Movie: Les Miserables (2012)

Rating: C+

Probably my favourite musical of all time, I couldn't wait for Les Mis to come out Christmas Day. The unfortunate thing was that the stars were a little bit of a distraction to an otherwise excellent rendition of Victor Hugo's classic.



This iteration of the musical takes a little while getting used to. Usually, when musicals are put on the big screen, the singing ends up being part of the soundtrack. Instead, Tom Hooper decided that the singing was going to be part of the script. So this does 2 things.
1. On most sound systems, the singing is going to be on the centre speaker and the music on the side/surrounding speakers.
2. You have to act AND sing at the same time.

For myself, I found this to be part of the distraction. Case and point, Anne Hathaway's character Fantine has a big powerful solo that she has to cry through. Ever try crying and singing at the same time? It's not the easiest thing to do, and I do have to compliment her for that. But at the same time, at certain points, it almost seemed like she was screaming. Not so good.

I couldn't decide if Eddie Redmayne (Marius) had a problem acting, or a problem acting AND singing at the same time. His voice was actually pretty good, I mean heck, he DID win himself a Tony award. You see, when you're on stage and doing musicals, you don't act so much with your face as you do with your voice and your body language. And like I said about having the singing as part of the script, it's really hard to do both at the same time.

The biggest distraction however, came in the form of Russell Crowe, who played Javert. Yes, he has his band, 30 Odd Foot of Grunts, but that sort of singing is entirely different than the type of voice you use for musicals. His voice simply pales in comparison. It's particularly evident during his little back and forth with Hugh Jackman, who actually came from the world of musicals.

It's watchable enough for sure, and very well done despite these distractions. But I thought it was rather sad that the supporting cast members seemed to have better voices than the starring cast. Again, distracting.

~Cheers.

Movie: The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2012)

Rating: A-

What happens when you put a star studded veteran cast together with a touching story and a semi-decent witty script? You get The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.



Even with just a few too many cliches and too many storylines for a 2 hour movie, the movie is held together brilliantly by the performances of the likes of Judy Dench, Tom Wilkinson, Maggie Smith, Bill Nighy, and company.

The movie is thoughtful and funny, with a lot of heart and humanity. And while you'll likely connect better if you've had a few years under your belt, it's entertainment for all ages. I really can't say enough about the cast and their performances as they really had you connect with them. Each character with stories that are entirely believable and touching in their own way. You end up sharing in their joys and heartbreaks. Easily one of the better movies of 2012.

~Cheers.

Movie: Phoebe in Wonderland (2008)

Rating: B

Watching Super 8 yesterday and seeing how far Elle Fanning has come, really made me think of the first time I noticed this young actress. For one, she's Dakota Fanning's younger sister, and for another, she's a fantastically gifted young actress in her own right.



To be quite honest, some of the 'extra' characters kind of put me off of this movie. And when you watch it, you'll know what 'extra' characters I mean. I found them to be pretty annoying and I think that's why critically, it wasn't extremely well received. But if you put those characters aside, the movie was very touching, and in the end, very delightful.

In particular, Elle's portrayal as young Phoebe was particularly breathtaking. Watching her struggle with the little idiosyncrasies that made her so different was both depressing and heart warming. It totally helps that you have such acclaimed actors in Felicity Huffman and Bill Pullman playing Phoebe's parents. Their warmth, their struggles, and their love really made this movie believable; and perhaps more importantly, made the audience care.

~Cheers.

Movie: Conviction (2010)

Rating: B-

There isn't a lot that's more touching or inspiring at the lengths that family members will go to for each other. In this movie, based on real life events, tells the story of how a sister, who is also a working mom; spends18 years, to pass high school, college, and law school, to prove her brother's innocence, because no one else would.



Sam Rockwell has been around for quite a long time, but I've never found that he was memorable in any of them. He does however, do an admirable job of protraying Kenny Waters, an innocent man sentenced to life imprisonment. Playing a young man who gets arrested to a middle aged convict who is finally exonerated, Rockwell's portrayal I think was quite spot on. I did however, find Hilary Swank's depiction of Betty Anne Waters to be a little mechanical. Just slightly.

It's a great story, and truly inspirational, but when you have such a stellar cast that has such pedigree, you have to wonder if perhaps, it's the director Tony Goldwyn that's holding this movie back from greatness. To be quite honest, the whole film plays like a TV movie; but who's to say that a TV movie can't be good right? Who knew that it would be the annoying little antagonist from Iron Man 2 that truly holds this movie together. Huh.

~Cheers.