Minnie Driver was dubbed for the operatic parts; she did her own singing only in the big pop ballad over the credits.

Ah, that makes sense. How silly, though.

And, yes, the lipsynching was unbelievably bad.

Good to know it wasn't just my theatre. Usually AMC has pretty reliable projectionists.

The Phantom of the Opera is not supposed to be played by someone whose looks people swoon over!

Well...he is, but it's supposed to be because of the voice, making it extra creepy when he turns out to be old/disfigured/psychotic/still kind of hot because of the voice. Which just makes casting a young pretty nonsinger wrong on many levels instead of just the one.

I just watched the DVD of Ray. Excellent, one of the better music biopics I've seen. One thing that made me rank it above What's Love Got to Do with It? is that it doesn't go for the traditional "Big Concert" ending, which is what I thought it would from seeing the trailer. I liked that the storyline ended with Ray finally confronting his failure to save his brother, even though it did go into the various awards he received in later years .

Out of all the various smaller roles in the ensemble, the one that really stuck with me was Warrick Davis, mostly because I had never seen him get that much facetime on screen before (caveat: I've never seen Willow). He really is a good actor, and one who should be getting more significant roles that don't cover his face with a full-body costume.

The Phantom of the Opera is not supposed to be played by someone whose looks people swoon over!

Well, just think of it as Beauty and the Beauty.

I saw Closer and my two overwhelming reactions were ... damn, who do I have to kill to get an opportunity to photograph Jude Law, and that Clive Owen is a scary beast.

Then I took a few moments to consider the razors in the voices and the pain and exhaustion in the eyes of a Clive Owen or a Sean Bean, and I raised another prayer for Constantine.

I can't even read the word Closer without having an intense emotional reaction. I think that means I liked the movie an awful lot, but I just don't feel quite right about outright saying it.

Then I took a few moments to consider the razors in the voices and the pain and exhaustion in the eyes of a Clive Owen or a Sean Bean, and I raised another prayer for Constantine.

Mom! ita's making me all bitter again!

Sorry, Anne.

Closer question: Does Jane die at the end? It didn't occur to me that she might have until I skimmed upthread. Did I miss something?

ita, she does in the play.

But does she in the movie?

I'm not sure. I think that it can be reasonably inferred from the last shot of her -- if you look, she's crossing against the light without checking for cars, and if I remember right you can hear sirens as the screen fades to black. But I saw the movie knowng how the play ends, so I may have been reading that into what was intended as an ambiguous scene.