Les Miserables

[TurboPieFire]

So Les Mis.... Nothing can describe how much I love this...
I saw the touring cast when they were in CT back in March I think, wish Les Mis was still on broadway, I'd probably go every day.
SO the movie is coming out, I'm definitely going to go see it like 20 times...

I guess just discuss the amazingness of Les Miserables. If you haven't heard of it... :|

[Kutie Pie]

I haven't seen Les Mis at all, but my mom loves it (possibly more than Phantom of the Opera). She's seen the play at least three times, knows the story by heart, and is excited for the movie. I think she's going to pretty much take me to the theaters with her when it comes out, even though The Hobbit is probably going to be the big thing for December. So whatever, mother-daughter time, I suppose.

If I remember correctly from what Mom's told me, I think this is the one play where the stage is a Lazy Susan turntable, though that might be another play she's seen years ago (do correct me if I'm wrong). She also likes to tell me the rather neat experience of the suicide of Javert from the balcony looking directly down at the stage. When she was in that seat, when Javert jumps into the river, she noticed the bridge was lifted up to give the illusion of height, and when he "hit" the water and tumbles in the current, he was rolling along on the stage. That's always stuck with me. So when I finally do see the play one of these days, the illusion may be ruined for me, but I would love to see it for myself instead of getting it secondhand.

So yeah. I have little to no idea about the story (even if Animaniacs did a Rita and Runt skit about it), but I wouldn't mind seeing either the movie or the play. In which case, I'd probably go with the play over the movie, unless they actually do a hell of a job on it. This movie will either be a love it or hate it for Mom, probably from what I've gathered over her thoughts of movies like with all of the Robin Hood movies she's seen. She might get a little upset if they mess with something or two. (She's kinda nitpicky/butt-hurt like that. Especially with history, oh boy.)

[TurboPieFire]

If I remember correctly from what Mom's told me, I think this is the one play where the stage is a Lazy Susan turntable, though that might be another play she's seen years ago (do correct me if I'm wrong). She also likes to tell me the rather neat experience of the suicide of Javert from the balcony looking directly down at the stage. When she was in that seat, when Javert jumps into the river, she noticed the bridge was lifted up to give the illusion of height, and when he "hit" the water and tumbles in the current, he was rolling along on the stage. That's always stuck with me. So when I finally do see the play one of these days, the illusion may be ruined for me, but I would love to see it for myself instead of getting it secondhand.

Honestly, I had a horrible seat so(3rd last seat, my mom is quite cheap...) I wasn't able to get the illusions quite well, I couldn't tell who is who all of them sounded the same. However I learnt more about from doing research after. I wish could see it again... Though seeing as a movie would be nice and I also with be seeing The Hobbit as my brother is a huge LoR fan.

Oh Wow, how did I miss the clips from the movie. One thing I don't like is the Jean Valjean, Hugh Jackman seems not the right fit, I guess its for the stardom along with Anne Hathaway, but she is great. I feel like "Who am I" should of had more emotion and power, he had more power and emotion after being put into jail for 19 years. Although talking shows emotion, some of the best songs are being toned down, which I don't like especially On My Own, they should NOT mess with it just leave it as it is.

[TheSketchQueen]

Ooooh, Les Mis! My most favorite theatre production EVER! Not to mention, playing Gavroche was AMAZING.

But honestly, the only reason I want to see the movie is because I was in the play. I agree, Hugh Jackman ≠ Jean Valjean. The clips of the movie I have seen were also really slow compared to the recordings I've heard, and it just feels like a rushed mess acting-wise. I also dislike the who they chose to play Javert. He looks more like a beggar person than an officer. Also, the Gavroche looks bored half the time, like he's not putting any effort into it. He also has too round of a face for a boy. So, to be honest with you, I think the high school production we put on will be better, taking into account that one has professionals/actual money and the other has high schoolers/scraps from other plays.

[Kutie Pie]

Honestly, I had a horrible seat so(3rd last seat, my mom is quite cheap...) I wasn't able to get the illusions quite well, I couldn't tell who is who all of them sounded the same. However I learnt more about from doing research after. I wish could see it again...

The whole theater experience is the way it is because of the illusions, whether you got it or not. There are just some seats where, if you pay attention at the right time, you can see the illusion break, but for the most part, that's the fun of it: guessing how they did it. That's why I'm slowly becoming a fan of theater, there's a rather magical atmosphere about it. Like when a friend of mine and I saw Beauty and the Beast a couple of years ago. We were on the very front row by the stage, and yet I still was amazed at everything, including Beast's transformation. I really don't know how in the world they did it in such a flash to make it look natural (though you could see the piano wire if you were to look closely).

But still, that sucks you had a bad seat xD;. I imagine it was hard to tell who was who since from what I can gather about Les Mis, most of the characters look /sound alike XD. Probably also didn't help the story wasn't familiar to you, and may have been pretty complicated.

[SBaby]

I'll say right now. I am extremely skeptical about the movie. The reason is probably because of the fact that they took so many 'creative liberties' with Phantom of the Opera (some good, most bad), and I just don't want that kind of thing to be repeated in what I consider to be the greatest musical of all time. But I am definitely going to pay more attention to the reviews of this one than I did with Phantom before I go to see it.

[Chris-kun]

Oh Wow, how did I miss the clips from the movie. One thing I don't like is the Jean Valjean, Hugh Jackman seems not the right fit, I guess its for the stardom along with Anne Hathaway, but she is great. I feel like "Who am I" should of had more emotion and power, he had more power and emotion after being put into jail for 19 years. Although talking shows emotion, some of the best songs are being toned down, which I don't like especially On My Own, they should NOT mess with it just leave it as it is.

The thing with the songs for the movie is that they were sung live on set, so the songs become more of an acting experience rather than a musical theater experience. One has to remember film is a different medium than stage, and standing there belting is not an effective use of the film medium.

[SBaby]

I was taken to see this yesterday (despite my wanting to wait until real reviews come out for this). I will say this now. This is going to be a difficult movie for me to review, because I'm going to have to think about everything there is to this kind of movie, and that will take some time. So it's probably going to take me awhile to get my actual review up. For now, I'll say that I did enjoy it (for the most part). But there's alot I have to say about it, and it's gonna take me awhile to get my thoughts together.

However, I will be forewarning anyone who reads reviews right now. 99 percent of all 'official' reviews that come out for this movie are going to be from moviegoers, and not broadway fans. This can be a real problem with something of this genre, because most moviegoers (not all, but most) tend to be blown away by special effects and eye candy so much that they often give inaccurate or misleading reviews. I would highly recommend getting feedback from people you might know who go to see stage musicals, as well as moviegoers to get an idea of how people are reacting to this, if you are someone who goes to see movies based on reviews. Otherwise, you could end up misinformed and come out of the movie with a completely different opinion than what the reviewers said, especially if you're a fan of musicals. This has happened to me before.