put back in. This movie bored a lot of people and this would have helped it.

[chinkie azn jai]

Posted: 12/28/04 at 1:52am

I just saw the movie this afternoon, and I thought it was really entertaining. I thought the chandelier crashed at the end of the scene when Chrstine is in the non-speaking part...or am i just remembering things wrong. The Sworski (Sp?) product placement was random and I burst out laughing and the people i was with thought i was crazy. I read that that sworski placement was there because they paid and made for the chandelier so that's why i laughed. Finally seeing the phantom's face up close (ive always been terrified of it) made the whole melodramatic music and everything lame. But whatever...

I have a few questions though:

Who was the old girl during the black and white scenes? I thought it was Meg, but my cousin believes it's Madame Giry.

Why is the phantom's deformity take up more of his face when he is unmasked and why does his hair automatically change when the maske is lifted?

There's probably more questions I have..but I cant think of them now.

Updated On: 12/28/04 at 01:52 AM

[zepka102]

Posted: 12/28/04 at 1:55am

that is madame giry at the auction, which makes her who knows how old


same thing happens on stage with his hair... although he has more of it in the movie

[chinkie azn jai]

Posted: 12/28/04 at 2:00am

But the old lady looks the same age as the old Raoul.....and Madame Giry is obviously a lot older than him....interesting

[zepka102]

Posted: 12/28/04 at 2:02am

i know... confuses me too