Les Miserables


 So let me start by saying that Les Miserables, the movie with Liam Neeson, Uma Thurman, and Claire Daines in 1998 was very, very good. And the broadway musical is really good, too. But the book is better than both by far. It's one of my five favorite books of all time. Adventure, romance, redemption, history, life lessons - it's got everything. Beautifully written by Victor Hugo.

I had high hopes for the movie with Russell Crowe, Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway, and Helena Bonham Carter that came out in 2012 (that was ten years ago??) but it was a HUGE disappointment. I know many people loved it, so I'm not going to lay into it. I'm just going to mention the few things I didn't like. First, Russell Crowe can't sing, and that became abundantly clear during the movie, which for some reason (that I didn't like) was trying hard to be a musical. I REALLY hated the melodramatic way he glared at everyone in the factory while he was looking for Jean Valjean. But the main thing I didn't like was how the camera seemed intent to climb up the nose of every actor. VERY TIGHT closeups, revealing every blob of snot and dripping eyelash, was the only way to film these actors apparently. It made the movie very gross and not at all full of the beautiful romance of all other renditions, book, film or stage.

But if you want to see a good movie version, watch the 1998 with Liam Neeson. It's so well done and beautiful. It does a great job capturing the magic of the book.

I think both versions were PG, and the language, sex, nudity, and violence were all very toned down and stylized.

I highly recommend the 1998 version. I point out that many people loved the 2012 version, so if you want to see for yourself, I'd be interested to hear your thoughts.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

the Banshees of Inisherin

Image
I just started watching this. I'm about five minutes into it. it already grabbed me. this is gonna be good.  UPDATE: So I finished this one and it's a masterpiece. The SUBJECT of the story is twisted and interesting. One character, pictured on the right above, decides one day that he doesn't like another character (played by Colin Farrell, pictured on the right). He tells him to stop talking to him. The Colin Farrell character refuses to stop, so the other guys says every time he talks to him, he's going to cut off one of his own fingers. That's the kind of twisted I mean. I'm not going to give you any more spoilers. But the tone and setting and mood of the movie is the real reason to watch it. You get TOTALLY drawn into the life of these simple people living on an island off the coast of Ireland. It's a beautiful and tragic movie that explores human relationships and their importance and limitations.  I highly recommend it, though it's not for the faint...
Read more

lost in translation

Image
 I had a funny experience when I watched Lost in Translation the first time. I watched it with some friends who were not the brightest lights in the harbor. And they did NOT get it. They kept complaining about little things throughout the movie that they were clearly not understanding. I thought that it was extremely apropos and hilarious that they were misunderstanding a movie called Lost in Translation. This is a wonderful movie. It's slow and warm and deep. It's about a friendship between two unlikely people, played by Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson. There is sexual tension between them, and I'm not going to give away the movie by telling you what happens, but I found it delightful. It's directed by Sofia Coppola, and it was the reason I fell in love with her as a director. It's rated R for language.  I highly recommend it if you like slow, warm movies about unlikely friendships - and great acting and writing.
Read more

puss in boots

Image
 I went in with high expectations. It surpassed them. Puss in Boots (2022) is the best movie I've seen recently. It's laugh out loud funny throughout the whole movie. The writing is witty and snappy and really fun. Antonio Banderas is perfect reprising the role of Puss in Boots. Salma Hayek is fantastic as Kitty Softpaws. I don't know the actor playing Perrito, but he's very funny in this role. John Mulaney is great and nasty as the evil Jack Horner. And Florence Pugh is fun as Goldilocks with her adopted family of three bears.  All of the characters are searching for a map that will lead them to a wishing star, and that star will grant the person one wish. I won't give spoilers by telling you what they are all wishing for or what happens. But the end is VERY satisfying. The movie begins with a song that is EXTREMELY catchy and gives us one of the best movie openings I've seen since Capt Jack Sparrow stepped off the sinking ship in Pirates of the Caribbean.  I H...
Read more