Les Miserables (2012)

[BiffMan]

Javert at no point comes across as the suicidal type. That moment literally came from no where as I see it.

That's one of the biggest points of debate between my wife and I. She's lived and loved Les Mis ever since the original broadway production, but I've largely been oblivious to it before seeing a travelling "Broadway" version of it in the summer and then the movie.

Javert's a bit of a dick, and I get the whole sworn to uphold the law thing, but all in all I really like his character. His suicide really came out of left field for me in the stage show. It's a little better here due to Crowe's excellent acting letting me see the transition a bit better. Still feels rushed for a character that's otherwise so methodical and calculating.

Ultimately what I enjoyed most about the movie was that, on the whole, the motivations of the characters make a lot more sense to me when you get the subtlety of expressions in a movie compared to the stage. I connected with the material way better than I did with the stage version.

But Javert's suicide is still a stretch. Take a breath, go arrest someone, and calm down a bit before you climb up on anything high.

[fishstick]

Javert never came off as suicidal in the book either. When he offs himself it`s a big WTF.

[Dementeleus]

Film Critic Hulk dissects Hooper, LES MIZ, close ups, and cinematography in his new column. It's a fantastic read and a good synopsis of why Hooper's visual choices were so wrong:http://badassdigest.com/2013/01/09/film-crit-hulk-smash-hulk-vs.-tom-hooper-and-art-of-cinematic-affectation/

[DeeCee]

Javert was a big WTF for me as well. Marius had a strange character arc as well. The movie builds him up as a big revolutionary distraught over the loss of all his friends and then the next minute it's back to granddads money, marry Fantine and live happily ever after. Maybe it makes more sense in the book.

[4815162342]

Film Critic Hulk dissects Hooper, LES MIZ, close ups, and cinematography in his new column. It's a fantastic read and a good synopsis of why Hooper's visual choices were so wrong:http://badassdigest....ic-affectation/

My only thing with this is if you have real cinematographers giving the film props in guild awards, then it dilutes any value from a film critic saying otherwise. Practicioners > Reviewers.

[Dementeleus]

My only thing with this is if you have real cinematographers giving the film props in guild awards, then it dilutes any value from a film critic saying otherwise. Practicioners > Reviewers.

People vote for friends, colleagues, or favorites. It's not a logical choice, necessarily.

[4815162342]

Perhaps, but as knowledgeable as Film Critic Hulk can be, if he says the camerawork for X is crap and a truckload of cinematographers say it's good, I am more inclined to trust the people who do that camerawork for a living.

[Gopher]

I'm more inclined to believe Hulk. Les Mis hasn't even picked up many cinematography allocades.

[riczhang]

I'm more inclined to believe Hulk. Les Mis hasn't even picked up many cinematography allocades.

It got ASC, the guild with much better taste than the academy for cinematography.

[Jonwo]

I saw it today and thought it was great, the cast were extraordinary especially Hugh Jackman as Valjean and Anne Hathaway but the big surprise was Samantha Barks as Eponine and Eddie Redmayne as Marius, I think Samantha is one actress to look out for. While the film is epic in many ways, I wasn't so keen on the use of closeups in almost every numbers, it works brilliantly in I Dreamed I Dream but loses its impact when used in other numbers. I think the film gets a better sense that the Student revolution was doomed to fail, the scene where they are being attacked and no one helps shows this.

[The Dark Alfred]

I dreamed a nightmare. Good first act thanks to Hathaway and it has some good moments later due to Redmayne and Barks, but overall a borefest with very poor acting by Jackman and Crowe and one of the worst direction of the year. Awful shot selection by Hooper. I screamed a scream as time went by.

[baumer]

I dreamed a nightmare. Good first act thanks to Hathaway and it has some good moments later due to Redmayne and Barks, but overall a borefest with very poor acting by Jackman and Crowe and one of the worst direction of the year. Awful shot selection by Hooper. I screamed a scream as time went by.

Agreed.....the first 30 minutes seems like a different movie.

[Gopher]

I really don't understand how anyone could think Jackman didn't shine here. He hasn't put this much heart and soul into a performance since The Fountain.

[CoolioD1]

Hugh Jackman was my favourite part of this movie. Russell Crowe was great as well, he didn't sing BIG like other people who play Javert do but he still played his moments of menace or inner-conflict very well, I thought. In fact I liked all the actors a lot.Also I appreciate what Hooper tried to do here, sure there were a couple dutch angles that didn't make sense and there a couple of moments early on where the camera was following Jackman around and I thought it was gonna hit him in the head but mostly it didn't bother me at all.

[Heretic]

I thought it was absolutely incredible. I really, really liked Samantha Barks.

[The Dark Alfred]

Jackman overplayed every single scene, Crowe was just plain awful. Hathaway and Banks were impressive and Redmayne was good as well, but had too many close-ups on him. The film had some good moments due to the original material, but the direction in general is a huge letdown and the film collapses after the promising first act. B-

[ChD]

This movie sucks big time.

I'm just halfway through it and I'm loving it until now. Just want to see how people react to this.

[Gopher]

I am more inclined to trust the people who do that camerawork for a living.

Except Hulk has an extraordinary amount of camerawork and screenplays and directing knowledge. He's a filmmaker himself but he refuses to talk about it, since he is the Hulk. Have you read the article? It reads like a cinematography lesson.

[Sims]

Interesting that people thought the first act was the best. I thought the middle (from around "Master of the House" to right before the Barricade sequence) was easily the best part. I'd give that hour or so a 9/10 and the rest a 7/10.

[ChD]

Well, I just finished watching this, and I have to say this is the best movie of the year, by far. It overtakes movies like Perks of Being a Wallflower, Lincoln and even Silver Linings Playbook.First of all, let me say that Rusell Crowe did an amazing job. His singing voice and acting were perfect and I liked him a lot, despite people saying he was the worst thing in the movie. That either means you hate Crowe or you didn’t see Cohen and Bonham’s characters.Anne Hathaway also did a very good job, and she received the well deserve Oscar nomination, and hopefully she’ll win it, too. I never read the book or watched the Broadway show to know that her character dies so early in the story, so I was kind of disappointed, especially after “I dreamed a dream” which moved me to tears.Hugh Jackman was by far the strongest in the whole movie. His solo’s were breath taking and because of him, I got hooked to this movie instantly. I have to say, this man has a lot of talent and deserves the Oscar nomination, and the win just as much. Sadly, this is a packed year and DDL will probably get it…The other actors all had strong performances. Eddie Redmaine’s performance was good, but not extraordinary as other people state. It’s good to see he’s becoming a big star because he deserves it.I was disappointed that I didn’t get to see more from Isabelle Allen (young Cosette) because she seems like a very talented actress from what I saw here.I expected this to be very emotional, and that I would have to cry every few minutes, but the only part that moved me to tears until after the barricade, was Hathaways “I dreamed a dream”. Then when Crowe gave his badge to the dead boy and Jackman’s death, with Hathaway, Cosette and Marius there, just killed me.As I said, a very good movie. Deserves Best Picture above all other movies, and It also deserved a Best Director Oscar Nomination which it didn’t get. FUCK THE ACADEMY. I’ll be surely watching this in theaters when it comes out and I’ll be re-watching it a lot of times. One of my all time favorites.Score: Over 9000P.S If you’re wondering why I suddenly like the movie, there’s a hidden text in my first comment. Just select the whole comment and two rows underneath it. I failed, though. No reactions.