We had the neighbors over tonight to watch Les Miz (DVD screener FTW) and I realized that since I first fell in love with this musical around age 11, I both love it unreservedly and can't help but mock it mercilessly for its earnestness. Every viewing is like an MST3K love letter to the show.

(For example, the scene where the army is approaching the barricade and the captain shouts "Who's there?" and Enjolras yells back "French Revolution!" I have twice now - on DVD in my living room, not in a theater - responded "French Revolution who?" out loud without really meaning to. And then I write Enjolras + Jess 4EVAH in my head and draw little hearts around it.)

Jessica, you made me laugh so hard I coughed.

Did anyone else in the theatre yell Barrowman?

Hah! I watched it at home with 4 other people. (Screener FTW) They just looked at me oddly.

Thankfully I also got to watch Les Miz at home too because I was a sobbing mess.

It was definitely hard to watch at times, but it doesn't glorify anything that happened.

Did it imply the torture yielded useful info? That is the complaint I heard.

I saw Central Park Five last night. I thought it was really well-made, though it also raised a bunch of questions that it could have answered and didn't. (Especially about what information was available to whom, and when. The film mentions several defense strategies that could have been used and weren't, but it doesn't really make it clear what information was available to the defense attorneys.)

Especially about what information was available to whom, and when. The film mentions several defense strategies that could have been used and weren't, but it doesn't really make it clear what information was available to the defense attorneys.

Given what I know about Florentine Films and their research staff, I wonder if they weren't able to confirm those details with a high enough degree of confidence to include in the film.

Did it imply the torture yielded useful info? That is the complaint I heard.

It definitely does. I was sort of surprised that there was nothing about people just saying whatever to stop being tortured, but pretty much all the information that comes out of torture is treated as truth.

I saw Django Unchained this morning, and it was fun times, but it was pretty linear and not very complex. Very Tarantino, but not amazing.

Finally saw Le Miz, cried buckets, but not necessarily at the places I was used to, which I think was an effect of being able to see faces better due to close ups.

I found myself surprised that I thought the actor playing Marius, Eddie Redmayne, had a much better voice than advertised here. I put him vocally above Crowe, Jackman, and Seyfried for sure. I thought his performance of Empty Chairs at Empty Tables was more than adequate and I bawled like a baby.

I also felt Jackman's vocal performance to be hit or miss. There were times he did very well and others where his voice was so thin and nasal sounding I could hardly bear it. Still, he acted the hell out of it and I thought he put in an excellent overall performance.

I got exactly what I wanted from Ann Hathaway both vocally and performance-wise. Her I Dreamed a Dream just tore me up. I thought it had more depth to it than the version that Samantha Barks sang later.

And while I enjoyed Samantha Barks I wasn't wowed by her. She probably had the best vocal control of any of them, but her performance left me kind of blah.

Amanda Seyfried made a very affecting Cossette, and while I don't mind vibrato, I thought her voice was much too thin and she had to strain for the high notes. She hit them, but with so little force that she was drowned out anytime she had to sing with anyone else.

Crowe played the stalwart Javert very well, but I have to agree that he really didn't have the voice for the part. I enjoyed his rendition of Stars, but more for the setting and direction he was given. The only thing about his suicide song that I liked was when it ended and he threw himself in the river. That really was a majestic drop.

Still, I enjoyed this movie as much as I've enjoyed any stage performance of Le Miz that I've been to because the story itself is a classic and so very affecting. I would have felt the same way if every word had been spoken rather than sung.

The thing that most struck me during Stars was that the framing for much of the song featured Crowe being stared at by an incredulous-looking eagle statue who seemed to be thinking to itself "I specifically requested no singing roommates!"

JJ Abrams et al. are a class act: [link]