The Official what you thought of the "Phantom of the Opera" Movie — Page 3

hush you. i may be blonde... i may be polish...



but those mean nothing.

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patrick sounds great!




(bg2, we're taking this side convo to pms... and aim )

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Updated On: 12/28/04 at 02:05 AM

Plausability is not this movie's strong suit. I mean, I know it's a fantasy, but come on. It should make some sense, shouldn't it? Why didn't Rauol kill the Phantom in the graveyard when he had the chance? I mean, the Phantom did just attack him and try to kill him. He even cut his arm. But no... better to take off in the carriage with Christine and just leave him lying there. Why??? So they could produce and perform the Phantom's opera, of course. So the Phantom could show up on opening night and step into the lead role. Did he show up for rehersals too? Ahhh... so many questions. But the most difficult one to answer is... why did I throw away $10.50 and two and half hours of my life on this crap?

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**long post**

So i went to see POTO earlier today. From beginning to end my eyes were glued to the screen. Some of the effects in the movie were breath taking. Such as when they light the chandelier for the first time and everything time warps .... blow me away!

Patrick Wilson was way too hot for his own good, i felt he was okay in the acting department but i fell in love with his singing...not to mention the fact that i wanted to jump him and tug on his hair and lick him.......okay i digress.

Emmy was much better than i was expecting. i really shouldn't have read anything on here before i saw the movie, because a lot of people on here lead me to believe that she was god awful. But i was sitting there and i kept thinking to myself "wow she's only 17, damn i wish i had a fraction of her talent" Although i'll have you know that i did notice that during the scene where they're going to the Phantom's lair her hair suddenly turned into 80's poof hair and her make-up made her look like a goth chick, plus her tits grew three sizes too big. but whatever...creative licence!

Gerard Butler....take me now!! I wouldn't mind spending eternity in compleate darkness with that hot piece of..... there i go again...sorry. He did disapoint me a little in the singing but he made up for it in acting...he spooked me out and he had that mysterious thing going on which was awesome. By the end of the movie i was kinda rooting for him...sad when you know the story inside and out and you know exactly what's going to happen and yet you still hold on to the "i hope he get's the girl" mentality. He had very good stage presence.

A few things that kinda ticked me off. They freaking moved where the chandelier fell and it made me so god damn mad. Because in Masquerade there is a flipping lyric that says "to the new chandelier" but no...we have to move it. Although the stage hand being hanged center stage....stunning! Minnie Driver drove me batty through the entire movie, i could hardly understand a damn word that came out of her tiny chicken mouth. What i could understand did make me laugh. Laugh speaking of Laugh in the number "Poor Fool He Makes Me Laugh" i could have swore she said "Your part is silent little dog" insted of toad. Maybe i was smoking crack or something but that's what it sounded like to me. The auction scene i could have sworn that was Meg and not Madame Giry (this is where i get into trouble letting common sence get in the way of me ejoying something)THE OLD BITTY WOULD HAVE BEEN DEAD BY THEN besides Raoul looked a hell of a lot older than she did WTF?! The Masquerade number kinda dissapointed me...i was expecting "Larger than life" kind of dancing and singing.

A few things i liked. I liked a how they tied some things from the book into the movie. the way they worked those things in were nice and it gave it more body. the on screen chemistry between the leads was amazing, by the end of the movie i was crying...a little (and i don't cry easily). I was totally in awe of the sets. And the little flashes into the "present". It was so damn romantic and sweet and thrilling and wonderful. This movie made me remember why i love going to the movies.

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

I thought it was Meg, too...I thought we were supposed to walk away thinking that Meg ended up taking care of the Phantom for the rest of his days, like her mom did. (which is why the famous scene of Meg picking up his mask, in the show and the movie)...Meg comes to the auction for the monkey because the Phantom wants it...

Or am I looking too far into this?

The Phantom of the Opera grade: D-
http://www.citybeat.com/2004-12-22/film.shtml

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Here's my rant...I mean, review:

"The Phantom of the Opera" is quite possibly the reason why I'm an actor today--I saw it on Broadway when I was seven year old, not long after it opened, and it holds a special place in my heart. I grew up listening to the recording, and make a point to see the show again every few years.

So you can imagine my disappointment in the film version, which despite being pretty faithful, has major problems. The biggest one, obviously, is Gerard Butler. I know there's already an entire thread devoted to the "controversy" over his singing, but really, there should be no controversy. He sucks, plain and simple. There's no despute. His singing is awful. He doesn't act the role particularly well either, and evidently only got cast because Schumacher probably thinks he's hot, and wanted a "sexy" phantom. The Phantom is supposed to be maybe a little sexy in that Dracula sort of way, but this is a joke. It's hard to see why the Phantom is such an outcast, especially after the final revelation of his face, when it turns out that his deformity isn't so bad after all (compared to the stage version, in which he looks horrifying). Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong.

Emmy Rossum is very good, although she's too young to be singing such demanding music. She's got a great voice for an 18 year old, but well, she's still only 18. She also scoops into many of her notes and it gets a bit irritating after a while. Patrick Wilson is fine except for the stupid wig. The rest of the cast is a mixed bag, although Minnie Driver is quite funny as Carlotta. However, the person who is dubbing over Driver's singing voice is so good that it makes one wonder why everyone favors Christine, who still has a ways to go in her vocal development.

I could go on and on, but I'm sure you don't want to read it all. The swordfight is stupid (and why would they go through the trouble of staging "Don Juan" in order to catch the Phantom when Raoul simply could have captured him after rendering him defenseless?). The black and white flashbacks (with the exception of the obligatory opening) are equally pointless and distracting, and ruin the finale of the movie when after Meg finds the mask, Raoul goes to Christine's grave. Why?

"Why" is a question I was asking myself a lot during this movie. Andrew Lloyd Webber should be furious, and Joel Schumacher should be ashamed of himself. Well, the film looks pretty I'll give him that, but that's really the only positive thing I can say.

Updated On: 12/28/04 at 08:48 PM

distinctive, i'm a huge fan of the movie... i like how it turned out. i accept everything you say, but as far as his face, i think what they did was fine. i think on stage it had to be so dramatic so everyone can see it. in the movie, it looks more "realistic"... imagine seeing someone walk down the street like that... it would be freaky. thats my idea about it. gerard's voice grew on me. it's different... and i didn't like it at first cuz im used to michael crawford and colm wilkinson and the phantoms i have seen. but it was definitely interesting to see him in the role.

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gerards voice was a lot of yelling. It wouldn't grow on me if it were a chia-voice.

Mdme Giry has aged well. Raoul is not doing well. I suspect he is ill.

Just saw the film. LOVED IT. Will post a full report later...still trying to stop feeling weepy and not so bedazzled by Patrick Wilson. He gives such a wonderful performance full of subtlies that are pitch-perfect. The facial expression and gestures are so dead on correct for the moment. It's almost scary. I love watching his performances. From Angels to The Alamo and now this. He is an Actor with a capital "Al".

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i'm actually surprised at how much i like POTO.

i went into it thinking "wow, i bet this will be a really pretty movie" and that it was!!! if you can appreciate costumes and scenery and colors - go see it!!! i really enjoyed that aspect.

as for the voices - yes. they are a little weak in some spots. i feel like they chose "christine" based on her looks more than on her voice, and visually she is a beautiful christine but singing-wise she could have been stronger. the phantom was DEFINTIELY lacking in vocal and some acting strength. that was a little disappointing

i thought raoul was fabulous, however. i feel like his voice and his look really matched the character, and that he carried it off rather well.

minnie driver - HILARIOUS!! for any of you who have ever done opera and have been around big fat soprano piggies like that - it makes it SO funny!! and even though she didn't do her own singing, the voice matched the character very well.

so that's my take on POTO. overall, i enjoyed it. i'm actually going to go see it again with some friends.

maggie

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