Les Miserables (2012)

Starring: Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway, Russel Crowe, and Amanda Seyfried

Directed by: Tom Hooper

Genre: Musical

Rating: Decent Movie Bro
My Two Cents: Faith, forgiveness, and unmet expectations

Summary: Based off the novel of Victor Hugo, Les Misérables spans over a few decades in the midst of the French Revolution. Paris lights and high society are contrasted with the extreme poverty of its people. A whispering revolution is resounding to take hold.

Centering around an ex-convict who stole a loaf of bread for his starving family, Jean Valjean breaks his parole. Plunging ahead with a new identity, he rebuilds his life giving back to those suffering around him. Faith and forgiveness are his constants. A police inspector, Javert, is a man ruled by the law. With little space in his heart for compassion, he ruthlessly hunts down Valjean to send back to prison.

Les Misérables is a composite of the poorest of the poor, not only in wealth but in spirit. Its focus is the tug of war between Jean Valjean and Javert, among other minor characters.

 

The first is a man of God and compassion. The second is governed by law and justice. Valjean, becoming the father to motherless child, Cosette, finds love and a family he would have never had otherwise. Valjean is almost captured and sent back to prison several times by Javert, and in some instances, Valjean has the opportunity to do away with Javert to live his life finally free. And, instead Valjean grants his nemesis freedom to come and find him once more. Javert's cold heart is eventually cut down by the wrath of forgiveness bestowed on him - such a thing he never granted others trying to survive in an unsurvivable world.

Cinematically what the production of Les Misérables created is almost too much to compose in one post. There are simply too many characters and stories to sum up in one way or another. However, there are few fine points that I felt needed addressing:
I didn't fall in love with Les Misérables like I thought I would.
 Though touched and moved by the duality of Jean Valjean and Javert, the devastating life of Fantine and the poverty of the nation, didn't have me emotionally torn. I felt a deep lack of connection to what was presented. It's hard for me to pinpoint why.


Critics like with all movies are either tearing Les Misérables up or falling head over heels. On one recurring argument, critics did not like how the film was staged. Tom Hooper chose to direct the camera as close to the actors as possible. Some critics even say that you can see the back of the actor's throats. Breaking away from the mold of musicals directed on film exactly as they are on stage with more elaborate sets, Les Misérables made us observers of this cruel world from where we couldn't hide from the characters' raw emotions. This different style of direction was as admirable to me as the cast singing live.

As all musical fans are, some of us come away liking other sequences over others. Uptempo numbers such as "At the End of the Day", "Master of the House", and "One Day More" were more my speed while other sequences seemed to lag. The dialogue is converted into enough musical soliloquies, though some numbers felt like they dragged on because of unequal pacing.

Fans of the book or musical production claim and conclude that had us non-fans been familiar with the original material we would come out loving the movie no matter what. I don't concur. You can love any book, play, or stage musical, and not love the movie interpretation. Or vice versa.

Perhaps the adoration for a motion picture lies in the expectations of it, especially ones that already have legions of fans. With the near constant Oscar-buzz for the past few months, especially for Anne Hathaway's performance (which I highly commend) it's possible that those who walked away not in complete adoration had our expectations unconsciously raised a little higher. And, they simply weren't met. Maybe seeing the film once and being a little bit more familiar with it, and seeing it again sometime will aid my reconsideration as to why I didn't walk away in love.

However, I didn't come away despising Les Misérables. In its world of such hardship, questions are driven home of what it means to live; by the law or of your heart.

So Fetch Fridays: Some Big Highlights of 2012

On our final Friday in 2012, it's only practical to ring in 2013 with some odes to the past year in entertainment. I hope we all discover more good movies than bad, as well as learn some cherishable life lessons along the way. Here's to our last So Fetch Friday for this year with highlights from Hollywood and fellow blogs abroad.

+ The NC-17 rating knocked Matthew McCaughney's Killer Joe out of the running for award recognition. Not even his performance in Magic Mike garnered attention.

+ The cast of Les Miserables lost a lot of weight for their roles (and are hunting down Oscar), didn't you hear, hear, hear, and hear? Speaking of which, I think Russell Crowe was sorely miscast. Had King Leonadis chosen better movies, as Javert he would have returned back to his glory days of playing a superb Phantom of the Opera.

+ Remember huge monumental remakes meant to take the geekdom industry by storm like Judge Dredd and Total Recall. Me, neither.

+ Most of us weeped when E.L. James was mentioned in the same breath as JK Rowling, or authorly words such as penned, revolutionized, and literature.

In the year 2013

2012 was a noteworthy year for fantastic or just plain dud films. So the new year approaches, it's time to take a look into what's in store for the next twelve months. As this list mostly contains mainstream films, there are probably more individual films I'd like to see with my favorite actors (I just couldn't hunt them all down!). And, so I ask this fellow Drama Llamas, what movies are you looking forward to?

My father believed, if the world found out who I really was, they'd reject me...out of fear. He was convinced that the world wasn't ready. What do you think?

To answer Superman's question, the collection of enthusiastic expletives I felt while watching the trailer can be summed up that I am very excited for Man of Steel. With Zach Snyder at the helm, and Christopher Nolan's full weight behind the movie, I hope this new franchise will steer home Superman's journey.

Star Trek: Into Darkness

The last time we saw Star Trek, the Enterprise was cruising its way through outer space with an entirely new, fresh cast commanding the bridge. I am intrigued to know what shenanigans Kirk and his crew blast through this time. Part of me hopes that the sequel doesn't bite off more than it could chew and didn't create an installment in competition with other film franchises.

The Artist (2012)

Starring: Jean DuJardin, Berenice Bejo

Directed by: Michel Hazanavicius

Genre: Silent

  
Rating: Must See!
Just Two Cents: Singin' In The Rain + A Star Is Born = The Artist (2011), a dazzling spectacle,  modern silent film
 

Summary: George Valentin (Jean DuJardin) is a beloved silent movie actor who laughs off the rise of talking pictures. When the new era of film arrives, his star fades away from Hollywoodland and a young fresh starlet Peppy Miller (Berenice Bejo) becomes the next big thing. Through misunderstandings and mistimed opportunities their budding romance is tested.

Best Bits: Our main character Georg Valentin harbors a terrifying fear underneath his brimming smile and suave. He does not want to speak on film. Director Michel Hazanavicius artistically toys with his silence and the sound of a new era.

In one memorable scene, Valentin's fear  transforms into a nightmare where he can hear the sounds of objects being knocked over, people laughing, and a feather crashing into a concrete sidewalk. The mixture of his terror, the absence of the score playing, and the sound effects of only the objects getting knocked around, is one of many moments where Hazanavicius' creativity and artistry is on display.

"I won't talk! I won't say a word!" The Artist (2011)   click to tweet quote!

Why It's Amazing: The incompatibility and chemistry between George Valentin and Peppy Miller is her enthusiastic acceptance for the new era of film and his ignorance. In succumbing and trusting Miller about re-emerging into entertainment, Valentin eventually speaks for the first time: it's powerful, yet simple and reserved. As beautiful as silence can be beautiful, a few words spoken can even still be more golden. In the era of all we seem to do is talk, The Artist made me a little bit a speechless.

Reel to Life: Cheesy as it sounds, The Artist though a silent film spoke to me on several levels. As the emergence of talkies paves the way in Hollywood, and silent films vanish from entertainment, I couldn't help but think of this new fangled world in the 2000s. Where our thoughts were placed in paper journals or were fleeting thoughts soon forgotten. Now what we say and do is broadcasted everyone online. As much as we are encouraged to lend our voices on these sites, I am still in limbo of putting myself  out there without prohibitions or guarding my self-expression.

In the plain old sense of being an audience member lost in the world of Valentin, I connected with this scene. As a blogger, and well human being in a highly connective world, I was reminded about how I clunk around from site to site trying to put exactly the right words and tone out there to be understood and heard. Perhaps, this doesn't even relate to me on even a virtual level but an real world level as well since naturally I am an intense introvert, taking me a long time to warm up to connecting with others.

It's A Wonderful Life (1939)

Starring: James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore

Directed By: Frank Capra  
Genre: Drama / Classic Hollywood

Rating: Must See
Just Two Cents: This movie's life touches so many.

Summary: George Bailey is the type of character so many of us start out as: born with an insatiable curiosity and hope to make a big mark on the world. For Bailey, the last thing he wants is to be tied to the crummy nowhere town of Bedford Falls. I could and still empathize with this, wanting to leave my small town life behind when I was growing up.

Almost every event in his life takes Bailey where he doesn't want to go. While his younger brother and all of Bailey's friends make a life outside of their town, Bailey is chained to his deceased father's Building and Loan. Falling in love with a girl Mary, Bailey goes on to live and work in Bedford Falls building a life he hadn't dreamed of.

So many words ring beautifully true in this film:  

You've been given a great gift, George: A chance to see what the world would be like without you. 

Remember, George: no man is a failure who has friends. 

A toast to my big brother George: The richest man in town. 

Bailey only gets to see the impact of his life when he's about to commit suicide and an angel saves his life. Clarence shows Bailey what Bedford Falls would have turned into if he hadn't lived.
The banks' undeniable power would have corrupted Bedford Falls. His brother Harry would've died from drowning and not gone on to be a war hero. Bailey's beloved Mary grows up to be an old maid. And a graveyard replaces the land where his proper homes would have been filled with his fellow neighbors.
  Returning from oblivion, Bailey realizes every action he made had a ripple effect. And, in his desire for living a life more worthy he forgot about how much worth his life made to his family and the community. Heartbreaking yet spiritually uplifting, It's A Wonderful Life is a lesson of missed hopes.

Why It's Amazing: I've had an ideal of where I should go and what I should do, as I'm sure so many of us have. Our big plans are lost when different  priorities take hold. Our decisions might not be the ones we want to make. We go with the flow of with our place in life, unaware of how our decisions and actions can be good for those in and outside of our close circles.

Today, society and the media defines success as achieving more wealth or materialistic things. "If you don't have more paper dollars and silver coins, you're falling behind the curve of being significant."

Often times, especially during Christmastime, our months of being with loved ones is converted into hunting for the latest prizes to showcase our love. It's A Wonderful Life, with it's mixture of lighthearted and dark moments, always reminds me to live in the acknowledgement of what can't be found in a safe or wallet: friendship, community, and love. And, no matter how different our lives turn out from our dreams, everything we do has an impact someplace somewhere for someone.

So Fetch Friday: Ryan Gosling had a GREAT year

Buzzfeed reminds us of 69 mouthwatering Ryan Gosling moments of the year. Poor Eva Mendes getting the psychotic internet girlfriend stalker treatment...

+ The Cinematic Spectacle brings us the best screenplays from the 1950s. You won't believe some which were nominated and who took top prize!

+ We wish Happy 3rd Blogaversary to Nikhat at Being Norma Jean!

+ Gala Darling talks about if Instagram is dead. Do you agree?

+ All hail the walkers. The Walking Dead was renewed for a fourth season. If you're not caught up on this show, you need to be. And fast: AMC Channel is airing a New Years Day/Eve Marathon of The Walking Dead from the very beginning!

+ There is wonderment and what the f***ery towards The Incredible Burt Wonderstone starring Steve Carrell and Jim Carrey as magicians.

+ The first trailer to Terrence Malick's To The Wonder starring Ben Afflect, Rachel McAdams, and Olga Kurylenko was released. Looks like The Tree of Life but more romantic and equally hypnotizing. What do you think?

+ Here at The Drama Llama we listed holiday Scrooges who change their lives around, talked about Bronson ruining Tom Hardy, and chatted while bowling about The Big Lebowski.

Don't wait to turn your life around: Last Chance Movies

The end of the year is a time when we all take the uncertainty of our futures and make resolutions to change: behaviors, routines, our lives, overall. I'm not too good at keeping up with or creating resolution lists but that doesn't stop me from getting inspired by characters who turn their lives around. Sometimes it takes some angels, alternate universes, and some damn good script writers, but they do it. If you're a miserly grouch or already heppy-peppy do gooder, hope you enjoy a list of some vices turning into a versas.

From Charles Dicken's A Christmas Carol comes the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, a selfish old miser who is visited by three ghosts from his past, present, and future. My favorite version is the 1970 film starring Albert Finney titled Scrooge. The pivotal musical sequence to me is "I Like Life" while some peeps I know much prefer "I Hate People". Which one will be your favorite? Watch and decide!

Bronson (2008)

Starring: Tom Hardy

Directed by: Nicolas Winding Refn  

Genre: Biopic

Rating: Definitely Worth Missing

My Two Cents: Well, this was excessive

 

With all celebrity crushes I think for any movie goer of the female or male persuasion, there comes a time when you want to get your hands (and eyes) on all of a celebrities' interviews, tv appearances, and if they're in movies, conquer their filmography with gusto. Bronson was another flick I had my eyes set on because of my lusty fangirl attraction for the tall, dark, and handsome Tom Hardy.

'A Clockwork Orange' touted flick and starring really only Tom Hardy, I thought this would change my point of view for him; making me more on the hunt for his film work than before...but as a biopic about one of United Kingdom's most dangerous criminals: Charles Bronson, I walked away with a temporary loss of my once fulfilled love.

In a monologue at the top of the movie, Hardy booms: I am Charlie Bronson. I am Britain’s most violent prisoner. As a performance, let me say, my boy is in top form. I may admire part of him for his good looks but I am a fan much more for his on-screen work.

Shaved head and packed on with muscle, Hardy delivers not only a physical a transformation into the "professional prisoner" but an emotional one as well. Not just by smearing excrement on the walls and beating up every other prison guard nude, but his voice, look, and walk. It's a performance that the real Bronson, who Hardy had befriended, gave full approval of.

As Hardy works so hard to delve emotionally into Bronson's psychosis, the movie remains a thoroughly external world. Its atmosphere is chalk full of what would make anyone go crazy except Bronson.

Though expressing the films' major sentiment, prison was madness at its very best, the film feels more for show. As much as Hardy works to bring his character's enthusiasm for violence to light, the film struggles to bring the atmosphere to life. At some point the  ruthless beatings of prisoner guards, excess of fist and penis flapping and creative use of cursewords becomes a sad blurring line of horror, comedy, and just being plain over-the-top.

Extra Note: Hardys' performance is what seems to carry viewers  to go back to Bronson for more satisfaction than just one sitting. Personally, one viewing was enough. If you watch Bronson in your hunt for pure Tom Hardy eye candy, you may lose your lusty fan girl(boy) eyes for a long time.

The Big Lebowski (1998)

Starring: Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, Steve Buscemi

Directed by: the Coen Brothers
Genre: Comedy/Indie

Rating: 95% Awesome
My Two Cents: Do you confront the offender who peed on your rug? If you go Walter's way, you'll have a hell of a story to tell if you don't.

Summary:  The Dude (Jeff Bridges) is mistaken as a millionaire, Mr Lebowski. When two gang members break into The Dude's humble abode and pee on his beloved rug, The Dude wants restitution and enlists his bowling buddies (Steve Buscemi and John Goodman) for help. Upon meeting the real Mr. Lebowski, The Dude and his friends are ensnared into a kidnapping scheme involving the millionaire's young wife.

Best Bits: Played by Jeff Bridges who simply is The Dude, as the main character he really has no stake on any sorta impactful life; he's the ultimate slacker drugged out for most of his days when he's not bowling with his friends.

Though outraged by the two men who violated his home, he still has no stake to get justice for it. He wants to let it to be. It isn't until his passive aggressive disgruntled Vietnam veteran friend Walter Sobchak (John Goodman) eggs him on to get retribution that The Dude does anything.

By  Sobchak's escalation for justice The Dude finds himself being drugged willingly and unwilling, involved in a million dollar ransom for a kidnapping scheme, have ferrets attack his delicate bits in a bathtub, and so much more chaos ensuing against him.

"I could be just sitting at home with pee stains on my rug. - The Dude

Why It Endures: Honestly, there isn't much of a point to Coen Brothers movies. You will not find the most heartwarming moments of life and love romanticized. These are the kind of moments we all at some point long for as movie goers. What the siblings give you is an absurd amount of cat and mouse chases, misunderstandings and escalating escape plots. These are also the kind of scenes and moments we expect and enjoy from the Coens. They might not be in the spirit that every movie goer can understand - Walter's scenes where he's high on drugs is a particular example - and they don't make much sense but they're all right enough. More often than not tied the brothers' movies are tied with a big bow made out of a sad, unfortunate casualty and "all ends somewhat well" third act. Their movies don't find legions of fans but endure for their rightful popularity.

So Fetch Friday: Star Trek Sequel Trailer and So Many Nominations

Star Trek: Into Darkness trailer was released early last week. What are your thoughts on the sequel's preview, and what villain do you think Benedict Cumberland will play?

+ The 2013 Nomination lists are OUT the SAG Awards, Critics Choice Awards, The Golden Globes.

What do you think about the nominations? I'm surprised to see some last minute indie performances make the cut like Marion Cotillard for Rust and Bone and Rachel Weisz for The Deep Blue Sea, and some snubs which were expected to get attention this whole past year: The Hobbit, Seven Psychopaths, Matthew McConaughey in one of his performances, and Brad Pitt for Killing Me Softly. Overall, I think the Best Picture nominations are showing what might become the Academy Award finalists (my prediction post to come!).

+ Cinematic Paradox makes the case for The Dark Knight Rises Oscar nominations and mentions my very own Ezra Miller post for her blogathon

+ Awesome Behind the Scenes Photos. Fantastic snapshots from Jaws to Inception

+ 30 Lessons of Flawlessness by Amy Poehler. Who doesn't LOVE this woman?

+ 2011 film Lawless, starring Tom Hardy, Shia Labeouf, and a host of many other amazing actors was a movie I desperately wanted to see but didn't have a chance. Lucky this stills will hold me over until I can

Making the Case: Ezra Miller for Best Supporting Actor

Cinematic Paradox's latest blogathon, Making the Case, has commenced. Choose a film, performance, or aspect of a film that you’d love to see garner awards recognition this year, but know in your heart of hearts that it most likely will not. For my submission I scoured films and performances I had read or been listed for consideration among critics but haven't yet made the grade. One performance that kept coming to mind was Ezra Miller's Patrick for The Perks of Being a Wallflower.

The movie based off the book by Stephen Chbosky, is told from the point of view of the narrator, Charlie - a misfit junior at his first year of high school coming into his own with two other wallflowers, Sam (Emma Watson) and Patrick (Ezra Miller). In a sea of promising supporting performances like Leonardo DiCaprio in Django Unchained and Alan Arkin in Argo to name a few, Ezra Miller's Patrick, to me, was fearless.

"You can call me Patrick, or you could call me Nothing."

Swinging back to how great high school centered movies used to be like The Breakfast Club, the members of the Wallflowers are all kids you'd want to be friends with, or have known at some point in your life. Though Emma Watson and Logan Lerman don't lag too far behind in giving respectful performances each, Miller is exuberantly charismatic and manages to stand out on screen just a wee bit more.

His character is introduced by confronting the shop teacher he had just wrongfully impersonated. In a bit of a light yet what-could-be-awkward drama, Miller from then on is in a heavy dose of scenes that he either makes you laugh out loud or gives off an incredible air of down-to-earth relatability.

A major part of who Patrick is is his homosexuality and struggling to stay out in the open with his sexuality, despite his closeted boyfriends' duo personalities. Unlike in so many movies and television shows where homosexual characters are portrayed as a victim or exert overtly stereotypical qualities, Miller doesn't let his characters' sexuality define who he is. He loves who he loves, and that's just a small part of everything that makes up his personality as a loving brother and loyal friend.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower is balanced with comical scenes sprinkled over the largely heavily-emotional material. Miller in the center of it all, next to Logan Lerman and Emma Watson, has an uncanny openness to him. There's no shying away or hiding in his role. In scenes where Patrick is physically bullied in the school cafeteria or he is delivering a soft-hearted speech to Charlie, Miller is at ease.

Throughout the film, Patrick taunts those who push his buttons to call him Nothing; a overrun taunt his character had been called throughout his school years. And when walk-by characters call him that word, Patrick stands strong that he is more than nothing. I dare say Miller's performance is more than that too.

The Avengers (2012)

Starring: Half of Hollywood
Directed By: Joss Whedon

Genre: Superhero Blockbuster

Rating: Definitely Worth Missing
My Two Cents: Sorry Kevin Smith & the universe, I didn't like this



Growing up Batman and Superman were the only superheros I had an active interest towards. Other guys like Captain America and The Hulk were crusaders I was familiar with through pop culture and friends who had loved those characters. Despite my absent passion for them, the idea of an Avengers movie was something I was still anxious to see.

At every turn it seemed The Avengers was the movie to see. Months leading up to watching The Avengers I overheard or read pretty rave reviews from critics and fanpeople. Rotten Tomatoes scored it at 92% fresh. Joss Whedon, who had birthed Firefly and Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog, was the director. And Holy Hot Cast Batman, the movie was starring Robert Downey Jr, Jeremy Renner, Chris Evans, Tom Hiddleston and more. In the flurry of the Avengers fever everyone has been experiencing I honestly thought How could anything possibly go wrong?.

After my viewing I struggled to hold an equal amount of adoration I had seen for the movie. I found myself with only grievances.

03. The cast didn't have chemistry. I'll be clear: it's not the individual cast members I disliked. The Avengers has some hottie superstar actors with personality and pizazz. The installments for each superhero have their own bag of goodiness with avid fans and haters.

As a group the cast should have been like peanut butter and jelly, football and beer, etc. with differences between them yet still cohesive. A group is supposed to be stronger than an individual. All the separate pieces are meant to make up the whole. Instead they were like water and oil; plucked out of their own franchises and forced to mesh together, saying meant-to-be-great one liners that either took jabs at someone else or pushed the story forward.

02. The world of The Avengers was a show-off. The Dark Knight series cinematographer hated how the camera rested on the scale and technology of the sets. And, I didn't feel he was right until I saw it for myself. The special effects no doubt were amazing, but from the decimated streets of New York to the crewship, the environment failed to spark any sort of connection to their world, our planet and why they were saving it. Some scenes gave a scope to the gadgets of their world but they weren't founded in storytelling.

01.  Okay, so Loki was out to destroy Earth and everything we hold dear. And, The Avengers were the ones for the job to save us all. And, that was about it. The script was filled with half-developed ideas; some entertaining, most scenes were just breezed through. Its story wasn't enticing. Even blockbusters which are A happens, B Happens, Z the end, The Avengers blew pass relationships and dialogue which would have made it more intriguing. 

What came to fruition of watching The Avengers was that the fans gave me the anticipation to see it, and the movie didn't live up to the hype. The gif sets, fan art, fan fiction, heck the tags alone on some cast photos on my tumblr dashboard is what made me so anxious to see it. A look between Iron Man and Captain America had so much history in the tags more than there was seen in the movie.

Though I'll never understand what the heck Kevin Smith is talking about, what the world saw in the movie is still what makes it exciting. I won't say I walked away loathing The Avengers. I just don't ever feel a motivation or emotional connection to watch it again....

AMC Theatres Fork & Screen Review

It was an anxious joy sometime ago when my local AMC Theatre extended their cinema with a Dine-In Theatre. My family and I were excited to try it out, having never tried out a dinner and a movie in one-sitting before (except at home, of course!).

All this time we were waiting for the perfect movie to come along; something funny yet dramatic, and my 23rd birthday was approaching, so we went to see Silver Linings Playbook. 

AFI's 100 Years 100 Movies Photos of the Best in Film Exhibit

Each Walt Disney World theme park celebrates something unique; for Animal Kingdom it's nature, at Magic Kingdom you see all of your favorite characters, and so on. Disney's Hollywood Studios, once upon a time named MGM Studios, celebrates the worlds of film, television, and music with attraction rides, shows, and restaurants inspired by icons from Hollywood and beyond.
 
If you've been to Disney's Hollywood Studios in the past ten or fifteen years, you may have come across the attraction Studio Backlot Tour. After a vehicle ride of movie props showcased on the theme park grounds, guests are taken to a brief walk-through museum of film props like costumes, photos with information, and old film cameras. For almost several years the exhibit showcased famous film villains like Daniel Plainview from There Will Be Blood, Darth Vader and storm troopers from Star Wars, and Aliens from the Alien series.

Recently on a visit to Hollywood Studios, I was pleased to see that the museum has an entirely new look with artifacts from Hollywood's most iconic motion pictures. Now titled: AFI's Best in Film: 100 Years, 100 Movies