My reviews of Les Miserables and Django Unchained

Les Miserables

I found Les Miserables to be something of a mixed bag. The first act was great. I loved the songs "Look Down", "Who Am I", as well as heavy hitters like "I Dreamed a Dream", "Master of the House", "On My Own", and "One Day More". The film moved well and the pacing was good, despite the fact that nearly every spoken line of dialogue was sung. But then the second act showed up and the movie suffered heavily for it. There were no good songs to be found after "Do You Hear the People Sing?" until "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables" toward the end of the movie. The singing dialogue got annoying and the action involved with the 1832 Paris Uprising did not make up for the dull moments to be had in the second act of the film.

What saved the second act from complete ruin was the acting, and the acting in this film was top notch to say the least. Hugh Jackman nails Jean Valjean and Anne Hathaway will more than likely go down as the greatest Fantine of all-time. Her rendition of "I Dreamed a Dream" moved the entire audience to tears at my screening. Samantha Barks is brilliant as the tragic Eponine while Eddie Redmayne brings his A-game as the young and rebellious Marius. Amanda Seyfried is good with what little screen time she has and even Russell Crowe, who has been described by many as the weakest link in the film, impressed me with his abilities.

Les Miserables is a fun and moving experience but its second act really drags the film down and hurts its overall quality. However, the epicness of Act I, combined with the solid work from the cast, hold the movie together and prevent it from crashing and burning.

Final Grade: B.


Django Unchained

Now we come to Django Unchained. I have often said on this message board that I regard Quentin Tarantino as a solid, but overrated director. I stand by that opinion despite the fact that I absolutely adored Django Unchained. It is a fun movie packed to the brim with graphic, over-the-top violence, laugh out loud humor, and amazing performances by the lead cast. The Raid scene alone is worth the cost of admission.

I have seen just about every Quentin Tarantino movie there is and I have to say that this is the first one I have watched where the film did not drag. His dialogue-heavy scenes were more interesting here then they have ever been and they moved the plot along in ways I haven't seen from Tarantino thus far.

Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, and Leonardo DiCaprio are all excellent here. However the unsung hero of this film is definitely Samuel L. Jackson. His character is hilarious and wicked and makes for a good ying to DiCaprio's yang. My only quarrel with the film is the way it seemed the final, climatic twenty minutes were tacked on as an afterthought. Though those twenty minutes did provide for some funny moments, such as Quentin Tarantino's cameo.

Anyways...Tarantino's Django Unchained is hardly Oscar worthy, but is'a fun 3-hour romp through the Wild West of Tennessee and Mississippi and should leave you in your seats until the very end.

Final Grade: A.