OT: Go See Les Miserables

Submitted by WingsNWolverines on
This is beyond off topic but last night I went to see Les Miserables in theaters with my father and his female friend. I was honestly a little intrigued because I saw this broadway show a while back when I was little and to be honest it didn't thrill me much because I was too little to appreciate it. After seeing it last night in its new version my mind after it was over was blown wide open. This is probably one of the greatest movies ever made and might even win best picture. Hugh Jackman not only is bad ass as Wolverine but MY GOD this man can sing beautifully. I was stunned how well he played Jean Valjean. Russel Crowe also sings as he plays Javert the French police captain. He sings too. Good not great though. Anne Hathaway continues to amaze me every time I hear her voice in a song. She's probably the most talented actress in Hollywood right now. She plays Fatine the mother of the little girl Cosette. The girl who plays the other main female character Eponine are actual singers in the real broadway play. Anyway its a very beautiful and an amazing movie and if you are not into musicals or broadway I understand but this movie really has it all and the stage show is even better. I highly recommend this to anyone. I won't lie guys I had tears at the end. This movie will tug at your heart strings. Not many movies have made me cry. This did. 5/5 stars.
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WingsNWolverines

December 26th, 2012 at 8:21 PM ^

movie/play shows is worth seeing. It matters more than just sports and things that are meaningless. For God sake having culture is what makes society diverse. I love Michigan football and hockey and the Packers Red Wings blah blah etc but when they aren't in action I have other hobbies too. I draw and like to sculpt too. I even enjoy working on my motorcycles. The point is not everybody just likes one thing and if you limit your mind to just sports than I feel sorry for you. There's an entire world outside of athletics and sports. Give new things a try. You might be very surprised when you realize you might like something different. I thought it was good and felt like sharing my views for those who might want to see it. I'll save it for IMDB or rottentomatoes next time. Duley noted.

Joined: 04/27/2011

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ldoublee

December 26th, 2012 at 9:05 PM ^

I have no use for musicals, but you have very right to post this. HOWEVA, when you define a message from a movie or play (ie. entertainment) as more important than 'meaningless' sporting events (ie. entertainment) on one of the most popular sports blogs on the Internet...I gotta call foul.

Joined: 06/22/2009

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SalvatoreQuattro

December 27th, 2012 at 10:52 AM ^

The themes it represents have been expressed over and over and over and over and over and over and....well, you get the point.

 

Les Miserables is a great novel, but if you want to read a book that was truly transformative then I would suggest reading "Uncle Tom's Cabin". It isn't anywhere near Les Miserables in terms of quality of writing, but the impact this book had was much greater than Les Miserable.  It often is cited as being of the sparks that set off the explosion we call the Civil War.

 

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Wendyk5

December 26th, 2012 at 8:27 PM ^

Haven't seen it and probably won't, but I think it's interesting that it's getting panned by a lot of critics, and yet ordinary moviegoers seem to really like it. I'm not a big fan of musicals, unless they star The Who or The Stones. 

Joined: 11/20/2008

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dahblue

December 26th, 2012 at 8:32 PM ^

This might be my favorite thread, ever, on MGoBlog.

I clicked on it thinking it was a joke.  Then, I opened it and thought, "Wow.  This guy really liked the move."  Then I got to the "I saw this Broadway show a while back..." line and felt that it was actually a very funny and well done bit of sarcasm.  Reading the comments was great until I noticed that the OP was in the thread, defending it.  Holy shit!  It wasn't sarcasm at all; he was serious.  Love it.  Awesome.

Joined: 11/09/2009

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JHendo

December 26th, 2012 at 8:36 PM ^

I'm a grown ass man. I love boobs, football, beer, trying to fix shit myself and movies where shit blows up. But I also love all things Les Mis. The book, the countless movies, the play, the soundtracks and especially this cinematic rendition (except for that crappy new song they did). Liking this movie as nothing to do with being manly or not. It's an incredibly powerful story that spawned some of the greatest music ever made regardless if you dig musicals or not (I for the most part do not). For those who enjoy Les Mis but didn't like this movie, ok, I get it. You can at least admit Eponine, Gavroche and Fantine were done incredibly well. And for those who don't like Les Mis, I feel sorry for you. One thing though, despite my enjoyment of the movie, I must ask, why the hell are why talking about this on MGoBlog?

Joined: 10/25/2008

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Swazi

December 27th, 2012 at 12:20 PM ^

Basterds was a hideous mess that seemed to have little direction. There's at least thirty minutes of that movie that could be cut, and nothing would be lost of what little integrity the movie had. It takes more than two good actor performances to make a movie good. Outside of Pitt and the Jew Hunter, they were all horrible.

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MGoBender

December 27th, 2012 at 10:49 PM ^

Was going to say the same thing re: Laurent.

Basterds had some moments that languished. Some for good effect, some not. 30 minutes is pretty hyperbolic, but yeah I don't think it is unreasonable to say 15 minutes could have been cut.

I loved the long bar dialogue scene. And the opening scene was crucial in establishing the main villian. The long dinner scene in the second act was a bit much I thought.

I think leaving too much in is an easy trap for writer/directors to fall into. The project is theirs from conception and they know the minor details better than anyone. Therefore, they want to keep everything because they see each shot as vital. Need a strong partner to say "No, we don't really NEED this."

That said, I think it is pretty weak sauce and snobish to be overly critical of something that is widely accepted as very good.

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M-Wolverine

December 27th, 2012 at 11:01 PM ^

So studios aren't forcing them to edit to "what the audience wants/will sit through" anymore. For the most part that's a good thing. But sometimes it lets a director go unchecked with no checks or balances. I like the amount of time needed to tell the story; but every thought the director had doesn't need to be up there on the screen. If you want to go see a movie this weekend, you better schedule some time- Hobbit 2 hr 50 min Django 2 hr 46 min Les Mis 2 hr 38 min Lincoln 2 hr 29 min Skyfall 2 hr 25 min And that's not counting previews. Now some of those needed every minute and you never looked at your watch. Others could have done without 15 minutes here or there. But when This is 40 and Jack Reacher are over 2 hr 10 min each, there's a problem.

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Vote_Crisler_1937

December 26th, 2012 at 8:43 PM ^

Les Miserables is my most favorite musical ever and it's not close. I have seen it 5 times and honestly the very best was at the Fischer Theatre in Detroit.

The movie is significantly different than the stage but undoubtedly good. I thoroughly enjoyed.

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mGrowOld

December 26th, 2012 at 8:47 PM ^

Threads like these are why I cannot WAIT for Brian to restore the old up/down voting as promised.  Not because I want the OP to get cratered but because these are exacatly the type of threads that are impossible to moderate.  Do you take it down?  Not if people are interested in the topic.  But with the old system in place the people could decide if this was something worth posting and discussing.  And the OP would reap the points benefits or pay the the price depending on how the topic was recieved.

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DirkMcGurk

December 26th, 2012 at 9:10 PM ^

People can be adults and just ignore threads they think are dumb or not something they are into and let the people who like it discuss the topic.

The issue is every asshole thinks they have a witty comment that needs to be posted. Topics that are bad will die off and drop. Making a dumb post to day the thread sucks only keeps the thread going.

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San Diego Mick

December 26th, 2012 at 8:48 PM ^

being able to sit through a musical. I find them annoying as hell, I hate when someone breaks out into a song every other minute, I like dialogue. I probably will see it on Blu-Ray or netflix, we'll see.

Also, I loved the Liam Neeson version, that was a great flick, it just seems so soon to make another one.

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BrownJuggernaut

December 26th, 2012 at 8:57 PM ^

Again with the hyperbole. I mean, you got ripped the other day for starting a thread with hyperbole and you do the same thing here. Did you not learn anything?

I honestly don't have a problem with you starting a thread about Les Mis. I do have a problem with you pulling the same shit you have in the past that people have brought up in those threads. Not all criticism is personal. You can learn a lot from it and become a better poster.

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True Blue 9

December 26th, 2012 at 8:58 PM ^

I'm sure this will likely get me all negged to hell but reading many of these comments on here is pretty disheartening. It's already hard to read the majority of posts here as something always comes back to masculinity or lack there of. Just taking a moment to remind you all that there are many types of loyal Michigan grads / fans that don't fit the mold. Many of these comments on this thread are the reason why many young people can't get out of the state of Michigan fast enough! Just saying...we all love big Blue and should respect our differences

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True Blue 9

December 26th, 2012 at 9:25 PM ^

That's a fair point....I really should have looked at their locals before making that connection. Simply trying to make the point that these types of "opinions" are a big part of why the population of Michigan is dwindling so quickly. Hell, half my friends in Chicago are from Michigan but I met them here!

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True Blue 9

December 26th, 2012 at 9:39 PM ^

Agreed but you don't have to do much searching to find that young people are leaving the state of Michigan at record numbers. I'm merely bringing up that, in my opinion, some of that migration has to do with the political / social climate in Michigan the past 10 years. It's changed since I left in 02', that's for sure.

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Bronson

December 26th, 2012 at 9:45 PM ^

I personally find the staunch anti-Les Miserables contingent within our fair state to be one of its' major selling points...

In all seriousness, I'm fairly certain Michigan's completely shite economy is the reason young people are leaving en masse, not the cultural retardation you seem to imbue every one of its remaining citizens with...but thanks for playing.

Stop drinking so much Riesling this late at night.

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SalvatoreQuattro

December 27th, 2012 at 11:00 AM ^

Firstly, people are leaving for want of jobs, not because of a lack of passon for musicals.

 

Secondly, people everywhere do not appreciate music. It is a class thing. Yes, there are people in every class who do or do not appreciate musicals, but for the most part people who enjoy musicals belong to the genteel class who work with their brains and not their brawn. (This is why the 1% vs 99% paradigm fails in sociological terms. The cultural differences among Americans who make $40,000 and $100,000 is significant.)

 

Thirdly, you need to leave your bubble and interact with the ho polloi more. Your statement reads like a bourgeois white man commenting on inner city blacks: Everyone painted with a fan brush, nothing with a round brush.

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Optimism Attache

December 26th, 2012 at 9:08 PM ^

I don't understand why such a big focus of the movie's promotion is that they recorded the vocals live on set, rather than separately in a studio. People that have seen it: can you really pick up on the creative freedom that this method apparently offers the actors? Just curious, as they have really highlighted this in the trailers I've seen.

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M-Wolverine

December 26th, 2012 at 9:22 PM ^

I'd say the sound comes off as recorded, so that's not something the audience notices. It's a bit more spoken word singing, rather than song singing at times. So it's less musical, but more acted. I think the difference is it's more like a film for the actors, so when they're in the scene they're emotionally in the moment which might hurt the singing but helps the acting. I don't think Anne Hathaway gave the best vocal performance I've ever heard of "I Dreamed a Dresm" by any shot, but it was certainly the most heart-wrenching version I've heard. But I'm not sure how familiar you have to be with musicals, or musicals to movies, to notice any difference.

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Zoltanrules

December 26th, 2012 at 9:48 PM ^

AH's ad lib performance is heart wrenching and there aren't dry eyes in the house, which is not the case in the musical. On the other hand while Jackman is very good, he is not Colm Wilkinson (nobody is). I was only  "mildly disapponted" in Jackman's preformance of Bring Him Home which is my top musical song of all time  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsYnhVITf9E.

Bottom line Hooper sacrifices some (not much) sound quality for live acting and emotion that he hopes connects audiences more than in the musical.

btw I am more ashamed that I watching the Motor City Little Ceasar's Bowl too

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Zoltanrules

December 26th, 2012 at 9:08 PM ^

Les Mis is very good movie, a great broadway show, and a classic book. This has been a great year for films. The Dark Night Rises and Argo were very good films. Lincoln is a must see for you and your kids. Zero Dark 30 is another must see (dont take kids) and my dark horse this year is Life of Pi (3d) directed by the brilliant Ang Lee. It takes time to figure this film out.

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