Anne Hathaway totally deserved that Oscar! Not because she chopped all of her hair off, but because she brilliantly fell into the character of Fantine, powerfully bringing misery, and tragedy to the part. Anne knocked it out of the park! WHY THE HECK DOES ALONSO THINK SHE'S TERRIBLE?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
She wasn't terrible. The character's interpretation in the movie is terrible, but Anne at least did a good job of conveying what that interpretation was.
Wow, dude, really? That's your argument when someone asks a freaking *objective* question like, "Why does so-and-so think she is terrible?" "Because she's terrible." OK, god of all films, we apologize for not knowing any better and we beg your forgiveness. My *gosh*, man. P.S. Myself, Anthony, and *many* more critics thought she was fantastic, so maybe you should just accept opinions and try not to be the a**hole you are most of the time.
for example I was initially upset when I heard they had a Hollywood actress play Fantine, because Patti LuPone was so powerful and fearless in the role I thought Anne would never fill those shoes, but then seeing Anne's portrayal I realised that all the things I love about Patti are not what Fantine is meant to be, Anne Hathaway brings a vulnerability and a frailty to the character that, if you read the book you see Victor Hugo intended. I feel broadway over looked this.
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yes, I'm currently doing a MA in Musical theatre, but the people that are complaining about the film being slightly different than the musical are not taking into consideration there are things that work on stage that would not work on a screen, (this comment is in two parts haha)
"It helps if you have watched the musical." Pfffff...It actually helps if you have read Victor Hugo's BOOK!!! But I understand. This is too far fetched for Americans.
This movie has to be the most amazing film I've ever seen. Best movie of the year. I don't know how it didn't win the Oscar. How can you hate this movie??
Generally, it seems, people who had not seen the musical loved the film, and those who had, hated or 'strongly disliked' it. But any three-hour long movie set in 19th Century Paris and concerning characters like a policeman and a rogue criminal that can make people *sob* is obviously working on some level.
Whenever I watch The Cinema Snob, and I know Brad Jones used Roger Ebert as his reference, my brain goes automatically to Alonso. He's a textbook snooty film snob.
Read the book (I suggest the abridged version), watch the show on stage, watch Cabaret (a musical that actually didn't fail as a movie), watch a non-musical adaptation of Les Miserables then come back and tell me it was good.
Based on the book, indirectly. It's a film version of the Broadway musical. I love the play and have seen a couple of movie adaptations of the book. I will be interested to see if this movie stands apart from or above the musical play and non-musical films. Having characters sing on set should make the scenes more "real". I'm expecting better "visuals" than the play; and with the great music, should be a very different movie experience. Looking forward to it.
I'm kind of surprised. I don't like musicals and would probably never go to this stage production but I have to admit, the movie trailer seems really impressive
FriedEagleMind That's ridiculous. We can complain about many things about that movie but not that it looked terrible because it didn't. If you are gonna criticize do it properly.
Enrique Godinez Les Miserables has some of the ugliest handheld I've ever seen in a mainstream film, Tom Hooper had no clue what he was doing with the camera and I've seen student films that have a firmer hand. It looked terrible.
Enrique's opinion (and mine and *many* other critic's) is that it looked great, actually. How about you learn to *accept* other people's opinions and realize that you are not right/wrong and we are not right/wrong. We are just different. Hence, *opinion*.
Darin Michael so if you're bitching to me about accepting other peoples' opinions, why do you have such a hard time accepting that I think this movie looks like shit? I never made a right/wrong dichotomy in my posts, grow the fuck up, stop putting words in my mouth, and learn to accept that some people don't like this TERRIBLE film.
The fact that they don't understand the significance of the candlesticks and that they understate them and mock them makes me question whether or not they could be considered reputable critics.
they addressed that in the beginning for ben, and it's pretty well-known that these critics aren't prejudiced against musicals. they didn't like this movie or the singing in it so that's why they're mocking the singing.
I dont know why tight shots of people singing is so strange to people? Specifically i think they are talking about Anne Hathaway and how unflattering it was for her, but... That's the point? She said in an interview she didn't want to just sing and show her talent in song, she wanted to portray the broken beaten down character that was fantine with her voice and face, that's true acting if you ask me..
Did we see the same movie? I'm a huge fan of the stage version and while the film is far from perfect, I thought they did the best job they possibly could have given the material and the fact that it took more than 20 years to get this film made. I actually like the fact that the singing and camerawork were both a bit rough around the edges. For this story, it works and makes the film more raw and intimate than if they had done more conventional staging.
I saw the play, heard the music....then I saw this movie and was blown away....especially from Anne Hathaways performance. If you dont like musicals dont see it. I have to wonder if these guys like any movies.
But I definitely think the film is gonna get big box office returns because the advertising was pretty effective. They were saying that this is a whole-new musical that you've never seen before, with the WAYS the actors were singing and all that. I was always skeptical that that might have been BULLSHIT.
I do agree about Hathaway. However, for the movie as a whole it didn't embody the "epic" nature that I think Les Miserables deserves. The two best moments were the opening as the camera travels along the ship the prisoners are pulling in and when it flies out in a panoramic of the city while Valjean's shredded papers fly into the wind. That's the kind of feeling I was expecting a story like this to have but all the close ups of faces and people just didn't do it for me.
Well that's cool. Cause I've seen the stage production and this movie looked nothing like it or any other stage production I've ever seen. If you really want something to look like a stage production you should put it on the stage OR if you want to make a movie of an epic musical and story then play it like that. So the camera angles were the problem, especially all the zooming in of the face and the weird ways they moved the camera to make people look powerful or not. Have you seen the play?
Right, i did'nt mean to come down on "Les Meserables" or anything, i'm just not into musicals, but that's just me. That being said both "Les" & "Django" (which i loved) are proving to be smash hits already at the box office. By the looks of it both films will have no problem reaching 100 million domestic easily.
Ah yes, how did I make that mistake? Sally Field and Helen Hunt are also top picks there, but Anne Hathaway is the most likely winner at the moment. Good news for Warren Buffet.
You are right. It is obvious they are not big fans of musicals. The reason this film has received mixed reviews, because most film critics hate musicals. Theatre critics should have been hired to review Les Miz. It would have been more accurate opinions. Anne Hathaway's performance is not terrible. She gave the best performance of the movie. Alonso praised Sally Field's horrible performance in Lincoln. That was high school acting .
He gave it a 1.8 and he said he liked the musical. You know why? Cuz this wasn't a normal musical. Musicals have talking and songs, not just singing while talking and then songs. There's a distinct difference between the two. If you wanna see a good musical, watch spring awakening.
Honestly, I don't get why people don't like her. I see her in the context of the time and how trapped someone like her would be, so it would be easy to get caught up in a genuine attraction.
Yeah, I'd stick with the 1998 film(non-musical) with Neeson, Rush and Danes. Surprised they didn't mention that film. I'd suggest watching that one before this one.
For him to come with me, and he really liked it too. Anne Hathaway's performance was very moving. She really captured the emotion and was very realistic. I loved the photography of the film, the acting, the storyline, and the songs. It is very well done, it's just that these critics are too close minded and blind to see it.
I personally don't like musicals but thought this was great. Agree with Matt Atchity nearly all the time. I got used to the music and the it is a MUSICAL... Everything in musicals are accentuated. It's entertainment. Russell Crowe was bad but how you can say everyone else's performance was over the top is beyond me. Tom Hooper direction is brilliant as well as he uses close ups and wide shots rather than mid shots which you can't get in a theatre. There is a reason for it's hype
this is definitely a love or movie. personally, i loved it! but i totally get why people wouldn't get it, and that's okay. the same way i don't get this whole superhero movie obsession thing at the moment.
You know I get it that this movie wasn't the traditional musical you would go to see, but that made it better for me. The typically musical has been done over and over again by Hollywood. I liked this movie because it felt real, because there voices weren't like Broadway performers it all felt more real.
On the contrary, the quality of a film is a matter of opinion . Just because you or many others like a film, does not that feeling is the "correct" way to feel about a film. Just because these critics have a differing opinion of a film does necessarily mean that their taste in films is ill-conceived. Indeed, I myself think the film was mediocre. The point is that just because the critics in the video have a dissent opinion on a critically acclaimed film, does not mean that they hate everything.
I think it's fair to be frustrated with people who review movies and don't really seem to always like them when they're made well. 4.2 could not possibly be a fair representation of this movie
I agree most of your comments. These same critics praised Pitch Perfect a formulaic and easily forgotten cable tv movie, that could have been made for the ABC Family channel. Bring It On ! is better than Pitch Perfect.
This is the punishment we have to endure for the Academy giving Tom Hooper an Oscar over seasoned vets Christopher Nolan, Darren Aronofsky and David Fincher.
I liked that this is not a pure musical vocally wise. The actors had to actually cry and sing, and not make the song look superficial but rather squeezed through their pain, with all sorts of choking, moans, groans and whispers. Very professional performances that required a lot of hard work from the actors. Yet I understand people who didn't like it. If you like listening to tunes being molded by feeling, closeups, tears and lengthy segments than go see it. Otherwise don't.
Agreed. Hathaway was wonderful. Now, more than ever, media types have agendas. Anne is receiving great reviews and winning critic awards that can lead to an Oscar win. They don't want Anne Hathaway to win the Oscar. I find it funny that Schmoe Knows Movies, Chris Stuckmann, and other youtube critics are praising the performances of Hathaway and the other cast.
The acting is fantastic, the music is amazing and the production value is very high. However, it all began to wear on me. The movie is over two and a half hours and by the dramatic third act, I wasn't into it anymore. I didn't care once I approached the one hour and 45 minute mark and therefore the climax had no effect on me. 6/10, meh, one thumb down, etc.
Critics are not supposed to heap huge amounts of praise to every frickin film they are reviewing. They are supposed to give their honest opinions and critiques and get paid regardless. They seem more cynical and have higher standards because they have been watching hundreds of films every year. I'm in between the opinions of Alonso and Ben and Christy and Matt. It was not as bad as the former 2 says, but the major flaw I had with it was the lack of character development of the two leads. (4.5)
One thing I hate musicals is that actors are more concerned with the acting than with the singing so the music becomes unbearable, and that happened a lot in this movie. Sweeney Todd was at least fun to watch.
I loved this on Broadway, loved the revival, and hated this version. Not everything about it was bad. Hugh Jackman and Amanda Seyfried were fine, and Samantha Barks and Eddie Redmayne were both very good, as was the girl who played young Cosette. The direction, on the other hand, was horrid, Russel Crowe way out his league, and Anne Hathaway, Academy Award notwithstanding, was merely adequate. Fantaine should have been played by someone with a great voice (Barks would have been goods, as would Emmy Rossum or Idina Menzel) and "I Dreamed a Dream" should have been fully sung. And therein lies the biggest problem. It's a sung through musical, which means you're going to get a lot of recitative in between the full songs, but Hooper's decision to do nearly everything as recitative and in tight closeup was terrible. Barks owns "On My Own" and "Can You Hear the People Sing" was good, and so far as I can recall, everything else was recitative. If you're not going to hire singers for all your core parts, you may as well go the same route as the movie version of Rent, and restructure it as a book musical. Include the core songs, have the actors speak their dialog in between. At least then Crowe might not have seemed so out of place. I'm somewhat of a purist when it comes to musicals. The primary criterion for casting a role should be how well the performer can sing their part. If they can act as well, wonderful. If you can find a triple threat like Jackman, all the better. But I hate, hate, hate casting perfomers for their name (Crowe, Hathaway) in a musical over better singers who perhaps don't have the name recognition, but would be better suited for the role. Mandy Moore - name recognitiion, can act, wonderful singer, age appropriate for Fantaine. I'd rather see Wicked get killed in development hell than end up like Les Miserables.
Totally agreed with matt (liked the beginning, particularly jackman being cast out and angry and hatheways singing) but after hatheway dies, seriously dragged.
Based on the ratings - two giving it around a 2 and the others in the 6 range, I though't they'd do a 2 vs. 2 fight. Oh well - they're too nice to each other lol. I want to see them argue against each other more.
It could indeed be, i'm just not a musical type of guy, that's all. Like i was saying i'm sure it will do well, it's already doing good numbers overseas from what i hear.
I read Alonso's Les Miz review at The Wrap, and many of the commenters were attacking him, his credentials, and his review. It was incredibly vicious and venomous. That is why Alonso is unbelievably mean-spirited on this video. He couldn't handle the negative criticism, and he hates the great reviews Anne Hathaway is receiving. Bozo the Clown knows she is winning the Best Supporting Actress Oscar.
Wow. Those guys are such cretins. I'm appalled. Horrible, horrible review. I disagree on every single criticism they bring up. Most of their issues aren't even with the movie, but with the musical itself, i.e. the length and the amount of misery. If you disliked that in the musical, how on earth can you expect to like the movie? Most of the actors performances were splendid, especially Enjorlas and Éponine really could sing. Crowe was a strange choice, but I for one thought he did a great job.
@xxFortunadoxx Anna Karenina was a 800+ pages book condensed into 130 minutes and it was really good. I never read Les Miserables, but I saw this film last week and it was pretty good. Not shit at all but certainly flawed
I respect all opinions, but I still don't see the real reasons why they think this movie sucks. All I'm hearing is," I hate it, I hate it, please stop singing, arhh why did I go to see a movie musical?" As much as I like drama film, I am in love of Les Miserables as a musical. Critics can be subjective, but please stop using your personal taste to judge the film.
Why do you guys watch these videos if you hate all the hosts? I personally like them and normally agree with at least one of them, and if I didn't who cares? They're not on there to say what you want them to say.
Alonso. Yes, we're entitled to our opinions. And while I disagree with you about this movie, I'm not offended. Just confused as hell. You criticize the film for elements taken directly from the musical. "That's not how Victor Hugo wrote it", yeah but Schoneberg and Boubil did. Hooper didn't change much from the musical. The only thing new that the film offered was camera work (which was pretty basic other than the closeups) and different actors. I'm confused as you say you are a fan of the play.
While I hated this movie, at least you sound like a normal human being. I have seen several movies the critics hated, but I never attacked the critic for his/her opinions, unlike most commenters here.
I am a seventeen year old Bostonian and have read it. It helped in terms of appreciating the plot. It also made it easier to be disappointed. whattheflick is a horrible representation of Americans. I'm sorry if you've had poor personal experiences with some of us.
i just came here from spill.com where they gave this movie a full price, so hearing WTF's review is really shocking to me. but then again, they gave The Hobbit 5.5 out of ten, which is unfair 'cause the movie was great, so i shouldn't be so shocked, i think i'm gonna like Les Miserables.
That film is gorgeous, but Anna's character can become insufferable to watch after awhile. I can see why some people do not like that film and the fact that it's been largely snubbed by the awards race.
A common belief is that people who don't like musicals are the ones that hate this movie. I love musicals and this movie was not enjoyable. This was an opera, with maybe a total of 5 spoken lines in 2.5 hours of movie. Only one song in the movie was great, far from enough to save it. I did dire laughing from the ker-splat! sound effect of Javert's suicide.
I knew that Russell Crowe was a BAD choice for Javert! The role should have gone to Gerard Butler, as he has already proven his singing voice and and incredible range in "The Phantom of the Opera." Javeert is my second favorite character, and to know going into the movie not to expect much from him is super disapointing. (In case anyone cares my favorite character is Eponine, so she better be good.)
I am respectful to those who show respect, or simply does not think their opinion somehow is the divine rule. I guess, when it comes to free speech, I believe in an eye for an eye.
yeah, the movie is definitely not as good as the musical. but most of it was alright. the only things I had an issue with were Hugh Jackman's voice and the way they changed the order of the scenes/songs towards and into the second act, like putting on my own in act 1 sort of threw me off. But other than that the acting was great and I don't have a problem with the scenery or camera angles or anything. but I was literally flinching during Bring Him Home, ugh.
Anne Hathaway totally deserved that Oscar! Not because she chopped all of her hair off, but because she brilliantly fell into the character of Fantine, powerfully bringing misery, and tragedy to the part. Anne knocked it out of the park!
WHY THE HECK DOES ALONSO THINK SHE'S TERRIBLE?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
+Anthony Atkinson because she's terrible
She wasn't terrible. The character's interpretation in the movie is terrible, but Anne at least did a good job of conveying what that interpretation was.
Wow, dude, really? That's your argument when someone asks a freaking *objective* question like, "Why does so-and-so think she is terrible?"
"Because she's terrible."
OK, god of all films, we apologize for not knowing any better and we beg your forgiveness. My *gosh*, man.
P.S. Myself, Anthony, and *many* more critics thought she was fantastic, so maybe you should just accept opinions and try not to be the a**hole you are most of the time.
DID THAT GUY SERIOUSLY COMPLAIN ABOUT THE CHARACTERS BEING TOO SAD?
Victor Hugo wrote the novel to expose some of the problems of the era!!
I'm not sure what you mean here. I wasn't offended by their "bashing" of the film. Were you??
Ah crap! There's singing in Les Misérables. I had no idea!
Actually, I think the Les Miserables movie is fantastic. The acting is absolutely phenomenal and the vocals were just as stunning.
Castle of the cl
for example I was initially upset when I heard they had a Hollywood actress play Fantine, because Patti LuPone was so powerful and fearless in the role I thought Anne would never fill those shoes, but then seeing Anne's portrayal I realised that all the things I love about Patti are not what Fantine is meant to be, Anne Hathaway brings a vulnerability and a frailty to the character that, if you read the book you see Victor Hugo intended. I feel broadway over looked this.
This movie was amazing! Anne Hathaway's performance blew me away...
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One question, have you seen the show ON THE STAGE?
yes, I'm currently doing a MA in Musical theatre, but the people that are complaining about the film being slightly different than the musical are not taking into consideration there are things that work on stage that would not work on a screen, (this comment is in two parts haha)
"It helps if you have watched the musical." Pfffff...It actually helps if you have read Victor Hugo's BOOK!!! But I understand. This is too far fetched for Americans.
This movie has to be the most amazing film I've ever seen. Best movie of the year. I don't know how it didn't win the Oscar. How can you hate this movie??
Generally, it seems, people who had not seen the musical loved the film, and those who had, hated or 'strongly disliked' it. But any three-hour long movie set in 19th Century Paris and concerning characters like a policeman and a rogue criminal that can make people *sob* is obviously working on some level.
Whenever I watch The Cinema Snob, and I know Brad Jones used Roger Ebert as his reference, my brain goes automatically to Alonso. He's a textbook snooty film snob.
Have you seen their Zero Dark Thirty or Django Unchained reviews? They averaged over 8 for both movies.
Alonso is way over the top exactly in the way he critize movies. I've watch a lot of these reviews, and his performance is always the same, too big.
So this Alonso guy thought Anne Hathaway was terrible in this movie, and he gave Movie 43 a 7. Kick him off of the show, he doesn't know shit.
Usually he's great, he's the most fun of the group.
Read the book (I suggest the abridged version), watch the show on stage, watch Cabaret (a musical that actually didn't fail as a movie), watch a non-musical adaptation of Les Miserables then come back and tell me it was good.
Based on the book, indirectly. It's a film version of the Broadway musical. I love the play and have seen a couple of movie adaptations of the book. I will be interested to see if this movie stands apart from or above the musical play and non-musical films. Having characters sing on set should make the scenes more "real". I'm expecting better "visuals" than the play; and with the great music, should be a very different movie experience. Looking forward to it.
I'm kind of surprised. I don't like musicals and would probably never go to this stage production but I have to admit, the movie trailer seems really impressive
They say the camera always felt in the wrong place do they even know about filmmaking? I doubt it.
+Enrique Godinez I doubt you do either, because this movie looked like ass.
FriedEagleMind
That's ridiculous. We can complain about many things about that movie but not that it looked terrible because it didn't. If you are gonna criticize do it properly.
Enrique Godinez Les Miserables has some of the ugliest handheld I've ever seen in a mainstream film, Tom Hooper had no clue what he was doing with the camera and I've seen student films that have a firmer hand.
It looked terrible.
Enrique's opinion (and mine and *many* other critic's) is that it looked great, actually.
How about you learn to *accept* other people's opinions and realize that you are not right/wrong and we are not right/wrong. We are just different. Hence, *opinion*.
Darin Michael so if you're bitching to me about accepting other peoples' opinions, why do you have such a hard time accepting that I think this movie looks like shit? I never made a right/wrong dichotomy in my posts, grow the fuck up, stop putting words in my mouth, and learn to accept that some people don't like this TERRIBLE film.
The phaaannnnnnnnnnnnnntom of the opera is stillllllllllll number 1!!!!!!!!!!!
I see what you did there
The fact that they don't understand the significance of the candlesticks and that they understate them and mock them makes me question whether or not they could be considered reputable critics.
they addressed that in the beginning for ben, and it's pretty well-known that these critics aren't prejudiced against musicals. they didn't like this movie or the singing in it so that's why they're mocking the singing.
I dont know why tight shots of people singing is so strange to people? Specifically i think they are talking about Anne Hathaway and how unflattering it was for her, but... That's the point? She said in an interview she didn't want to just sing and show her talent in song, she wanted to portray the broken beaten down character that was fantine with her voice and face, that's true acting if you ask me..
Did we see the same movie? I'm a huge fan of the stage version and while the film is far from perfect, I thought they did the best job they possibly could have given the material and the fact that it took more than 20 years to get this film made. I actually like the fact that the singing and camerawork were both a bit rough around the edges. For this story, it works and makes the film more raw and intimate than if they had done more conventional staging.
I saw the play, heard the music....then I saw this movie and was blown away....especially from Anne Hathaways performance. If you dont like musicals dont see it. I have to wonder if these guys like any movies.
the only thing i agree with in this video is that Hugh Jackman ruined Bring him Home. otherwise i dont agree with anything
But I definitely think the film is gonna get big box office returns because the advertising was pretty effective. They were saying that this is a whole-new musical that you've never seen before, with the WAYS the actors were singing and all that. I was always skeptical that that might have been BULLSHIT.
I loved the movie, love these guys too though, so why spit venom?
I do agree about Hathaway. However, for the movie as a whole it didn't embody the "epic" nature that I think Les Miserables deserves. The two best moments were the opening as the camera travels along the ship the prisoners are pulling in and when it flies out in a panoramic of the city while Valjean's shredded papers fly into the wind. That's the kind of feeling I was expecting a story like this to have but all the close ups of faces and people just didn't do it for me.
The "Bye" at the end was hilarious
Well that's cool. Cause I've seen the stage production and this movie looked nothing like it or any other stage production I've ever seen. If you really want something to look like a stage production you should put it on the stage OR if you want to make a movie of an epic musical and story then play it like that. So the camera angles were the problem, especially all the zooming in of the face and the weird ways they moved the camera to make people look powerful or not. Have you seen the play?
these guys just dont have the mental capacity to like a musical. sad
Right, i did'nt mean to come down on "Les Meserables" or anything, i'm just not into musicals, but that's just me. That being said both "Les" & "Django" (which i loved) are proving to be smash hits already at the box office. By the looks of it both films will have no problem reaching 100 million domestic easily.
Does Christy have a tongue ring?
Ah yes, how did I make that mistake? Sally Field and Helen Hunt are also top picks there, but Anne Hathaway is the most likely winner at the moment. Good news for Warren Buffet.
You are right. It is obvious they are not big fans of musicals. The reason this film has received mixed reviews, because most film critics hate musicals. Theatre critics should have been hired to review Les Miz. It would have been more accurate opinions. Anne Hathaway's performance is not terrible. She gave the best performance of the movie. Alonso praised Sally Field's horrible performance in Lincoln. That was high school acting .
He gave it a 1.8 and he said he liked the musical. You know why? Cuz this wasn't a normal musical. Musicals have talking and songs, not just singing while talking and then songs. There's a distinct difference between the two. If you wanna see a good musical, watch spring awakening.
These film critics have become so desensitized to movies that I don't think that they're even qualified to make film reviews anymore.
What's a chit?
Honestly, I don't get why people don't like her. I see her in the context of the time and how trapped someone like her would be, so it would be easy to get caught up in a genuine attraction.
Yeah, I'd stick with the 1998 film(non-musical) with Neeson, Rush and Danes. Surprised they didn't mention that film. I'd suggest watching that one before this one.
I completely agree, I hated it. Nothing compared to John Owen Jones on broadway
For him to come with me, and he really liked it too. Anne Hathaway's performance was very moving. She really captured the emotion and was very realistic. I loved the photography of the film, the acting, the storyline, and the songs. It is very well done, it's just that these critics are too close minded and blind to see it.
I personally don't like musicals but thought this was great. Agree with Matt Atchity nearly all the time. I got used to the music and the it is a MUSICAL... Everything in musicals are accentuated. It's entertainment. Russell Crowe was bad but how you can say everyone else's performance was over the top is beyond me. Tom Hooper direction is brilliant as well as he uses close ups and wide shots rather than mid shots which you can't get in a theatre. There is a reason for it's hype
Opintons are just that... I don't agree with the low scores from Ben and Alonso but I enjoy watching them explain what they didn't like.
this is definitely a love or movie. personally, i loved it! but i totally get why people wouldn't get it, and that's okay. the same way i don't get this whole superhero movie obsession thing at the moment.
this isn't a new story. you can't spoil something that has existed for decades.
You know I get it that this movie wasn't the traditional musical you would go to see, but that made it better for me. The typically musical has been done over and over again by Hollywood. I liked this movie because it felt real, because there voices weren't like Broadway performers it all felt more real.
All of the theater majors at my college said it was not good. They said it was average at best
On the contrary, the quality of a film is a matter of opinion . Just because you or many others like a film, does not that feeling is the "correct" way to feel about a film. Just because these critics have a differing opinion of a film does necessarily mean that their taste in films is ill-conceived. Indeed, I myself think the film was mediocre. The point is that just because the critics in the video have a dissent opinion on a critically acclaimed film, does not mean that they hate everything.
Please do a review on Beasts Of The Southern Wild
The candlesticks appear at ending of the novel by Victor Hugo.
I think it's fair to be frustrated with people who review movies and don't really seem to always like them when they're made well. 4.2 could not possibly be a fair representation of this movie
I agree most of your comments. These same critics praised Pitch Perfect a formulaic and easily forgotten cable tv movie, that could have been made for the ABC Family channel. Bring It On ! is better than Pitch Perfect.
This movie was amazing. It had a lot of heart. And they liked the Lego movie over this?
+Shannon Levy Haha Exactly! I thought Les Mis was stunningly portrayed both by Hopper and the Cast. But Lego over this?? that's quite comical...
This is the punishment we have to endure for the Academy giving Tom Hooper an Oscar over seasoned vets Christopher Nolan, Darren Aronofsky and David Fincher.
I liked that this is not a pure musical vocally wise. The actors had to actually cry and sing, and not make the song look superficial but rather squeezed through their pain, with all sorts of choking, moans, groans and whispers. Very professional performances that required a lot of hard work from the actors. Yet I understand people who didn't like it. If you like listening to tunes being molded by feeling, closeups, tears and lengthy segments than go see it. Otherwise don't.
Seems like the movie (and maybe the musical) lost the commentary of the original novel and instead opted for the dramatic.
I freakin' love this musical, so don't tear it up, please.
Forget what I wondered about Christy being contrary.
Agreed. Hathaway was wonderful. Now, more than ever, media types have agendas. Anne is receiving great reviews and winning critic awards that can lead to an Oscar win. They don't want Anne Hathaway to win the Oscar. I find it funny that Schmoe Knows Movies, Chris Stuckmann, and other youtube critics are praising the performances of Hathaway and the other cast.
The acting is fantastic, the music is amazing and the production value is very high. However, it all began to wear on me. The movie is over two and a half hours and by the dramatic third act, I wasn't into it anymore. I didn't care once I approached the one hour and 45 minute mark and therefore the climax had no effect on me. 6/10, meh, one thumb down, etc.
wow. did u watch the review? they stated many points as to why they liked or didn't like the film
Critics are not supposed to heap huge amounts of praise to every frickin film they are reviewing. They are supposed to give their honest opinions and critiques and get paid regardless. They seem more cynical and have higher standards because they have been watching hundreds of films every year. I'm in between the opinions of Alonso and Ben and Christy and Matt. It was not as bad as the former 2 says, but the major flaw I had with it was the lack of character development of the two leads. (4.5)
Hey!! WwhatTheFlick becomes WhatTheFuck guys, what movie is actually your best of 2012 ?. Did you give it 10/10?.
Read the goddam book.
One thing I hate musicals is that actors are more concerned with the acting than with the singing so the music becomes unbearable, and that happened a lot in this movie.
Sweeney Todd was at least fun to watch.
I loved this on Broadway, loved the revival, and hated this version. Not everything about it was bad. Hugh Jackman and Amanda Seyfried were fine, and Samantha Barks and Eddie Redmayne were both very good, as was the girl who played young Cosette.
The direction, on the other hand, was horrid, Russel Crowe way out his league, and Anne Hathaway, Academy Award notwithstanding, was merely adequate. Fantaine should have been played by someone with a great voice (Barks would have been goods, as would Emmy Rossum or Idina Menzel) and "I Dreamed a Dream" should have been fully sung.
And therein lies the biggest problem. It's a sung through musical, which means you're going to get a lot of recitative in between the full songs, but Hooper's decision to do nearly everything as recitative and in tight closeup was terrible. Barks owns "On My Own" and "Can You Hear the People Sing" was good, and so far as I can recall, everything else was recitative. If you're not going to hire singers for all your core parts, you may as well go the same route as the movie version of Rent, and restructure it as a book musical. Include the core songs, have the actors speak their dialog in between. At least then Crowe might not have seemed so out of place.
I'm somewhat of a purist when it comes to musicals. The primary criterion for casting a role should be how well the performer can sing their part. If they can act as well, wonderful. If you can find a triple threat like Jackman, all the better. But I hate, hate, hate casting perfomers for their name (Crowe, Hathaway) in a musical over better singers who perhaps don't have the name recognition, but would be better suited for the role.
Mandy Moore - name recognitiion, can act, wonderful singer, age appropriate for Fantaine.
I'd rather see Wicked get killed in development hell than end up like Les Miserables.
Totally agreed with matt (liked the beginning, particularly jackman being cast out and angry and hatheways singing) but after hatheway dies, seriously dragged.
Based on the ratings - two giving it around a 2 and the others in the 6 range, I though't they'd do a 2 vs. 2 fight. Oh well - they're too nice to each other lol. I want to see them argue against each other more.
It could indeed be, i'm just not a musical type of guy, that's all. Like i was saying i'm sure it will do well, it's already doing good numbers overseas from what i hear.
i mean like he wanted you to be able to see the emotion in peoples faces instead of distracting the audience with a bunch of different angles.
I agree with Alonzo :( The costumes and sets were beautiful, but the camera was just wrong... everywhere.
Hey, it's the guy from the Prestige.
Why?
He carries the candlesticks around because they represent his salvation.
I read Alonso's Les Miz review at The Wrap, and many of the commenters were attacking him, his credentials, and his review. It was incredibly vicious and venomous. That is why Alonso is unbelievably mean-spirited on this video. He couldn't handle the negative criticism, and he hates the great reviews Anne Hathaway is receiving. Bozo the Clown knows she is winning the Best Supporting Actress Oscar.
Wow. Those guys are such cretins. I'm appalled. Horrible, horrible review. I disagree on every single criticism they bring up. Most of their issues aren't even with the movie, but with the musical itself, i.e. the length and the amount of misery. If you disliked that in the musical, how on earth can you expect to like the movie?
Most of the actors performances were splendid, especially Enjorlas and Éponine really could sing. Crowe was a strange choice, but I for one thought he did a great job.
Saw it and for the director whos thinking of doing a "live" musical please make sure the actors could actually sing
I agree with Russel Crowe, but the rest..DISAGREE! I didn't expect them to sing every 5 seconds but I enjoyed the movie.
I'm a huge musical fan and was in Les Mis. I wasn't blown away. Believe me, it's possible.
@xxFortunadoxx Anna Karenina was a 800+ pages book condensed into 130 minutes and it was really good. I never read Les Miserables, but I saw this film last week and it was pretty good. Not shit at all but certainly flawed
I respect all opinions, but I still don't see the real reasons why they think this movie sucks. All I'm hearing is," I hate it, I hate it, please stop singing, arhh why did I go to see a movie musical?" As much as I like drama film, I am in love of Les Miserables as a musical. Critics can be subjective, but please stop using your personal taste to judge the film.
Why do you guys watch these videos if you hate all the hosts? I personally like them and normally agree with at least one of them, and if I didn't who cares? They're not on there to say what you want them to say.
Alonso. Yes, we're entitled to our opinions. And while I disagree with you about this movie, I'm not offended. Just confused as hell. You criticize the film for elements taken directly from the musical. "That's not how Victor Hugo wrote it", yeah but Schoneberg and Boubil did. Hooper didn't change much from the musical. The only thing new that the film offered was camera work (which was pretty basic other than the closeups) and different actors. I'm confused as you say you are a fan of the play.
While I hated this movie, at least you sound like a normal human being. I have seen several movies the critics hated, but I never attacked the critic for his/her opinions, unlike most commenters here.
I am a seventeen year old Bostonian and have read it. It helped in terms of appreciating the plot. It also made it easier to be disappointed.
whattheflick is a horrible representation of Americans. I'm sorry if you've had poor personal experiences with some of us.
i just came here from spill.com where they gave this movie a full price, so hearing WTF's review is really shocking to me. but then again, they gave The Hobbit 5.5 out of ten, which is unfair 'cause the movie was great, so i shouldn't be so shocked, i think i'm gonna like Les Miserables.
That film is gorgeous, but Anna's character can become insufferable to watch after awhile. I can see why some people do not like that film and the fact that it's been largely snubbed by the awards race.
Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable.
A common belief is that people who don't like musicals are the ones that hate this movie. I love musicals and this movie was not enjoyable. This was an opera, with maybe a total of 5 spoken lines in 2.5 hours of movie. Only one song in the movie was great, far from enough to save it. I did dire laughing from the ker-splat! sound effect of Javert's suicide.
I knew that Russell Crowe was a BAD choice for Javert! The role should have gone to Gerard Butler, as he has already proven his singing voice and and incredible range in "The Phantom of the Opera." Javeert is my second favorite character, and to know going into the movie not to expect much from him is super disapointing. (In case anyone cares my favorite character is Eponine, so she better be good.)
I am respectful to those who show respect, or simply does not think their opinion somehow is the divine rule. I guess, when it comes to free speech, I believe in an eye for an eye.
I think these guys are taking their titles of "movie critic" a little too literally. It's okay to like movies too, you know.
Great review! People who disagree are allowed to do so, it's a subjective review, they explained why they didn't like the movie, deal with it!
soo... they don't like the music
yeah, the movie is definitely not as good as the musical. but most of it was alright. the only things I had an issue with were Hugh Jackman's voice and the way they changed the order of the scenes/songs towards and into the second act, like putting on my own in act 1 sort of threw me off. But other than that the acting was great and I don't have a problem with the scenery or camera angles or anything. but I was literally flinching during Bring Him Home, ugh.
I disagree emphatically, this is one of the best , if not the best film of 2012. in my opinion.
why? Because you dont agree with them?