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teachergeek
Reviews
The Phantom of the Opera (2004)
Excellent interpretation
I've been a Phantom fan since I was 13, which amounts to roughly 12 years. I know the score by heart, and have seen the stage production at least 5 times. Which means I've been excited/ nervous /thrilled /terrified about the Phantom movie. If it was well done, it would be awesome, and if it sucked then it would suck forever and that would be that. The trailer kicked ass...which I saw back in July (it was shown before Spiderman2) and I've essentially been holding my breath since then.
Personally, I loved it.
1. The Phantom was played extremely well. Sensual and erotic for the first third, scary and erotic (I'm twisted about it, deal) and then scary and almost pathetic (pitiful? hard to find a word choice) for the last third. Redemption accomplished. Very happy.
2. Emmy Rossum deserves her Golden Globe award for her role as Christine. She plays the character much better than I had expected and better than some stage interpretations I've seen. I also love her voice. I've never been a huge fan of Sarah Brightman, who sounds a bit shrill. Rossum is much more palatable.
3. Never liked Raoul...end of story. But the guy is what he's supposed to be.
4. Webber did all the orchestral changes, so it's fluid with the tone of the show/movie.
5. Intelligent transitions that do a better job of furthering the plot than can occur on stage.
6. They moved the part where the chandelier drops, but it was moved to the point where I always thought it should have dropped (but for staging reasons doesn't)
Issues... 1. Sometimes a little too much exposition or recitation of lines that were sung in the show and should stay sung.
2. Not sure I like the "back story" provided for Phantom (my preferred back story is Susan Kay's novel "Phantom")
3. I got jarred here and there because of lyrical changes (expect that if you're a huge fan of the Broadway version...not bad changes, but a dropped line here, an added one there).
4. The over the credits song by Minnie Driver is just unnecessary. She has a pretty folksy kind of voice, but it's just not needed. Make it go away.
The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement (2004)
Fun Chick Flick
Anyone who liked the first Princess Diaries movie will like this. It's sweet, it's funny, and there are gorgeous men and gorgeous clothes. My best friend and I are in our late 20's and although it was predictable as any chick flick is...it was well worth our 9 dollar admissions. We loved it, and left feeling happy.
Mia arrives back in Genovia only to discover that due to a old law still on the books, she has to marry in order to rule her country. Unfortunately there is another candidate. Mia proceeds to deal with her life with her usual mix of clumsiness and sarcasm, with best friend Lily along for the ride. Memorable scenes include the ball, the parade, the wooden leg, and the continuing romance between Joe and Queen Clarice.