Les Misérables (2012, UK)

I have such mixed feelings on this one. I loved parts and I really disliked parts. I had never seen this musical in any form before, so I'm not sure how much of that is the musical and how much is the adaptation. For instance, I thought that a lot of the story was very jerky and disjointed. In middle or high school I had read an abridged version of the novel, and I remember there being a lot more to it than was found in the musical. I remember there being more Fantine, more of young Cosette, more of Marius and his buddies, more to Jean Valjean's story and his relationship to Javert... just more everything! In fact, a quick glance at Wikipedia tells me I'm not wrong: "the novel elaborates upon the history of France, the architecture and urban design of Paris, politics, moral philosophy, antimonarchism, justice, religion, and the types and nature of romantic and familial love." So clearly the point of the story suffered in the condensing process and made the historical parts of the plot harder to follow.

Anyway, to the music. I really enjoyed the big "group" numbers, "Look Down," "ABC Café / Red and Black," "One Day More," and "Do You Hear the People Sing?" I liked the Thénardiers' "Master of the House" for similar reasons, but I didn't like the Thénardiers at all. I don't know if they were solely for comic relief for a musical with a very serious subject or if Helena Bonham Carter and Sacha Baron Cohen were just too over the top (somehow I think it's the latter), but they were just too distracting. I also thought a lot of the individual numbers were overdone, as if they were trying to perform on stage and project the emotion, forgetting that the audience is much more immediate in film. They had the right idea, but it was just too much. For instance, Fantine's "I Dreamed a Dream" and Valjean's "Valjean's Soliloquy." However, I was absolutely enchanted by young Cosette's "Castle on a Cloud" and thought Éponine's "On My Own" and Marius's "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables" were beautifully done. (Although I must say, despite my love for Eddie Redmayne, I thought a little bit of that song was out of his range. Either that or his voice cracks way too much when he is crying and singing!) In general, I thought Éponine, Marius, young Cosette, and the ABCs were the big standouts in this film. Lastly, I was very underwhelmed with both Hugh Jackman and Russell Crowe's singing abilities. Jackman wasn't terrible, but I think he would be much better with more chipper-sounding music. Crowe just didn't enunciate or emote much at all, which made his multitude of songs very jarring (despite some seemingly beautiful lyrics about the stars especially).

Of course visually it was stunning: sets, costumes, makeup, hair. The main exceptions were the Thénardiers (who just stood out too much visually as well) and the prostitutes who Fantine takes up with (they were garish, as they should have been, but something about them was too much as well). My friend informs me that the role of the priest was played by the "original" Jean Valjean, so that was cool too.

Now I've downloaded the soundtrack so I can start listening and memorizing the words, which will help me get a better feel before I watch it again. I also think I may need to read the book (unabridged this time), because it really is a fantastic tale and I know there's so much more to it.

Rating: 3.5 

The Court Jester (1955, U.S.)

I saw this film for the first time when I was 10 years old, and I loved it from that moment until this day.

Danny Kaye was a funny, talented man, and this one showcases his talent like nothing I've ever seen.

The basic plot is that the rightful kind of England, an infant with a purple pimpernel birthmark, has had his throne taken by an evil man. A group in the forest, led by a Robin Hood-type character, is trying to restore the throne to the baby. Somehow, a sweet and somewhat simple man named Hawkins (Kaye) ends up posing as the king's new court jester, to infiltrate the court. The princess falls for Hawkins, the king falls for Hawkins' partner in crime, the princess's maid is a witch who starts casting spells and poisoning cups. This is where one of the best comic scenes in history happens. "The pellet with the poison's in the vessel with the pestle. The chalice from the palace is the brew that is true!" But then one cup breaks, and we have to worry about the flagon with the dragon!

Add song, dance, more witty dialogue, and some classic physical comedy and this has to be one of the best comedies of all time. Like I said, I love it.

Rating: 4.5

Enchanted (2007, U.S.)

I wasn't expecting too much from this one, but I actually ended up liking it. A mixed live action and animated film is always risky, but I think it worked in this case. Amy Adams is a fairytale princess who is sent to New York City in the real world by an evil queen. Princess Giselle begins to change her views on life and love after meeting a handsome lawyer played by Patrick Dempsey.

Patrick Dempsey was just an unfortunate casting choice. The man is not a great actor, or even that attractive. Thankfully, Amy Adams is so vivacious she takes over the screen, and everyone else pales in comparison anyway. (Also, casting Idina Menzel in a minor, non-singing sort of role is really unfortunate.) Anyway, plus Susan Sarandon as the evil witch, and this was pretty engaging for a kids' flick.

As for music, wow. This was Disney at its best, especially Princess Giselle's house cleaning song. I was almost tempted to download the soundtrack!

Rating: 3.5

Bride and Prejudice (2004, UK)

I never felt the urge to watch this movie, but sometimes you have to do things that make your friends happy. Well, this film did not make me very happy. To be fair, I have to say that I will never see anyone but Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy. (I even refuse to see the 2005 version, much to many people's consternation.)

I will say a few good things about it. Mostly, I loved the Bollywood aspect. When people just randomly broke into choreographed song and dance in the middle of the street or a party, it was awesome. Especially when Naveen Andrews was involved, and looking so sexy.

Otherwise, it was pretty dumb. There was no chemistry between the actors, bad acting (I know one of my friends loves Martin Henderson, but please), bad writing... Miss Austen would not be pleased. Just say no.

Rating: 2.5

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954, U.S.)

I love musicals, and there is rarely one that I don't like. However, this one ranks up (or down) there with West Side Story. There was just something about it that was all wrong. Too cheesy, badly written, terrible acting... I can't put my finger on it, but I just didn't like it that much.

However, I can see the appeal in the story. Perhaps one day I will see a stage project that redeems this musical in my eyes. I hope so.

Rating: 2.5

High Society (1956, U.S.)

It was next to impossible for me to look at this film fairly, since I saw The Philadelphia Story (with Grant and Hepburn) first and loved it so much. I think adding music to it could have been a good idea, but the music they added for this version just didn't fit in that well, seamlessly integrating into the story. I did love that the film was opened and closed by Louis Armstrong himself, as if he were some kind of omniscient narrator. There was also one duet by Sinatra and Crosby that was really good, but that was one song out of many.

Most of the lines seemed to be the same from the earlier film (after all, they were both based on the same play), but the delivery just didn't seem as good for a lot of it. Well, that's not totally fair either. The biggest problem was the main actress. I really don't see what all the fuss was over Grace Kelly. Her performance was nothing but blah, and she couldn't come anywhere near Hepburn. Sinatra and Crosby were quite good, and they seemed to have some chemistry with each other that helped make up for Kelly's lack of pizazz. I think this is the first Sinatra movie I've seen, and I was quite favorably impressed with him. He was probably as good as the guy who played Mike in the earlier film. Crosby was also good, but not overly so. Still, his role was previously played by Cary Grant, and you can't top him in my book, so maybe he was better than I give him credit for.

I would say that if you like musicals and/or one of the earlier versions of The Philadelphia Story, you should see this. But I'm not sure you should. If you want to see it, just don't expect it to blow you away. Do expect it to make you want to hunt down some more Sinatra and/or Cosby films.

Rating: 3.0

Mamma Mia! (2008, U.S.)

I didn't have very strong feelings about this film one way or the other, but there hasn't been much else to see in the theater this summer, and my ABBA-fan friend needed some serious cheering up, so I decided to take her to Mamma Mia!. I do not regret it at all.

I love musicals, of course. The '70s, on the other hand, I am not so fond of. Consequently, I've never listened to ABBA. Big mistake. All of the numbers in Mamma Mia! are catchy and fun—so fun that you might just want to run home and buy the soundtrack, like I did. The dance sequences are just absolutely ridiculous (and often hilarious), but they work really well. It's obvious that the script was written for the music rather than the music being written for the script, but it worked well that way.

Of course I have nothing but good things to say about the actors. Amanda Seyfried probably has a good career ahead of her, and she has a beautiful voice. Meryl Streep I like more and more as she gets older. Of course I love Colin Firth, and he was great. And I was so excited to see Stellan Skarsgård in a part where he wasn't a bad guy or some such (i.e. Bootstrap Bill)—actually, he was so adorable in this film I could just eat him up. Of the three "dads" in the movie, Pierce Brosnan was my least favorite. I've never been a big Brosnan fan, but he was still pretty good. I don't know about his singing though. Well, to be fair, his voice wasn't awful, but he sure does make funny faces when he sings. I think it's from trying to maintain an American accent.

So I don't know what else to say. Great music. Beautiful scenery. Fun dancing. Hilarious situational comedy. Stellar cast. Ends with a twist. Good, good stuff.

Rating: 4.0

Newsies (1992, U.S.)

Newsies is my friend Jennifer's favorite movie. It's a musical. It's historical. So why haven't I seen it before now? Good question! I was about two minutes into the film when I decided that I was just going to have to like it. Everything about it was great, from the opening credits to the final number. And 18-year-old (pre-Little Women!) Christian Bale... what's not to like? He was actually quite a good singer and dancer, although it seemed like they left him out of as many dance sequences as possible. Strange.

The main thing I had to complain about was that there could have been more musical numbers. And a bit of the choreography was pretty lame, but most of it was amazing and fresh, for lack of a better word.

Really, I don't know what else to say about this film. One of a kind. Makes me yearn for the glory days of Disney, when they had class. Now it's garbage like Hannah Montana. Oh, to be young again.

Rating: 4.0

The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975, UK/U.S.)

Seeing as I'm such a cinephile, people are always surprised when I haven't seen certain movies. I would say Rocky Horror is probably one of those, and that has now been corrected. I figured this was going to be one of those movies I either loved or hated, but I was wrong about that. My overall response was just "eh." It was okay. I can see how it must have been revolutionary and amazing back in the day, and I can definitely see why it had a cult following and was banned in some countries, but I wasn't floored or anything. I think the best thing I could say about it was that it was a pretty good B movie.

I did of course enjoy it more thanks to my recent obsession with Velvet Goldmine. I'm really glad I saw VG before I saw Rocky Horror, because I felt like I was much more prepared with some knowledge of the '70s and glam rock -- which were clearly a huge influence on this musical. And crazy as those glam fans of the '70s were, I can see the appeal of a man in makeup, platform boots, and androgynous clothes. Even if it's Tim Curry. Not that I don't love Tim Curry--he's an amazing actor--but he's more interesting than sexy as a cross dresser. And on the subject of actors, young Susan Sarandon running around in a bra and slip, changing from innocent young future wife to lustful man-chaser overnight... too weird.

Rating: 2.5