TrueJoshNight Truly Dreadful Film

Fluentiama Perfect cast and a good story

Exoticalot People are voting emotionally.

Sienna-Rose Mclaughlin The movie really just wants to entertain people.

Maureen Bumanlag I have been a musical theater fan ever since I had been a little kid. I was simply an outcast because of that in my school. Everyone was listening to "pop" music with "rap" and all that. I was more into musical theater.Everyone gasped as my teacher told us that we were watching Les Miserables 25th anniversary for our Literature and Music class, I was not surprised at all, though. I had subsequently asked my teacher to host a film viewing because Victor Hugo was indeed a wonderful writer, and Claude-Michel Schonberg is a brilliant composer.I have watched the 10th anniversary of Les Miserables featuring Colm Wilkinson as Valjean, Philip Quast as Javert, Ruthie Henshall as Fantine, and so on. I have also watched different adaptations of this musical. I have witnessed High School students put on this production, I have seen this production in different theater companies and yet, none have seemed to get me to applaud for them.This cast seemed promising with powerful voices all around such as Alfie Boe, Ramin Karimloo and Lea Salonga. On the other hand, a few members from cast seemed a little out of place such as Nick Jonas, it was a big surprise for me to see a pop singer on stage. I have watched the Jonas Brothers and their voices seemed airy even with all three of their voices combined! What more with one lone Jonas Brother? It was simply dreadful, his voice was so weak, that I noticed he had to lean towards the mic for him to actually be heard. But, then again, Monsieur Jonas did do his best, but it was quite an embarrassment for himself as he was not ready due to his tender age, and lack of power.His leading lady, Katie Hall (Cosette), did not seem appropriate for the role, in my opinion. Her voice was too shrill. Yes, yes, she had the looks, but what I always notice is the voice. Her high notes seemed forced and squeezed. She didn't have weak voice such as of Jonas, here, she had power, but her voice's resonance was terrible.Samantha Barks was good, she had a powerful voice, she hit the notes flawlessly in her rendition of the beautiful tear-jerking song "On My Own". It contained such great emotion that I had to run over to my bag to grab a tissue to wipe a few stray tears. Alfie Boe, goodness, can there ever be a better Valjean? He contained everything that I was looking for in Valjean, he had some sort of aura in him that made me pity his persona while he sang. Ramin Karimloo was perfect for the role, as he presented a fearless Enjolras, he had a slight crack on his last line : "Until the earth is free!" but it definitely helped in shaping his character, he showed a hint of pain in that line, as we all know,the student revolutionaries are indeed going to die. Madame and Monsieur Thenardier were hilarious, that's what you call effective acting.During the 10th anniversary, I saw Lea Salonga as Eponine, she was good, yes, but she did better when she played Fantine. Her low notes are round, while her high notes in her famous aria, "I dreamed a dream", were angelic.It was my first time seeing Norm Lewis on stage, he was by-far, the best Javert I had ever seen. He simply fit the role by a loophole, a wonderful baritone, he was. Grantaire was OK. He did well, but he wasn't that memorable.The lighting was very good, the costumes were very effective, impeccable timing, beautiful acting, but then again, it was lacking.Compared to the 10th anniversary and the crappy High School Productions I watched, this performance gave new justice to the musical with new state-of-the-art technology and lighting, new costumes, a new cast and a majestic ensemble.It was worth watching, yes, I am now looking forward to watching Les Miserables 2012, at least I have a basis already that I can use in submitting a review for that rendition.

latriciasaucier When I first heard of LesMiserables it was in high school. My chorus class performed the songs at a concert. I absolutely fell in love with the songs. Never saw the play, I always wanted to. This concert was the first time I saw the 1985 cast and the performances. I was blown away. The cast was amazing. I actually disagree with some of the comments, however it is their opinions. In my opinion Nick Jonas was fantastic. I was so used to seeing him sing with his brothers and used to hearing him sing pop songs. When I heard him sing, I was really impressed. He put me to tears when he sang Empty Chairs Empty table and when he sang " A Little Fall of Rain with Samantha Barks. The cast was brilliant and if they were to ever do a movie musical of Les Miserables, I would not change anyone from the cast. I would keep the cast as they had in the concert. I thought they were all phenomenal. Alfie Boe put tears in my eyes as well, he was amazing.

pamgardner I am not a fan of opera, but I am of specific opera singers. What a privilege it is to listen to Alfie Boe, weather in musical theater or opera. I got a hint of his talent when I stumbled upon him during a PBS broadcast. I immediately ordered the DVD of the 25th anniversary concert at the O2. I searched the web to compare singers who have taken on the role of Val Jean. None of them could come close to the talent of Alfie Boe. His range, his clarity his passion is beyond compare. A day without watching it is like a day without sunshine. I am keeping my fingers crossed that he will be chosen for the movie version of "Les Mis". I certainly will be first in line to buy a ticket.

Mr_PCM Les Miserables is, quite simply, the finest musical ever made, and this special anniversary performance encapsulates exactly why.It had been many years since I saw 'Les Mis' on stage in London, and other than listening to it on CD semi-regularly, I hadn't had much experience of the show until receiving the 25th anniversary concert on Blu-Ray. Prior to then, 'Phantom' was by a mile my favourite musical, with no others close. Les Miserables blows them all out of the water.The story is simple enough. A paroled man tries to rebuild his life with adopted daughter Cosette, against the backdrop of student rebellions in France. Meanwhile Marius, one of the students, and Cosette fall in love. Yet the plot is little more than something to drape the music around, and for that it serves its purpose admirably, giving depth, context and emotion to the magnificent music. Much has been written about the plot's simplicity, which needs little more than a couple of captions and video clips to drive it on, and the similarly simple staging also needs little analysis. Both serve to focus all attention on the music, adding to the raw power of the show.The music ranges from the comedic (Master of the House) to the tragic (On My Own) to the operatic (Bring Him Home) and the simply spine-tingling (One Day More). No other musical has the power to raise hairs and bring goosebumps throughout, and at the same time bring entire audiences to tears – look out during the standing ovation (one of many) towards the end for a lady with mascara streaming down her face from tears, demonstrating the emotional power of the music. In any other musical, ask fans to name their favourite song, and they will usually all pick from the same few. But with Les Miserables, fans would be hard-pressed to limit their choices to a top 10, with 'I Dreamed a Dream', 'Stars', 'Do You Hear The People Sing', 'One Day More', 'On My Own', 'Bring Him Home' and 'Empty Chairs' not even half the regular list of favourites! The casting is near-perfect. Having seen much of the original cast in the 10th anniversary production way back in my school days, and all but worn out the CD of the original cast recording, I never thought anybody could surpass Colm Wilkinson's definitive performance as the hero Valjean. Yet Alfie Boe does that superbly. His vocal range and emotion invested into the music equals that of his legendary predecessor, but he is also able to bring a power and resonance that gives operatic scale and strength to his performance. His dramatic renditions of solos such as 'What Have I Done?' and 'Who Am I?' are spine-chilling, thanks to the strength with which he is able to hit and hold the big notes, while his 'Bring Him Home' is quite simply awesome. Yet he is not alone. Norm Lewis's Javert is virtually his equal in emotional range, and Ramin Karimloo as Enjolras and Katie Hall as Cosette are also excellent. Matt Lucas, in a slightly leftfield casting choice, is surprisingly entertaining as the roguish Thernadier. While never claiming to be a first-rate singer, Lucas makes up for this by enjoying what obviously is a long leash given to him to put his own spin on the character, really hamming up the comical villainy and providing some genuine hilarity amongst all the weepies. Special mention must be made of the performance of Samantha Barks as the feisty Eponine. While Frances Ruffelle was excellent as the original, Samantha Barks sets a new benchmark, bringing a genuine heart-wrenching pitiable quality, leading audiences to virtually want to beat Marius over the head for not seeing her true feelings, and her haunting solo in one of the show's signature songs – On My Own – becomes a real tear-jerker.Which brings us to Marius. The casting of Nick Jonas, of Jonas Brothers fame, is little more than a casting publicity stunt, and one which almost backfires catastrophically. Quite simply, Jonas is leagues out of his depth, and his voice has not the power nor range to do justice to the role, and he comes across as a typical boy band singer, and a barely adequate one at that. His voice seems small and tinny next to the emotion of Barks or the raw power of Boe. Even his facial expressions come straight from Backstreet Boys 101! He is clearly there as a blatant stunt to draw in younger fans who would buy this just on seeing his name in the cast, a move which comes across as cynical and could cost the performance a star on its own. To be fair to Jonas however, by the time Marius's signature number of 'Empty Chairs at Empty Tables' arrives, he seems to have grown into the part somewhat and sings it reasonably well. Yet when Michael Ball comes onstage for the encore with the rest of the original cast to belt out 'One Day More', you cannot help but feel 'now that is how it should be done!' But even Jonas' potentially disastrous performance cannot prevent this spectacular production of the world's longest running musical from achieving full marks. The music is out of this world, the singing is almost universally phenomenal and the setting of the O2 is suitably grand. It is impossible to fully articulate the raw power of the emotions stirred by the spectacular songs of Les Miserables, but I defy anybody not to be moved to near tears, left breathless and feel a chill throughout the show, and if you are not moved, then you are either lying or dead inside, particularly given the extra treat of seeing the original cast reunite for 'One Day More' and the four Valjeans singing 'Bring Him Home' – a wonderful bonus.Many musicals encompass a range of emotions, but none run the whole gamut with quite the same power as Les Miserables. Awe-inspiring. Perfect.