Les Miserables (12A) seen @ London O2 cineworld
This is set in the post-French revolution era. It is about a man called Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman), a convict who has finished his sentence and goes on parole, but escapes. Javert (Russell Crowe), a prison guard, pursues Valjean when he breaks the terms of his parole. Jean Valjean is caught up looking after Cosstte (as a young girl played by Isabelle Allen; as a older girl by Amanda Seyfried) and embroiled in the post-revolution unrest.
What can I say about this film?
This film is incredible because it is like seeing a five-star opera; the singing of it is like a nuclear bomb going off - its power is very emotive. It was a delight to see great singing by Oscar nominated actors Hugh Jackman and Russell Crowe. Though many people have criticised Crowe's voice, I found that it added a nice touch of variation of singing style to this film.
The imagery in this film is intense through its colouring, scenery and cinematography. I would compare it to The Hobbit for its strong use of imagery. The story had powerful themes of love and loss which made the story beautifully emotional.
The characters:
Hugh Jackman...Jean Valjean
Russell Crowe...Javert
Anne Hathaway...Fantine
Amanda Seyfried...Cosette
Sacha Baron Cohen...Thénardier
Helena Bonham Carter...Madame Thénardier
Eddie Redmayne...Marius
Aaron Tveit...Enjolras
Samantha Barks...Éponine
Daniel Huttlestone...Gavroche
Cavin Cornwall...Convict 1
Josef Altin...Convict 2
Dave Hawley...Convict 3
Adam Jones...Convict 4
John Barr...Convict 5
What can I say about this film?
This film is incredible because it is like seeing a five-star opera; the singing of it is like a nuclear bomb going off - its power is very emotive. It was a delight to see great singing by Oscar nominated actors Hugh Jackman and Russell Crowe. Though many people have criticised Crowe's voice, I found that it added a nice touch of variation of singing style to this film.
The imagery in this film is intense through its colouring, scenery and cinematography. I would compare it to The Hobbit for its strong use of imagery. The story had powerful themes of love and loss which made the story beautifully emotional.
The characters:
Hugh Jackman...Jean Valjean
Russell Crowe...Javert
Anne Hathaway...Fantine
Amanda Seyfried...Cosette
Sacha Baron Cohen...Thénardier
Helena Bonham Carter...Madame Thénardier
Eddie Redmayne...Marius
Aaron Tveit...Enjolras
Samantha Barks...Éponine
Daniel Huttlestone...Gavroche
Cavin Cornwall...Convict 1
Josef Altin...Convict 2
Dave Hawley...Convict 3
Adam Jones...Convict 4
John Barr...Convict 5
The Hobbit: The Unexpected Journey seen@ BFI IMAX 3D
This is set 60 years before the Lord of the Rings starts. This story is about a hobbit called Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) and thirteen dwarves. With their leader Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage) their quest is to save Erebor, the capital of the dwarves. The party have to claim back the city from the fearsome dragon Smaug who captured it at the beginning of the film. The first things you will notice in this film are the stunning locations as Peter Jackson has used new and old locations to film The Hobbit. You will see Rivendell (the home of the high elves) like you've never seen it before; you will encounter different views, angles and interiors. Peter Jackson has also added scenes like the Battle of Moria, which sets the scene for The Fellowship of the Ring.
I found this film very entertaining as it has a lot great storylines and special effects; these two elements come together effectively in the battle scenes and with the troll characters, which I found really enjoyable. Erebor is a city in a mountain and the visual effects used to create it are incredible. In Erebor the dwarves mine for jewels and other precious metal and construct bridges and weapons. Contrasting the grand visuals of Erebor is the little home of Radagast the Brown (Sylvester McCoy) which is a lovely earth house made of twigs, which we see later in the film.
The story was pretty good, but there were some parts of the film which I found were not explained in the book such as the mysterious Necromancer. Unfortunately I didn't see it on the 48 frame per second film, but i did see it in the 15 perf 70mm IMAX format and found the experience breathtaking.
The characters:
Ian McKellen...Gandalf
Martin Freeman...Bilbo
Richard Armitage...Thorin
Ken Stott...Balin
Graham McTavish...Dwalin
William Kircher...Bifur / Tom Troll
James Nesbitt...Bofur
Stephen Hunter...Bombur
Dean O'Gorman...Fili
Aidan Turner...Kili
John Callen...Oin
Peter Hambleton...Gloin / William Troll
Jed Brophy...Nori
Mark Hadlow...Dori / Bert Troll
Adam Brown...Ori
Ian Holm...Old Bilbo
Elijah Wood...Frodo
Hugo Weaving...Elrond
Cate Blanchett...Galadriel
Christopher Lee...Saruman
Andy Serkis...Gollum
Sylvester McCoy...Radagast
Barry Humphries...Great Goblin
Jeffrey Thomas...Thror
Michael Mizrahi...Thrain
Lee Pace...Thranduil
Manu Bennett...Azog
Conan Stevens...Bolg
John Rawls...Yazneg
Stephen Ure...Fimbul / Grinnah
Timothy Bartlett...Master Worrywort
Bret McKenzie...Lindir
Kiran Shah...Goblin Scribe
Benedict Cumberbatch...Necromancer
Glenn Boswell...Dwarf Miner
Thomas Robins...Young Thrain
I found this film very entertaining as it has a lot great storylines and special effects; these two elements come together effectively in the battle scenes and with the troll characters, which I found really enjoyable. Erebor is a city in a mountain and the visual effects used to create it are incredible. In Erebor the dwarves mine for jewels and other precious metal and construct bridges and weapons. Contrasting the grand visuals of Erebor is the little home of Radagast the Brown (Sylvester McCoy) which is a lovely earth house made of twigs, which we see later in the film.
The story was pretty good, but there were some parts of the film which I found were not explained in the book such as the mysterious Necromancer. Unfortunately I didn't see it on the 48 frame per second film, but i did see it in the 15 perf 70mm IMAX format and found the experience breathtaking.
The characters:
Ian McKellen...Gandalf
Martin Freeman...Bilbo
Richard Armitage...Thorin
Ken Stott...Balin
Graham McTavish...Dwalin
William Kircher...Bifur / Tom Troll
James Nesbitt...Bofur
Stephen Hunter...Bombur
Dean O'Gorman...Fili
Aidan Turner...Kili
John Callen...Oin
Peter Hambleton...Gloin / William Troll
Jed Brophy...Nori
Mark Hadlow...Dori / Bert Troll
Adam Brown...Ori
Ian Holm...Old Bilbo
Elijah Wood...Frodo
Hugo Weaving...Elrond
Cate Blanchett...Galadriel
Christopher Lee...Saruman
Andy Serkis...Gollum
Sylvester McCoy...Radagast
Barry Humphries...Great Goblin
Jeffrey Thomas...Thror
Michael Mizrahi...Thrain
Lee Pace...Thranduil
Manu Bennett...Azog
Conan Stevens...Bolg
John Rawls...Yazneg
Stephen Ure...Fimbul / Grinnah
Timothy Bartlett...Master Worrywort
Bret McKenzie...Lindir
Kiran Shah...Goblin Scribe
Benedict Cumberbatch...Necromancer
Glenn Boswell...Dwarf Miner
Thomas Robins...Young Thrain