"Here they talked of revolution here it was they lit the flame here they sang about tomorrow."
Great news! Today I signed up to join a new choir, as an alto! After a three-year-long break, it's a different choir but with the same director, who's also a friend of mine. Everyone was adorable and kind, and they even applauded me when I introduced myself. I got most of the sheet music right away, and they're going to give me a cd with the alto parts next week. Today I managed to learn most of the Miserere they were practicing by ear, but then after dinner I saw Les Miserables and now my brain is so full of music I can't remember a single note from practice. Oops.
Speaking of which, incredibly late to the party, I finally saw Les Mis. Noteworthy: the book was one of my favourites as a kid, I read it a thousand times, not kidding, to the point that it's embedded in my soul. Crazily obsessed with that visceral love only teens have. And I hadn't heard the musical yet, even if I had it on my iPod since the late Middle Ages. Procrastinators of the world, unite tomorrow.
Back on topic, let's get rid first of what I didn't like: the director. For god's sake, it was almost three hours of close-ups. And when the camera wasn't focused on an actor's face it was doing a drunk dance that kept us from seeing what was going on on scene. Why did they bother with sets and costumes when 90% of the time we couldn't see anything but the actors' noses? So annoying. Another thing, it felt incredibly rushed. They had to cram all those events in one movie, so it just jumped from scene to scene leaving us with little to no clue to what was actually happening and where. They gave a lot of time to Eponine (who was a character that I loved, true), but little to no time to Cosette, who's meant to be Valjean's driving force, his reason for life. We just have to accept their bond, but we never get to see it, because there's no time and when she's on scene she has time only to sing about Marius.
And yep, Russel Crowe is terrible as Javert, but that's in every review ever, so I won't bother you any further. ;)
And now, what I liked! The music was amazing, I can't wait to hear it all again, with Roger Allam as Javert. The songs were truly stunning! Anne Hathaway was sublime, no other words to describe her. I loved the parts with the evil innkeepers, although they sometimes felt superfluous to the story. One funny thing I noticed, they and Fantine were the only characters when I didn't actually notice they were singing. With every other character I had this sort of detachment, that I was watching someone singing, but with them it felt natural, like it was the obvious way for them to express themselves. Weird.
Another weird thing, probably because I'm too tired, was that when Marius sang Empty Chairs at Empty Tables, thanks to a gifset on tumblr, I could only see Bilbo singing it after the Battle of Five Armies, and I got teary-eyed for him, not for Marius. Sorry, Marius, but it's just too perfect! Hope someone will make a video. Christmas 2015 is going to be such fun.
I loved all the actors, anyway. The kid, Gavroche, was great, and everyone of the revolutionists too, although, again, their part was so very, very rushed. It's the kind of story meant for a miniseries, not one movie.
And off to bed, now! ^^
Speaking of which, incredibly late to the party, I finally saw Les Mis. Noteworthy: the book was one of my favourites as a kid, I read it a thousand times, not kidding, to the point that it's embedded in my soul. Crazily obsessed with that visceral love only teens have. And I hadn't heard the musical yet, even if I had it on my iPod since the late Middle Ages. Procrastinators of the world, unite tomorrow.
Back on topic, let's get rid first of what I didn't like: the director. For god's sake, it was almost three hours of close-ups. And when the camera wasn't focused on an actor's face it was doing a drunk dance that kept us from seeing what was going on on scene. Why did they bother with sets and costumes when 90% of the time we couldn't see anything but the actors' noses? So annoying. Another thing, it felt incredibly rushed. They had to cram all those events in one movie, so it just jumped from scene to scene leaving us with little to no clue to what was actually happening and where. They gave a lot of time to Eponine (who was a character that I loved, true), but little to no time to Cosette, who's meant to be Valjean's driving force, his reason for life. We just have to accept their bond, but we never get to see it, because there's no time and when she's on scene she has time only to sing about Marius.
And yep, Russel Crowe is terrible as Javert, but that's in every review ever, so I won't bother you any further. ;)
And now, what I liked! The music was amazing, I can't wait to hear it all again, with Roger Allam as Javert. The songs were truly stunning! Anne Hathaway was sublime, no other words to describe her. I loved the parts with the evil innkeepers, although they sometimes felt superfluous to the story. One funny thing I noticed, they and Fantine were the only characters when I didn't actually notice they were singing. With every other character I had this sort of detachment, that I was watching someone singing, but with them it felt natural, like it was the obvious way for them to express themselves. Weird.
Another weird thing, probably because I'm too tired, was that when Marius sang Empty Chairs at Empty Tables, thanks to a gifset on tumblr, I could only see Bilbo singing it after the Battle of Five Armies, and I got teary-eyed for him, not for Marius. Sorry, Marius, but it's just too perfect! Hope someone will make a video. Christmas 2015 is going to be such fun.
I loved all the actors, anyway. The kid, Gavroche, was great, and everyone of the revolutionists too, although, again, their part was so very, very rushed. It's the kind of story meant for a miniseries, not one movie.
And off to bed, now! ^^