Los Miserables [2011]

Yeah. Me and my Dad are becoming weirdos who own a billion different Les Mis recordings. Actually, we already are weirdos, but we've all got our things we like. Some people like Star Wars, other people like Lord of the Rings, and we at Spilled Ink like Les Miserables.
Anyway, my Dad got this CD for Christmas from Mom, and it's in Spanish!
So! This is from 2011 (as you might have seen in the title, granted) and it ha the same orchestrations as the 25th anniversary concert. The conducting is a little fast, and there are songs that were previously somewhere around Moderato that are now done at a brisk Allegretto. I could go here or there on the tempos and orchestrations. I don't mind the faster tempos, and in most of the songs, the orchestrations are really beautiful! The only song who's instrumentals I didn't really like were Javert's Suicide. It doesn't sound as dramatic or intense to me. But you know, it's a matter of taste I guess. :)
 Standout songs for me would be Estrellas (Stars), Sale el Sol (One Day More) and Solo Para Mi (On My Own). The Prologue sounded really cool, the rhythm was uber emphasized, and the chorus members were really good.
I really dig the guy who played Jean Valjean in this recording. He was a terrific actor, and he hits the last note in Quien Soy Yo (Who Am I) very well. It sounds so excellent. I also like his version of Bring Him Home, or Salvalo. Either this song is growing on me, or he just did a really amazing job of it. All in all, this guy is really good! A little hammy in the Prologue, but that is to be expected I suppose. XD Maybe he was trying to come off as gruff and hardened or something.
Something I really like about this album is that the entire cast is really good, both singing and acting-wise. Usually there is at least one singer in a Cast Album that you don't like, but that's not the case here. Normally, I don't feel too partial to Empty Chairs at Empty Tables, but the version on this CD is majorly sad. Which means it was done right. XD Cosette has a very sweet voice, I liked her. Though um, she sounded a bit like (pardon my overactive imagination) a cartoon mouse! All through A Heart Full of Love, all I could see in my mind's eye was Marius holding a little girl mouse in a dress on his hand. XD
 Eponine was one of my favorites, I like her voice, and the attitude she lends to the character. She's very fiery, and in Solo Para Mi there are a few lines that sound a bit more sarcastic than in other languages. Fantine's actress did a good job with Sone Una Vida, the I Dreamed a Dream equivalent. Enjolras made me laugh at times because he was just so into it (adorably so in Sale El Sol), and his version of the Final Battle is very rousing. :)
Oh yeah, and how could I forget Javert? Well, he's really good. He was um, super hammy in Javert's Suicide though. Yikes. But even with that, his voice and acting (for the most part) was totally spot on!
So! I don't speak very good Spanish (despite the fact that I live in California and have Mexican Heritage :P), but I know that they were speaking Castilian Spanish, that is, European Spanish. The biggest difference between European Spanish and Latin American Spanish, to my ears at least, is that some of the words with 's' sounds are a little erm, lisped. Well, not lisped in the sense that everyone in Spain has a speech impediment, it's just the way the accents over there work. So 'Cielo' (heaven) becomes 'Thielo', and so forth. It just struck me as funny because I'm used to Latin American Spanish. XD
Anyway, one of the coolest things on this album is Sale El Sol. The cast is so good in that one, the orchestra is rocking, and the title is so righteous. Literally, Sale El Sol literally translates to 'The Sun Rises' or 'The Rising of the Sun'. But it's also an expression similar to 'You live to see another day'. SO awesome.

The Verdict: A+
For a terrific cast and neato instrumentals. :)
Favorite Song: Sale El Sol
Runners Up: Estrellas, Solo Para Mi, Quien Soy Yo

The Umbrellas of Cherbourg [1964]

So! For French class, we had to watch one movie En Francais, and that proved to be a very difficult task. There are a lot of movies I really like in other foreign languages, like Shall We Dance? (Japanese), Pan's Labyrinth (Spanish), and Rare Exports (Finnish!), but oddly enough, I've never seen a movie in French! And as I explored the options... none were jumping out at me. Yes, even Amelie didn't sound all that appealing to me (well, it did, but there is a lot of stuff in that movie I don't think the initial charm and creativity is worth sitting through for). So then there was this movie.
The Umbrellas of Cherbourg is a very different sort of movie. All of the dialogue in this movie is sung, like an opera. Even the most casual conversations and exchanges are sung to a melody. Pretty cool, n'est-ce pas? The film is also renowned for its beautiful, vibrant colors. Okay, some of the wallpapers in this movie are ghastly, but most of the colors are really pretty. XD
So, that was the appeal. The only qualm I had going in was that this movie is a romance, and I'm cautious about romance because there is always the risk of lover-centric-ness in these movies. You know, where absolutely NOTHING matters except the love of our two heroes! The love of other people is phoney and easily collapsed, but the two heroes share a love unbreakable!
But as it turns out, this movie is way better than that.
The Umbrellas of Cherbourg is about young Genevieve and her boyfriend Guy, who share a relatively innocent relationship that Genevieve's mother doesn't really approve of. A wrench gets thrown in the lovers' plans however, when Guy is drafted into the army. Unfortunately, the night before he leaves, Guy and Genevieve get up to some- ahem- shenanigans, and a few months later Genevieve discovers that she is pregnant. So she has a tough choice. Wait two years for Guy to come back, or save face by marrying the kind-hearted (and rich!) Roland Cassard.
There are some things in this movie that totally caught me off guard. In any other movie, the mom and Roland would both be nasty people who don't want Genevieve to be happy, blah, blah, blah. However, bossy as she is, Genevieve's mother is a decent person, and Roland doesn't want to force Genevieve into something she doesn't want to do. You can see that he is a kind man who sincerely wants her to be happy. I'd elaborate on the whole Roland/Genevieve thing, but I don't want to give away spoilers. This movie is one that you really don't want spoiled, because it kind of kills the ending.
There are some flaws. I know that it's supposed to show that Genevieve is immature and has growing up to do, but in the beginning of the movie, her impetuous 'We're in love and you can't stop us!' attitude got on my nerves a little bit. Only a little bit. But still. And I have a few qualms about something that happens later in the movie, but yeah. Rule of Spoilers dictates that I can't elaborate on that. Meh.
So! As a musical film, the one of the most important things to get right is of course, the music! I recently listened to Oliver!, and really just didn't like it. The reason? The drab score! It doesn't matter if the story is good and the character arcs are touching. If the score is lack-luster and only has one or two songs that are really appealing, then it's not going to be much fun to watch said musical. The Umbrellas of Cherbourg on the other hand, has a very good score. While there are not strict 'songs', since the lyrics are just conversations and such, the little tunes are very nice, and there is one that is just plain amazing. But yes, there are a few moments where it is glaringly obvious that it's the 60's. Bongo drums, wee!! XD
The main melody, which is relatively famous, is a real masterpiece. I can't even describe it, just watch the opening credits down there and you'll see what I mean. It's gorgeous, and pops up many times in the movie. :)
Let's see, what else... I really liked the cinematography, especially the way the opening credits were shot from above. And the ending. I would like to go into details, but that's for maybe another post someday, because I really don't want to give it away. But it's a good ending.

The Verdict: A-
The Umbrellas of Cherbourg is a movie about two completely normal people, and the choices they make and how that shapes their future lives for better or worse. With the ending especially, there seems to be the theme that even if things don't go the way you planned, it's not the end of the world. I think that this movie is quite the piece of art. It's a little different, and maybe hard for some people to get used to, but it's a lovely little movie that if you like musicals and French stuff, you probably will appreciate. :)

Content Advisory: There is one instance of extramarital sex, but nothing is shown. The camera cuts away as soon as they start to kiss. And later, a dude visits a seedy bar and spends the night with a hooker (yeah, I'm not a fan of that part). Again, nothing explicit is seen, but it's quite clear what was going on.

Les Miserables: Paris Revival Cast Recording [1991]

I hope you all had a blessed Christmas. :)
So, to celebrate the end of my semester of French, I figured why not review a Les Miserables recording that is in French! I mean, it was recorded in flippin' Paris, what could be better? XD
Ahem. I like to start by rambling about the instrumentals.
Being from the 90's, the instrumentals are spiced up with those syntho instrumentals, so they're relatively the same as the English 3-Disc recording that we have. They don't bug me (they might bug some people, but they remind me of the early 2000's when I was a little kid :D), though sometimes they make me laugh because it sounds like Video Poker music! XD
Now the cast! Jean Valjean is always cool (I've never met a Jean Valjean I didn't like, haha!), and this guy was neato! He has a nice voice, and so far as I can tell his acting was good. His version of Bring Him Home ('Commme Un Homme') is lovely, his acting is just right here. That song doesn't usually elicit a huge reaction from me, but this one... really good. He was also really good in the Epilogue. :)
I liked Javert, he has a very dramatic, almost operatic voice at times. Cosette is usually the most hit and miss character in the whole shebang, but she was a very good singer! She has a sweet, clear voice that is really nice to listen to. All the talk of Cosette makes me think of 'Une Poupee dans la Vitrine', the French equivalent of Castle on a cloud. The French version of this song is so sad, it almost made me cry! The last verse is about how she wishes she knew how to write, because then she could write to Father Christmas for the doll she wishes for. And the middle verse is actually very interesting. Cosette talks about how when she has her doll (her 'daughter') she will dress her in the prettiest dresses, and how she wants her doll to be very proud of her as a mother. Sounds kind of like what Fantine wanted for Cosette, huh? It's such a tearjerker. :(
Ahem. This cast has a good Gavroche, he's got sass, but not in a forced or annoying way. This kid pulls off the role quite effortlessly. I also liked Enjolras on this recording. He's a little petulant, but that's fine by me, so long as it's not excessive. When I was reading the book, I got the impression that due to his privileged childhood he was still a little used to getting his way. XD
Aside from the really good Jean Valjean, my other favorite performer on this CD was Eponine. Her actress has a very normal-girl sounding voice, by which I mean she doesn't have an overly pop-ish sound to her vocals. I like her take on the character, too. She's got a bit of an edge to the character, and pulls off the sad bits without coming off as maudlin and pouty. I really like her On My Own ('Mon Histoire') and Attack on Rue Plumet.
Oh yeah, Mon Histoire. I love On My Own, but Mon Histoire (My Story) is really something. It's harder to adapt into a generic teenage girl 'I'm in the friendzone!' song, because there is more about Eponine's feelings about her situation in life as well as her feelings for Marius. She begins by thinking about how her childhood seemed so pleasant and fairy-tale like, which is pretty different from the English one. I really like the lyrics, I almost translated all of them, so huzzah for French class!

The Verdict: A+
Weee, this font is pretty big and makes the review look super big. Ahem.
I really enjoyed listening to this and being able to understand almost half of it. It's a cool experience to have any kind of automatic understanding of a foreign language. I like the lyrics that I understood, they are so good ("Marius, get off your cloud!") the cast was really solid! I know I didn't talk about everybody, but there was nobody who was weak, or bad. The acting was good, the singing was good, an all-around great cast.
Favorite Song: Mon Histoire
Runners Up: Sous Les Etoiles, Le Grand Jour, Souviens-Toi Les Jours Passes?

Cuz' It's a Mu-si-caaaal!

Sorry for the random reference in the title, I grew up watching Veggie Tales.
Well, Veggie Tales and Mystery Science Theater 3000, which explains a lot about me. XD
I've been on kind of a Musical buzz lately (aka, most of this year. Help.), and I suppose that I just like musicals. Don't get me wrong, there are things that I hate about the genre. Like song and dance numbers that just keep going. And going. And going and going and going. And really, some (read: a lot) of musicals are just cheesy in a not so good way. They also have a tendency to be about rather unsavory subjects and get really steamy.
But I also find it very appealing, because of the way stories can be told. I like a good story that's told through music, and it's easier to explore the inner thoughts of the characters than if there was regular dialogue. So while I wouldn't call myself a die-hard theatre fan, there are a lot of musicals that I really like.
It's a very versatile genre, and you have plays ranging from light-hearted and comedic (Aladdin) to dark and dramatic (A Tale of Two Cities). And of course, there's also room for irritating nonsense, like Cats. Or Chicago. Sorry, I've got... issues with Chicago. [eye twitch]
Anyway, I thought that it would be fun* to do kind of a blog series on various songs from musicals that I like. I've got 55 of my favorite songs summed up, and I think that I'll post them on Mondays and maybe on Wednesday too. :) That'll take a little while to get through, and should be a lot of fun! It'll give me a vent for my random thoughts that I have to put somewhere, anyways. XD
Stay Frosty, my friends.

* "I thought it would be fun to..." It just occurred to me that that is a sentence that begins a lot of cautionary tales. XD

A Tale of Two Cities: International Studio Cast Recording [2008]

I can't recall a night so clear. The Heavens seem an inch away and not unfriendly after all.
If life was ever quite this sweet, I can't recall.

-Sydney, Act I: I Can't Recall

You wouldn't believe the little internal happy-dance I did in my brain when I heard of this. I had rather high expectations for this, and for the most part it was quite satisfactory! The music was good, with several highlights that are great. The characters were portrayed more or less accurate to the book, and they didn't butcher the ending! The only thing that kind of disappointed me was that Madame Defarge and Miss Pross didn't get a Confrontation style song during their little clash at the end. Oh well. Would have been weird anyway. ;D
Speaking of the Confrontation, this musical sometimes seems to be trying to be Les Miserables. I mean, I really like this musical, but you've got to admit that they were sometimes copying. The most glaring is the Act I finale 'Until Tomorrow', and there's a little bit of influence here and there. The only instance that bugs me is the number No Honest Way, which takes place in a bar and seems to be aspiring towards that Master of the House feel. Then again, Gaston is a musical number that took place in a bar (a villain song too, no less) and that doesn't bug me.
I was a little annoyed at first, because Charles isn't actually in this that much. He's in about four songs and that's it. But I got to thinking; A Tale of Two Cities is about both Charles and Sydney, but Sydney is the character who changes and grows more through the story. Charles is good, but he doesn't really grow as a character, he doesn't need too. He's already a pretty good person, and he has a whole life with his wife and family ahead of him. It makes sense for the musical to focus on Sydney more. He's a dynamic character, and in musicals, character changes are expressed through song, which makes it easier for the musical to focus on him.
Anyways, I hope you're in the mood for a long post, because I'm in a ranting mood today!

1. Prologue: The Shadows of the Night

Wow, the orchestra is beating us up! So far as opening overtures go, this isn't the best I've heard. It's pretty much the orchestra hitting you over the head with some loud notes. Then the rest of the song is a quick little verse sung by Alexandre Manette about how he's going to write down his tale before he loses his mind in the Bastille. Does make for an intriguing start of the show, though!

2. The Way It Ought To Be (Paris)

Now this, this is a much better opening. The orchestra hits at the beginning of this song actually carry a good tune, and it sounds very cool. I think that it does a good job of establishing the time, and the lyrics really carry the mentality of the time. At least, I think so. I obviously wasn't there during the French Revolution, so maybe don't take my word for it. ;)

3. Who Are You? / You'll Never Be Alone

A duet between Lucie and her rather traumatized father, Alexandre Manette. It's a sweet song, but it feels a little over-long. I really like the tune, though.

4. The Way It Ought To Be (London)
Even the instrumentals sound London-y! I apologize for being a book-purist, but Sydney is way too chipper in this song. In the book, he wasn't so extremely proud of being a drunken loser. I mean yeah, he's drunk, but Sydney's more of a depressive drunk than a cheerful drunk. That having been said, this song is pretty funny. :D
5. No Honest Way
I don't know why they felt like a big chorus number right here. The Way It Ought To Be (London) establishes the setting, and the next song is a big, slightly humorous, chorus number. Well, this song is kind of funny, and the tune is fun! I have to give it some credit there. I'm still a little bugged by Sydney's strange chipperness. This musical is trying to imply that Lucie alerted him to his sluggish, drunken ways. Uh, no. Maybe I need to read the book again (Don't mind if I do!) but I don't think that's how it worked.
6. The Trial
Hee hee, I like this song. It's delightfully morbid (in a black humor kind of way), and the refrain is catchy!
7. Reflection
On My Own from Les Miserables and Lonely Room from Oklahoma! Together at last. Well, not quite as creepy and obsessive as Lonely Room. But along the same lines. Still a little creepy though.  In this song, Sydney talks to himself and wonders in song form why he rescued Charles back at the trial. Then he goes on to wonder what it would be like if Lucie loved him, it's very depressing, but the tune and orchestrations are belissima. (did I spell that right?)
8. Letter From Uncle
“Mwhahaha, I'm evil! I run over lil' kids with my carriage of doom and despair! Mwha. Ha. Ha.”
9. The Promise
This song is where Charles makes two rather important revelations to Monsieur Manette. First off, Charles is in love with Manette's daughter. Secondly (as if that weren't bad enough!), he starts to reveal something important to the plot, but Monsieur Manette gets distressed and cuts him off. I like how Charles asks Lucie's father's permission before he starts to court her, it's very gallant of him. :)
10. I Can't Recall
Of Sydney's many, many, many solos (he gets three!), this is my favorite. It's also the most depressing in hindsight, but c'est la vie. The instrumentals are gorgeous (that's how you get Monica hooked on a song. Have a pretty intro.), the tune is gorgeous, and the actor's voice- well, I wouldn't call it gorgeous, but it's a good sounding voice for Sydney. This is actually one of the more cheerful songs of the musical (lyrics wise), but it always makes me a little sad. Here Sydney sings about how tomorrow's at his feet, and how he's going to improve his life- all because Lucie showed him some kindness. Of course, things don't go like that. Saaaad...
11. Resurrection Man
Gah, a comedy number. That came out of nowhere. I don't know if this musical keeps in the whole Barsad/Cly-Death-Faking business, but if it doesn't, then this song is totally pointless. I mean, I have nothing against comedy numbers (High Adventure, anyone?), but they should at least serve the plot a little bit.
12. Now At Last
Charles and Lucie's mandatory love duet. But aside from being very sweet and heartwarming, this song is also kind of funny! And I really like it when love duets have the couple singing one line after the other, not sure how to explain it, but it's always fun to listen to. :)
13. The Wedding / If Dreams Came True
Aww, this is so sweet. And I mean that in the best possible way. I mean, I'm so caught up with all the cute marriage stuff that it kind of lets the air out of my tank when Sydney comes in to sing about how depressing he is. But the lyrics are so cool, they almost completely match up with this part from the book, so... yay! Still. I love you Sydney, but this is one of the few happy songs so... stay out. XD
14. Out of Sight, Out of Mind
Let it be known that this song has one of the coolest opening instrumentals ever! Ahem. Basically what's going on is that a little boy was killed by some careless aristocrat's carriage, and Madame Defarge is trying to convince the little boy's father to go and kill the aristocrat. Who's Charles' uncle. It's a little- okay, REALLY- dark, especially when you take into consideration that the last song was all chipper and wedding-y. The vocals in this song are a-m-a-z-i-n-g, and the acting is really good.
15. Little One
I saw the title of this one, and thought it was going to be really saccharine. Heh heh... no. Actually really sad. The first part of this song is Little Lucie saying her bedtime prayers, and then Sydney starts singing (wikipedia says that Charles and Lucie convinced him to go and tuck their kid in. Lazy parents! :D). Then it transitions to France where they're having a funeral for that little boy who died. It's really, really sad. And the chorus sounds so cool.
16. Until Tomorrow
Ooof. The title of this song makes it sound like the Walmart brand version of One Day More. But in all seriousness, this song is pretty cool. I mean, the Revolution in Two Cities is way darker and more violent than the Revolution in Les Miserables, so it's very interesting to hear the ways that it's similar and different at the same time. Ernest Defarge's actor has such a nice sounding voice, and his accent is so American it makes me smile. :D
17. Everything Stays The Same
This song... wow, this song. Best Act II opener I've ever heard. Let's see, what do I like about this number... (1) The eerie waltz-tempo (2) The chorus chanting “Libery! Equality! Fraternity! Or Death!” (3) The way they incorporated the novel's opening lines into the song and it didn't feel too shoehorned in (4) The 'What happened to tomorrow?' verse (5) The guillotine sound at the end... this song does an amazing job of establishing the Reign of Terror.
18. The Tale
Okay, this song has a little bit of inappropriate content (not the musical's fault, it was in the book too), but it's handled well. This is the drama bomb of A Tale of Two Cities (every story has a drama bomb. Like the siege of Gondor in LOTR, and The Final Battle in Les Miserables.), and sometimes the music is a little overdramatic. It's not that bad- it certainly sounds cool-, but Madame Defarge sounds like she could totally be on American Idol. And the dying guy in the flashback sequence sounds like he is totally not dying.
19. If Dreams Came True (Reprise)
This one's pretty sad. The bit with Sydney at the beginning seems a little pointless, seeing as there's another moment almost exactly like it a few tracks from now. But the Charles verse is very nice. Well, nice as in, we like the lyrics. The actual subject matter is pretty sad.
20. Without A Word
So in this song, Lucie is (understandably) a little cheesed off with Charles for skipping off to France and getting himself sentenced to death by height-adjustment. My sister prefers the alternate song for this scene (Never Say Goodbye), but I actually think that this song (while it's maybe a little harsh) adds an interesting dimension to the whole Charles/Lucie romance, and acting in this song is pretty good too!
21. The Bluff
Heh heh, this one's actually kind of funny, all things considered. This is where Sydney goes to Barsad and blackmails him into letting him visit Charles in prison. So of course, Sydney can drug Charles and swap places with him. Oh. Um, spoilers? XD
22. Let Her Be A Child
Bring Him Home, anyone? :D In all seriousness, this song kind of maybe sort of made me teary eyed. I mean, there's Lucie jr. singing her bedtime prayers, and then Sydney starts singing along, and yeah... I'm kind of pathetic.
23. The Letter
So, Sydney swaps places with Charles, and he writes a quick note to Lucie. And um, he sings it. Cuz' it's a musical, and we even sing letters!
24. Defarge Goodbye
Monseiur Defarge mourning his wife. They could have used this time to make that Lady-Confrontation, but... yeah. This is good too, I guess.
25. Finale
All together now. One! Two! Three! NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!
Ahem. So far as finales go, this is pretty good! The seamstress, the guillotine noises, the instruments, the I Can't Recall reprise, the mandatory saying of certain final words... [content sigh]. It's great.
26. Never Say Goodbye (Bonus Track)
Haha! Not letting you go yet! This is the solo Lucie sang in a concert version, and they stuck it on as a bonus track, which is nice. The lyrics are a little on the 'okay' side. I mean, I'm sure there's nothing wrong with them, but they don't carry the emotional punch that Without A Word does. The tune on the other hand is so lovely! I can't decided which solo I like better! :)

The Verdict: A
Granted, this musical isn't without it's flaws. There are a few songs that aren't that great (No Honest Way and Resurrection Man), and sometimes it feels like the makers were ripping off Les Miserables. Also, Charles doesn't get his own song, which is lame, seeing as he's one of the main characters! But aside from that, this musical is terrific. It's got great atmosphere, and manages to keep the spirit of the book. And this CD has a lot of really good performances on it.

Favorite Song: Out of Sight, Out of Mind
Runners Up: I Can't Recall, Everything Stays The Same, and Little One.

Oklahoma! Broadway Revival Cast Recording [1979]

Oh, what a beautiful morning! Oh what a beautiful day! I've got a wonderful feeling, everything's going my way.
-Curly, Act I [Oh What a Beautiful Morning]

Yay! I can't wait for the Dust Bowl!!

When I picked this up at the library (My buddy Ice Cream likes Oklahoma, so I wanted to check it out) I thought I was picking up a chipper, light-hearted musical about some cowboy and the lady he's trying to woo. Heh heh. Close, but wrong.
Oklahoma is actually kind of dark and a little wrong sometimes. For starters, one of the characters mentions a strip show he went to while visiting Kansas City, Curly (the hero!) tries to talk Jud into killing himself so that people will feel sorry for him, Jud has a very unhealthy obsession with Laurey, there's an easy girl who 'can't say no', and some rather suggestive lyrics.
So yeah. Not exactly G rated.
Despite the aforementioned ickiness, I've actually grown quite fond of this musical. Though I hear that there's a fifteen minute ballet sequence at the end of act one. That... that sounds not great. But this review is mostly for the music, since I haven't actually seen Oklahoma in its entirety. Just read the little plot synopsis that came with the CD. :P
The music is very nice, and there's a lot of good, hummable songs. Oh What A Beautiful Morning is so pretty, and even though I've never seen it, the mental picture it paints is vivid and pleasant. The guy who plays Curly has a good voice, and his acting is pretty good, so far as I can tell. I do think that Curly is kind of an impetuous clown though. From what I understand, he goes to talk Jud into killing himself just because he heard that Jud was interested in Laurey. Hello, what kind of man are you, Curly? I understand that Jud is a real creep, but talking a guy into killing himself is kind of odd behavior for a guy we're supposed to find fun and likeable. My favorite character is Aunt Eller, don't ask me why, I just thought she was a fun character.
Ahem, back to the music. As disturbing as it is, Lonely Room is pretty neat sounding. It's a good obsession song, in that it's got a slightly eerie melody, creepy lyrics, and leaves you feeling a little unsettled. (Obsessions songs shouldn't feel romantic, they should be unsettling, so that the audience gets how wrong the situation is.) Anyhoo, I don't usually go nuts over the slow, orchestra swell-y love duet, but People Will Say We're In Love isn't a typical love song, and the tune is lovely.

The Verdict: B
Some of the songs are a little on the over-long side (Many a New Day), but the score is splendid to listen to. Listening to the CD has me interested in the story, and I feel quite tempted to put the movie on our Netflix queue so that me and Libby can watch it!
Favorite Song: Oh What a Beautiful Morning!
Runners Up: Lonely Room, People Will Say We're In Love,and All 'Er Nothin'

Les Miserables in Hollister

Whew, where do I start? [At the beginning, Monica, we've discussed this!]
Well, the production we went to was one of those community deals, so we didn't quite know what we were going to get, in terms of staging and music. But it was actually quite good, they had their own tiny little orchestra, a very versatile stage layout, and some neat lighting! And extremely loud gunshot/cannon noises... extremely loud.
The beginning sounded real neat, and they made the overture sound so big despite the small orchestra. And yeah, it was very exiting when they started! I thought the rhythmic hammer-thumping in the Prologue was cool.

Jean Valjean was a good actor and singer, he compensated for the notes he couldn't reach quite well, and his performance was very enjoyable. Javert was good too, his voice was quieter, but when he hit high notes in Stars and Javert's Suicide it sounded awesome. And the Bishop. Well, the Bishop is always awesome (running out of adjectives :P), and on the programme it said that he was played by an actual Friar!

At The End of The Day was my favorite part. The way they did it was that during Valjean's Soliloquy the curtain was closed (he was singing in front of it) so that they could change the set, and when the curtain opened, the chorus just kind of ran at the audience, and they had cast members going through the aisle to get to the stage, and it was very cool.
Fantine was good, no complaints here, though sitting through Lovely Ladies was pretty uncomfortable. I liked The Confrontation, despite the awkward pause at the end when Valjean brandished a candle at Javert. XD

Little Cosette was so pitiful, poor thing. I almost felt bad for laughing so hard during Master of the House. I mean, the Thenardiers are a nasty pair of people, but I couldn't help it. Monsieur Thenardier's actor was hilarious and their rendition of Master of the House was great!
Valjean was very sweet with Little Cosette, and he pulled a rag doll out of his hat to give to her, that was cute and funny at the same time. He's a magician!

Anyway, then there's Look Down, which is always cool. Probably because it introduces so many new characters. Gavroche, who totally owns the town, Marius, who is adorkable, Enjolras, who you can't decide whether or not you like, Eponine who knows her way around... It's terrific, I tell ya.
Oh, and the thing that stood out to me during The Robbery was that after Marius knocks Cosette's basket off her arm, and they put the flowers back in, this production had her gesture at the book he was carrying around and they both start to read it together! It was very nice, and my sister was having a fangirly squee attack next to me.

And Stars... [dreamy sigh] it was wonderful.
I was pretty happy that they kept in Eponine's Errand (They actually didn't cut all that much), though I had to laugh whenever anyone said 'Ponine. Because for whatever reason they all pronounced it like 'Panine, and it made me think of those toasted sandwiches, Paninis. Ahem, moving on!
Oh, The ABC café. Marius was great here (always looking so hurt whenever Enjolras snapped at him), and they added a few really awesome harmonies that I'd never heard before in the big Red & Black sections. The only part I thought was weird was when Enjolras started to draw his gun at the others when they were being obnoxious. Whoa! O.o

Do You Hear The People Sing was excellent, they did the cast-members-in-the-aisle thing again. And then there was In My Life. The lady who played Cosette had a nice, non-Snow White-ish voice, and her interactions with Jean Valjean were nice. My sister once again had fangirly squee attacks at A Heart Full of Love. ...and so did I. Marius was just so sweet in this production! In the intro of the song, he almost ran away because he was so nervous about talking to a lady. :D

One Day More was brilliant. I always get chills when the orchestra drops out and there's a moment of silence between each word at the end. ONE... DAY... MOOOOOOORRRREEEE!!!
After the intermission things got back into swing nicely with the students getting ready to build the barricade. But more importantly, On My Own! (Sorry, Friends of the ABC.) The actress did a very good job with it, and I loved her acting. Then after that come the revolutionary funtimes, I lose track of the songs that happen around here. But somewhere in there the army captain told them that they had no friends, Gavroche sold out Javert, and Eponine got shot and died. That scene was pretty dang sad, I'm tellin' ya.

After A Little Fall of Rain, Jean Valjean arrives, and after he apparently saves some guy from a sniper, Enjolras gives him the uber-privilege of getting to kill Javert. Then comes Drink With Me, which is probably the second most depressing song ever. I mean, wow. Way to kill the mood, guy who I think is supposed to be Grantaire. But I like it, it's got a lovely, wistful tune, and it sounds great in Japanese. Bring Him Home, well, I have beef with that song. It's beautiful, it's moving, but I have book-purist issues with it. Valjean's actor did a pretty nice job with this song, though. So I didn't even mind that it was totally book inaccurate. I'll um, stop with the book-purist ranting because it's probably very annoying. ;D

So then Gavroche gives Enjolras a letter that apparently says that they're all doomed, because next comes Dawn of Anguish. And Gavroche's death. Oh man, I can't even, that scene is so completely traumatizing.

I almost hate to say it, but I really like The Final Battle, as a song. And this version was amazing! So Enjolras says his line, and then on the last bit, "Let others rise to take our place, until the earth is free!" EVERYONE joined in and they did another awesome harmony. It was so cool, I loved what they did with that part. Though again, I almost hate to say it, but the trauma of watching a bunch of people getting shot to death was kind of undermined by this one guy who totally hammed his death in a slightly comedic way. I um... laughed. And then felt bad about it afterward. But not too bad. ;)

So! I was quite impressed with Jean Valjean's actor during the sewers segment. He lugged Marius across the stage several times, and didn't even waver. But then came... Javert's Suicide. Once more, I shall admit something that I hate to say out loud, and say that Javert's Suicide just might be my favorite song in the whole dang musical. It's a striking parallel to what happened to Valjean at the beginning of the story, and the instruments are so dramatic (that's the time for the orchestra to really jam!), and the actor for Javert certainly lived up to my expectations. Not like I walked into the theater with expectations, but you know what I mean. Now, the way that they executed the actual suicide was interesting. In the last verse, we noticed these guys in convict outfits standing on the edges of the stage. Then, right before the big last line, they lined up behind Javert (who was standing on this box thing) and at the line "There is no way to go OOOOONNNN!!", Javert tipped backwards and the convicts caught him and carried him off the stage. Sure, it looked like Javert was crowd surfing, but it was a creative way to do it, and man! Javert's actor was so brave to fall backwards and trust those guys to catch him!

Whew, almost done. Almost done. Turning was depressing, as usual. Not much to say there. Empty Chairs at Empty Tables was pretty good, I really liked the actor who played Marius. Then there was Every Day, where Cosette does her best to cheer Marius up, and Jean Valjean get steeped into the depths of despair. Poor man. Of course, there's a few songs in between there and the Epilogue, but this post is long enough, and I don't have anything in particular to say about them.

So! The Epilogue, how many layers of awesome is that? Everyone did a good job with it, and the reprise of Do You Hear the People Sing sent shivers down my spine! Of couse, we spent I don't know how many minutes clapping, and then it was over. And boy, was it awesome!
Something cool about attending a production put on by a smallish town is that you get to meet some of the actors outside. We got to have our pictures with Matt Thorpe, who played Jean Valjean and Corbyjane Troya who played Cosette. We also met Jorge Torrez (Marius) and Josh Oelrich (Javert). They were very nice, and it was a fun way to wrap up the evening!

Aladdin Original Broadway Cast [2014]

Salaam, and good evening to you worthy friends. Welcome to the fabled city of Agrabah! Home of flying carpets, soaring heroes, famous love ballads, and more glitz and glamour than any other fictional city in the world!
-Genie [Act I, Arabian Nights]

Okay, this musical is way better than I thought it would be. I mean, the music is great, the characters are fairly decent (Jasmine is a bit cliché, but everyone else is fine), and it's got hilarious comedy.
I know I said earlier that I like my musicals serious and devoid of dancing, but I uh, revoke that statement. I still don't like endless dance numbers (*cough*cats*cough*), but if the rest of the musical is good, then it'll be worth putting up with dancing.
So anyhoo, there's a bit changed from the movie, you know, to make it easier to tell the story on stage. Aladdin has three useless (but funny) friends called Babkak, Omar, and Kassim, instead of his monkey Abu. I saw the Prince Ali clip on the internet, and I love the way they did Genie. I was a little afraid they'd try to paint the actor blue, but I was pleasantly surprised there.

Aladdin- Adam Jacobs

Genie- James Monroe Iglehart

Jasmine- Courtney Reed

Jafar- Jonathan Freeman

The Sultan- Clifton Davis

Iago- Don Darryl Rivera

Babkak- Brian Gonzales

Omar- Jonathan Schwartz

Kassim- Brandon O'Neil



The added songs are actually really good. I mean, they could have sounded like filler, but they didn't. I especially like Proud of Your Boy, These Palace Walls, and Babkak, Omar, Aladdin, Kassim. Most of the original songs were extended, too. Especially Friend Like Me. That's the only song that I have mixed feelings about. On one hand, it's very funny, and filled with energy. Maybe too much energy though, because the whole thing feels a little disjointed and frenzied. So when it comes to that song, I like the movie version a little better.
A Whole New World on the other hand; I was never seriously attached to that song, but this version made me like so much more! The instrumentals are gorgeous (my sister says that the into sounds like On My Own from Les Miserables), and the actors for Aladdin and Jasmine are terrific!
Oh, and Genie. He is awesome. His actor had a great voice, great acting, and energy to spare. I heard that James Monroe Iglehart actually won an award for his performance, too!
I don't want to oversell this, but Aladdin is a very funny musical. There are a few songs that are more on the serious side (Proud of Your Boy, in a slightly jarring way. What happened to Aladdin's parents that made him idolize them and act all guilty? Poor guy!), but overall it's hilarious! Of course, everyone has a different sense of humor, so maybe it's just me. ;D

The Verdict: B+
I'm hovering around B+ and A-. I really like it, despite the fact that it's probably not all that deep, and the characters aren't the most developed or whatever. But hey, it makes me laugh, which keeps me from pitying myself when things go wrong, so maybe that's why I don't mind the bits that are kind of cheesy. :)
Favorite Song: Prince Ali! :D
Runners Up: A Whole New World, One Jump Ahead, & Arabian Nights. But I liked all the songs!

Les Miserables Original London Cast [1985]

I have too much time on my hands! :D
So anyway, we went library-hopping* a few weeks ago, and I came out of it with a stack of musical CDs. And The Guest Cat by Takashi Hiraide. But anyway, one of the many, many (okay, four) CDs I found was the Original Cast Recording of Les Miserables, which is pretty cool, I've never heard it before.
This recording is so different from recent versions of the musical, and that's what made it fun to listen to. The most obvious differences are that Cosette has a different solo (!!!), Stars is before Look Down/Paris, and Little People is... I wish I could forget. So! Let's get down to business, give me a sec to track down all the cast members names, then we can get started! (Wait, who's 'we'?)

Jean Valjean- Colm Wilkinson

Javert- Roger Allam

Fantine- Patti LuPone

Cosette- Rebecca Caine

Marius- Michael Ball

Eponine- Frances Ruffelle

Monsier Thenarider- Alun Armstrong

Madame Thenarider- Susan Jane Tanner

Enjolras- David Burt

Gavroche- Ian Tucker

Originally, I was going to go through this track by track, but that would have taken a super long time. So I'm just going to ramble. :P

 

The instrumentals are really synth-based, kind of like the Complete Symphonic Recording, but even more so. This didn't really bug me, except in Stars. The synth instruments sounded really obvious and kind of bad there. Which is too bad, because Stars is awesome... staaaaaaarrrzzzz!!!

 

As mentioned above, there are two songs that were changed/replaced later. In this one, Cosette has a really nice solo called I Saw Him Once. The tune is beautiful, and so are the lyrics. It's really too bad that they cut this from the musical! The extended Little People on the other hand... I'm so glad it's gone. Because that song is irritating as a bamboo shoot being shoved under your fingernails.

 

Grr, anyway, the performances. I wasn't too blown away with most of the singing and acting, if I had to pick a favorite performance I might actually pick Cosette, because her voice is amazing. Her high notes are very clear and sweet sounding, and I wish there had been more of her on this album!

Jean Valjean's actor was allright. There were things I liked and things I didn't, but overall I preferred him in the 10th Anniversary Concert. Javert was pretty good, I mostly liked him. Mostly, I just wasn't too fond of his super growly voice. That's just me being picky, though. :)

 

I wasn't too thrilled with Eponine, either. I know, I know, wistful quietness and stuff. Nothing wrong with playing Eponine that way, but for the love of heaven! Don't make her character so whiny sounding! She's the only Eponine that strikes me as being self-pitying, and that's... not good. And then there's Fantine. No acting, whatsoever. Listen, I'm not a fan of actors sobbing their way through their lines. But there is this little thing called acting, and it's where you put inflection and emotion into your role, and it's a good way of making people care about the character you're playing! Or, you know, being completely bland is good too. Enjolras was also excessively bland too, but I won't get into that, because this review is sounding so negative! Well, Marius was really good sounding! Michael Ball plays him here (Yet again), and he does a very fine job with the character.

 

The Verdict: B-

I'm not reviewing the musical as a whole, I'm just focusing on this particular recording. Because I'm a nerd. The thing is that this recording sounds very low-key and well, calm! Even the bits that should be passionate and loud (such as Look Down/Paris) aren't that passionate and loud. That, and the iffy performances, left me with kind of a 'meh' impression of this album. I did really like Rebecca Caine as Cosette and Michael Ball as Marius. I thought Grantaire sounded really good too.

Oh, and all the cockney in this album made me think of Henry Higgins. Why can't the English... ;)
Favorite Song: I Saw Him Once
Runners Up: ... Pass!

*Library Hopping! Like Bar Hopping, but with less benders and more piles of books that you'll never have read in time for their return dates.

 



My Fair Lady [1964]

Whew, where do I start?

Fun Fact: Rex Harrison was actually a tiny pygmy-man,
and everyone towered over him. To solve this problem during filming,
the director used force-perspective effects not unlike those used to
create the illusion of shortness on the actors who played hobbits
in The Lord of the Rings Trilogy.

Well, My Fair Lady is the film version of a stage musical that's based on a play that's based on a Greek myth. It stars Audrey Hepburn, who is delightful and classy as always. It's um, also very long, and I didn't take kindly to it when at the two hour mark Mom told me that there was still an hour left to go.

You're joking, right?

The thing is, I like my musicals to be fast-paced, somewhat serious, and lacking in age-long song and dance numbers (Okay, so The Music Man is none of that, but hey, there's always got to be the exception to the rule). My Fair Lady isn't the most enthralling movie I've ever seen, and I feel like some scenes didn't even have to be in there at all! Was it really necessary to have a five minute song and dance number about Mr. Doolittle's wedding? Was it? Because we never see that bloke again for the whole rest of the movie! Why did we need a whole song on the topic?!

But inbetween the deserts of tedium and shrieking, there actually were a lot of funny scenes! My favorite scene was when Higgins took Eliza to the Ascot Horse Races to 'try her out', and she ends up talking about un-ladylike topics, and yelling and swearing for her chosen horse to go faster. It was hysterical! Also the part where they were trying to get Eliza to take a bath (Which my little brother walked in on... and then immediately left.). So I didn't really mind the fact that the movie was longer than an age of Middle Earth. I did mind Rex Harrison's singing, though.

Seriously, he totally talked through all his songs. Not good... you'd think that for a musical they'd cast a guy who actually sings. The lady who voiced over for Eliza was pretty good, though. Nice tone, nice vibrato, etc.
Aside from the inconsequential wedding song, my biggest issue with this movie was it's ending. It was kind of a cop-out ending. In the original play, Eliza ends up marrying the awkward, constantly-hounded-by-his-mother-and-sister, Freddie. The movie however, ends with Eliza coming back to Henry Higgin's house and then I suppose they ran out of film. Because then the movie just stopped. Wha?! I know that the filmmakers really wanted Eliza and Henry to work out, but why? I suppose it's just as well. Freddie's pretty flat and insignificant anyway. I don't care what people say, though. In my mind, Eliza just came back to Henry's place so she could kick him one last time for being a misogynistic git. So there. ;)

The Verdict: B-
So I think that I mostly thought it was pretty good. My sister is much more forgiving towards super-long musicals, so if you want a less biased opinion... yeah. I think this movie could have been so much more awesome if instead of having a five-minute song about something that has no bearing on the plot, maybe they could have made Freddie's character less of a cardboard cutout. Then they could have ended it right. Mwahaha, because I'm so much smarter than professional filmmakers!
But hey! If you like old-fashioned musicals that are hilarious and filled with yummy costumes, have I got the movie for you!
What I'm saying is that even if I don't personally like this movie that much, I still understand why it's a much-loved classic. :)
Oh, and it's my 100th Post! :D

Cats [1998]

My sister said that I 'agreed' to watch Cats with her yesterday, aka, Thursday. At the time, I was deeply exited about an excursion to my best friend's community college campus (it's complicated), so I was in the mood to say yes to almost anything. I forgot immediately afterward what I had promised, and went right back to whatever it is I do all day.

So Thursday came, and my sister reminded me that we were watching Cats that night.

I was possessed by a horror and a cowardice previously unknown to man. My sister already was a Cats sympathizer, because she likes to play 'Memory' on her violin. Me? I still run away screaming at the mere mention of the word 'Jellicle'. But anyway, on with the review!

"WE WILL EAT YOUR SOUL!!"

Right at the beginning there's some really cool theater effects, and no matter how psychedelic and ridiculous the play is, it's always nice to see some cool theater effects. And oh my goodness was this musical psychedelic and ridiculous. There were endless song and dance numbers, scenes that felt like they had been dancing for hours and would never stop, and the plot! The actual plot was simple enough to fit into fifteen minutes! But it's stretched out with the aforementioned eternal dance numbers and embarrassing songs.

And before you say “But Monica, it's a musical, I thought you knew that when you started watching!”

Yes. I knew it was a musical. But then again I'm used to musicals with coherent plots, gorgeous music, no dancing, and characters you actually care about. I won't say that Cats doesn't have one or two touching moments, because it did. Memory was a lovely scene, staging, singing, music, the whole ten miles. Very beautiful, but even that wasn't enough to make up for Rum Tum Tugger.

Don't mind me... I'll just be back here silently
praying for my own death...

I detest that character and his introductory song as much as it's possible to hate a fictional character. He was annoying, and was extremely sleazy. I'm sure him sticking his butt into female cat's faces while they fall in a faint was supposed to be cute, but I was still in shock over his costume. Sweet heaven above, is it POSSIBLE for an outfit to be any tighter? That 'costume' left nothing to the imagination.

I was prepared for terrifying costumes and splaying people, but I wasn't ready for the racy dance numbers. Seriously, that bordered on inappropriate.

All that aside, the plot wasn't interesting. No suspense or depth to it at all, and the middle (scratch that. Make that every scene that wasn't Memory) was so tedious that I think I might have temporarily misplaced my mind. Libby tells me that I had to pause the movie and compulsively listen to Stars from Les Miserables to regain my sanity. Of course I'm kidding about the loss of sanity thing. I just got really, really bored and asked my equally bored sister if she would mind listening to Stars.

I mean, you know a movie isn't doing it for you when you keep checking the time and asking yourself “I wonder where we'd be in [so and so movie] right now...”

The Verdict: D-

I can't give it an F (as I feel it deserves for Rum Tum Tugger's [ahem] icky dance) because of Memory. I can't believe I just rated something lower than the Tale of Despereaux movie. But then again, at least the tale of Despereaux didn't make me want to go out and exterminate all mice. This movie has turned me off cats for a while. But then again, my Grandma's cat Luna is a wonderful cat, and if any cat can make up for this horror, it's her. After all, it's not the cat's fault silly humans thought this musical would be a good idea!

Maybe some prayers for our kitty, she hasn't been
doing very well lately. :(

Frozen [2013]



So, my sister and I went to see Frozen, just us two! It was fun, the theater was almost empty because the showing was on a Thursday afternoon at 4 pm. We almost were the only ones in the auditorium, but some other people came in before the movie started. XD Anyway, both of us wanted to review it, so we decided to bunch it up on one post. My sister shall go first.

The animation was so pretty! Anna could have been a little less cross eyed at times, besides that it was beautiful! One of the first songs called Do you want to build a snowman, was probably one of the saddest parts of the movie. Hans is a HUGE jerk! you will see why later. Elsa's song was so pretty! I can understand why everyone was gushing about it! Now onto Olaf the snowman, he was a pretty decent character even though his little song about summer was SO ironic! was I the only one who thought that the way he lifts up his head was weird? the reason everything was frozen was because Elsa's powers went crazy and she ran away. When Anna finally finds Elsa, Elsa kicks her out of the castle leaving some damage. A giant snowman that Elsa sent after them throws them and then for some reason Anna thought that it was a good idea to throw a snowball at a giant snowman! I am not even going to talk about the trolls. And now, you will finally get to find out why Hans is such a jerk. HE PRETENDED TO LOVE ANNA! I'm serious, he dumped her as soon as she was in danger and lied telling everyone that she was dead! at the end, Anna risks her life to save Elsa from getting chopped by Hans! Elsa figures out how to control her powers and reverse winter! one of the funniest characters who I forgot to mention is Kristoff! He is  really funny the way he talks to his reindeer. He was the one who Anna actually fell in love with!

 The verdict
A  it was pretty good, not as good as Tangled, but it is really good!

Thank you Libby, I see you were quite liberal in your use of exclamation points. ;) Now [cracks knuckles] my turn.

 I'd heard a lot of conflicting things about Frozen, some of it was extremely positive, and some of it was... not so good. Despite all that, I tried to go in with as clean a slate as possible.
The animation is absolutely gorgeous, I mean, wow. They really worked hard on that. As much as I love hand-drawn and stop-motion, I have to admit that there's no way you could make the snow effects so vivid in those. It was visually spectacular. Aside from being a feast for the eyes, the music was also really good. The instrumental music is good, and has a very Nordic flavor, so that is cool. As for the sung songs, they're quite awesome. The only one I don't really like that much is Fixer-Upper, sung by Kristoff's Troll friends. I mean, it's pretty good but it's just not as memorable as the others. Let It Go is obviously the show stopper, it's got terrific vocals and orchestration. The one that got stuck in my head was Do You Want to Build a Snowman, which is an adorable song, but at the same time is really heartbreaking. There's also a really ironic, disturbing song sung by the snowman about how great Summer is. The peak of dark irony is reached when a line ends with Cuddle, and the next line is "In summer, I'll be a... Happy Snowman!" I'm pretty sure Libby and I weren't the only ones who thought he was going to say puddle. [shudder]
Oh yeah, and while we're on the topic of the snowman... I thought he would be really, really, really annoying, but he was merely annoying. Don't get me wrong now, he certainly did have his moments, and he was necessary to the plot, but I um... didn't like him as much as my sister did.
The other characters on the other hand, were pretty good. Their development (especially the relationships) left a little to be wanted, but for the most part they were good. Elsa was the more complicated of the main duo (her and Anna). She was conflicted, had issues with guilt and anxiety, and was responsible for most of the plot (it was an accident, though). What's rather interesting is that while her running away did have some good consequences (Elsa learned to accept her powers rather than be afraid of them), her 'liberation' also came with a lot of bad consequences. For starters, there's the eternal winter that she inadvertently sets off. Then she accidentally hurts her sister- again. Not to mention the fact that she's traded one prison for another. I don't know if this was intentional, but the way everything played out it sort of felt like one of the films messages was that not everything that makes you immediately happy is going to keep you happy, or be what's best. Did I phrase that in a way that makes sense?
Anna is also pretty interesting, even though she has the typical Disney princess traits. Perky, fun-loving, bright eyed and independent. However, there are a few things that keep her from being what's been seen before. Anna has grown up literally shut out of her sister's life. She lost her parents three years before the main part of the story happened, too. So naturally, she's a little desperate for love of any kind and is willing and ready to marry the first guy that pays attention to her. I don't think there is another princess who's vulnerable like that. Of course, she grows a little bit over the story, and gains better judgment. Anna also likes to stuff chocolate into her face. I just found that funny.

I haven't really talked about the supporting characters, but they're also pretty good. Kristoff, Anna's other love interest is funny, and I like the way him and Anna grow closer as things go on. I liked how he talked for his reindeer, Sven, by the way. That was funny.
Then there's Hans. There's practically nobody who doesn't know the big twist regarding Hans, but just in case you don't, skip this paragraph. You have been warned.
It's fine with me if the pretty boy turns out to be evil. But leave some hints for cryin' out loud! When you go back and think about it, yeah, he was a little creepy and well, hasty when it came to Anna and their marriage. But aside from that, you'd practically have to use your imagination to find any hints. Watch a movie with a really well set up plot twist, like The Sixth Sense and compare. A badly handled twist undermines previous character development, whereas a well handled one will support and make previous shows of character make sense. Hans being evil totally came out of left field, and it would have been a more satisfying twist if there had been better set up.
And at the risk of being labeled a sourpuss, I feel like the Anna-Elsa relationship didn't really develop at all. The movie was less about their relationship than it was about how they got back together. It doesn't bug me too much, but there was something that felt 'off' about the movie, and I think that was it.
A final word before the verdict, even though they were tragically misguided, Anna and Elsa's parents are portrayed as genuinely caring for their daughters and doing what they thought was best for them. Even if their mistakes did kind of set up the entire plot. But so long as we're dishing out blame, why weren't the trolls more specific in their advice regarding Elsa's powers anyway? But I'm going off on a tangent.

The Verdict: B+ (Might change it to an A- later, objections?)
Frozen has beautiful animation and music, and has a solid plot. Special mention goes to the cinematography (especially in Let It Go!) and costume design. Oh, so pretty... The relationships left a little to desire though, seeing as they didn't really develop and were just suddenly 'there' at the end. But I liked it more than I expected to, and I'm always going to be a little biased in it's favor because my sister and I had such a great time watching it!

The Little Mermaid [1989]

Hi! This is Libby [My sister. She's trying her hand at reviewing.] doing a guest post of The Little Mermaid! The first thing I have to say about it is that the animation is beautiful! at first I thought that all those mermaids at the beginning were Ariel's lackeys but they turned out to be her sisters. Ariel is a good character don't get me wrong, but she is very abusive towards flounder! "You can stay here and watch for sharks you guppy!" Tell me that isn't abusive! On to our prince Erik! I might as well tell you now, prince Erik is not as cool as prince Philip or Flynn rider, but on the positive side, he would risk his life for his dog or for instance he said this about Scuttle the bird when he tried to sing a song "someone should put that bird out of its misery!" Of course he was just being playful there. some might think king triton was a jerk for thinking of all humans as ruthless jerks, but what if that was just all that he had seen of them, what if he saw a bunch of pirates once, before you ask I did not write any fan fic, I'm just making sure nobody dumps on him. And now back to Ariel, her solo (the one in her grotto) was pretty impressive! Now you will see angry me, unlike the Gaston or Mother knows best ,Poor unfortunate souls is probably the worst song in The Little Mermaid, either that or the chef  song. I will try to make this part quick, but they make a HUGE point of Ariel being sixteen! so why does Triton let her marry the dude that he has never met at the age of sixteen! overall I like triton and it is a good movie.

The verdict,
B+ the reason it did not get an A is because of Poor unfortunate souls, the chef song and that prince Erik dumped Ariel right after kiss the girl just because she doesn't have that voice. Though it is a good movie, just not my favorite.  

Les Miserables 2012 References to the Book

Upon viewing the Les Miserables film after reading the book(which took a whole month!), I noticed a whole lot of details and plot points that were influenced by the book. Which I thought was really cool. Here's a list of the ones I noticed. Why? Because I'm a geek and I totally get exited about this kind of thing. XD
Huzzah!

• In the scenes that take place at the Bishop's house, they kept in his sister and housekeeper, Madamoiselle Baptistine and Madame Magloire. Huzzah for keeping in totally minor characters!
• Jean Valjean's factory makes black glass. More specifically, black glass beads that are strung onto Rosaries.
• After Javert thinks he made a mistake in suspecting Valjean of being a convict, he requests to be fired from his position. I'm glad they kept in this detail from the book, because it shows how devoted to the law Javert was, and how he wouldn't ever make exceptions- even for himself.
• Okay, this is a super minor one, but it's Christmas Eve when Valjean arrives at the Thenardier's Inn to rescue Cosette. I don't know if that's how it's staged in the musical or not. Oh, and he gets Cosette her doll, too! Oh for cute.
• Jean Valjean and Cosette actually get pursued through Paris by Javert, and escape by hiding in a Convent. They actually show him using a rope from a streetlamp to haul Cosette over the wall. And then Fauchelevent is working in the garden, and they ask him to let them stay there. The only way this could have been more awesome is if they had a song where the Cemetery incident happened. :D
• Gavroche lives in the old Elephant statue! I know there is no way you can do that on stage, but I liked how they kept that in here.
• After A Heart Full of Love, Valjean comes outside and looks around the fence, with Marius hiding just out of sight. After Valjean goes inside, Marius picks up a handkerchief, and is later seen cuddling it during Drink With Me. I am of the mindset that Valjean left the handkerchief there, to see if anyone was serenading Cosette by the gate. Because if they were adding in that bit from the book on purpose, I'm one happy fangirl! :)
• Probably the most important and obvious change was that Eponine stole Cosette's letter and kept it until she was shot, then gave it to Marius. I really loved this change back to the book, because it gives Eponine more depth and inner-conflict than in the musical. This of course, leads to a myriad of other changes, like Marius joining the revolution because he wants to die (since he thinks he won't be able to see Cosette again), and Gavroche delivering the letter Marius wrote at the barricade.
• The Army Captain yells "Who's there?!?"
  and Enjolras replies... "FRENCH REVOLUTION!"
  When I was done laughing, I remembered that that was in the book. XD
• Marius threatens to blow up the barricade with a powder-keg of gunpowder, in order to make the Army retreat. This gets mixed reactions from the various students. XD
  "What were you thinking Marius, you could have gotten us all killed!!"
  "Marius, you saved us all!"
• Eponine dies taking a bullet for Marius.
• Enjolras and Grantaire are killed by a firing squad while cornered on the top floor of the Wine Shop.
• While going through the sewers with Marius, there's a brief moment when Valjean almost sinks into a cesspool. I remember that part really freaked me out when I read the book!
• Marius' Grandpa is in this! And they sort of worked him into Every Day. XD

All the book goodies almost make up for the way they made Master of the House even more crude and disgusting.
If they had kept in Grantaire's verse in Drink With Me, that would have made the whole "I'll die with you, Enjorlas!" thing a tad more significant, and that would have made up for Master of the House. XD Oh picky, picky, picky.

-Xochitl (Who is too tired to put up any Walk for Life pictures at the moment, so enjoy this random post which was written in advance.)

Les Miserables [2012]

Okay, this is the Japanese poster, but I liked it. Despite the fact that Jean Valjean is totally giving us the death glare. "Grrr!"
And Javert looks like he smelled something really rank. But to be fair, he almost always looks like that.
And I did my best to translate the white caption on the side, and if my Kanji dictionary is to be believed, this reads- "The Power to be able to Love and Live"

When I watched this movie, it had been a while since I listened to our CD recording, so it was kind of like a re-introduction to the story, in fact it was partially the reason why I read the book (the other part was that it was sitting there on the shelf calling my name.).

So... For the most part, I really liked it.

I really liked all the things they kept in from the book. It makes the movie feel like a fusion of both the musical and the book together, which is really neat. It helped to flesh out the parts of the stage play that wouldn't have worked on film. The execution of the story was really good, and I loved the way they moved Stars to before Look Down/Paris. It made for a really cool transition.
The sets and costumes were really well done, too. I loved the Rue Plumet garden and the Barricade.
Look at that, it's just lovely, isn't it?

 

Hm. Coffins. Subtle. Very, very, subtle. I wonder which
student thought it would be a good idea to put those
on.

 

Okay, I'm very interested in filmmaking, specifically: Cinematography. When I watch a new movie, Cinematography is outranked only by the Soundtrack in terms of what I'm anticipating. In this movie, I thought the Cinematography was sort of a mixed bag. I thought the crane shots were really powerful, and there were a few scenes where I was just blown away. Like in Stars for example, in the second verse, there's a shot where the camera goes in a half-circle around Javert. It's shot from below, and you can the sky around him, and it looks really neat.
Then there was the jitter-cam and the extreme close ups. I thought the jitter-cam was effective in the battle scenes, adding to the chaotic feel, but sometimes it got a little hard to tell what was going on. And as for the extreme close ups... Well, they were fine when they weren't too close. But there were  a few shots where I was like "AH! PULL BACK, PULL BACK!!"

Now. The Music.
I thought that they did a stellar job with the orchestrations. Seriously, they were beautiful! The one complaint I have is that usually there's a flute solo at the end of A Little Fall of Rain, but in this they give it to a violin. Hey! No fair! That was the only flute solo in the whole thing! But that was compensated for during In My Life and A Heart Full of Love. The flute in those songs sounded like butterflies, and I think that flute actually does fit Cosette better. XD And excellent use of Cello, Piano, and... heck, every instrument.
Oh, I feel like I'm forgetting something... something important... oh right! The performances... give me a minute to find out all the actor names. :P

Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman)

 His singing was a little patchy sometimes. I thought he got a bit off-key sometimes, and when singing Bring Him Home, he looked and sounded like he was in a bit of pain. That having been said, his acting was great, and so was the rest of his singing. I loved the way he acted the scenes with Cosette. They have a really good Father/Daughter dynamic, and I think that Suddenly really amplified that. (Sniffle... that was such a sweet little song.) I think he does my favorite versions of Valjean's Soliloquy and Who Am I. You know how in the latter song, the actor usually belts out the line- "I'm Jean Valjean!"? Here he sort of just says it, but I thought it was really cool. He sounded like he totally meant business.

Javert (Russell Crowe)

Okay, it took me a while to get used to his voice. It's very different from what I was used to hearing, but after a while it started to grow on me. I feel like Russell Crowe brought out a side of Javert that isn't usually there. He seemed a lot more thoughtful and calm than usual. There were scenes where he just was Javert, and others where... well, I don't want to be uncharitable. But let's just say that the scene where Valjean let him escape from the barricade was interesting. But overall, I thought he was pretty good!

Fantine(Anne Hathaway)

I am not allowed to say anything bad about Anne Hathaway's performance unless I want the secret service to kick down my door and drag me off to Room 104. But in all seriousness, I think she did a pretty good job with the character. I love how her Fantine didn't just sit around and let herself get fired, she was literally dragged out! She had a certain toughness about her, and I liked that. Her singing was pretty good (when she wasn't sobbing), but I felt like she could have been a little more... I don't know, less sobby with I Dreamed a Dream. Okay, I'm gonna hold up in my room until the angry mob leaves. ;)

Cosette(Amanda Seyfried)

I hate to say it, but she was originally the reason I was reluctant to watch the movie. XD But now, ironically, she's one of the reasons I like it so much. Her Cosette is very well acted and sung, you can see how much she loves and respects Valjean, even if she gets impatient with his secretiveness. The lyric changes in In My Life helped too. And her acting during the Epilogue... oh my goodness, it was so heartbreaking.

The Thenardiers(Sacha Baren-Cohen and Helena Bohnam-Carter)

They were pretty much like the Book Thenardiers. Really disgusting and slimy. But they were still really funny at times, even if I think Monsieur Thenardier had an irritating fake accent. Seriously. They're all French! And nobody else talks like that. Just him. Why? [eye twitch]

Marius Pontmercy(Eddie Redmayne)

Well, let's just get this out of the way now. I thought his voice sounded like Kermit the Frog, and I wasn't exactly fond of it. Now that I've got that out of my system, allow me to say that I liked his acting. He was so adorkable in A Heart Full of Love, the way he was stumbling over his words, it was so cute! And his performance in Little Fall of Rain... wow. His version of Empty Chairs at Empty Tables was pretty good (aside from the aforementioned Kermie voice.), but I wish that he hadn't looked STRAIGHT into the camera. [shivers]

Eponine(Samantha Barks)

I loved Samantha Bark's take on Eponine. Her singing was really beautiful, and her acting was more than just being sad. I also noticed some rather strange eye twitches, and you get the sense that she really resents Cosette. Of course, she wasn't mentally unstable like in the book, but she was tough. I like how in Attack on Rue Plumet, after she screams, she totally hits Thenardier. Her version of On My Own was so pretty, and even though it was softer than other versions, it's still just as powerful. And I loved A Little Fall of Rain. I don't even care that they cut half the lyrics, I loved it.

Enjolras(Aaron Tveit)

As was the case with Javert, he was really different from the guy on our CD. Where CD guy was all hyper and loud, this guy was more calm and thoughtful. In that way, I think he was pretty close to Book Enjolras. I like how he had more emotions than just being loud and obnoxious (But I still love you, CD Man! Whatever your name is!), and his singing was fairly decent. My sister describes his voice as sounding 'Like a Muffin', and I think I'll just leave it at that. He has some really good Blink-And-You'll-Miss-It moments in The Final Battle, helping guys into the Wine Shop, etc. And he was comforting Marius at the end of A Little Fall of Rain. :D

Gavroche(Daniel Huttlestone)

I liked this kid, he was good! I had a minor problem with him, and that was that sometimes it's a little hard to tell just what he's saying behind his charming cockney accent. (Why do French orphans talk like Charles Dickens characters?) Something I really like about Gavroche is that he's just as brave as (maybe even more so than) the grown-ups he hangs around with, and I think this came across quite well in the movie.

The Verdict: A
I was forced to deduct points for Master of the House(it was funny, don't get me wrong, but YIKES! I do not remember it being that rude.). But that's pretty outweighed by all the stuff that I did like about this movie. The sets, the actors, the orchestrations, the actors, etc... I loved the way it took the stage play and adapted it so well for the cinema. It was neat how they stuck in little odd details from the book and melded them in, too. Huzzah!

-Xochitl (why do I even bother with the alias anymore if I accidentaly stuck my real name in a comic? XD)