Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Les Miserables: The Movie That Potentially Broke Me

I finally saw Les Miserables today.


There's really no way to describe how excited I was for this film. I literally cleared my schedule just so I could watch it on opening day. To borrow the words of Grantaire, "I am agog, I am aghast." (In a positive sense of course) I don't even know how to explain what I feel about it. To say that I loved it is an understatement. My cousin and I were laughing at the miserable pile of mush we've turned into after the movie. 

Overall, I think the movie is a great example of a film adaptation of a stage musical. In one of her promotional interviews, Anne Hathaway said that she didn't want to do the pretty version of the songs. I think this was a common intention of everyone behind this movie. Nothing about this movie is pretty. From the tattered clothes to the dingy Parisian streets and the gag-inducing sewers. The look of the production alone would make you feel...erm...miserable. Story-wise it had a valiant attempt at honoring the original Victor Hugo novel. Les Miz puritans would notice the many changes from the stage version. I think these changes worked though because they were able to address the loopholes of the stage story. Plus, the changes made a lot of sense. If anything, these changes just made the film, dare I say, better than the stage version. *gasp* But of course, the movie is not perfect. It does have its low points.

And now, I shall try to put into something coherent all these Les Miz thoughts running through my head right now. I'm going to put a cut on this because I can tell this is going to be long. 

Oh and if you haven't seen it (or the stage musical or read the book or just know the story in general), there will tons of spoilers ahead so read on with caution)

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Musical Theater and the Les Miserables Obsession

If you know me, you might very well know that I am a fan of musical theater. I was raised on daily repeats of The Sound of Music and classic Disney movies. But I think it all really started when my cousins and I found a double cassette of the Miss Saigon original London cast recording one summer during elementary. We played that thing like nobody's business, I tell you. We used to reenact the scenes as how we understood the story based on the lyrics. Since then, I've always had a special spot in my heart for that musical and musical theater in general.

Thursday, January 3, 2013

Hey There 2013!

It's a new year once again!

I wouldn't say 2012 was a particularly good year because it wasn't. At least not for me. If I'm being completely honest, the past couple of years haven't been as expected. But for some reason I don't really feel bad about it. In fact, I am kinda grateful for them. I feel like all the crap I've been through this past couple of years has made me appreciate the little things a lot more. And for that I'm grateful. 

I've always thought of myself as an optimist. For a while, I thought I've lost that. I realize now that I haven't. Somewhere, there's still that little sunshine and rainbows of a girl peeking through. And with that, I welcome this new year, whatever it may bring. 

Forge on!