Les Miserables - The Musical Movie

[jay santos]

She looks better there than in the movie, but even that pic does nothing for me.

If this pic does more for you, I think there's nothing wrong with it.

[YOhio]

I saw it tonight and I was really disappointed that the Rave Cinemas don't offer free refills like Showcase Cinemas did before Rave bought them out. OTOH, I now am in possession of a Hobbit collectors cup that I would be willing to sell for the right price.

[HuskyFreeNorthwest]

I saw it tonight and I was really disappointed that the Rave Cinemas don't offer free refills like Showcase Cinemas did before Rave bought them out. OTOH, I now am in possession of a Hobbit collectors cup that I would be willing to sell for the right price.

I'll start the bidding at $0.00

[Northwestcoug]

Too much singing.

[Shaka]

It is finished. Quite the spectacle, and not as bad as I had feared. I've seen the stage production multiple times, and I enjoyed this take. The close-ups didn't bother me, as it made the whole thing more intensely personal than a stage production, and somehow the lack of operatic voices (in most cases) was appropriate given the viewer's intimacy with the performers.

But man, I wish I'd had the tissue concession outside the theater. A row of blubbering babes sat behind us, and my female companions often reacted in Pavlovian fashion to the sobs behind them. I teared up during one of the most poignant moments, but only because the dude who sat in front of me, and who apparently had the extra large cheese, broccoli and onion omelet for breakfast, chose that moment to release a malodorous miasma that really affected my vision.

This is my report.

Agree with everything above. Nothing in the show moved me to tears although at the end things got a little dicey. Like PAC I've seen it several times and the bloom is off the rose. Still I couldn't quite figure out the people who were bawling the entire time.

I was ok with the singing considering it was film. In fact I thought RC's less than refined voice actually worked with his character.

[scottie]

Too much singing.

That's a musical.

[MarkGrace]

That's a musical.

A lot of musicals are as much spoken as sung. I thought there was too much singing as well. I liked the decision to go half sung-half spoken in some instances, but I think they should have gone farther and just used spoken dialogue there. It's great to sing the actual songs, but in those moments where the characters are effectively already using dialogue in song, to me the movie would have benefited from just having speaking parts there. With the way the movie was cast, you take advantage of the actors strengths better and limit those moments where they're not quite as good.

[HuskyFreeNorthwest]

So looks like I'm the winning bidder on YOhio's cup. Check your PM for my address.

[SCcoug]

So looks like I'm the winning bidder on YOhio's cup. Check your PM for my address.

Just watch out for the S&H charge. That is where he'll get you.

[jay santos]

A lot of musicals are as much spoken as sung. I thought there was too much singing as well. I liked the decision to go half sung-half spoken in some instances, but I think they should have gone farther and just used spoken dialogue there. It's great to sing the actual songs, but in those moments where the characters are effectively already using dialogue in song, to me the movie would have benefited from just having speaking parts there. With the way the movie was cast, you take advantage of the actors strengths better and limit those moments where they're not quite as good.

I dig the opera style all singing, and actually think they could have taken it further.

[Pheidippides]

I dig the opera style all singing, and actually think they could have taken it further.

On broadway there was no spoken dialogue. If memory serves.

[MarkGrace]

I was ok with the singing considering it was film. In fact I thought RC's less than refined voice actually worked with his character.

I liked RC. I've only seen the musical once, don't sit around listening to the soundtrack, etc., so I have no defined ides of what his character "should" or is "supposed" to sound like as others have suggested around here. To me, he worked in the role, because he just has kind of a big, imposing presence onscreen in the way that an authority figured would. And I thought the criticisms of his singing have been overblown. He's not awesome, and is flat in parts and a bit monotone, but nothing that was terribly distracting and overall I thought he worked (though, like my comment above, I definitely think his character would have benefitted from more speaking less singing). One of the things that I've always liked about Glee is that they didn't attempt to cast a whole bunch of great singers -- they have a couple that can really sing, and the rest are just pretty average. But that makes them endearing and makes them feel more like characters to me. I got that vibe with Crowe.

Like I said above, the only character's singing that really was enough to be distracting was Seyfried as Cosette. Her voice was just kind of shrill and squeaky, and she was the only character who during songs I thought "ok, please stop." And what's funny is she's on the cover of one of the magazines my wife gets and she's been trained as a vocalist her whole life. It was only in the last year or two that she's stopped vocal training. But man, I sure did not like her singing in this movie.

But I do think it's interesting that basically every comment about the movie so far centers on how well people sang their parts. Like I also said above, I think the biggest problems in the movie had little to do with the quality of singing. After seeing the movie I identify more with some of the criticisms of the underlying play/musical. There's almost this assumption that it's this perfect template and how well the movie has succeeded is a comparison to whether it matches that template. But I see where the thing has problems and can be a little redundant and trite. I read Dana Stevens review last night and she was ripping the music and it was making me laugh. There are some great songs, but there are some clunkers as well. Master of the House? Good lord, awful.

But anyway, overall a pretty good movie.

[MarkGrace]

On broadway there was no spoken dialogue. If memory serves.

There's not.

[Indy Coug]

We're going to see it now. I'm sure I'll be disappointed.

[SteelBlue]

We're going to see it now. I'm sure I'll be disappointed.

I'm expecting some kind of statistical breakdown in your analysis. Don't leave us hanging like Pelagius did when he reviewed the Twilight series.