Coming Soon: Stage to Screen

Les Miserables
Due Date: 26th December 2012
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway, Russell Crowe, Helena Bonham Carter.

Eversince I was a teenager, this story has fascinated me. I remember going to see the musical on stage in Sydney with school and it has been something that has stuck with me for a very long time. When I saw it, Normie Rowe played the main character, Jean Valjean. I loved it so much that I saw it again with my mother and a school friend not long after.

Many years later, I have seen a few stage plays, Beauty and the Beast, Rocky Horror and Phantom of the Opera the only ones that I've committed to memory, but none have moved me the way Les Miserables did.

When the 1998 movie was released with Liam Neeson in the title role, I watched it eagerly, but while it was a great movie, it didn't have the power that the stage show does. I think the songs in this musical are incredibly powerful and make this story into an incredible piece of theatre.

This week, while my husband was away on business, I sat up late one night and watched the 25th Anniversary of Les Miserables on stage at The O2 in London. The power and passion of the performers moved me so much I ended up a sobbing mess on the lounge at one o'clock in the morning. This is a stage show that must be seen to be appreciated.

And now, the remake. This movie has so many things going for it that I'm almost as excited about this as I am for The Hobbitt.

An incredible cast has been assembled with the main part of Jean Valjean being played by our very own Hugh Jackman. Hugh has a wonderful stage prescence and I think he will bring a fantastic edginess to the character. I shall remain reserved about Russell Crowes casting as Inspector Javert. I know he has a band, but I'm not sure he has the right voice for someone as imposing as Javert.

I am however, incredibly excicted that they have used some of the cast of the current London production for this movie, including Samantha Barks, who plays Eponine and brings the most beautiful voice with her.

Of course, the most entertaining roles come in the forms of Madam and Monsieur Thenardier, the repulsive Innkeepers, who will be played by Helena Bonham Carter and Sacha Baron Cohen. I can't wait to see these two together. Matt Lucas was responsible for the role of Monsieur Thenardier in the London production and I think Sacha has big shoes to fill!
Overall I think this movie will be a wonderful surprise and I plan to see it as soon as it opens. It truly is a moving story. I'm even considering getting tickets to a London performance, but not sure my kids will sit through nearly three hours of actors singing on stage. What is sure to be pure heaven for me, would be pure torture to a twelve year old boy!

MOVIE REVIEW: War Horse

War Horse (2011)
Starring: Jeremy Irvine, Emily Watson, Tom Hiddleston, David Thewlis
Director: Steven Spielberg

This was one of those movies that I had put off seeing for a while, but curiosity finally got the better of me and I ended up watching it last week.

From start to finish this is another Spielberg epic and one that many will love, and others will, no doubt, love to hate.

I didn't know anything about it other than it was the story of a horse and his owner who go to war together, or so I thought.

Joey, is a rare and beautiful horse, who is purchased by Ted Narracott (Peter Mullan), a poor farmer in pre World War 1 Devon. Ted needs a horse to pull a plough on his farm, but he see's something special in the horse and overpays, leaving them with little money to pay the overbearing landlord Lyons (David Thewlis) who also tries to bid on the horse.

Ted's son Albert (Jeremy Irvine) takes a particular shine to the horse and hand rears him for the farm. Joey and Albert form a special bond, but unfortunately, the country is plunged into war and desperate times see Alberts father selling the horse to the British Army so that they are able to keep the farm. Albert is distraught and vows to find Joey no matter where he goes.

War Horse is told mainly through the eyes of Joey and the people he meets along the way. While still in England, Albert tries to get Joey back before he gets sent off to war, but the horse gets assigned to Captain Nicholls (Tom Hiddleston), who promises Albert that he will look after him.



The next two hours are full of beautiful cinematography and amazing direction from Spielberg. However, I spent three quarters of this movie with a box of tissues, tears streaming down my face, and my nose blocked from intense boughts of sobbing. If you are an animal lover, this movie will destroy you. It was heartbreaking.

The one scene I nearly walked out on ended up being one of the most amazing scenes in the entire movie. It shows the Germans and the British coming together to save Joey on the battlefield and it is truly a touching moment.

I won't give away the ending as I believe this is a movie that should be watched, even if it's only the once.

I really did love this movie, no matter how much my heart ached and no matter how much I sobbed, but I will never watch it again for those reasons. Spielberg is a fantastic director and he really is one of the best in the business, but as my husband pointed out, he has a problem with making movies that you really love, but are so heartbreaking, that you'd never have them in your collection. Schindlers List is another prime example. I watched that movie once and due to it's harrowing nature, I will never watch it again.

The actors were fantastic, and Steven builds his cast out of relative unknowns and it works brilliantly as you tend to concentrate on the story rather than the actor.

War Horse is a stunning piece of film making and one that will stay with me for a long time to come.

MOVIE REVIEW: The Avengers

The Avengers (2012)
Starring: Robert Downey Jnr, Samuel L. Jackson, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddleston, Mark Ruffalo.
Director: Joss Whedon

For months and months now I have swooned over the idea of this movie. Since seeing Thor, I drooled over the thought of more Loki action and last week I kind of worried myself into thinking that maybe I was building it up too much and would walk out very dissappointed. In the back of my mind I figured I wouldn't care how bad it is, I can spend the whole time salivating over Thor, Captain America and my bad man, Loki.

Today, I saw The Avengers and walked out wanting to sit down for another 2 hours and watch it all over again. It was THAT good.

For those that don't know him, director Joss Whedon, is probably most notable for the tv series of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. One of the things I loved about the Buffy universe were the quick quips, the one liners and the way Joss seemed to make us feel for the characters. In The Avengers, he does it all over again without a vampire in sight!

If you haven't seen the pre-cursor movies, Thor, Iron Man, Iron Man 2, and Captain America, it's probably a good idea to go out and do so. The Avengers is set in the Marvel Universe and it brings all of these heroes together in two hours of pure fun. Getting all the same actors together just makes it even more magical in my opinion.

My one criticism would be not knowing enough about Hawkeye and Black Widow. Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) or Natasha Romanov as some know her, has an interesting story, but we have to guess at her past as we haven't really been properly introduced. We got a taste of her in Iron Man 2, but not enough to know her story. The same with Hawkeye. Agent Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner) was glimpsed for about a minute with his bow trained on Thor in the movie Thor, but it was a tiny cameo and again, we know nothing about him.

I also felt Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) was slightly under-used, but he still did a great job and I love his intensity. Check out this clip below.

I have never seen any of The Hulk movies so I'm  not sure that seeing those before this would make any difference at all, especially since Mark Ruffalo didn't play Bruce Banner in either of the movies available. Mark does a fantastic job as Bruce, the shy scientist with major anger issues. He works very well with the rest of the cast.

Nice to see a little less blonding creme in Chris Hemsworths eyebrows and I love how he comes to his brothers defence throughout the movie even though Loki is clearly hell bent on revenge.

Ahhhh Loki. Tom Hiddleston was absolutely brilliant. He was so menacing and so full of hatred for humanity and his evil grin was so great. I can't wait to see more of him in Thor 2. My husband wouldn't let me steal the cardboard cut out of him from the cinema's...spoilsport. :(

We stayed until the end of the credits because movies like this have a reputation for putting little surprise bits at the very end of the credits. This one had the all important surprise about 1 minute into the credits so stick around, just not until the very end. I have to mention though, this was one hell of a huge team of people that put this together. There are a lot of special effects which would have kept a lot of computer graphics businesses very busy for a long time and they seem to have named every single one of them!

I can't really say much more about this movie without giving it away. I asked my kids today what their favourite parts were and the 7 year old daughter said "the bit where Thor was standing in the meadow with all the flowers looking for his hammer and then all the lightning afterwards. It looked so pretty." And my 12 year old son, "When Loki gets bashed by The Hulk." Probably normal reactions from kids their age.

 

A long time ago, before we had kids, my husband and I were comic book nerds. The end of this movie really did make me wish I was one all over again.

MOVIE REVIEW: Dream House

Dream  House (2011)
Starring: Daniel Craig, Rachel Weisz, Naomi Watts, Marton Csokas
Director: Jim Sheridan

Will Atenten (Daniel Craig) is a successful businessman who, when we first see him, is wrapping up his last day on the job to spend more time with his wife Libby (played by real life spouse Rachel Weisz) and his two gorgeous daughters. The Atenten family have just moved into a new house and are looking forward to having Will around more often as he begins a new venture as a novelist and his wife begins to transform their house through renovation.

SPOILERS AHEAD

But their idyllic life of renovating and writing is soon shattered by a mysterious figure who appears to be watching the house at all times, peering in through windows and leaving footprints outside the house in the dark of night.

Will decides to get to the bottom of it and after disturbing a group of teenagers in his basement one night, he soon discovers the truth about the house he and his family are now living in.

He begins to question the neighbours about what happened and ends up on the doorstep of Ann Patterson (Naomi Watts) who lives across the road with her daughter. Will learns that the man that lived in the house murdered his wife and children 5 years previously and now he thinks his family have become his next target.

Will tried to trace the steps of the murderer, Peter Ward, by going to the psychiatric institution where Peter has been living for the last 5 years, but this is where we find out that Will and Peter are one in the same and that the fantasy life he has been living, is all in his head.

He still swears that he did not kill his family and goes back to the house to try and find any clues that may have been left behind, but his family continue to drag him back into the fantasy life and he switches from reality to fantasy on a regular basis.

But someone is watching him and trying to stop him at every turn.

I won't spoil the ending for you, but my overall opinion of the movie was that it was a Hallmark version of Shutter Island with fewer twists.

Daniel Craig was good as the grieving supposed psychopath, but I feel Naomi Watts was mis-cast and very flat. Rachel Weisz was ok, but I find she is one of those actresses that only ever really plays one role.

Give it a go if there is nothing else to rent one night, but it's just a generic thriller with fewer thrills than want. 

MOVIE REVIEW: Machine Gun Preacher

Machine Gun Preacher (2011)
Starring: Gerard Butler, Michelle Monaghan, Kathy Baker, Michael Shannon
Director: Marc Foster

When I first saw the trailer for this many months ago, I was excited to see Gerard in something that seemed to have a bit of depth to it instead of these wishy washy Hollywood RomComs that he's fallen for in recent years. I also really hate that for most of these Hollywood movies, he's lost his Scottish accent and is putting on an American one, but that's beside the point.

This movie only came out yesterday on DVD (19th April 2012), so I grabbed a copy as soon as I could as I was looking forward to seeing this.

This is the story of Sam Childers (Gerard Butler), a drug dealer, a bikie, a thug, a heroin addict and really, a pretty horrible person to be around. After a stint in gaol, Sam comes out, greeted by his wife Lynn (Michelle Monaghan) and within hours, he is back to his trailer trash ways, telling his wife she shouldn't have given up the stripping job for a job at a supermarket as the stripping job made more money. He throws a bit of a tanty and goes off to get drunk and high with his mate Donnie, who is also another low life scumbag biker who only cares about where his next hit is coming from. In the first half an hour, you get a real sense of what kind of person he was before he found God.

His wife convinces him to come to church where he is baptised and all his sins forgiven. This is the start of a new life for Sam who gets into construction and after listening to a preacher who has spent time in Uganda, he decides to go over and help them rebuild their houses.

Sam gets very involved after touring a clinic that takes in the victims of violent attacks by the LRA (Lords Resistance Army), led by the warlord, Joseph Kony (sound familiar?). He sees first hand the senseless violence and the aftermath of these attacks and decides to do something about it, spending more and more time in Southern Sudan building a church and a refuge for the children that are being abducted and turned into soldiers against their will.

This movie is based on a true story. It is based on the life of Sam Childers and his struggle to save 1000's of children from becomming victims of a civil war that is raging out of control. At times it is harrowing to see what these children have gone through, and even more harrowing to know that this is but a Hollywood version of what is really happening in a country where their children become their enemies. I sobbed a couple of times because of the reality of the situation.

Then I looked up Sam Childers on Wikipedia, which was probably a big mistake. A few months ago, a video on YouTube called Kony2012 went viral, exposing the plight of the Ugandan people who are being terrorised by this mans army made up of their own children. I have no doubt in my mind that this is really happening. I also have no doubt in my mind that there are people who live in Western countries like Australia and America who would want to take a stand and do something about it. But what aren't we being told? Where has the money gone that has supposedly been raised to help these people?

A powerful movie and a very thought provoking one. A great quote from the real Sam Childers at the end asking what we would do if it was our children being taken, our families being torn apart? I couldn't answer, can you?

MOVIE REVIEW: Mission Impossible 4

Mission Impossible 4: Ghost Protocol (2011)
Starring: Tom Cruise, Simon Pegg, Josh Holloway, Jeremy Renner
Director: Brad Bird

I've always liked the Mission Impossible movies, apart from the second one, which really was rather forgettable. Tom Cruise seems to ooze secret agent sex appeal throughout the franchise, and it's no different with the fourth installment.

When we last saw Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise), he and his wife were going through a somewhat tough time but Ethan came through and rescued his wife (Michelle Monaghan) and all was well in the world of IMF.

Until of course the next bad man comes along to ruin Ethans day. They only know his as 'Cobalt', but he is determined to launch a nuclear missile stating that the world needs to be 'cleansed' and he will stop at nothing to get the codes to help him in his quest. Ethan and his team meanwhile, are sneaking around the Kremlin, trying to get the codes ahead of him so that they can stop the dastardly Cobalt in his evil plans. Unfortunately, all does not go well and the Kremlin has a slight mishap in the shape of a large explosion which is blamed on Ethan and his team, resulting in them being dissavowed.

But this doesn't stop our corageous Ethan Hunt who puts his 'dissavowed' team together to continue in their mission to stop Cobalt from nuclear domination.

In this mission we see some new faces in the form of William Brandt (Jeremy Renner) and Jane Carter (Paula Patton) who team up with Ethan and his techno wizz pal from the previous movie Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg), who has just received his field pass. They work well together and there are some amazing action sequences in this installment. I really felt quite sick when Ethan is dangling from the windows on the 119th floor of the Burj Khalifa. Some spectacular shots and this would have looked stunning on the big screen.

All in all, a very enjoyable action movie. This should have been Mission Impossible 3 as the second one was just so out of place amongst the others.

Well done to Brad Bird in his first live action directing job.

MOVIE REVIEW: Pirates - Band of Misfits

Pirates:Band of Misfits (2011)
Starring: Hugh Grant, Salma Hayek, Martin Freeman, Brendan Gleeson, David Tennant.
Director: Peter Lord, Jeff Newitt

If you are into Aardman Animation, those wonderfully clever people that do Wallace and Gromit, then you will love this.

The Pirate Captain, voiced by Hugh Grant, is a bit of a poor excuse for a pirate really. He tries hard and his crew do encourage him, but his crew really aren't up to scratch either. Poor Pirate Captain starts to get a bit down as the Pirate of the Year Awards are edging closer and he's way behind in the Pirating handbook. Every year he enters, but every year it goes to someone else, so this year, he's determined to win!

This sets him and his crew off on a rollicking adventure, trying to plunder gold from various ships that they attack on the high seas. Unfortunatley, each ship they attack has no gold on board and they end up penniless, until they meet Charles Darwin (David Tennant).

Darwin has been searching for something that will earn him high praise in the Science arena but alas, months at sea have left him empty handed. Enter The Pirate Captain and his parrott, Polly, well at least he's mistaken Polly for a parrott, for indeed, Polly is the rare and elusive Dodo Bird!

This chance meeting see's Charles Darwin, The Pirate Captain and his crew off on a dangerous mission to London where Queen Victoria lurks around every corner, making sure no pirates enter her city.

This was 88 minutes of good old fashioned pirating fun. The kids enjoyed it and laughed a lot. Definately worth a look, especially for the monkey. :)