Les Miserables: Even the thread will make you cry - Part 2

[Spideyfan93]

Had neutral expectations for Les Miserables, and I've never seen any other renditions until this one. Have to admit, it was great. At this moment in time, I may rank it up with the best of the best...including Grease, West Side Story, etc.

Story was interesting with the French Revolution, the characters were great and Anne Hathaway pulled a performance that gave me emotional goosebumps. Great experience and I may even buy this one when it releases next year...never thought I'd say that.

[YT]2cTx0gzL3Johttp://youtu.be/2cTx0gzL3Jo[/YT]

 

[Liam_H]

Having no knowledge of this story/musical before this movie I'll say that I liked it. Highly enjoyed the first act and the ending but the second act brings the movie down. New characters get introduced and I'm not caring too much for who loves who or what they are fighting for.

I understand the angles or camerawork used for certain scenes. But other times it just felt distracting.

 

[tek]

enjoyed the movie. Jackman was outstanding. Crowe although not blessed with a great tone was surprising good vocally 2 me and he gave a nuanced acting performance. Hathaway bordered on overacting but generally the cast did great. My favourite moment was when crowe put the medal on the dead kid. that tightened the throat up.

 

[bonoferox]

I liked it a lot, but it had a lot of weird pacing issues for me that made it obviously work better on stage. I did love the close-up shots during the more dramatic tracks that didn't leave you with any distractions and let you focus on the emotions.

Russel Crowe's vocal talents I wasn't that impressed with and it ended up feeling like Butler in Phantom of the Opera. Loved seeing Colm Wilkinson, but his appearance at the end just felt a little hammy and over the top.

Pros
- Helena Bonham Carter and Sacha Baron Cohen as the Thernardiers with an incredibly well directed rendition of "Master of the House". I know it won't happen, but I would love a spin-off film of just those two.
- Hugh Jackman who now needs to sing in every film
- Samantha Barks who also needs to join Emmy Rossum in being cast in every movie ever.

 

[narrows101]

- Hugh Jackman who now needs to sing in every film

Totally agree 1000% - if you liked him in this, you should see and hear him live on stage!

 

[danoyse]

So I just heard the best endorsement of "Suddenly". My friend saw the movie last night - she had a baby this year, after a long time of trying. She said that song had her bawling because she was thinking of her son. When I heard the song again after she told me that, I was ready to start bawling through the whole damn thing...

She also suggested Aaron Tveit for Chris, if Miss Saigon happens. I like that idea.

 

[Filmboy]

I'm just very surprised at how small role Fantine is....she only has like fifteen minutes?? screentime.... well I still hope Anne has a shot at the Golden Globes and Oscars.

 

[Kansiov]

Loved seeing Colm Wilkinson, but his appearance at the end just felt a little hammy and over the top.

Poor Colm Wilkinson... all he did was stand there and he is called hammy and over the top.

 

[bonoferox]

Totally agree 1000% - if you liked him in this, you should see and hear him live on stage!

Oh I have I got very acquainted with his role in 'Oklahoma' back in the early 2000s after jumping on his bandwagon after X-Men.

 

[danoyse]

Oh I have I got very acquainted with his role in 'Oklahoma' back in the early 2000s after jumping on his bandwagon after X-Men.

I was one of those people who saw X-Men in the theater and thought "THAT'S the guy from Oklahoma?!?!"

Still kicking myself for missing that when I was in London in 1998. I did see Les Mis during that trip, though.

 

[JP]

Another $9 million yesterday. $75 million WW.

 

[narrows101]

Another $9 million yesterday. $75 million WW.

[SIZE=+1]
[/SIZE]

[SIZE=+1]THIS WEEKEND [/SIZE]A crowded marketplace gets even more crowded as three new Christmas Day openers move into their first full weekends of play. Leading the way is the hit musical and Oscar contender Les Miserables which scored the second biggest Christmas Day opening in history with its $18.1M gross on Tuesday thanks in part to heavy advance ticketing for this major art brand. Universal has received good reviews and plenty of awards buzz for this PG-13 entry starring Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, and Amanda Seyfried.

Upfront audiences were mesmerized with Les Miserables as the film earned a glowing A grade from CinemaScore with the core target audience of females (56% of the crowd) giving it an A+. The fact that 44% of the opening day crowd was male indicates that this may have broader appeal than most musicals. The marketing push has been strong and while sales may be front-loaded because of the built-in audience, good word-of-mouth should keep it going well into January where a possible sweep of the Comedy/Musical category at the Golden Globes would help keep it moving ahead further. This weekend might see around $30M boosting the six-day cume to an incredible $70M.

http://www.boxofficeguru.com/weekend.htm

 

[Pink Ranger]

I'm allowed to skip out of the office at 3 today to finally watch this. Hooray!

 

[narrows101]

In an interview about the rumored Swift casting, Mackintosh says Les Mis is back on Broadway in 2014.

“Les Miserables” Producer: “We Didn’t Need” Taylor Swift in Movie

“Les Miserables” is a box office blockbuster. Our PAULA SCHWARTZ reports that Kennedy chasing, celebrity-boyfriend-songwriter country singer Taylor Swift auditioned for the role of Eponine but lost out to Samantha Barks, the only unknown in the starry cast that includes Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, Amanda Seyfried and Eddie Redmayne.

Cameron Mackintosh told Paula at a party for the movie that the famous singer-songwriter had been interested in the role. “She’s a lovely woman and she auditioned, and she was completely un-starry. And she’s talented. It’s just that actually the requirements of that role were better fitted by Sam.”

“Every single person in this film, whether they’re known or unknown, auditioned for this movie,” Mackintosh said. “Nearly every name you’ve heard in the gossip columns are true, came up for Eponine, and it’s wonderful I think that somebody completely unknown got it.”

As for the big-name factor Swift could bring to the show, the producer said, “We didn’t need it. Les Misérables is the star.” It’s run for 27 years, and in 2014 “Les Miserables” is slated to return to Broadway.

http://www.showbiz411.com/2012/12/28/les-miserables-producer-we-didnt-need-taylor-swift-in-movie

 

[danoyse]

YAY! I knew it would be coming back.

Not to be bitter or anything, when I walked past Phantom on my way home from work a few weeks, I just thought, "How the hell is this thing still here?!"

And I actually like Phantom.

 

[Lotus]

Saw the film again. Actually cried more frequently than the first time. Though very small, Fra Fee does an astounding performance. His reaction to [BLACKOUT] Gavroche[/BLACKOUT]'s death is heartbreaking, as is his following delivery of "Make them pay for every man!". Hadley did an excellent job too, singing the warning almost as if he was in shock of what they just did. I also think - and I might get some hate for this one - Stars was one of the highlights of the film. Despite vocal shortcomings, I found Russell really did that song justice (no pun intended). It was also visually stunning (as are several things throughout the movie)

 

[mclay18]

Speaking of Phantom and Emmy Rossum, Les Miserables really makes me pine for that Hathaway/Jackman pairing in the 2004 Phantom of the Opera before they left due to scheduling issues.

Emmy Rossum was a good Christine though. Gerald Butler... can't say the same. He looked good, but couldn't sing well.

 

[danoyse]

Saw the film again. Actually cried more frequently than the first time. Though very small, Fra Fee does an astounding performance. His reaction to [BLACKOUT] Gavroche[/BLACKOUT]'s death is heartbreaking, as is his following delivery of "Make them pay for every man!". Hadley did an excellent job too, singing the warning almost as if he was in shock of what they just did. I also think - and I might get some hate for this one - Stars was one of the highlights of the film. Despite vocal shortcomings, I found Russell really did that song justice (no pun intended). It was also visually stunning (as are several things throughout the movie)

No hate from me, I really like his version of that song.

 

[DACrowe]

YAY! I knew it would be coming back.

Not to be bitter or anything, when I walked past Phantom on my way home from work a few weeks, I just thought, "How the hell is this thing still here?!"

And I actually like Phantom.

Don't be hating Phantom. It's not like it's Cats or Wicked!

But yes, I am very happy to hear that Les Mis is returning to the Great White Way and likely more popular road shows. I also am happy to hear them admit Swift just could not sing the part.

 

[DACrowe]

Speaking of Phantom and Emmy Rossum, Les Miserables really makes me pine for that Hathaway/Jackman pairing in the 2004 Phantom of the Opera before they left due to scheduling issues.

Emmy Rossum was a good Christine though. Gerald Butler... can't say the same. He looked good, but couldn't sing well.

I thought Rossum was great. I wish it was Jackman/Rossum though. Still, Schumacher would have caused most of the remaining problems. It was best for Jackman to wait for Valjean or for someone else to have directed POTO. Oh well.

 

[danoyse]

Don't be hating Phantom. It's not like it's Cats or Wicked!

But yes, I am very happy to hear that Les Mis is returning to the Great White Way and likely more popular road shows. I also am happy to hear them admit Swift just could not sing the part.

I like Wicked. I like Phantom too, even though I haven't seen it on stage since high school. Seriously, that's how long it's been there (I graduated in 1992!).

I remember both Phantom and Les Mis opened a year apart, and they were the two biggest shows at the time...but the people who saw Phantom first liked it over Les Mis, and the people who saw Les Mis first liked it more over Phantom.

And as reviled as Cats is, people loved that show when it was new. My dad worked across the street and used to see lines at the box office that were out the door every day. That was the big show before all the other London imports started showing up.

 

[narrows101]

I pass that theater where "Cats" was playing every day, and when they posted the closing notice I was like "thank God! Now I can see some other sign!" And what is it? "Mamma Mia!"!!! That thing has been there for what seems like AGES.

 

[danoyse]

I saw Cats in 1990, about two months after I saw Les Mis the first time. For what it was, at the time, it was fun. The dancing was really good, and I remember I loved the part with the pirate ship, and that they let you come up on the stage at intermission. But yeah, once was plenty. Hell, I don't even like real cats.

Mamma Mia, I've never had any desire to see. I remember hearing some rumors a few months ago that it was moving to a smaller theater and Matilda was going to come to the Winter Garden, but that's opening at the Shubert now (and I got tickets for Christmas, I can't wait for that one), and Mamma Mia doesn't look like its going anywhere.

I remember when Les Mis first opened, but I wanted to see Starlight Express more. I was 13, I couldn't even pronounce Les Miserables, and everyone was on roller skates in the other show, so it just sounded way cooler. Wound up seeing both of them.

 

[Schlosser85]

Finally saw this a few hours ago.

Some random thoughts:

- Hathaway and Redmayne were the standouts, to me

- Seyfried had almost nothing to do

- most tearjerking songs were "I Dreamed a Dream", "On My Own", and "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables"

- Redmayne has a really good voice

- Crowe's singing wasn't the greatest (actually, I didn't think Jackman's was either, and I don't see nearly as many people complaining about him) but I didn't think he was as bad as people made him out to be. I actually liked "Stars".

- I loved the totally unexpected moment when

Spoiler

Javert pins his medal on Gavroche's corpse. Such a great humanizing moment for Javert

.

- Overall, I liked

Spoiler

Javert's suicide, though the THWACK sound effect wasn't needed.

My full review: http://www.jestersreviews.com/reviews/1597

 

[Pink Ranger]

I just got back from seeing it. My impressions:

- Good, but not great movie. It wouldn't suck if it won Best Picture, but there are many more deserving films this year.

- Anne Hathaway, dye your hair green and paint a smile on your face. Your Best Supporting award is as much of a lock as that one.

- Eddie Redmayne I saw before on Pillars of the Earth, but in this movie he was a mother******* revelation.

- Russell Crowe's voice I did not hate. He sung Stars like Roger Whittaker would have done, which in my book is not a bad thing.

- Tom Hooper's patented strange shot selection was noticeable, but did not impair my enjoyment of the film, while I did not like it in The King's Speech.

- Most notable disappointment: Jean Valjean's showstopping number. Here's a note for you Hugh: the song is called Bring Him Home, not Practice My Vibrato. It is particularly frustrating since Hugh actually sang it the right way at the reprise at the end.

- The pacing was strange, but I don't think that can be helped when a musical of this scope is translated to the screen.

- A good movie, but not the best musical movie I've seen. I'd put Chicago and Jesus Christ Superstar over this one, but Phantom of the Opera is leagues behind.