My Ten Favorite Movies of 2012

It seemed like 2012 was an odd year for movies, at least for me. I was going back through all my blog entries to jog my memory on what I had seen, and to a lesser extent, what I hadn't seen. There wasn't a lot that I saw that really stuck with me in the first half of the year, there was some, but not a lot. So this year seemed really backloaded in the second half of the year. On top of that there were some disappointments and what not along the way, but such is life. While my top ten list is hardly surprising (not a lot of sleepers here) they were the ones I enjoyed the most in 2012. Two things: 1) I, obviously haven't seen everything that came out this year and 2) of course, these are just my personal favorites and not the BEST movies of the year.

With that in mind, here we go:

10) The Dark Knight Rises

 Haters gonna hate, right? When this first came out people were like "Whoa! This is great!" Fans and critics alike seemed to enjoy it. But then as time went on the tide of opinion started to turn. So I said, let me rematch this and see what I think. In it's original run in the theater I saw it twice. And when I watched it again, I can see that it definitely has flaws, I'm not saying it doesn't I'm just saying that even with all its warts it was still really good and really entertaining to me. Is it The Dark Knight? No. But I still think it was a solid end to Christopher Nolan's trilogy. And now Nolan is free to do...well, whatever he wants. I can't wait to see what he comes up with next.

9) The Avengers

This Joss Whedon fella is something, huh? I think he's gonna go far. One of the many things I liked about The Avengers, a movie, for all intents and purposes should not have worked, besides the fact that it might be the most pure fun I had at the movies this year, is Joss Whedon's script. Seriously when they are flying around on their, uh, their Helo-Base or whatever and there was no city-destroying fighting going on, it could very well have been a workplace office/dramedy that you were watching with guys, and ladies, in capes and masks.

8) Argo

Sure, Ben Affleck took liberties (in more than one way considering he is supposed to be playing a Hispanic man) but man, was this story just begging to be put up on the big screen? It had everything, including a super suspenseful last half hour, which is pretty tough to pull off when one already knows the ending.

7) Silver Linings Playbook

David O. Russell showing that if you take convention and tweak it a little bit, you can have a crowd-pleasing romantic dramedy without it being terrible or pandering. Of course, some of that comes down to the cast, particularly Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper.

6) The Raid: Redemption

Nothing can ever top Die Hard, yet, as far as classic action movies go. But The Raid: Redemption is like Die Hard on meth. I can see how some people might find this wearying after a little while, but I found it so nuts and so exciting that it never bored me. Showcasing the martial art of Pencak Silat it truly is a non stop action movie the likes of which I personally had not seen before.


Seriously, that's not false advertising, the whole movie is like that. It's unreal. Also features the illest rookie cop of all time.

5) Cabin In The Woods

And here's the other Joss Whedon entry. The less you know going into this, of course, the better...believe me when I say it goes in a crazy, unexpected, amazing direction. Also helped by the Richard Jenkins rule in that he makes anything he is in about 20% better.

4) Zero Dark Thirty

As much about the procedural of finding the world's number one terrorist, as it is a look into what exact it takes to do that and the toll it can take on a person. In a weird sort of way, it is the anti-action movie where there is no real, clear ra-ra moment, and that even in triumph life will keep moving on.

3) Moonrise Kingdom

This goes without saying, but if you hate Wes Anderson, just steer clear of this one. Because this might be the MOST Wes Anderson of Wes Anderson movies. And there isn't anything in here that hasn't cropped up in other parts of his other movies. I dunno: maybe it's the young love at it's heart. But I do know the feeling I get is that it is his best live action movie since The Royal Tennenbaums.

2) Looper

Oh man. A futuristic, sci-fi action adventure movie that also involves telepaths and takes place mostly on a farm. It also is wrapped up in big ideas and big emotions. Just genuinely great stuff.

Rian Johnson might have made the movie music find of the year with this song by a duo from the 60's, Chuck & Mac, called Powerful Love which plays over the end credits. Holy crap is it good. He found it by accident while he was doing the movie, and it works SO well. Might be the movie music find of the year.


1) Django Unchained

No surprise here really.

Honorable Mentions:
-Sleepwalk With Me
-Seven Psychopaths
-21 Jump Street


-Kevin

One more thing about Django Unchained...

Okay, there was one more thing I wanted to add in my review but maybe it takes a little longer to explain. Unlike Quentin Tarantino I am a bit more versed in spaghetti westerns than so-called "slavesploitation" movies like Drum (although it has been sitting in my Netflix Instant queue for a long time) and Mandingo, I am sure that cinematically-speaking, Gone With The Wind has been put on cinematic blast before, particularly in the late 60's and 70's.  But it seems like it took someone like Tarantino and with his pedigree (and let's face it, because of his name) to put it on blast in  a more major way than a lot of those B and exploitation movies used to. (Of course, Tarantino's knowledge about all these genres is, to put it mildly, pretty extensive).

What do I mean by all that? Well, first to start, I think Gone With The Wind is important and worth acknowledging but overrated. Setting aside the fact that rape was a fairly big part of the "romance" between Rhett and Scarlet there are other issues that I think Tarantino, at the very least, helps to give the lie to. These are all from Margaret Mitchell's book and the movie: Blacks were happier as slaves, plantation life was idyllic, the Confederacy were the god guys because the men that fought for it were always perfect gentlemen. All of it bullshit, of course, and all wrapped up in an "epic" movie like "they just don't make any more". It always gets brought up as one of the greatest movies of all time, and while it's well acted and beautifully shot it is highly problematic.

In a lot of ways critics of Tarantino can probably say the same thing about Django Unchained, and while it might not be wholly successful to many, part of the reason I liked Django Unchained is the idea that he tries to show what a lie that movie and Margaret Mitchell puts forth. And that lie is basically that old lie about the Plantation South being the "good old days" instead of being a disgusting system rife with atrocities. Tarantino adds the sweet plum of slavemasters being killed off of course, it is a revenge fantasy, and while it might not be able to convey just how horrible slavery really was (which would be really hard) I think it takes steps to show just how twisted of an enterprise it really was. As well as showing, no matter how they dressed or attempted to act like some bullshit aristocrats from France or something, how deeply corrupt the people who owned an traded slaves were. Of course this film is set a couple years before the Civil War, but no matter really. It looks as good and you don't have to deal with Margaret Mitchell Pro-Plantation horseshit.

Now, some might say, "But it was a different time, you can't expect people in the 30's to share our modern views." Well that really depends: is the view that blacks in the South were happier as slaves because they knew their role? Is it the view that though the men of the Confederacy were naive, they were ultimately gentlemen, unlike the brutes that fought for the Union who ruined the purity of Plantation life? Is it the view that even freed slaves preferred a life of servitude over emancipation? This is not only revisionist, but at best apologist and worst supremacist.

Look, I know that Django Unchained could certainly come under fire for being revisionist. But even with all it's B-movie/spaghetti western trappings and anachronistic music, at least it is somewhat more truthful about what life was like for people in the South, and that that Southern aristocracy was not only built on atrocities but also on lies. (I think of the Alexander Dumas mention/moment...) So perhaps not historically, but, in a way, cinematically Tarantino gives the lie ultimately to what the filmmakers did so man years ago with Gone With The Wind, and how because it is so "grand" it still sits up there as "one of the greatest movies" but beyond it looking nice and being acted well, there is a lot there that is, for lack of a better term, a turn off.

-Kevin

One Of My Favorite Movie Music Moments of 2012

So we watched Pitch Perfect the other night. Don't laugh, it's actually an enjoyable little time waster and not as annoyingly Glee-y as I thought it would be. And it just so happens it contains what might be one of my favorite music moments of the year. It might not exactly be the most impressive number of the whole movie, those come towards the end in the final competition (um, spoiler alert?) But, story wise, it might be the most important music moment. So a little background: the four main acapella groups at this college (I know, I know) meet up in am empty pool for what is known as the Riff-Off. Basically it's a freestyle acapella showdown/game of vocal wordplay where you steal songs from the other groups by jumping in on a song on a certain word. You can see it at the beginning of the clip but a category is chosen and the competition goes from there. So they trade off on Salt 'N' Pepa's "Let's Talk About Sex", and Foreigner's "Feels Like The First Time" etc. Then Anna Kendrick (Becca) jumps in with Dr. Dre's opening verse from the STONE COLD CLASSIC "No Diggity" by Blackstreet.  It's the central moment of the movie, where she finally drops the cool-girl attitude, showing her musical chops, showing her "street" cred, as well as showing she can bring something new to the Bellas (her group's name) setlist. Everyone on the Bellas gets to show off their unique personality and skill visually during the song (Rebel Wilson grabbing her tummy on "got game by the pound" earns her boss status). It shows the group truly coming together and it takes the movie a while to get back to that. But, seriously, who can resist "No Diggity"? Not me.



And here is the original:




A close second might just be Jessica Lange singing "The Name Game" on American Horror Story (Of course, that's television but never mind that)



-Kevin

Zero Dark Thirty (2012)

When I see ads for Zero Dark Thirty, it seems like they are trying to market the movie as a thriller, not a thriller ala a Mission Impossible movie maybe but an action thriller definitely, when it definitely is not. Oh sure, there's tension, there's suspense, but James Bond this is not. This is a procedural through and through. What it does so well is highlight, in a way, how life isn't like those action movies. No story ever actually ends, not really, not in real life, and real life never offers the kind of closure we want. Even Osama Bin Laden in a body bag isn't the end, not for the men that went in and killed him or the people that did the work of hunting him down. Even when it finally happens, it doesn't feel like a big moment, and in the movie, in a weird way, it is not played as one. It is a moment wrapped up in codewords on the radio and a long trip home, it's seizing the hard drives and the research that is going to go in to looking for what's next. It is sitting alone and crying after everything is all said and done because you have done something big, but you also just spent 12 years of your life doing something, one thing, that you put your whole person into, and now it's all over, and what are you going to do with yourself, and what have you already done to yourself to, sometimes terrible things, and what have you become. 


-Kevin

Two Sides Of The Same Coin (sorta)

Django Unchained (2012)

In the span of two days I saw what might be my favorite movie of the year and what might be one of the worst movies I have seen this year. Let's get that one done first: Ted is terrible, hackneyed, and obvious. And Seth MacFarlane is awful. It doesn't even merit a full review.

The other movie? Django Unchained. A movie I have been really anticipating and, to me, I wasn't disappointed. But the fact of the matter is, I saw this movie two days ago and not only has it stuck with me but I am not even sure how to discuss it. Phoebe Robinson does a really good job of discussing a lot of the controversy surrounding it and points out one of the first things I thought of: the irony (if I am using the word correctly) that Quentin Tarantino can get the backing and money to make such a movie but a black director wouldn't have been able to scare up the kind of capital for it. Leave it to Quentin Tarantino to make a controversial movie based on historical atrocities in a B-movie setting, that gets people talking about it. I am sure it wasn't exactly what he intended, or maybe it was, but I have to think that might be one positive: it gets people talking about these things, on (or near) the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, it still seems like America has never really had an honest discussion about slavery in any real sense. I think of Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds  and how Germany had to deal with Naziism in a very real sense, and how they eventually had to view it as a national shame. I feel like slavery has never really been dealt with in the same manner in the United States, like it should have. Case in point, about 10 years ago I went down to New Orleans for New Years and we went on a tour of a local plantation, and in that tour they showed us the main house and what not but they never showed us the slave quarters (we could explore them ourselves-but still) and at one point the tour guide even started referring to the people coming in and working there as "contractors" and we were like "no, they were slaves". I am probably being over dramatic, but I think Django Unchained could at least be a starting point for a discussion. I mean, for me, I couldn't stop thinking about it for a couple days and not even just the movie, but all the implications surrounding it. (Of course, then getting on the internet and going down that rabbit hole was a whole other thing....) But I don't think you can escape those implications when looking at the movie itself...and what of the movie itself? Well, I actually liked it better than Inglourious Basterds and I liked that movie a lot. Here this might be easier in list form:

1) Django Unchained works on two levels. The surface level is that of a simple revenge flick, of the wronged taking up arms in a mission of revenge. From that point of view, it’s a movie that has been made a hundred times, usually with Clint Eastwood as the hero. The movie works well in that genre. Played straight, it stands with the best of Western vengeance tales, spiced with Tarantino trademarks of ultra- violence,perfect music, and humorous asides. But the fact that this particular version of the Man with No Name is a former slave cannot be overlooked. The implications of that, and the focus of the story on slavery itself, construct the film’s second level and elevate it from effective genre film into something more.

2) Christoph Waltz was born to speak Tarantino dialogue.

3) I wasn't sure about the casting of Jamie Foxx before I saw the movie, but upon seeing it he seems like the perfect choice. This character, in a weird way, reminded me of the non talking version of his Willie Beamon character from Any Given Sunday, ( as Johnny Lieberman points out in his awesome review of that movie: "Last but not least we have Willie “Steamin’” Beamen (Jamie Foxx) as the black man that every single white man automatically hates.").just all swagger and more brooding.

4) I liked the anachronistic music here better than say in Inglourious Basterds. And who has Quentin Tarantino been hanging out with that is hepping him to the likes of Rick Ross!? It wasn't a music moment like say Reservoir Dog's "Stuck In The Middle With You" but that interstitial moment when Rick Ross' 100 Black Coffins plays is pretty amazing. As is whoever's idea it was to mash up James Brown and Tupac was just genius. Chris Rock once said on Marc Meron's WTF Podcast that James Brown was "the blackest man of all time" or words to that effect. Having him mashed up with Tupac at the end of revenge fantasy revolving around slavery is just sublime. Oh and John Legend's original song is really good too.

5) Leonardo DiCaprio is the liveliest I have seen him in years.

Roger Ebert just today posted a piece from the New Yorker looking at Django Unchained, which is interesting. The only way I might disagree with him is he seems to think that Stephen, Samuel L. Jackson's character, the house slave of Leonardo DiCaprio's Calvin Candie, is supposed to be comic relief of some sort but I didn't take the character that way at all. And maybe this is a personal thing, but the character and performance made me uncomfortable more than anything else, and I have to think that that was the intention. But the piece is interesting over all, even though it doesn't change my opinion of the movie.

Oh and also, for some reason it also reminded me of an expanded version of Dave Chappelle's "Haters In Time" sketch. I agree, I'd watch every episode of a slave master getting killed.

Comedy Central

Lincoln (2012)

We honestly didn't mean for this to turn into a themed 2 days at the movies but it just turned out that way. I thought this was interesting, and I like the idea of a biopic that chooses a certain piece of time to focus on someone than say going through their entire life. I mean they both pose their pitfalls but it makes it, well, in some ways much more interesting. There is a lot to like here including, as everyone says, Daniel Day Lewis. Actually, I also really enjoyed Tommy Lee Jones as Thaddeus Stevens, as a history nerd I enjoyed all the back room maneuvering and the smoke and mirrors. But I couldn't help to think of this movie in the shadow of Django Unchained. I am sure Steven Spielberg could care less but it was just a matter of timing. The author mentions this in the piece above, but I couldn't shake this feeling of what WASN'T in Lincoln- this could be a product of showing how insular Washington, DC can be (and is) but besides one scene showing a battle they didn't show much of the civil war, nothing of slavery, and then made dubious decisions to make Abraham Lincoln the only moral compass around in those days, discounting radical abolitionists and, well, even African-Americans. I mean they couldn't get Frederick Douglas in there somewhere? So it looks really nice, and is acted well, and is somewhat interesting, but it ultimately left me cold. And definitely didn't get me thinking the way Django did.

-Kevin

Matt's Top 20 Albums of 2012

With this list representing the third of its kind, I find myself repeating the preamble I have come accustomed to crafting.  Once again, there was a ton of new and amazing music that crossed my path in 2012, and no, in no way do I feel like I heard all that was worth hearing.  Actually, it seems like the more I hear, the less I feel I truly know.  But with me now having access to Spotify and therefore just about any album that has ever been released, at least I can explore more and listen to whatever I want at the drop of a hat.

Like Kevin, this list represents my personal favorites of the year and in no way am I trying to say that they are the best albums released this year.  Of course, my thoughts on this could change over time whether it be in five years or five days.  Either way, it's cool to think about and I enjoyed the challenge of putting this together.  So, without further ado, here you go.

20)  Tennis - Young and Old

Great indie pop from a relatively new husband/wife act from South Carolina.  A lot of it sounds like vintage 50’s surfer music and you can totally picture yourself on a beach listening to a lot of these tunes.  The modernized indie sound is an added plus.

19)  Metric - Synthetica

I had been meaning to get more into this group for years as I kept hearing great songs pop up here and there on the radio.  I finally delved into this album that is packed with power and dance pop gems that for some reason sound ten times better with a woman singing them.   

18) Lord Huron - Lonesome Dreams   

        

A very somber and melodic album from a new band I learned of this year.  There are elements of Fleet Foxes here with a lot of acoustic folk pop songs and harmonies, but for me the songwriting is much more consistent than Fleet Foxes who always seemed overrated to me.  

                                                    

                                                           17)  Bob Dylan - Tempest

Though I’ve never been a huge fan of Dylan’s more recent output, I was surprised by his latest release which I found way more consistent and enjoyable than I thought I would.  Though some of the songs drag on a bit, the overall structures are there and are very solid.  As if he needed to add another great album to his catalogue, he just keeps going.  Which is pretty amazing because in all honesty it seems like he should be dead by now.

16) The Shins - Port of Morrow

I was surprised by how consistent this album was.  I kinda thought the band would be finished once front man James Mercer fired the other three founding members and went off on his own to do some stuff with Danger Mouse, Modest Mouse, and any other mouse he could find.  But he brought the band back this year (or at least the name) and crafted a very solid album of indie pop that proves he is not going anywhere anytime soon. 

15)  Spirituzlized - Sweet Heart Sweet Light

Although I could probably do without two of the longest tracks on this album, the rest is just so good.  This is an act that I just learned of but has been around for many years.  It’s hard to get a grasp on what is going on as the album jumps all over the place (sometimes in the same song) but when it hits, it’s either beautiful and contemplative or frantic and avant-garde.  This may be the most interesting album I’ve heard all year.

14) Beach House - Bloom

Though the album is pretty much the same song over and over again, they sound so good you kinda look past that.  There is a lush and ambient sound to each track and whatever they are doing in the studio with whatever equipment they’re using, this Baltimore based duo has stumbled on to something beautiful.  For their next effort, I might be more critical if they don’t branch out any further, but for now I think I’ll just enjoy this for what it is.

13)  The Raveonettes - Observator

The Raveonettes have been consistently putting out records since I first heard of them back in 2003, and though I very much like their style of combining old 50’s du-wop with a more modern indie rock sound, they have been spotty over the years.  For some reason, this album put everything together on a more consistent level for me and it was nice to hear.

12)  Grimes - Visions

A very catchy dance/pop album with synthesizers all over the place.  Lead singer Clair Boucher’s eerily creepy yet melodic voice sets the tone for a lot of these songs that can make you want to dance or just sit in a daze wondering if you somehow took a hit of acid without realizing it.

11)  Woods - Bend Beyond

Every year a band will release and album and I’ll hear and love it and then get all excited because I feel like I just discovered the next best thing or something and come to find out the band is not new at all but more like six years old.  And then I feel like I don’t know anything at all.  Along with Spiritualized, this indie-folk group from Brooklyn was new to me, but not so much to many others.  On this release, they created an album that at times sounds like experimental Pink Floyd and at others sounds like vintage Band or Crosby Stills & Nash records.  Either way, that’s a win for me.

10) Dinosaur Jr. - I Bet on Sky

Though this band has been around for ages, this record is the first one I ever sat down and listened to and I’m very glad I did.  It took me back a little to the mid-90’s with that alt-rock/grunge sound that was so prevalent at the time.  Oddly enough, it didn’t sound all that dated and included some of the best riffs of the year.  A little voyage into their back catalogue may be in order.

9) Fiona Apple - The Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than The Driver Of The Screw And Whipping Chords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do

Apple’s fourth record in a whopping 16 years was much welcomed, though it did take me a long time to digest and get into it (Almost as long as it takes to get through the ridiculously pretentious title.)  But when I did, I really appreciated her passion, energy, and in some cases schizophrenic mania that came through the speakers.  She’s on some other level.  

8) Sharon Van Etten - Tramp

I never heard of Van Etten before this year, but I was very impressed by this eclectic effort that showcased her strong songwriting skills and beautiful voice.  Equal parts soft melodic tempo and sinister sounding tunes in minor chords, this album is one I could go back to many times over.

7)  Jack White - Blunderbuss

Jack White’s continuous streak of doing no wrong continues on his first solo record that incorporates an eclectic mix of blues infused rock with acoustic ballads and funk based traditional roots rock with country elements.  I know, a little bit of everything, right?  There are several moments here where you just feel like getting up to clap and sing along in many of the gospel like refrains and there is a lot on this album that music lovers of all genres can take something from.  Though it runs a bit long, it holds up and keeps you engaged even during some of the weaker tracks.  

                                    6)  Bruce Springsteen - Wrecking Ball

An excellent release from the Boss that would be much higher on this list had he cut out about four throwaway tracks that also make the album go longer than it should.  But the rest is so good that it demands a high presence on this list.  I also got to see Springsteen live for the 8^th time this year, and I can’t stress this nearly enough:  If you haven’t seen him live yet, make that a priority for 2013. 

5)  Of Monsters and Men - My Head is an Animal

I was first led on to this band by my aunt and I mistakenly thought she was referring to Monsters of Folk.  She kept talking about how awesome they were and I was left with a lukewarm feeling of, “Ehh, that album was alright, but it also came out two years ago.  What’s the big deal?”  But then my cousin jumped in and cleared up the confusion and I went home to check it out.  Chock full of catchy Icelandic pop that reminds me of Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes but even better.  Very full sounds and instruments of all kind along with dual lead vocalists both male and female make this one of the best of the year.

4)  Japandroids - Celebration Rock

This blistering 40 minute 8 track album might not pack a ton of songs, but it really does deliver one of the more raucous indie rock efforts in recent memory.  The guitar drum duo out of Vancouver, Canada pick up that torch from previous noisy two pieces The White Stripes and Black Keys and modernize the sound with more distortion and bombastic sounds that straddle the line between hardcore punk and melodic rock.  It’s a phenomenal album that just gets in there and gets right out without wasting one second, except perhaps for the fireworks exploding sounds that bookend the beginning and end of the record.  Yet, somehow even that fits right in.

3)  Cloud Nothings - Attack on Memory

From the opening seconds of this phenomenal record, you get the feeling that something evil is about to happen.  Building to a crescendo, lead singer Dylan Baldi is screaming as if these words are his last and his style doesn’t deviate much from that the remainder of the album.  And just when you get some idea of what’s going on, the nearly 9 minute epic second track “Wasted Days” comes on and just blows you away.  What would normally be annoying vocals is offset by the wall of sound of guitars drums and bass that are very tight, ferocious, and melodic.  Overall, an excellent indie rock record that gets better the more you listen to it.

2)  Titus Andronicus - Local Business

These guys from New Jersey are probably my favorite new act of the past two years.  Their 2012 release here continues where they left off and they crafted an amazing album that somehow combines hardcore punk, power pop, and prog rock in a way that I have never really heard before.  It’s solid all the way through and just leaves me amazed by how unique and powerful it is.  Excellent, excellent, excellent.

1)  First Aid Kit - The Lion's Roar

As soon as I heard this I loved it.  There is nothing all that groundbreaking with this album, but it includes a complete listing of well-crafted folk pop with lush harmonies and catchy hooks.  It is consistent and the songs vary in structure and tempo enough to keep what would be an otherwise mediocre album into my favorite of the year.  I can’t imagine this ever getting old.

Honorable Mentions:

The Avett Brothers - The Carpenter

Green Day - Uno!

Mumford and Sons - Babel

The Gaslight Anthem - Handwritten

Diiv - Oshin

Delta Spirit - Delta Spirit

Two Door Cinema Club - Beacon

Tanlines - Mixed Emotions

Nude Beach - II

 

- M

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Les Miserables (2012)

So I asked friend-of-the-blog Kate Ehle to write a review of Les Miserables since she is the one person I know that truly loves and is interested in musical theater and she was really excited for this movie. Here's Kate:

Hello and HAPPY NEW YEAR, fine readers of this blog! Kevin has asked me to review Les Misérables (Les Mis) for you. Perhaps it’s because I’m a music school dropout or that I make my living in the OTHER music theater genre (opera) or maybe it’s because I’m a former singer of absolutely ZERO renown that makes me uniquely qualified for this task. But I’m willing to bet that it’s actually because I’m the only one who saw the damn movie. Either way, who cares! I’m here, you’re here, let’s do this!

Les Mis (Schönberg/Boublil) is a musical based on Victor Hugo’s 1862 novel of the same name. Like the name implies, Les Mis is not a happy story. In fact it’s many unhappy stories (heartbreak, loneliness, unrequited love, death, poverty, broken dreams and war, to name but a few awful and very, very sad things) woven together. Sounds awesome, right? Throw in some amazingly epic song and dance numbers and a huge chorus and orchestra and you’ve got the recipe for THE PERFECT MUSICAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I admit that I was a little nervous about a film adaptation…it just seemed too ambitious. But I am happy to report that for the most part, the movie got it right. All the emotion, all the sweeping epic-ness is there and the cinematography is GORGEOUS. This is a pretty, pretty movie, people.

Now, when it comes to singing, I am admittedly a VERY TOUGH critic. I like perfection and that’s pretty much it. And I knew going into the movie theater that there would be some less than perfect voices, but I was sincerely hoping that those who couldn’t sing were chosen for their acting ability. Some casting choices worked and others did not. I’ll now rate the singing from the awesome to the abysmal:

Aaron Tveit (Enjolras) – Aaron has one of my favorite musical theater voices, brilliant and clear. He’s also a fantastic actor. The whole package. My only wish was that he had more screen time.

Eddie Redmayne (Marius) – DAMN. He can sing AND he can cry on cue AND he’s cute? Hello, new celebrity boyfriend!

Samantha Barks (Éponine) – Barks has a beautiful voice and is a fine actor. I recognized her from the 25^th anniversary special that’s on PBS every five minutes. You know, the special that I watch EVERY SINGLE TIME it’s on regardless of whether or not I have 6 free hours to spare? Yeah, that one.

Hugh Jackman (Jean Valjean) – I can forgive a slightly less than perfect voice here because Jackman’s acting was TREMENDOUS. First of all, Valjean’s music is impossible. It requires an amazing range that few people can pull off. And Jackman did it. He over sang, yes, but who cares? He absolutely sold the role and his performance was breathtaking.

Anne Hathaway (Fantine) – Though hers isn’t my favorite voice (I find her pretty brassy and pitch has always been a problem) she can carry a tune and as was the case with Jackman, her acting surpassed her singing so I didn’t mind.

Sacha Baron Cohen (Thénardier) – There’s little Cohen can’t do and his singing was fine. But as we all know, his true gift is comedic timing. And he does not disappoint in his portrayal of the cheating and thieving innkeeper.

Amanda Seyfriend (Cosette) – Oh honey, no. NO NO NO. You certainly look the part and your acting is ok, but YOU CANNOT SING! YOU CANNOT HIT THOSE NOTES! WHAT IS THAT NOISE COMING FROM YOUR MOUTH? AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!  WHY, CASTING DIRECTOR, WHY?!??!?!?!?!

Helena Bonham Carter (Madame Thénardier) – Please stop casting her in every movie adaptation of a musical crazy female role! She butchered Mrs. Lovett in Burton’s Sweeney Todd (I DON’T CARE IF JESSICA FLETCHER IS 900 YEARS OLD! SHE COULD HAVE DONE IT IN HER SLEEP! AND CAN YOU EVEN IMAGINE HER PLAYING OPPOSITE JOHNNY DEPP!???!?!?!?) Anyway, Carter plays the same role in every movie. And she cannot sing. Enough already.

Russell Crowe (Javert) –  I knew from the previews that he couldn’t sing, but I was betting on his acting to pull him through. But there was nothing compelling about his performance, which was such a disappointment because the character is so multi-faceted. My cat Vern could have done better. Maybe I’ll take a video the next time we’re screaming along to the original London cast recording from 1985 which we do like ALL OF THE TIME and send it to Mr. Crowe along with a note from Vern that says “SEE? THIS IS HOW IT’S DONE!”.

I told you I was a harsh critic.

But really, even the few subpar performances couldn’t take away from the magic of the whole. All in all, the movie was every bit the emotional experience I was hoping for. I cried about 95 times. In the first 20 minutes. Pack a box of kleenex, friends. You’re going to need it.

kate ehle

-

cake & ale
design | photography | art
Check out Kate's site: Cake-and-Ale.com