Movie Review: The Phantom of the Opera (2004)

Greetings, friends!

There are a ton of musicals out there. I'm usually really picky about them because either I like the songs, but not the story or vise versa. Whenever I ask people to tell me a few of their favorite musicals, one of them is almost always The Phantom of the Opera. It is really famous and I had never seen it until last Tuesday! Here we are onto the review!

My guarantee: On ALL of my reviews there are NO spoilers unless I give you warning.

The Phantom of the Opera (2004):

Based on: Le Fantôme de l'Opéra - by Gaston Leroux. 

When new owners take over the Opera house, strange things begin happening. They receive a note from the Opera Ghost, demanding certain things. After having trouble with the star Carlotta, a young girl named Christine takes the stage. She gets reintroduced to one of her childhood friends, but she is worried because she keeps hearing voices. Whom she thinks is The Angel of Music is actually the Phantom. Is he just lonely, or does he have more sinister plans?

Genre: Musical, Romance.

Length: approx. 140 minutes.

Costumes: 7, okay, so there are some really amazing costumes in here, but quite a few are a little low, or skimpy. There is also a scene where someone isn't wearing a shirt, or pants.

My favorite: Look at that dress!

Script: 8, they are one or two bad words and a name in vain. There isn't really a lot of talking besides the singing.

Crew:

Directed by: Joel Schumacher.

Written by: Andrew Lloyd Webber, Joel Schumacher, Charles Hart, Richard Stilgoe, & Gaston Leroux.

Starring:
Gerald Butler as The Phantom.

Emmy Rossum as Christine Daaé.

Patrick Wilson as Raoul de Chagny.

Is it weird to anyone else that Raoul and I basicly have the same haircut?

Miranda Richardson as Madame Giry.
Minnie Driver as Carlotta Giudicelli. (Margaret Preece as Carlotta's singing voice except for one song.)

Simon Callow as Gilles André.
Ciarán Hinds as Richard Firmin.
Jennifer Ellison as Meg Giry.
Victor McGuire as Ubaldo Piangi.
Murray Melvin as Monsieur Reyer.
Kevin McNally as Joseph Buquet.
James Fleet as Monsieur Lefèvre.
Ramin Karimloo as Gustave Daaé. (This is interesting because he also played The Phantom and Raoul in different stage versions.)

Cinematography: 7, there were some cool things, but there was a lot of potential that they didn't use.

Cinematography by: John Mathieson.

Music: 9, the music is very impressive! I thought that a few of the songs sounded too much like another, but all of the singing was amazing!

Music by: Andrew Lloyd Webber.

Quotes: 7, as I said, there isn't a lot of talking without singing.

Storyline: 6, there is drinking, gruesome things, death, hanging, and some very suggestive things.

Good For: Musical lovers!

Age Range: It is rated PG-13 because of some scary things, but I think it just depends on each person.

Overall Score: 7.5!

Why, of all times I could have watched this did I decide to now? Well, Rebekah Brannan, one of the bloggers at Pure Entertainment Preservation Society (PEPS), is hosting a blogathon in honor of all things about The Phantom of the Opera because it is the 110th anniversary of when the novel first started being a serial in a newspaper! I thought this would be the perfect time to finally watch this to join this party!

I am still trying to decide what I thought of it. I had heard the song "The Music of the Night" before watching (my dad plays it all the time). I was certainly surprised at the story, I thought it was going a completely different way! I definitely want to re-watch it, and see some different versions, so I think that means I liked it.

If you are a "Phan", they would love if you joined!

Thank you so much for reading! Am I the only one who has gone so long without seeing it? What do you think of it? Make sure to check out all of the other entries in the blogathon HERE!

MovieCritic

Movie Review: Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007)

Ahoy, matey!

This fine day that ye find yerselves in just 'appens to be National Talk Like a Pirate Day!
Because of this occasion I am in a jolly mood to write a film review. Enjoy yerselves!

"I knew there was a good reason."

(Whew, it is really hard to type like this)

Here are the links to when I reviewed the first two movies:
Curse of the Black Pearl
Dead Man's Chest

My guarantee: On ALL of my reviews there are NO spoilers unless I give you warning.

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007):

Based on: the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland.
"For certain you have to be lost to find something that cannot be found, else everyone would know where it is."
Continuing from where the second movie ended, the crew head to Davy Jones's Locker to get help. They encounter different tests, and they also find that the loyalties among the crew might be divided. With the East Indian Trading Company on the rise and in control of the sea, pirates from all around the world will have to decide, is worth it to all join together and fight?
"And so despair leads to betrayal."

Genre: Swashbuckler, Adventure.

Length: approx. 169 minutes. Yeah, it's really long.

Costumes: 6, there are scenes were people are wearing no shirts, or things are low.

Script: 9, I didn't notice any bad words, and I'm usually very sensitive to that.
"Words whispered through prison bars loose their charm."

Crew:

Directed by: Gore Verbinski.

Written by: Ted Elliott & Terry Rossio.

Starring:
Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow.

"'You're mad!'

'Thank goodness for that because if I wasn't this probably wouldn't work.'" (This is actually one of my mottoes)

Orlando Bloom as Will Turner.

Keira Knightley as Elizabeth Swann.
Geoffrey Rush as Hector Barbossa.
Bill Nighy as Davy Jones.

Tom Hollander as Cutler Beckett.

Kevin R. McNally as Gibbs.
Lee Arenberg and Mackenzie Crook as Pintel and Ragetti.

Jack Davenport as James Norrington.

Chow Yun-fat as Sao Feng.

Naomie Harris as Tia Dalma.

Stellan Skarsgård as Bootstrap Bill Turner.

Martin Klebba as Marty.

David Bailie as Cotton.
Jonathan Pryce as Weatherby Swann.
David Schofield as Mr. Mercer.
Keith Richards as Edward Teague.
Greg Ellis as Theodore Groves.

Cinematography: 9, it has some really cool things, though sometimes the CGI is a little obvious.

Cinematography by: Dariusz Wolski.

Music: 10! Oh, it is so good! One of my favorites.

Music by: Hans Zimmer.

Quotes: 9, "Now we're being followed by rocks. Never had that before."

Storyline: 5, fighting, violence, gruesome, death, hanging, bringing people back from the dead, drinking, and some very suggestive things. There is this one rather suggestive scene (with what leads up to it and what follows), but I was actually really pleased with how they did it because I had remembered it differently.
"Gentlemen, I wash my hands of this weirdness."

Good For: Anyone who loves swashbucklers (that's me) and adventure movies, whoever has had to make hard decisions, anyone who is missing people.

Age Range: It is rated PG-13 because there is a lot of fighting (and the suggestive scene I mentioned), and I would agree with that.

Overall Score: 8!

"We need to interrogate survivors and that works best when they're alive."

Bonus thoughts:
This movie is so long, and there is so much in here! I feel like I would understand more of it if I rewatched it a lot, but it is hard to find the time. The first and second movies will always be my favorites just because this one is a little too weird for me. It is a very satisfying conclusion (*cough*but now it isn't the end*cough*). Megan wrote a really good post on it that you should check out! (There are spoilers though).


Thank ye fer readin'! Which of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies is your favorite? Have a good National Talk Like a Pirate Day!

MovieCritic

The Hobbiton Tag!

Hello, everyone!

We Lord of the Rings fans get really excited around this time of year because on the 22nd of this month is Frodo's and Bilbo's birthday! Emily who blogs at The Ones That Really Matter created this tag in honor of them, and tagged all of her followers. I knew that I had to do it. I had a movie review planned for today, but you'll be getting a lot of those in the next few days, so this will be a nice break, right?

The Rules:
1. Please use the above graphic and link back to me!
2. Answer the questions!
3. Tag as few or as many people you'd like!

The Questions:
1. You've invited Bilbo over for second breakfast. What are you serving?

The traditional Irish breakfast! I went to Ireland for about a month with my mom last year (today is actually the year anniversary of our leaving!) and I was about to experience the Irish breakfast which consists of: A fried egg or scrambled eggs, a rasher, black pudding, white pudding (both are sausages), Clonakilty sausage, fried tomato, beans (if you are near Dublin), and toast.
I know, I thought that it sounds gross and the first day I had it I thought that it was gross, but then I had it every morning. You get used to it and it tastes so good and seems very much like what a hobbit would eat.

2. It's a nice, cozy evening in your hobbit hole. What kind of hot drink do you relax with?

Tea! I drink a lot of tea. I used to be very picky and only like it a certain way, but now I drink any kind of tea, any temperature. I also really like hot chocolate.

3. You have to invite either Gollum or the Sackville-Bagginses to your birthday party. Who do you choose?

Oh dear. Well, I feel like I could entertain the Sackville-Bagginses, but I'd be really worn out.

4. Cold weather has hit the Shire. Do you curl up with a sweater or a blanket?

Answer: run around outside! I love the cold weather. I'm like Elsa.

"The cold never bothers me anyway."

In our house because we have a wood stove it gets really hot in the winter, so you don't really need either, but I'll pick a blanket.

5. Who would you rather go on an adventure with, Bilbo or Frodo?

Bilbo! I really like Frodo, and we have a lot in common because we are both INFPs (Myers-Briggs), but Bilbo is one of my favorite characters ever and I would love to spend time with him doing something adventurous.

6. You're stuck in your hobbit hole with a snowstorm outside. How do you spend your evening?

How do you know I'm not creating the snowstorm? Just joking! I would either be reading, watching a movie, or playing some kind of game with my family. Most likely Catan.

7. You're planning your birthday party. What's the entertainment: Gandalf's fireworks or Merry and Pippin's singing and dancing?

Merry and Pippin! They are hilarious and I love to laugh. It is the perfect situation! 'Cause, this is what happens when there are fireworks:

8. Of course as a hobbit, you prefer to go barefoot. But if you were the sort for such things, would you prefer fuzzy socks or cozy slippers?

Probably both, socks inside slippers.

9. Sam's brought you some of his autumn harvest! What do you make; pumpkin pie? Baked apples? Butternut squash soup? The options are endless!

That is very kind of him! It is known that I am a terrible cook (I just need more practice), but I have made an apple pie in the past, and I've never done it, but I know how to make apple sauce, so one of those.

10. It's a beautiful, crisp autumn day in the Shire. What are your plans for the day?

Probably take a walk, admiring all of the pretty leaves!

I tag:
Hamlette
Fawnabelle Baggins
Ceci
& anyone else who wants to do it!

Thank you to Emily for creating this tag. Am I just a little obsessed with being cold?

Later this month Hamlette who blogs at The Edge of the Precipice is hosting a whole week devoted to Tolkien, so click here to check it out!

Thanks to all of you for reading!

MovieCritic

Movie Review: The Inspector General (1949)

Hello, everyone!

I hope that you are all having a nice September so far! It has been very rainy here, which I love because I can sit inside and write movie reviews...

For today I thought I'd review a comedy with the famous star Danny Kaye! I hope you enjoy!

My guarantee: On ALL of my reviews there are NO spoilers unless I give you warning.

The Inspector General (1949):

Based on: Suggested by a play by Nikolai Gogol.
"'To whom it may concern.' What a silly way to start a letter."
After a fake travelling salesman is found out, his assistant, Georgi, has no where to go. Hungry and thirsty, he arrives in town and gets thrown in jail just because they are "cleaning up". The jailers accidentally get the idea that he is the inspector general, who is going from town to town making sure things are in order! Georgi confused, agrees because he is so hungry. His greedy former boss, Yakov, who knows that he is a fraud, convinces him that if the people find out he isn't real they will kill him. Georgi likes a girl that he has met here, and actually wants to help, but what will happen if the people try to get rid of him?
"Things are not as bad as you thought, oh no, they are much worse."

Genre: Comedy.

Length: approx. 102 minutes.

Costumes: 7, a few are a little low, but there are some pretty fancy ones!

My favorite: I like one of Leza's that is blue, but this red one is nice, too!

Script: 10, no bad words!
"Maybe I can't read or write, but I'm not illiterate."

Crew:

Directed by: Henry Koster.

Written by: Philip Rapp, Harry Kurnitz, & Nikolai Gogol.

Starring:
Danny Kaye as Georgi.

Walter Slezak as Yakov.
Barbara Bates as Leza.

Gene Lockhart as The Mayor.

Alan Hale as Kovatch.

Walter Catlett as Colonel Castine.

Elsa Lanchester as Maria.
Rhys Williams as Inspector General.

Cinematography: 7, just regular.

Cinematography by: Elwood Bredell.

Music: 8.

Music by: Sylvia Fine (lyrics and music) & Johnny Green (score).

Quotes: 8, "We shall see what we shall see."

Notes: There are a few Hamlet references.

Storyline: 7, there is drinking, and some suggestive things (thanks, Maria).

Good For: People who like Danny Kaye (that's me), people who like comedies.

Age Range: Any age would like it, I think! The first time I watched it I was with my 90+ year old grandma, she liked it, and I liked it, too!

Overall Score: 8.

Bonus thoughts:
My favorite thing about this movie is definitely Danny Kaye. He is so great to watch, and super funny! I love the part where he imagines giving himself advice. The romance between Leza and Georgi is very sweet, too.


Thanks for reading! Have any of you seen this?

MovieCritic