Movie Review: Les Misérables (2012)

Wow, I just saw a masterpiece. No, really, one of the greatest musicals. Les Misérables is definitely one of the this year's top movie. Tom Hooper's fresh adaptation of Victor Hugo's novel and acclaimed stage musical with the same name is the best movie watching experience this year.

The film is about love, redemption and revolution. It evolves through the lives of different generations, however the major story is about Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman) who was detained for robbery of the bread. However, he has been chased by Inspector Javert (Russel Crow) the rest of his life.

Les Misérables has a dream cast (photo above). The whole acting panel is almost perfect from very new actors (Eddie Redmayne) to the old ones (the familiar faces on the photo). Hugh is great. He can sing, he can act and it seems he has done everything to get to the top of his career. I believe this is best performance ever given by him. He singing the song "What Have I Done" is brilliant - emotional, pure and powerful. But Anne Hathaway just steals the hearts. She is outstanding. Probably the first actress who is going to win Oscar for one song performance. Her "I Dream a Dream" is totally different from all the versions I've heard before. At the same time, Samantha Barks delivers perfect singing experience and Eddie just rocks by singing "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables".

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85th Academy Award Nominees

Here they are, the nominees of 85th Annual Academy Awards.

Best Motion Picture

• Beasts of Southern Wild
• Silver Linings Playbook
• ZDT
• Lincoln
• Les Miserables
• Life of Pi
• Amour
• Django Unchained
• Argo

Best Actor

• Daniel Day-Lewis for Lincoln
• Denzel Washington for Flight
• Hugh Jackman for Les Miserables
• Bradley Cooper for Silver Linings Playbook
• Joaquin Phoenix for The Master

Best Actress

• Naomi Watts for The Impossible
• Jessica Chasstain for Zero Dark Thirty
• Jennifer Lawrence for Silver Linings Playbook
• Emanuelle Riva for Amour
• Quvenzhane Wallis for Beasts of Southern Wild

Best Supporting Actor

• Christoph Waltz for Django Unchained
• Philip Saymour Hoffman for The Master
• Robert De Niro for Silver Linings Playbook
• Alan Arkin for Argo
• Tommy Lee Jones for Lincoln

Best Supporting Actress

• Sally Field for Lincoln
• Anne Hathaway for Les Miserables
• Jackie Viewer for Silver Linings Playbook
• Helen Hunt for The Sessions
• Amy Adams for The Master

Best Director

• David O Russel for Silver Linings Playbook
• Ang Lee for Life of Pi
• Steven Spielberg for Lincoln
• Michael Haneke for Amour
• Ben Zeitlin for Beasts of Southern Wild

Original Screenplay

• Flight
• Zero Dark Thirty
• Django Unchained
• Amour
• Moonrise Kingdom

Adapted Screenplay

• Beasts of Southern Wild
• Argo
• Lincoln
• Silver Linings Playbook
• Life of Pi

Animated Feature

• Frankenweenie
• Wreck It Ralph
• Paranorman
• Brave
• The Pirates! Band of Misfits

Foreign Language Film

• Amour
• No
• War Witch
• A Royal Affair
• Kon Tiki

Cinematography

• Anna Karenina
• Django Unchained
• Life of Pi
• Lincoln
• Skyfall

Film Editing

• Argo
• Life of Pi
• Silver Linings Playbook
• Zero Dark Thirty

Production Design

• Anna Karenina
• The Hobbit
• Les Miserables
• Life of Pi
• Lincoln

Costume Design

• Anna Karenina
• Les Miserables
• Lincoln
• Mirror Mirro
• Snow White and the Huntsman

Makeup

• Hitchcock
• Les Miserables
• The Hobbit

Original Score

• Anna Karenina
• Argo
• Life of Pi
• Lincoln
• Skyfall

Original Song

• Before My Time from Chasing Ice
• Pi's Lullaby from Life of Pi
• Suddenly from Les Miserables
• Everybody Needs the Best Friend from TED
• Skyfall from Skyfall

Sound Mixing

• Argo
• Les Miserables
• Life of Pi
• Lincoln
• Skyfall

Sound Editing

• Argo
• Django Unchained
• Life of Pi
• Skyfall
• Zero Dark Thirty

Visual Effects

• The Hobbit
• Life of Pi
• The Avengers
• Prometheus
• Snow White and the Huntsman

Documentary Short

• Inocente
• Kings Point
• Mondays at Racine
• Open Heart
• Redemption

Animated Short

• Adam and Dog
• Fresh Guacamole
• Head over Heels
• Maggie Simpson in the Longest Daycare

Short Film, Live Action

• Asad
• Buzkashi Boys
• Curfew
• Death of Shadow
• Henry

Final Oscar Predictions: Right Before Nominations

Only seventeen hours left before the announcement of 85th Academy Award nominees and 3 hours left before the deadline for Film Actually's Oscar Contest 2013.

I've just submitted my predictions, that you can see following this link or find it on the OSCAR PREDICTIONS menu, right up to this post.

Well, when I wrote down all the nominees, I found out that Les Miserables got 13 nods from me, just followed by Lincoln with 12 and Life of Pi with 9.

Here is full breakdown:

• Les Miserables -13
• Lincoln - 12
• Life of Pi - 9
• Zero Dark Thirty - 7
• The Master - 6
• Argo - 5
• Skyfall - 4
• Django Unchained - 4
• Amour - 3
• Brave - 3
• Beasts of Southern Wild - 3
• Silver Linings Playbook - 3
• The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey - 3
• Anna Karenina - 3
• The Avengers - 3
• Cloud Atlas - 2
• The Sessions - 2
• The Dark Knight Rises - 2

Good luck to me in the contest (and everyone competing) and the nominee films at Oscars.

Movie Review: Flight (2012)

Flight is the next movie in my Oscar watch list. Robert Zemeckis has a massive comeback after directing Castaway.

Denzel Washington as Capitan Whip Whitaker is a person who lands a crashing plane saving the lives of tens passengers. He seems to be a hero, because no one had before landed a plane with both engines burning. But there is something that eclipses his heroism - alcoholism. 

Whitaker is an alcoholic pilot, who drinks all the time, before the flight, during the flight and after it. However he never had  made any single mistake. During one of the runs, something happens that is not under control of any pilot. And now he has to tell everyone about his addictions. 

Flight is more about personal tragedies. Nicole is another character fighting against her drug addiction. She has lost all the people she cared about because of bad habits, just like Whip did. Whip is divorces, has not seen his son for years, lost job and now he's depressed. Nicole visited the hospital after overdose and now she is starting a new life. They both do and eventually help each other.

This is how it landed, technically.

I won't tell the ending, because I told beginning. However, I'll say for sure that the very first and the last 20 minutes is brilliant, in every sense. But the middle one hour and a half is like a low line that could be told in another 20 minutes. Well, maybe those waste minutes add more drama, but I still think I could live without that. (And the movie could be better the same time)

The actors performances is brilliant. Denzel is great. He perfectly delivers the character of alcoholic pilot, with emotional explosions and unemotional, cold-faced speeches. Kelly Reilly (as Nicole) is awesome too. Her performance is confident and natural.

Oscar chances?

Well, Denzel has got a nomination. It will be very hard to win over Daniel Day-Lewis (almost impossible) and Hugh Jackman. But he's got the nod. I thought about the editing but this year the technical categories are too overwhelmed and I doubt Flight could win the place in any of them. The middle hour crisis won't help it to get the writing nomination or directing nods.

All in all, I liked Flight. But mostly because of its great performances. 

7/10

Best Trailers of 2012

2012 was very intense year for moviegoers and movie lovers. This years most anticipated movies have been premiered lately, in November and December. Unfortunately, most of them have not run in my country yet. So, I present the best trailers of 2012.

10. Anna Karenina

I've not seen the film year, however I'm sure the director has carefully chosen scenes for the trailer to tell the movie precisely without any spoilers.

9. The Great Gatsby

8. Mirror Mirror

I guess, this trailer is better than the movie itself. I've chosen it because it perfectly shows the 'spirit' of the whole movie and it looks really beautiful.

7. Hotel Transylvania

Probably the funniest trailer of the year.

6. Looper

5. Argo

This is great. the movie and the trailer. I love the Aerosmith music. It totally nails.

4. Rise of the Guardians

Just because of the Santa!

3. Life of Pi

This trailer just makes you love the movie before you even see it. It picks the most beautiful parts of the film, with more beautiful music.

2. Cloud Atlas

I may see a little subjective picking this trailer as number 2, however I admit that this movie is one of the most surprises of this year. This trailer is enough reason to acknowledge the great work of directors. 

1. Les Miserables

This trailer is the best definitely. Because it unites the best songs and most mighty parts of the film itself. The final part of chore singing "Do You Hear People Singing" is just brilliant

So, What do you think? Which trailer you consider to be this years the best?

My Blogging Year of 2012

Happy New Year, dear everyone.

I'm back with this year's first post summing up my 2012 blogging year. So, here are highlights:

September 3, 2012 - I've launched The Running Reel

October 16, 2012 - Got first comment from Film Actually on My Oscar first Predictions

December 21, 2012 - running-reel.blogspot.com was transferred to running-reel.com

My most viewed review: Cloud Atlas

My most viewed post: Oscar Predictions

Most devoted reader - Squasher88 from Film Actually

Movies of 2012

My Movie of 2012 - Cloud Atlas. Runner Up: Argo

2012 Movie I expect in 2013 - Les Miserables. Runner Up: Life of Pi

Actor of 2012: Daniel Day Lewis in Lincoln. Runner Up: Hugh Jackman in Les Miserables

Actress of 2012: Anne Hathaway in Les Miserables. Runner Up: Ann Dowd in Compliance

Biggest Movie Surprise of 2012: The Perks of Being A Wallflower

Blogs - 2012

Favorite Blogs: Film Actually and Cinematic Paradox

Blogathons I've participated in: Making the Case for... by Cinematic Paradox & My Movie Alphabet by Mettel Ray & 6° of Separation by Life Between Films.

My fav reviewer: Nick from The Cinematic Katzenjammer

And today I've applied for the Lamb ^^

And thanks to every single person, who clicked any link of my blog and spend at least one second on The Running Reel. Hope for your comeback.