The New Les Miserables Movie

This movie was amazing, JS.

It IS amazing. Really. PS: I wrote a review. Here:

Hugh Jackman was probably the best Valjean I've ever seen and did a great job on the acting, and I loved how his voice subtly changed from gruff to soft when he was in different situations (singing AND speaking). Russel Crowe was also very good as Javert, and although his interpretation of the character was far from what I imagined, he still did a good job and made the character seem not only believable, but quite relateable.

Anne Hathaway was perfect. Her singing voice was probably one of the best in the movie, and her acting was spot-on. Her rendition of "I Dreamed a Dream" almost moved me to tears, which is far more than I can say for any other production I've ever seen.

I also loved the relationship between Javert and Valjean. They played up how Javert felt that he had to be lawfun infront of the Madeline and how Valjean respected him for being so straightforeward. It also didn't seen at all like Valjean was being relentlessly chansed by a crazy obsessive man, and instead made it look like Javert was simply doing his job.

The Les Amis D'ABC were great. Enjolras was very talented, and so was Marius. Unfortunately, due to the strange cinematography and plot changes, they didn't get the screentime I would have liked. They made some bold changes, but the majority of them worked in their favour.

For instance, they moved "Do You Hear the People Sing?" to Lamarque's funeral, and they hijacked the prosession and trned it into a call to revolution. It worked perfectly in my opinion, and gave the song a much more passionate chorus and was better for filming reasons. Also, did anyone else catch how they threw Lamarque's coffin onto the barricade, literally using him to help the revolution?

Another change was that they added in a few scenes, such as Valjean and Cosette actually meeting in the woods. They did this VERY well, and I literally said "D'aww" several times. Cosette and Valjean were simply too adorable. This goes for older Cosette as well, and they did the differences between how her and Valjean lived very subtly and yet very effectively.

There were, on the other hand, some things I didn't like, or that just didn't work: For instance, the re-addition of Marius's grandfather. I knew who he was because I'd read the book, but my sister, (who is an avid fan of the musical) hadn't the slightest idea who he was. The way that they made Marius more of a revolutionary also bothered me, since he isn't really supposed to be a huge driving force behind the revolution.

Another thing, which was probably the biggest problem for me: The CGI. "Stars" and "Javert's Suicide" will forever be hauted by terrible renderings of bridges. While it probably would have worked quite well on a smaller screen, it wasn't nearly up to par. I ended up paying too much attention to the shotty animation and less to, say, Javert jumping off the bridge.

Which brings me to the cinematography. The movie was clogged up with too many long shots of character's faces, and not enough of body language or set pieces. I literally have no idea what happened in the final battle because we saw nothing but young men's faces. Who died? No idea. But I have a very clear shot of what they looked like from the shoulders up.

Another example of that is in "I Dreamed a Dream." When Fantine is reflecting on her life, and what she's lost, I probably shouldn't be focusing on how strange Anne Hathaway's neck looks. They could have done a flashback to show what she was talking about, or better conveyed the meaning of the wong through different angles or something, instead of just letting her sing through the camera.

Overall, though, the movie was amazing. I tend to be a nitpick, so don't take all the negative parts too seriously. I loved the way that they did most everything else, so I'd still give the movie an 8/10. Bravo!