In Which I Review Les Miserables (While Crying)

Tom Hooper, director of Les Mis, also directed one of my favorite movies ever, The King's Speech. So going into Les Mis, I had a lot of expectations. Having read Victor Hugo's masterpiece and never seeing the musical, I was pretty curious how this was going to turn out. I am so so relieved and glad to tell you that I loved it.

The singing is all great, emphasis on Anne Hathaway and Hugh Jackman. For those who have heard harsh criticism for Russel Crowe, he is not as bad as everyone is saying. Amanda Seyfried is also surprisingly good, considering I only ever see her as her character from Mean Girls. Eddie Redmayne and Samantha Barks are perfect. Aaron Tviet is also lovely. Seriously, it is harder to imagine a better cast for this movie, they handle the material so well. And Helena Bonham Carter and Sacha Baron Cohen add just enough humor to remind you to stop crying, if only for five minutes.

There is a grand sweeping epicness to Les Mis even when it's at it's most wretched. That by no means softens the blows these characters take, but makes the story more effective to the audience. I can honestly say I've never sobbed more at a movie in my life. As I mentioned before, Anne Hathaway delivers the most heart-wrenching performance of any sort I have ever seen. There was not a dry eye in the theater when she sang I Dreamed A Dream. Samantha Barks is also another excellent performance, and from what I understand, she's been playing Eponine for quite a while now. And really, there are not enough words for Hugh Jackman's excellence. Jean Valjean is no easy task to take on as an actor and he aces it.

As someone who had never heard the songs before the movie, I was blown away by how amazing this music is. Again, this isn't so much a note on this version as the musical itself. This music is wonderful and powerful and fits together beautifully. It manages to strike the balance between honesty and theatricality. Go listen to "I Dreamed A Dream" or "On My Own" or "Stars" or even "Drink With Me". It's perfect for the musical. Fun to listen to, and provides  perfect insight into these characters. I was a complete wreck when the Barricade Babes who have a much more fancy, dignified, and French name  in the book and musical, sang "Drink With Me" because it was perfect. I especially loved reading the latter chapters at the barricade in the book, which only makes it more sad. But moving on. I'm not going to cry again writing this.

I was also really surprised how well some of these characters were done despite this being a two and a half musical. Victor Hugo created a lot of characters that I spent about 1500 pages with prior to the movie (two years ago to be exact). Like I said, Jean Valjean is no easy task, and Javert is done very well too. This isn't so much a note on Hooper as it is a note on the original musical. I'm impressed with how well you're acquainted with these characters even though you only get to see them for short amounts on time, i.e. Fantine. Effective characterization is always helpful, and it's employed usefully here.



Anyway, whereas Hooper's King Speech was quietly minimalistic, Les Mis is  big in every sense of the word, and that's not a bad thing. Go see it, because there will never be a better musical set in post-revolution France ever.

I Suppose I Should Discuss The Oscar Nominations

Actually caring about the Oscars is kind of turning out to be the worst relationship of my life.
Because they don't matter. They don't. And yet, I care.
Which is why I am making this post.
Here goes nothing.

As I sit here in my currently crippled state (theater audition; long story, not one for this blog), depressed, anxious about going back to aforementioned terrible horrible school, and a bit sad that I definitely did not make the cut for also aforementioned musical, I am looking at this list, smiling, gasping, and in all honesty, caring.

So predictions and thoughts and whatnot.

BEST PICTURE NOMINEES ARE...
Amour
Argo
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Django Unchained
Les Miserables
Lincoln
Life of Pi
Silver Linings Playbook
Zero Dark Thirty

So let's see here, this is a pretty predictable bunch.  A lot of these are directed by people who have before, or have been nominated, i.e. Kathryn Bigelow, Steven Spielberg, Tom Hooper, Quentin Tarantino. However, my money is on Lincoln or Argo to win. Possible upsets are Zero Dark Thirty and Les Miserables. If I could have picked these, Skyfall would have been put into a tenth slot. I really had hopes for that one. Also, I'm a little surprised to see The Dark Knight Rises snubbed. I'm not the biggest Nolan fan, but I thought it was a commendable and thought-provoking movie. Also, where is The Hobbit? Rarely have I enjoyed a film more. I know I'm a super fan, but coooome ooooooooooon.

BEST ACTOR NOMINEES ARE...
Bradly Cooper for Silver Linings Playbook
Daniel Day-Lewis for Lincoln
Hugh Jackman for Les Miserables
Joaquin Pheonix for The Master
Denzel Washington for Flight

Okay, anybody who does not feel like losing twenty bucks has their money of Daniel Day-Lewis. And if it's not himn, it'll be Hugh Jackman or Denzell Washington, no question.


BEST ACTRESS NOMINEES ARE...
Jessica Chastain for Zero Dark Thirty
Jennifer Lawrence for Silver Linings Playbook
Emanuelle Riva for Amour
Quvenzhane Wallis for Beasts of the Southern Wild (She's only 9!)
Naomi Watts for The Impossible

Alrighty, let's see here. Jessica Chastain is definitely the forerunner here, with Jennifer Lawrence and Quvenzhane for second and third choices. Also, was Silver Linings Playbook really that good? I mean, really? I thought it kind of looked liked a chick flick. Maybe I'll have to go see it now. Side note: The Actress category is interesting because it contains both the youngest, Wallis, and oldest, Riva, actresses to be nominated ever. Pretty interesting.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR NOMINEES ARE...

Alan Arkin for Argo
Robert de Nero for Silver Linings Playbook
Phillip Seymour Hoffman for The Master
Tommy Lee Jones for Lincoln
Christoph Waltz for Django Unchained



Yeah, okay, nothing unusual here either. Tommy Lee Jones or Christoph Waltz will get it. I would've liked to see Tom Hardy's Bane from Dark Knight Rises here though. In the words of another critic, Tom Hardy can do more with 20% of his face than most actors can do with all of theirs. I thought it was a truly interesting take on an interesting character, one that deserves recognition more than for just a weird voice. Also, wher eis Javier Bardem for his performance in Skyfall. I was genuinely scared and fascinated of his character when ever he was on screen. That guys got mad skill. Sad to see it snubbed.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS NOMINEES...
Amy Adams for The Master
Sally Field for Lincoln
Anne Hathaway for Les Miserables
Helen Hunt for The Sessions
Jacki Weaver for Silver Linings Playbook



If Anne Hathaway does not win this, there is no justice in the world. I have not seen Les Miserables (yet), but I listened to Anne Hathaway sing I Dreamed A Dream one night, sitting alone in my bedroom, and I literally was sobbing by the end of her solo. She deserves it. Also, she was extremely dedicated to her role as Fantine, facing a lot of scrutiny in the media and handling it all very well. I think she has this one in the bag.

BEST DIRECTOR NOMINEES ARE....
Michael Haneke for Amour
Ang Lee for Life of Pi
David O. Russel for Silver Linings Playbook
Steven Spielberg for Lincoln
Benh Zeitland for Beasts of the Southern Wild

While Lincoln is a front runner for nearly everything right now, I'm going to be a rebel and say the Ang Lee will probably get this one. Life of Pi was once deemed unfilmable. Well, obviously it's not. So yeah. Ang Lee. Props. Even though I haven't seen the movie.

I'm going to skip around here. There are somethings that I know you guys are more interested in. So if I skip your favorite category, comment, and we'll pick each other's brains.

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Brave
Frankenweenie
ParaNorman
Wreck-It Ralph
Pirates!

While Brave will probably win this one, I myself was not very impressed with it, so I'm going to be a rebel once again and put Wreck-It Ralph down for this one. Frankenweenie also stands a good chance, especially since it seemed to have redeemed the legendary Tim Burton from his two remakes, Alice in Wonderland and Dark Shadows.

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Anna Karenina by Dario Marinelli
Argo by Alexendre Desplat
Life of Pi by Michael Danna
Lincoln by John Williams
Skyfall by Thomas Newman

It'll probably end up being John Williams (seriously, how old is that guy?), but I'd like to see either Desplat or Newman win. Skyfall had a score that, like the rest of the movie, was better than expected. I'm a bit sad to see Hunger Games snubbed here. I thought the score for that was actually perfect for the film and an interesting experiment in that Appalachian versus futuristic style. It mixed those two styles perfectly for the film.

BEST ORIGINAL SONG NOMINEES ARE...
"Before my Time" from Chasing Ice, by J. Ralph
"Everybody Needs A Best Friend" from Ted, by Norah Jones
"Pi's Lullaby" from Life of Pi, by Bombay Jayashiri
"Skyfall" from Skyfall, by Adele
"Suddenly" from Les Miserables, sung by Hugh Jackman.

Skyfall. The end. Good-bye. Everybody go home.

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS NOMINEES ARE...
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Life of Pi
The Avengers
Prometheus
Snow White and the Huntsman

Again, I'm surprised TDKR was snubbed here. That had excellent effects! I would like to hope that Avengers will one thing, but Prometheus, The Hobbit, or Life of Pi are the most likely contenders, with Snow White and the Huntsman being the clear under dog.

Welp, there. I cared. Sue me.
See you on awards night.



-Randi

In Which I Review Skyfall

Que theme music.
 

After listening to Adele's beautiful song on repeat, accidentally developing a huge crush on Ben Whishaw's portrayal of Q without having seen the film, sat through rave review after rave review, and seeing The Hobbit first, I can now boast that I have seen Skyfall.

Being a British culture junky, I kind of had a precursory knowledge of James Bond. You know, Sean Connery, sexy women, weird gadgets, cool music. But I decided if I was going to do this properly, I should probably watch a few of the films prior to this one.

So one viewing  of Live and Let Die, Casino Royale, and Quantum of Solace later, I considered myself ready-ish.

Okay, FINALLY, I sit down and watch the thing. And I liked it quite  a lot. It is rare that a movie lives up to it's hype. Skyfall manages it.
I feel a bullet list coming on.

-Okay, action sequences are superb. Very easy to follow, while still being impressively done. I especially liked the back-lit sequence. In a world where fight sequences are a dime a dozen, these manage to stand out.

-Acting wise we have a veritable primer in British actors doing what they do best. Judi Dench in her bajillionth turn as the grumpy and yet kind of likeable M.  Ralph Fiennes also has a small part to play that has so many spoilers attached to it that I can't even say anything about it, but he does well. As I already mentioned, Ben Whishaw's take on Q was getting a lot of buzz on tumblr, so no surprise here when he nails it and manages to add himself to my list of Geeky British Boys Whom I Will Watch In Anything, Especially Shakespeare (I will post that list some other time). Daniel Craig finally gets into the swing of things around here, with great results. Javier Bardem is especially hammy, but in a good way, as it's what the character requires. He's great to watch. You're always curious as to what his character is going to do next. Albert Finney does great with his ten minutes as well.

-Storyline wise, there's actually quite a bit going on, but also plenty of chances to showcase the fantastic action sequences. I especially enjoyed the Skyfall revelation. This movie revolves quite a bit around M, so be prepared for that. There's actually quite a bit of quiet drama thrown in to balance everything out, which is cool in my opinion.

-If there is one thing to complain about, I thought the holding tank scene with Silva and M is perhaps a bit too Avengers influenced. I mean, Avengers is not the only film to have an interrogation scene with one person behind glass, but the tanks looked basically the same and there was a lot of the same elements to it. I don't know, maybe that was just me. I mean look at it.

But either way, go see it! Really well done, and I can't wait to see where we go from here.

The Hobbit!!

Guys, guys guys, you have no idea how much I have missed writing for this blog! I'll be having quite a few adventures in the next few weeks, so you'll be seeing more exciting stuff here on le blog.


But now on to the task at hand. THE HOBBIT.
In short, oh my God, you guys it was so good I can't even.
But here's the long version.
So I've waited eight years for The Hobbit. I was six when I first watched Lord of the Rings ( I had an older brother), and now we're finally getting the rest of the story. And as the previews started rolling in the theater that fateful Saturday afternoon, I thought to myself "Was eight years worth it?"
Um. Yes. Yes. YESYESYESYESYES. Oh my gosh yeeeeeeeeees.
Mind the incorrect grammar, but yes, the film was amazing. I am happy to say that I enjoyed every single frame, even if they weren't being projected at a higher rate than normal.
Okay, let's see here.
1. I really enjoyed how much the film ties into Lord of the Rings, and still remains it's own separate thing. The continuity is incredible.  However, the tone is lighter than that of it's predecessors, which works, because the Hobbit is lighter than Lord of the Rings in book form as well.
2. If you've never seen Martin Freeman playing one of your favorite literary characters (and you do have a variety to choose from), you're missing out. Because I have yet to see a role he has played and I haven't genuinely liked his performance. Bilbo Baggins is no exception. He completely manages to carry of this giant of a film. And there are tons of other characters reprising their roles as well. There is no bad performance in this film.
3. Soundtrack is perfect, as is expected of the extremely talented Howard Shore. New themes are laid down, as well as some throwbacks to the also perfect Lord of the Rings soundtrack.
4. The pacing is absolutely perfect. I was never once bored through the three hours of the movie and that's saying quite a lot since I haven't taken medication in..........three years.
5. Even though this is only part 1 of the film, it feels like a cohesive thing by itself. My main problem with split adaptations is that part 1 feels like nothing but buildup and part 2 feels like a lengthy explosion. This feels like a movie, not a buildup. Points.
6. It's a faithful adaptation while adding in stuff from the appendices found at the back of Return of the King and some thing to make it a little more cinematic, but everything is straight from the book, including most of the dialog.
But maybe the best thing of The Hobbit is that it feels like coming home to somewhere you've forgotten about. There's no denying that it's been quite a long time since there have been Hobbits in the movie theater. But this feels like a welcome return back to Middle Earth, and I for one enjoyed it a lot.
And I definitely did not cry when the opening credits rolled, thank you very much.
-Randi

Babel by Mumford and Sons

I try not to review albums too soon after I've first listened to them, which is the reason why this review took almost a month to get in order. Apologies for that.

Anyway, on to the album. I've loved Mumford and Sons ever since I first had "The Cave" recommended to me by a friend. Their sound is really unique while still being rooted in folk influences. Sigh No More was one of my favorite new British releases and I had been eagerly awaiting their second album from the get-go. I'm happy to report that Babel is a worthy follow up to the stroke of brilliance that is Sigh No More.

On this sophomore effort, Mumford and Sons expand upon the themes and sounds of their first album, making a more polished effort, but polished is not a bad thing. There is no denying that Sign No More is very raw, and Babel is definitely a maturing of lyrics and the sound of the band. There is euphoric joy, in songs like Babel and Lover of the Light, and quiet reverent introverted lyricism on Ghosts That We Knew and Not With Haste. However, the real highlight of the album surprisingly enough didn't even make it to the standard edition. There is a lovely cover of Simon and Garfunkel's "The Boxer", featuring the famed Jerry Douglas and Paul Simon, that I just can't get enough of. It's crazy beautiful. That's not slighting the originals on Babel at all, but this is one of the best covers I have heard in my long standing relationship with covers (And that's saying something, as I used to be a really big Joan Jett fan).

Anyway, the album is sweet and wonderful, but I can't help but think about the early reports that this album was going to have a lot more "doom and gloom" than the finished product. I mean, don't get me wrong please, I love this album and all it's joy, but the only song that could really be classified as "doom and gloom" could be Broken Crown, and maybe Hopeless Wanderer. I have this horrible theory that the record label might have tossed away the angst for some reason. For example, there was a lovely song called Home that was going to be on Babel, and the song was going to be re-named Holland Road. Now Holland Road is a track on the finished project, but it's not Home. There's a lack of the epic angst and fury of some previous  cuts. There's nothing like Dust Bowl Dance or I Gave You All, important contributions to their musical stylings.

All in all, a wonderful album that surprised me with all it's euphoria. Give it a listen.

-Randi

10 Reasons Why Avengers Is The Best Marvel Movie

It's certainly no secret at this point how much I love the Avengers. It's on the verge of becoming a problem that will require therapy.  And since I'll be picking up the DVD after school today, here are ten reasons why Avengers simply cannot be beat in terms of Marvel. I'll leave you to argue about the Dark Knight by yourselves.
(Small Note: These are in no particular ranking, this is just the order I wrote them for no reason).

10. Black Widow. Questions? Understandable. She's not given the most screen time, nor is she "the most important" (that's debateably Iron Man, Cap, or the Hulk). And her story line is not particularly what I'm focusing on here. It's how Joss Whedon handled her character. In Iron Man 2, we cannot deny that Tasha is basically there for eye candy. Every shot focuses on how beautiful she is, how sexy she is, almost like that one chick from those Resident Evil movies. In Avengers, there's no denying she's gorgeous, but that's part of the trap. As exemplified by her opening scene, Tasha is actually quite dangerous. She lets her captors believe that she is really just a pretty face, very weak and whatnot, and then she tears them to pieces. It's quite remarkable. This is really what I liked about her in the Avengers, she was an actual female super hero, not some half naked chick who can shoot a gun like some other movies that have women as their central characters.

9. Equal screen time. Except for maybe the very underplayed Maria Hill, everyone gets their share of the limelight in the Avengers, something no easily done. Think about it: Six superheros, one villian, Coulson, Nick Fury, Selvig, and Maria Hill. That's eleven characters to take care of. It's amazing that Avengers even has a coherent plot point trying to give everybody some screen time, not even getting in to the amazing pay off and quality of the film.

8. Coulson. I know, I know, I do in fact have a lot of pheels. But the one thing that is always present in super hero movies is the lack of normalcy. There are no "normal" people, and if there are, they aren't central characters. Or they're always love interests.  Either way, Phil Coulson is a remarkable character in that he shows that you don't have to have a cape or powers or ridiculous hand to hand combat skills to be a hero.

7. The Bromance of Tony Stark and Bruce Banner. Okay, not really but kind of. I enjoy how Joss points out their similarities. Both incredibly smart, both a little angsty, let's not deny it. I aso thought that Tony trying to get Bruce to loosen up was hilarious and vaguely profound. Some people question how the Hulk was magically able to control his rage. I think Tony Stark has something to with it. Something about not trying to tip-toe around him or some other deep thought of that nature. Science Bros forever.

6. Speaking of Dr. Banner, WE FINALLY GOT AN AMAZING HULK! I mean seriously, I didn't particularly enjoy the two previous Hulk movies. I found the teenage angst and Godzilla-like destruction to be a bit cliche' and honestly boring. But Mark Ruffalo gets it right. Instead of going for the overplayed "We're going to try and humanize a monster", he is already human. We don't have to go through that again and again. It's more like accepting the monster this time around, and learning how to control it. Also, how adorable is Mark Ruffalo? Not that it matters, but he adds a real likeability to a character I was never very fond of.

5. You saw it coming. Tom Hiddleston's Loki. When I sat down to watch Thor a few days before The Avengers hit theaters, I wasn't expecting to end up sobbing on the floor of my living room. But I did. Mostly because of Loki. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely loved the rest of the movie and it's juxtaposition of modern day Earth with Asgard, and Chris Hemsworth is an awesome Thor, but Loki makes the movie. The complex pathos of his character and the wonderful acting put this movie over the top. But in Avengers, Loki's character goes even further. The story behind his transformation from jealous sibling to force to be reckoned with makes the writer in me fangirl all over the place. And again, Tom does a brilliant job playing Loki with the right subtlety. They never really explain what happened to Loki when he SPOILERS HERE DON'T READ IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN IT fell out of Asgard, and the fan theories are all beautiful and moving, but it's implied that something very bad happened to Loki, and he is no longer the same man. Beautiful.

4.The cast and crew behind this movie are un-ironically enthusiastic about everything. The love this stuff, and that is apparent in everything. So many dull action movies have come and gone this year, and that's a shame. Dull action movie sounds like an oxymoron. But the fact of the matter is that there are now generic super hero movies, generic action movies, generic thrillers. Movies are more and more often becoming generic. Avengers is not generic, based on premise alone, and that is something rare in Hollywood. These film-makers care so much about what they're doing, something you don't see in a lot of movies released to the mainstream. They hit all the right notes, because it's what they'd want to watch to. They're not looking for a pay-check (although I'm sure most everyone involved here got a fairly large one). This crew wanted to make a good movie, and by God they did.

3. Your inner 9 year. Not only does Avengers have the character development and witty dialog to make fourteen year old girl me happy, your inner 9 year old self probably enjoyed this a lot too. I dare you to not giggle as Tony tries to get Bruce to hulk out by poking him with things. Or actually bust out laughing when Loki is, to coin a phrase, Hulk smashed Tom and Jerry style. There is a childlike sense of wonder when the Helicarrier lifts out of the ocean. That is so rare in films to have any sort of sense of wonder. We see giant CGI robots, airplanes, spaceships, battleships, and other large and dangerous things all the time at the movies now. I don't consider watching a Transformers movie wondrous, I consider it a head-ache. Avengers is like the opening scene of Raiders of the Lost Ark, when Indy's running from the giant boulder: your jaw can't help but drop, even if you've seen it a million times.

2. There's a hero for everyone. There is no way you can't find a character to relate to in this movie, something I find improbably fantastic. Because there is something about relating to a giant blonde Asgardian, or a genius billionaire playboy philanthropist, or the soldier out of time that makes these characters feel real. And it's a little bit of hope too. Captain America got frozen in ice for 70 years, only to wake up in the present with no fladoodling clue what's going on. So I can adjust to high school, even if it's hard. Cheesy as it sounds, it's amazing how much I related to almost every one of these characters.

1. It's just good. It has all the great elements of storytelling, acting, production design, and CGI that make a  really good blockbuster. It doesn't try to be anything more than the best summer action blockbuster ever. The Avengers is not pretentious, or boring, or "artsy",  or anything other than what it does best: fun.

Thoughts?

-Randi

Adele's New Bond Single!

So I was sitting around my house on Saturday morning, surfing Tumblr as I am wont to do when someone is fangirling all over about Adele's new James Bond single. I'd heard she was doing it, but definitely didn't expect it to be out yet. Naturally, I was listening to it within the next five minutes.
While I actually haven't seen a whole lot of James Bond anything, being knowledgeable in film I'm very well aware of Bond's existence. And if you know anything, you know that whomever does the next James Bond song has a lot on their hands.
Anyway, Adele hits the nail on the head yet again, even sampling the original Bond theme into the song. It's a wonderful dramatic throwback. I couldn't enjoy it more. Like seriously, everyone needs to go listen to it now, if only to run around their house and strike poses.

-Randi