(Note: I started writing this three months ago. I started writing it the 23th of February, but then life got in the way, and I became too busy finish it. Thus, why I make a reference to the Oscars being two days in the very first paragraph, because that was the day I started writing. Forgive me, if you're annoyed by this. Every thing up to the 6th sentence of the third paragraph was written in February. Anyway, enjoy, regardless of the time of writing.)
In two days, the Academy Awards ("the Oscars") will occur in the Dolby Theater in Hollywood. In this ceremony, special awards are given to films that were critically, though sometimes not financially, successful films of the preceding year. Organized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, these awards have been a tradition since 1929, celebrating the best in cinema during that particular time. This year, the Oscar nominees include "Argo", "Lincoln", "Zero Dark Thirty", and other critically praised films. However, I am going to focus on one particular nomination: "Les Miserables." Now, exploring the depths of youtube and Metacritic, I have found that a lot of people REALLY like this film. Some were blown away by it, and some were brought to tears by the performances. There are a lot of reviews declaring this film, "AMAZING", and "BRILLIANT", and "STUNNING". And that leads them to attack other reviewers for criticizing it. I refer you to the "What the Flick" review of Les Miserables. Now, the critics in that video were heavily criticizing the film, some very legitimate, but some somewhat harsh. The notable thing, however, was the comments. Most of the comments went to the effects of "Les Mes rocks, and these people don't like any movies, if they hate this film." This is of course indicates a high admiration for the film, and a confusion if one dislikes the film.There are a lot of people who like this movie. I'm not one of them. In fact, I think it is largely mediocre; let's see why, shall we?
The story, based on Victor Hugo's 1862 novel and the stage adaptation of that work with music by
Claude-Michel Schönberg, is set in post-revolution France between 1815 to 1832. It revolves around Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman), a convict who has been paroled by prison guard Javant (Russel Crowe), but is rejected due to this. After being taken in by a priest, and moved by his kindness when Valjean steals some silver from the priest, and when two policemen confront the priest with Valjean and the silver, the Priest actually defends him, Valjean decides to skip parole and start his life anew. He becomes a respected factory owner. In his factory, one of his employees, Fantina (Anne Hathaway) is fired, despite having an illegitimate child to care for. To make ends meet, she becomes a prostitute. Meanwhile, Jean Valjean finds out that another man has been captured under the impression that he was Valjean. Whilst dealing with the implication, he comes across Fatina, who is being confronted by Javant, now a policemen and several others, over her assaulting a customer. After Valjean saves her and sends her to a hospital, he decides to come clean with the court about to convict the false Valjean, before visiting Fantine. After learning that Fantine has an illegitimate child, and narrowly escaping Javant, he finds Fatine's child, Cosette (Isabelle Allen), living as a virtual slave to a con man and his wife (Helen Bonham Carter and Sasha Baron Cohen), and after paying him in exchange for the child, decides once again starts a new life, with Cosette in tow. Skip forward another few years, and Jean Valjean has settled in Paris with the teenaged Cosette (not played by Amanda Seyfried.) However, their tranquil life is disturbed by a brewing revolution against the new king, lead by two young men named Marius ( Eddie Redmayne), and Enjolras (Aaron Tveit). On top of that, Marius falls in love with Cosette, and Javant, now a having a Captain Ahab-style obsession over Jean Valjean, wants to crush the rebellion. Can Jean Valjean help the rebellion, and approve of Cosette and Marius' romance.
First, I'll get all the things I like about the film out of the way. Most of the actors do well. Hugh Jackman does very well in the role of Jean Valjean, and the character himself is very likable, very noble, and very developed. Anne Hathaway does a terrific performance at the beginning of the film, and does a very powerful, emotional song. However, contrary to what the trailer show, Anne Hathaway is only in the movie for that amount of time. I really like the set designs, and how it easily conveys the setting of the piece, and creates an authentic atmosphere. Some of the other songs are also very nice to listen to, though I will elaborate later. Overall, there is many things to like about the film..
That said, there are some things I find distracting. The main one? EVERYONE SINGS THEIR LINES! No, literally, nobody says anything. They sing it. And to me, that is very irritating. Okay, maybe people like the innovation, but I was just annoyed that they were singing all the time. I didn't like it because there is no transition between musical number. That is to say, I cannot tell where one ends and the other starts. The musical number sort of all merge due to this, and thus individual songs lose some of their impact as a result. Also, it doesn't allow us time to calm ourselves, and get ready to enjoy the next musical number. Perhaps it's a pet peeve, but it just kept bothering me throughout my viewing of the film. This is my main problem with the movie. There are a lot of smaller problems I have. One is Russel Crowe's voice. Yeah, even people who like this movie don't really like Russel Crowe's singing all that much. The thing is, his voice always seems off tune every time he sings. I hear this is because he is a rock singer, and thus he is more adapted to that style of music then to opera, but I have never heard him sing rock, so I wouldn't necessarily know why. Also, he didn't really act that well. I suppose it's just that off-tune voice that keeps bothering me during his more emotional moments. Finally, I suppose the cinematography was crammed. I mean, these are very nice set designs, but we don't get time to enjoy it. Instead, the shots simply cram them into each shot, and it really is too much in one shot at times. It's hard to enjoy the scenery when its crammed into a single shot. Once again, probably a pet peeved, but these sets are very large and very nice looking, and the only time we get to enjoy them is the ending.
I suppose I don't necessarily dislike the movie. When I came out of the theater in December, My feeling was "meh..." It was largely okay in my opinion. Not a great film, but not one of the worst I've seen. I was only discontent with the reaction to negative criticism to the film, where people would blast anybody that has a negative opinion regarding the film. I don't know. If you like the film, fine, go right ahead. You are entitled to opinion, just like I am entitled to my opinion. If you read this, and you really disagree with me, leave it in the comments, explain why you like the movie, just be a little bit respectful about my opinion, alright. Anyways, if I were to give this a percentage of how good it is, with 100% being absolutely perfect, I'd give this a 70%. Some good things, some bad things. If you can tolerate the constant singing, then you'll probably like it alright.
Percentage :70%
In two days, the Academy Awards ("the Oscars") will occur in the Dolby Theater in Hollywood. In this ceremony, special awards are given to films that were critically, though sometimes not financially, successful films of the preceding year. Organized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, these awards have been a tradition since 1929, celebrating the best in cinema during that particular time. This year, the Oscar nominees include "Argo", "Lincoln", "Zero Dark Thirty", and other critically praised films. However, I am going to focus on one particular nomination: "Les Miserables." Now, exploring the depths of youtube and Metacritic, I have found that a lot of people REALLY like this film. Some were blown away by it, and some were brought to tears by the performances. There are a lot of reviews declaring this film, "AMAZING", and "BRILLIANT", and "STUNNING". And that leads them to attack other reviewers for criticizing it. I refer you to the "What the Flick" review of Les Miserables. Now, the critics in that video were heavily criticizing the film, some very legitimate, but some somewhat harsh. The notable thing, however, was the comments. Most of the comments went to the effects of "Les Mes rocks, and these people don't like any movies, if they hate this film." This is of course indicates a high admiration for the film, and a confusion if one dislikes the film.There are a lot of people who like this movie. I'm not one of them. In fact, I think it is largely mediocre; let's see why, shall we?
The story, based on Victor Hugo's 1862 novel and the stage adaptation of that work with music by
Claude-Michel Schönberg, is set in post-revolution France between 1815 to 1832. It revolves around Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman), a convict who has been paroled by prison guard Javant (Russel Crowe), but is rejected due to this. After being taken in by a priest, and moved by his kindness when Valjean steals some silver from the priest, and when two policemen confront the priest with Valjean and the silver, the Priest actually defends him, Valjean decides to skip parole and start his life anew. He becomes a respected factory owner. In his factory, one of his employees, Fantina (Anne Hathaway) is fired, despite having an illegitimate child to care for. To make ends meet, she becomes a prostitute. Meanwhile, Jean Valjean finds out that another man has been captured under the impression that he was Valjean. Whilst dealing with the implication, he comes across Fatina, who is being confronted by Javant, now a policemen and several others, over her assaulting a customer. After Valjean saves her and sends her to a hospital, he decides to come clean with the court about to convict the false Valjean, before visiting Fantine. After learning that Fantine has an illegitimate child, and narrowly escaping Javant, he finds Fatine's child, Cosette (Isabelle Allen), living as a virtual slave to a con man and his wife (Helen Bonham Carter and Sasha Baron Cohen), and after paying him in exchange for the child, decides once again starts a new life, with Cosette in tow. Skip forward another few years, and Jean Valjean has settled in Paris with the teenaged Cosette (not played by Amanda Seyfried.) However, their tranquil life is disturbed by a brewing revolution against the new king, lead by two young men named Marius ( Eddie Redmayne), and Enjolras (Aaron Tveit). On top of that, Marius falls in love with Cosette, and Javant, now a having a Captain Ahab-style obsession over Jean Valjean, wants to crush the rebellion. Can Jean Valjean help the rebellion, and approve of Cosette and Marius' romance.
First, I'll get all the things I like about the film out of the way. Most of the actors do well. Hugh Jackman does very well in the role of Jean Valjean, and the character himself is very likable, very noble, and very developed. Anne Hathaway does a terrific performance at the beginning of the film, and does a very powerful, emotional song. However, contrary to what the trailer show, Anne Hathaway is only in the movie for that amount of time. I really like the set designs, and how it easily conveys the setting of the piece, and creates an authentic atmosphere. Some of the other songs are also very nice to listen to, though I will elaborate later. Overall, there is many things to like about the film..
That said, there are some things I find distracting. The main one? EVERYONE SINGS THEIR LINES! No, literally, nobody says anything. They sing it. And to me, that is very irritating. Okay, maybe people like the innovation, but I was just annoyed that they were singing all the time. I didn't like it because there is no transition between musical number. That is to say, I cannot tell where one ends and the other starts. The musical number sort of all merge due to this, and thus individual songs lose some of their impact as a result. Also, it doesn't allow us time to calm ourselves, and get ready to enjoy the next musical number. Perhaps it's a pet peeve, but it just kept bothering me throughout my viewing of the film. This is my main problem with the movie. There are a lot of smaller problems I have. One is Russel Crowe's voice. Yeah, even people who like this movie don't really like Russel Crowe's singing all that much. The thing is, his voice always seems off tune every time he sings. I hear this is because he is a rock singer, and thus he is more adapted to that style of music then to opera, but I have never heard him sing rock, so I wouldn't necessarily know why. Also, he didn't really act that well. I suppose it's just that off-tune voice that keeps bothering me during his more emotional moments. Finally, I suppose the cinematography was crammed. I mean, these are very nice set designs, but we don't get time to enjoy it. Instead, the shots simply cram them into each shot, and it really is too much in one shot at times. It's hard to enjoy the scenery when its crammed into a single shot. Once again, probably a pet peeved, but these sets are very large and very nice looking, and the only time we get to enjoy them is the ending.
I suppose I don't necessarily dislike the movie. When I came out of the theater in December, My feeling was "meh..." It was largely okay in my opinion. Not a great film, but not one of the worst I've seen. I was only discontent with the reaction to negative criticism to the film, where people would blast anybody that has a negative opinion regarding the film. I don't know. If you like the film, fine, go right ahead. You are entitled to opinion, just like I am entitled to my opinion. If you read this, and you really disagree with me, leave it in the comments, explain why you like the movie, just be a little bit respectful about my opinion, alright. Anyways, if I were to give this a percentage of how good it is, with 100% being absolutely perfect, I'd give this a 70%. Some good things, some bad things. If you can tolerate the constant singing, then you'll probably like it alright.
Percentage :70%
