'Les Miserables' Revisited ****stars

when i first reviewed 'lez miz' i gave it***1/2stars. not too shabby. but after rewatching it this past weekend i am giving it back the 1/2* it had not gotten. i'll use the excuse that i was not fully recovered from my surgery when i saw it in the theater. uncomfortability can be an influence.

first i knocked russel crowe's singing. yes it is still not that good but damn it it fits the role. i mean would josh groban's voice have worked for the character javert? no! as i see crowe play the role his voice or lack of works perfectly.

second i believed anne hathaway was being applauded for one song. i was wrong. her performance throughout her 18 minutes or so on screen was magnificent. no i did not have a lobotomy. on the second and third view she stll amazed me. 

i originally wrote it was a brilliant piece of film. i still say this. however, i add it is a masterpiece of musical film. i always believed 'fiddler on the roof' was the best translation from stage to film. it has moved to second place.

and oh amanda seyfried....she made me smile and cry on my second viewing. she is wonderful and the unsung piece of this film this past award season. it's not often i am more amazed the second time i see a film. generally i am less impressed or just feel the same as the first time. not so with 'lez miz'. 

and hugh jackman. in another year he would have won the oscar for best actor. but there was mr. lincoln. but today i wonder if mr. jackman was not the best actor this year. just thinking out loud. you must decide for yourself.

aaron tveit and eddie redmayne and samantha barks remain wonderful.

sasha baron cohen and helena bonham cater were both great comic relief in an other wise tragedy.

bravo tom hooper.

and here is the lovely unsung amanda seyfried with eddie redmayne

the cast at this year's oscar ceremony

'Lincoln' Releases Today on Disc

oscar also-ran 'lincoln' gets it's bluray and dvd release today. daniel day lewis won his third deserved oscar and sally field should have won best supporting actress. it's a damn good film yet deservedly lost best picture to  'argo'. i'd suggest it came in possibly third afer 'life of pi'

trailer

sally  with oprah

sally on her son sam

'Les Miserables' Releases Today on Bluray and DVD

a grand filmed version gets it's home release today. it is worth every cent you pay to rent or buy it. mine is already preordered from amazon. if you haven't you get to see some damn good performances, one of the worst musical singers of all time in russell croew and anne hathaway's demand and plea for an oscar that she did get over the better sally field in 'lincoln'. crowe and hathaway aside this is a gem with two flaws.

hugh jackman, amanda seyfried, samantha barks, aaron tveit and eddie redmayne are brilliant!

the cast at the oscars:

'Rust and Bone' Releases on Bluray and DVD Today ***1/2stars

marion cotillard's brilliant, yes brilliant as in absolutely brilliant performance, gets it's bluray and dvd releases today. it was a success on the 'art house' scene last year and got some play in a simplified wider release. ms cotillard received critical acclaim, won a few awards, was nominated for many but was ultimately snubbed by oscar. she was in good company. remember ben affleck anyone? 

this film is intense and often diddicult to watch. it is one of the best of 2012. yes it is in french thus subtitled. don't be lazy: read. be smart rent this movie.

did i mention it has a brilliant performance by marion cotillard? i love this actress as an actress and it doesn't hurt that i believe she is currently the most beautiful woman on screen today.

trailer

  marion's interview with charlie rose

'Argo' Wins Best Picture....Halleluia

BEN AFFLECK RULES!!!

Oscarbation: The Academy Releases Oscar Art for Best Picture

PGA, SAG And Now the DGA

ben affleck won the dga last night. and with no  nom foe best director in the oscar race. soooo is he on the way to best picture? appears to point in that direction. his oscar snub was and is an embarrassment to the academy.

'Anna Karenina' ***1/2stars

director joe wright took a risk and it worked. realizing that it would be cost prohibitive to film on location in russia he utilized a stage setting as the film's premise and then flung the doors open. only to return again and yet again. it is a masterpiece of innovation. it is a cinegraphic wonder. dario marianelli's score soars. 

keirna knightley shines as the adulteress anna. she is actually filmed quite beautifully which isn't really hard to do. jude law is at his best as her husband. aaron taylor-johnson is merely interesting as anna's lover vronsky. in fact he is the weak link in this production. alicia vikander shines as kitty. and in a small role michelle docker is lovely as princess myagkaya.

it seems to have disappeared from most theatrical screens but will be available next month on disc.

the ever lovely michelle docker

Golden Globes Tonight on CBS

what's dumb is that the competing networks are showing original programing of  'the good wife', 'revenge', 'once upon a time' and 'downton abbey'. there was a time when the networks would not compete with award shows. however, we now have dvr's and 'on demand' to play catch up.

i'm not making any guesses here although i do harbor hopes. don't we all? julianna margulies, mandy patinkin, ben affleck, 'argo', 'downton abbey', sally field and 'les miserables' are on my wish list.

2012 Oscar Nominations

Best Picture

"Amour"

"Argo"

"Beasts of the Southern Wild"

"Django Unchained"

"Les Misérables"

"Life of Pi"

"Lincoln"

"Silver Linings Playbook"

"Zero Dark Thirty"

Best Director

Michael Haneke, "Amour"

Ang Lee, "Life of Pi"

Ben Zeitlin, "Beasts of the Southern Wild"

Steven Spielberg, "Lincoln"

David O. Russell, "Silver Linings Playbook"

Best Actor

Bradley Cooper, "Silver Linings Playbook"

Daniel Day-Lewis, "Lincoln"

Hugh Jackman, "Les Miserables"

Joaquin Phoenix, "The Master"

Denzel Washington, "Flight"

Best Actress

Jessica Chastain, "Zero Dark Thirty"

Jennifer Lawrence, "Silver Linings Playbook"

Emmanuelle Riva, "Amour"

Quvenzhané Wallis, "Beasts of the Southern Wild"

Naomi Watts, "The Impossible"

Best Supporting Actor

Alan Arkin, "Argo"

Robert De Niro, "Silver Linings Playbook"

Philip Seymour Hoffman, "The Master"

Tommy Lee Jones, "Lincoln"

Christoph Waltz, "Django Unchained"

Best Supporting Actress

Amy Adams, "The Master"

Sally Field, "Lincoln"

Anne Hathaway, "Les Misérables"

Helen Hunt, "The Sessions"

Maggie Smith, "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel"

Nicole Kidman, "The Paperboy"

Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

"Argo"

"Life of Pi"

"Lincoln"

"Silver Linings Playbook"

"Beasts of the Southern Wild"

Best Writing (Original Screenplay)

"Amour"

"Django Unchained"

"The Master"

"Moonrise Kingdom"

"Zero Dark Thirty"

'Les Miserables' ***1/2

'les miz' is brilliant. the show that is. the tom hooper directed film is somewhat short of brilliant. but that is good. all of us 'les miz' fans have seen the film in our minds over the past 25 years. some of our thoughts and hopes may have been realized with this version. quite a few of mine were. well almost were. but i did not conceive it...mr hooper did and he is to be congratulated. he remained faithful to the original adding snippets here and there to tie together formally loose ends to make a more complete scenario. also a good move.

i cannot quibble with the production values. it is generally amazing to look at and listen to. generally.  for instance: there was just a bit, no maybe too much, excrement in the sewer scene. sometimes less is more. but this is a minor quibble. and vocally the idea to record live on set is quite remarkable with the exception of russell crowe.

the story of jean valjean (hugh jackman) begins with his release from prison, owning a factory encountering his former prison guard javert (russel crowe), encountering the down and out fantine (anne hathaway) and taking responsibility for her daughter cosette. but it all really picks up after the death of fantine when the story moves to paris and we meet the young revolutionaries led by enjoiras, (arron tveit) and his band of student rebels and his best friend marius (eddie redmayne), his friend eponine (samantha barks)  and the now grown cosette (amanda seyfried).

what we now have is an action filled revolt and true romance and the remnants of unrequited love and friends forever gone. and death. not your typical musical but still a bit above most all the others filmed.

the musical highlights are 'the red and black', 'in my life/a heart full of love, 'one day more', 'on my own', 'bring him home' and 'empty chairs at empty tables'. anne hathaways 'i dreamed a dream' is certainly her jennifer hudson moment. it and ms hathaway are wonderful but it is sung for the academy. it is her supporting actress oscar nomination and probable win. if there were justice that nom would go to samantha barks as eponine. i have never been kind to ms hathaway but will give her due credit here. she would just not get an oscar vote from me.

hugh jackman is terrific as jean valjean. eddie redmayne as marius is extraordinary. his 'empty chairs at empty tables is brilliant and a highlight. aaron tveit is a fitting and worthy enjoiras. samantha barks is the quitessential eponine and her 'on my own' is brilliant. amanda seyfried with an almost angelic voice is adorably convincing as the lovely cosset. sasha baron cohen and helena bonham carter add the necessary comic relief as the innkeeper thenardier's. and now we get to the weak link: russell crowe who's right for the part but not the singing. his voice is ear piercing. when he starts singing it just pulls you right out of the film. sadly. and admittedly it lost 1/2 a star because of him. 

all in all see it. it is a grand endeavor that succeeds. and samantha, eddie, aaron and amanda along with hugh amaze.

'Salmon Fishing in the Yemen' ***1/2

'salmon fishing in the yemen' is a lost gem of 2012. perhaps because it has one of the worst titles of the year. don't let that title fool you. it's one of those slice of life films i enjoy.  it's quite simple: a sheik wants to bring the sport of fly fishing to the yemen and his faith dares want to make the impossible possible. and of course there is the love angle as the relationship between consultant and expert, emily blunt and ewan mcgregor, grows from mutual admiration to something more. emily blunt is wonderful (i love her actually) and ewan mcgregor is subtly brilliant as always. and last but not least there is a rare comedic turn by the wonderful kristen scott thomas (i love her too). and yes emily and kristen are almost always wonderful and more.

this one is already available on disc and digital download. take a chance you may get swept in.

'Twilight Breaking Dawn Part 2' ****stars

the 'twilight' finale gets 4 stars because it out did itself. it is a grand spectacle. now i have not always praised this series as there were some major bumps along the way. here we have a fond farewell. the cast shines in a way it has not before although robert pattinson always shined in this series for me.

now i never read the books therefore a turn of events toward the end of the film offered one of the best surprises in film in years. one of the few things that could beat it would be a remake on 'the sound of music' where the nazi's get the von trapps at the end. that would be a surprise!

the fans of the series have seen this already. if you have not seen the previous entries it may not make sense. still i am here to say it is the beat of the series. goodbye to the cullen can and the pack. you served us well.

one last thought: this finale was a better ending than the 'batman' finale although the first two installments of the 'batman trilogy' wre better than the 4 out of 5 of the 'twilight series. i hope that made sense.