Les Miserables (2012)

[fishstick]

Jackman was begging for the Oscar especially in his last scene. I`m also with Jack O that I liked second half better. The movie really started to connect with me from In My Life/Heart Full of Love even though they shortchanged the trio especially Eponine.Now some problems that Jack O has stem from the book not just musical. For example, we never see how Valjean pulled off a factory/mayor thing. We just arrive at the scene when he is already somebody so asumption is that he sold the silver or whatever without raising suspticion.Hm. But that`s how the book goes too. Jump several years into the future. Jump again. However, Hooper really did a patchwork here so at least I felt like he stitched together most famous moments without flawless transition. That was especially jarring in the first act when he hopped from Valjean to Fantine and than hop from one Fantine ordeal to another without any sense of passage of time. The whole thing that took months felt like one day tops. And that`s also true of barricade thing which was really annoying because it renders Valjean`s judgement, about letting a guy whom Cosette knows for a day take care of her, totally out of character for such a paranoid overbearing always-on-the-run father. Some creative liberties would have been welcome.Finally, no matter how big showstopper IDAD may be Hathaway deserves to win for TDKR. Her screen time in LM was really insufficient and outside of a showstopper number she didn`t have much to do but cry.She showed incredible range as Selina, however.

Edited December 27, 2012 by fishnets

[Gopher]

I wish actors could receive Oscars for their cumulative performances in a year. Hathaway for TDKR/LM, Matthew McConaughey for Killer Joe/Bernie/Magic Mike, Jessica Chastain for Tree of Life/The Debt/Take Shelter/Coriolanus/The Help.

[Kvikk Lunsj]

I liked this movie a lot. I thought the acting was great. Hooper did a great job a directing.B+/A-

[Sims]

Overall, it was very good. The performances were truly the backbone of the film. Every actor gave it his or her all. Hathaway was perfect, and I had no idea she could act this well; I liked her in TDKR and especially in Rachel Getting Married, but I've always found her rather bland. Jackman, Redmayne, Barks, and Seyfried are all excellent. I was expecting much worse from Crowe; he's clearly not a professional like most others in the cast, and his voice is strained in "Look Down" and "Javert's Suicide," but I quite enjoyed his "Stars." Tveit is great for the short time he has. Cohen and Carter give fun performances, but I agree with those who found the Thenardiers a little incongruous on film.Much of the film was flawless technically. The art direction is beautiful, as are the costumes. The sound mixers do an amazing job and will certainly receive a very well deserved Oscar.That said, Hooper does his very best to ruin the film. Good God, who let this man graduate from television? He shoots his films up close and edits them maniacally like they're episodes of PBS Masterpiece Theatre, which works to an extent in TKS but comes off as claustrophobic and narrow in a huge production like this. There were points in which I felt the gorgeous set design was being completely wasted on him. There are definitely scenes where the intimate approach works; "I Dreamed a Dream" and "Valjean's Soliloquy" really benefit from Hooper's direction. Other numbers, however--especially those in which characters must interact with one another ("Master of the House" is a good example)--seem trivial and pointless without smoother editing and broader framing. Scenes at the barricade are especially jarring. This is a revolution, not a freaking food fight.In the end, however, the strength of the source material and the excellent ensemble mostly manage to conceal Hooper's flaws as a director.B/B+, 7.5-8/10

[Ezen Baklattan]

Everything I could have asked for from a Les Mis movie. The ensemble nails it, and the emotion is perfect.

[The Movie Man]

Barks, Redmayne, Crowe, SBC/HBC and Seyfried are all excellent, but despite Hathaway's limited screentime, her presence his felt the most in the film. Haunting and very effective performance.Jackman is VERY good in this but DDL is winning. Like you say, it's dead set.

I like how Hathaway's character came back for the last scene, that made me feel like she was more in the movie...as she was in the first parts and then at the end you are reminded of her again.Also I agree and was fine with Crowe, especially since he was the authority, he had a harsher singing tone.

[The Movie Man]

I felt that Barks didn't exude emotion quite as well as Hathaway, probably simply because she acted on the stage version which didn't require that much emotion.

Agree, Hathaway songs had so much emotion, especially compared to Barks. Even Hathaway's last song, without the extra emotion, was as good as Barks????

[The Movie Man]

Boy, without an intermission, this was LONG. My ass and eyes are both sore.With that said, it was also pretty damn incredible. Direction was better than noted, and the sets and music were excellent. Fantastic job creating the world. The performances made the movie. Jackman, Hathaway, Redmayne, SBC, and my dawg Aaron Tveit were awesome, but I think that the best in show was Samantha Barks. What an amazing singer and actress, and so pretty too. If I was Marius, I would have gone with her. Crowe is fine when he's singing low, but when he tries to belt, he crumbles. He butchered one of my favorite songs in the show, Stars. I didn't like Seyfried's quavering voice, either. But overall, I really enjoyed it and am very glad I saw it Christmas. A-

I agree that Marius should have liked Barks...but maybe as they were friendly in the gang, he never thought of her that way.....until her death scene???And talking about long movies > I saw Les Miz & Django on the same day, so that is 2 movies in 5 hours (though Django flew, even though I saw it 2nd.And I could have seen 4 Movies for 10 + hours but I couldn't do that to myself > Les Mis, Django, Hobbit and Lincoln, for starters, as there were still 5 other movies playing.

[The Movie Man]

I wish actors could receive Oscars for their cumulative performances in a year. Hathaway for TDKR/LM, Matthew McConaughey for Killer Joe/Bernie/Magic Mike, Jessica Chastain for Tree of Life/The Debt/Take Shelter/Coriolanus/The Help.

Doesn't SAG or some other award, give the acting award for the whole year's body of work???

[fishstick]

Doesn't SAG or some other award, give the acting award for the whole year's body of work???

Not SAG. Some critic organizations do. NBR gave MM a cumulative award for Magic Mike/Killer Joe.I must be the only one who didn`t feel Fantine`s presence throuout the movie nor found her part better than the rest. She`s a stupid ass character so I really couldn`t relate to her. For me, the movie really took off in the second half from In My Life/Heart Full of Love onwards. Edited December 29, 2012 by fishnets

[The Movie Man]

Not SAG. Some critic organizations do. NBR gave MM a cumulative award for Magic Mike/Killer Joe.

I must be the only one who didn`t feel Fantine`s presence throuout the movie nor found her part better than the rest. She`s a stupid ass character so I really couldn`t relate to her. For me, the movie really took off in the second half from In My Life/Heart Full of Love onwards.

well that wasn't a good place to live when you weren't on top, and she had the extra burden of needing money for her daughter.

Also just look at how unfair the life of Jean Valjean was, that probably only turnede out good, was because of the expensive goods that he received from the priest.

[fishstick]

Fantine is stupid because she went into prostituion instead of going back to the factory and pretty much offering to sleep with the boss to get her job back. In the end of the day, that was a better long term option. And by boss I mean Valjean. If you are ready to sell sex for money than try to get the job back first. But stupid bitch...eh, just stupid. I get that the point was that her innocence sent her downspiraling but she came off as only stupid.

[The Movie Man]

Fantine is stupid because she went into prostituion instead of going back to the factory and pretty much offering to sleep with the boss to get her job back. In the end of the day, that was a better long term option. And by boss I mean Valjean. If you are ready to sell sex for money than try to get the job back first. But stupid bitch...eh, just stupid. I get that the point was that her innocence sent her downspiraling but she came off as only stupid.

well as she said in the scene, she tells JV about her daughter, she thought JV didn't care, as he passed the probablem to the foreman. And who knows how much they knew about JV? Did they know he was extra caring, or would you figure he would just agree with foreman's decision.Also your answer isn't very smart, JV was a respected business man AND THE MAYOR, so I think there is no way to even think of that....plus making that proposal, could even get her thrown in jail.Sorry, I don't buy that she should have done that.

[fishstick]

That doesn`t change the fact that the character isn`t compelling and smart. I get that the whole point was that she was pure inside and that her sacrifice pays off in that Cosette gets to live a happy and proesperous life but, IMO, it`s something that isn`t relatable nowdays. Like Ana Karenina. Nobody`s reading that book anymore because it isn`t relatable to our times. The characters aren`t.

[Blankments]

I loved it essentially from beginning to end. Okay, maybe that's an exaggeration, since the half hour focused on Marius and the Barricade wasn't nearly as compelling as Jean Valjean's story, but it was still great. Although he was better than I expected, Crowe was a definite weakpoint. Really liked Cohen and Hathaway was great as expected, but Jackman gave the best performance of his career. Even though it won't happen, I'll be rooting for an upset at the Oscars for Jackman to win; much more compelling than DDL IMO. Music was beautiful, cinematography worked fine IMO, and all in all, it was a great movie. I'll definitely be seeing it again in a theater with better sound though.

I was thinking of what to give it as a grade. It felt like an A movie because Crowe does take it down a bit, but it was a lot better than some of my A+ movies. So, I feel as though I must give an A+, a success on nearly all levels.

[The Movie Man]

I loved it essentially from beginning to end. Okay, maybe that's an exaggeration, since the half hour focused on Marius and the Barricade wasn't nearly as compelling as Jean Valjean's story, but it was still great. Although he was better than I expected, Crowe was a definite weakpoint. Really liked Cohen and Hathaway was great as expected, but Jackman gave the best performance of his career. Even though it won't happen, I'll be rooting for an upset at the Oscars for Jackman to win; much more compelling than DDL IMO. Music was beautiful, cinematography worked fine IMO, and all in all, it was a great movie. I'll definitely be seeing it again in a theater with better sound though.

I was thinking of what to give it as a grade. It felt like an A movie because Crowe does take it down a bit, but it was a lot better than some of my A+ movies. So, I feel as though I must give an A+, a success on nearly all levels.

I was thinking that the sound was disappointing so I have to see it in a better theater, for the sound. But I guess it will never equal a small theater with a live band/orcestra.

[The Movie Man]

PS. This was a movie that I wish I saw on a big IMAX screen with that loud sound speakers. Could or Should they have done Les Mis in IMAX????

[Blankments]

Well, the theater I went to isn't my usual theater, and it didn't have as good a sound system as my usual theater... I'm pretty sure it was in mono. I usually don't care about sound, but this movie kinda requires great sound.

[Webslinger]

This film adaptation of Les Miserables was my first experience with the material in any form, and it mostly lives up to the hype. While this version, like the stage musical, obviously condenses Victor Hugo's very long novel, it nevertheless displays a huge scope and earns virtually all of its lengthy running time. While it probably wouldn't hurt to have some familiarity with the storyline and the music (at least beyond "I Dreamed a Dream," which is planted firmly enough in mainstream consciousness that even viewers who haven't seen the musical will probably be familiar with it going in), I found the story to be easy to get wrapped up in, and the music is good enough that the fact that almost all of the film is sung ceases to be a distraction after the first 15 minutes or so. It practically goes without saying that Anne Hathaway is the standout in the cast. Even though Fantine is in only a small portion of the movie, she leaves more of a mark than any other character, thanks to Hathaway's remarkably invested work. It would be an overstatement to say that her performance of "I Dreamed a Dream" on its own seals the deal for the Best Supporting Actress Oscar - she's terrific in each of her other scenes as well - but that number is so beautifully done that it lingers more clearly in the memory than any other scene in the film. That being said, the rest of the cast is also very good. Hugh Jackman lives up to the promise of his casting by interpreting Valjean as an incredibly sympathetic character driven by conscience, and delivers one his best performances to date. Samantha Barks gives the most underrated performance in the film, as she delivers heart-wrenching work as Eponine. Eddie Redmayne and Amanda Seyfried are also good (if a little bland), but Barks is the one in that love triangle I can't shake from memory. Russell Crowe is also effective as the imposing Javert; perhaps it's because I'm unfamiliar with other interpretations of the character, but I didn't see much of a problem with his casting. As musical adaptations go, this one falls in line with the likes of Dreamgirls and Sweeney Todd: while perhaps not as effective as its source material is onstage, it's powerful enough on film to win over viewers that are new to the experience.

A-

[fishstick]

I have a question about the barricade fiasco. Never tried to learn more about that part of history but did they think they could instigate the second French Revolution? That wa smy impression because they expected people to rise and they didn`t.

Edited December 31, 2012 by fishnets