Movie Reviews and Ratings

‘Zero Dark Thirty’ finally on top of the box office

‘Zero Dark Thirty’ opened in limited theaters four weeks ago, now that it has opened nationwide it took the number one spot with $24 million dollars. The nominations it got for the Oscars and the controversial story have certainly helped it get to this place, not to mention outstanding performances.

Marlon Wayane’s ‘A Haunted House’ surprisingly opened in second place with $18.8 million dollars. The film has received terrible reviews and based on its predecessors no one expected it to do so well, despite that it will most likely fall from the top 10 soon.

‘Gangster Squad’ which has a number of known names attached to it such as Ryan Gosling, Sean Penn and the likes of Josh Brolin only reached number three with $16.7 million dollars. Because of the Newton shooting the film was delayed and this seems to have hurt it, reviews might have helped to its demise as well.

The Top 10 in the Box Office are:

1. Zero Dark Thirty – $24 mil

2. A Haunted House – $18.8 mil

3. Gangster Squad – $16.7 mil

4. Django Unchained – $11.1 mil

5. Les Miserables – $10.1 mil

6. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey – $9.1 mil

7. Lincoln – $6.3 mil

8. Parental Guidance – $6.1 mil

9. Texas Chainsaw 3D – $5.2 mil

10. Silver Linings Playbook – $5 mil

4 reasons why you need to see "Les Misérables"

With Ben Affleck’s “Argo” winning big at the 2013 Golden Globes last night, there was another film that also set the stage for an auspicious Oscar night on February 24th – Universal Pictures’ “Les Misérables”. It won Best Picture and Best Actor in the Musical/Comedy category, and Best Supporting Actress for Anne Hathaway. Those were some major categories, especially knowing that Harvey Weinstein was letting loose the PR dogs in full force on the HFPA for “Silver Linings Playbook”.

Based on what is widely considered to be one of the greatest novels of the nineteenth century, and the world’s longest-running theatrical musical, Victor Hugo’s French book ‘Les Misérables,’ first published in 1862, is set against the backdrop of 19th-century France. It’s the enthralling story of broken dreams and unrequited love, passion, sacrifice and redemption – a timeless testament to the survival of the human spirit. Hugh Jackman plays ex-prisoner Jean Valjean, hunted for decades by the ruthless policeman Javert (Russell Crowe) after he breaks parole. When Valjean agrees to care for factory worker Fantine’s (Anne Hathaway) young daughter, Cosette (Amanda Seyfried), their lives change forever.

There are many things to consider when contemplating to see Tom Hooper’s ‘Les Misérables’: it is nearly three hours long and the words are sung for the entirety of the movie (there is no dialogue at all). That’s something many people are not used to and it can be polarizing at first. But in our professional opinion, this is a cinematic masterpiece drenched in powerful performances; both acting and singing, with stunning cinematography, memorable camerawork and a haunting score sure to provoke tears of joy and sadness. You must also remember that Tom Hooper was the director of ‘The King’s Speech’ which won the Oscar for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor and Best Original Screenplay in 2011. He now has the pedigree to deliver gold. 

Without further adieu, here are our 4 reasons why you should go see… no, NEED to see this masterpiece musical. 

1. The story is universal

We see how much suffering Hugh Jackman’s character goes through. He thinks what Victor Hugo wanted was to remind people to love, something he believes is relevant and needed in the Middle East. That love and self-realization come from being present, “know what you stand for in life and face what is in front of you. The humanity of just seeing what required, that’s real love according to Victor Hugo and I agree with him, the answer to life.” 

Anne Hathaway who plays a woman that has to find the means to send her daughter money for medicine as she’s very sick, came to realization that her character is not a woman from 19th century France, but it’s someone who is living right now and could be just a block away. She goes on to say “This injustice exists in our world, so everyday I thought “this isn’t an invention, this isn’t me acting, this is me honoring the Fantine that lives in this world, in all of our lifetimes.” The actress prepared for her part by watching YouTube clips and reading articles about women who either go into prostitution voluntarily out of need or are sex slaves. To her it was an inspiration to give a voice to these women. A powerful outlook with a visceral sense of contemporary social awareness.

Her character isn’t the only one showing how timeless this story is, Eddie Redmayne plays the part of one of the students hungry for revolution as a way of changing the putrid society they live in, which shows contemporary relevance. He says, “all you had to do was open a contemporary newspaper to see equivalence happening whether it was protests in NY or in the Middle East. This idea of young people lighting a flame to try to expose truth or pursue their own passions for a greater good…there was relevance across the board to tap into.” 

Which works into what the Hooper himself was thinking when he was pondering on whether this was the right time to bring this story to the big screen. Here’s where he exposed what Les Misérables is all about: “there’s so many people hurting around the world because of social economic inequality, inequity, there’s such anger against the system whether it’d be the protests in Wall Street or in London, in the Middle East. Les Misérables is the great anthem of the dispossessed and it does have this inspiring message that we can all collectively rise up together to better our situation. What’s beautiful and inspiring about that message is that it teaches you the way of collective action is through a compassion to the people closest around you, it starts with loving the person next to you.”

2. Some serious acting and preparation went into the film

Hugh Jackman is Jean Valjean, prisoner 24601, who has been used for slave labor for 19 years. We meet him just as he’s being released. Jackman is unrecognizable physically and he mentioned the director wanted to show time and that if people who knew him didn’t start asking if he was sick, then he was not doing it right. “I did loose a lot of weight and then had the joy of putting weight on which was a 30lbs journey from the beginning,” says Jackman.

He thinks this is nothing compared to what Anne Hathaway did, which was loose about 25lbs. in 2 weeks. Jackman told us about how far Hathaway was willing to go to be truthful to her character. Not only did she loose so much weight at such a fast pace, but also she had a professional hairstylist cut her beautiful long hair on camera. Jackman told us to look for man hands in a dress in that scene. He jokes about overhearing Hathaway’s haircutting consultation with Hooper, “I remember Annie saying ‘by the way if you end up cutting my scalp and there’s blood, fantastic, let’s go for it’ and Tom was standing behind and I put up my hand and I said “for the record, I would like make-up, fake scars please”. In regards to the haircutting, Hathaway says she doesn’t regret it and offered cutting her own hair, because she knew the effect it would have on the audience and would hopefully communicate her suffering authentically. “It was always something I knew in the back of my mind I’d be willing to do for a character, if there was ever the thing to do…when I got cast and I read the script and I knew they were keeping the haircutting in… I thought doing it for real might raise the stakes for the character.”

Sweetly Hathaway concluded with: “I don’t want you to walk out of here charmed by Hugh Jackman because we all know that he’s a miracle and that he can be totally friendly and sometimes I think that keeps people from seeing his genius as an actor… what he does in this film is inspiring and I just don’t want this nice guy thing to distract you from the fact that he’s a deep serious and profoundly gifted actor.”

3. The singing was done live 

Director Tom Hooper speaks of Hathaway saying her singing is “absolutely fantastic, she has this utter feeling of naturalness about her which puts you at ease.” For the film the main goal was to find actors who were comfortable communicating through song, so much so that the audience doesn’t feel a need for dialogue. Every single actor in this film had to audition, no matter his or her Hollywood statuses. Each went through a rigorous three hour audition process, this was for them to prove they could sing live and that they could communicate through song instinctively; it was also for the actors themselves to know what they were getting into. Hathaway who is a soprano and belonged to a chorus in high school which performed at Carnegie Hall, trained with Joan Lader her voice teacher for six months before the film to learn to sing the way she does in the film while keeping her face firm. Hooper informed us that she practiced crying and singing, so that she would be ready to do it live on camera, she wanted to be prepared. 

Hugh Jackman isn’t unfamiliar with musicals and told Hooper he did his one man show to prepare for Les Misérables; whether that’s true or not Hooper couldn’t be more thrilled to have him on and says his ease and charisma are not an easy thing to have. The most historic thing was the song created for the film exclusively, not originally in the musical called “Suddenly” which is when Valjean meets Cosette. Jackman reminds us that this song propels the second half of the movie. This is “one of the most incredibly dramatic moments ever written about” but had no song. It was genius for the director to bring the original team from the musical: Claude-Michel Schonberg, Alain Boublil, Herbert Kretzmer and Cameron Mackintosh; not only to help him during the entire film, but also with this number.

Amanda Seyfried had voice lessons as a teen, studied opera and trained with a Broadway coach and her impeccable voice shows all of that. She’s so comfortable singing that she admits she forgot she was singing on set about her emotions, feelings and thoughts, as opposed to something you usually speak. Her character, Cosette, when she’s a grown up is very sheltered and Seyfried laughs saying all she did was stand and sit. Fortunately Hathaway blows away her modesty informing us Seyfried hit a high C, something very few can do. 

Samantha Barks is a professional singer and actress, which was put in the spotlight after coming third in an English talent show called “I’d Do Anything” in 2008. She’s had plenty of success after that and played her role of Éponine on the Queen’s Theater from June 2010 to June 2011, so taking the role over for the film was an honor for her.  She’s used to crying in the rain on stage, so on the set, “that kind of realism in your voice kind of adds to the emotion of that live singing. Specially moments like “A little fall of rain” with me and Eddie, it allows you to be intimate, and we are crying, but kind of trying to add that to your voice. When you’re speaking and crying you can hear that in someone’s voice…to be able to hear that when somebody is singing adds to the emotion a bit,” says Barks. Her voice truly soars, especially when singing “On My Own”.   

For Tom Hooper these actor’s preparation, their hard work, gave them the freedom to just act, they “were free to disappear into the characters and not have to worry about technique.” 

4. An Oscar winning director directed Les Misérables 

Hooper knows the huge responsibility he had on his hands since this is a musical that has been beloved for over 26 years and has been translated into various languages, it truly has taken over the world. He understands that the central part is being able to experience strong emotions and he wanted to re-create this experience more intensely. To do this Hooper knew using close-ups was the way to go, getting uncomfortably close to the actors’ faces when they are singing to have a “more visceral connection”. Bringing together the original team who created the musical helped the film to stay close to the source material. They also helped to recreate conditions from the musical and teach Hooper what it’s like to do a musical. There are parts he included from Victor Hugo’s book such as the opening; adding the twist of using a damaged warship as a metaphor to represent the vulnerability of state power and how easily it can be “destroyed and harmed, you see the power and fragility of the system in that image”. 

The barricade battle in the book is intimate which moved Hooper. He found showing those details on film would be exciting. 

The cast themselves became really close, so much so that they would hang out after rehearsals and shoots and would still communicate by singing. Hathaway confirmed the whole cast is “massive Les Mis geeks”, being fans of the story they understood what was entrusted to them. Their passion for music linked them together, so much so that Hathaway and Barks sang a duet from ‘Rent’ on their free time, where Barks was Maureen and Hathaway Joanne. They also sang Adele’s latest album. 

Redmayne says they supported each other and would ask each other for advice; stating “the mixture of the theater world and film world felt unique and original to all of us…. constantly inspired to do the best we could.”

Jackman closes off by sharing one last sentiment “it had the feeling of the closest stage show I’ve never been involved in, but it was a film, which is unusual and we’ll all be bonded for life.” 

If you haven’t seen “Les Misérables” yet or are on the fence about seeing it, know that Hollywood musicals aren’t made anymore, and that if made, they are not made with this caliber of quality of production or acting. You are in for a cinematic experience for the ages and it deserves to win Best Picture at the 2013 Oscars hands down.

Breaking down Jodie Foster’s Golden Globes’ speech

Actress/Director Jodie Foster has left an indelible mark on Golden Globes history. Her muddled, yet moving speech at the 2013 Golden Globes, has left mixed reviews amongst the press and fans. To some, it was a bit strange, an unfiltered stream of conscious, and yet… a powerful, honest and emotional speech that has set off social media in a blaze. It has propagated charged debates of analysis throughout the media spectrum, questioning deeply what 20 million people saw the night of January 13th.

So many questions… the question “Did she come out?” should be replaced with the question… “Did she need to?” 

To her point, she came out a million years ago, and owes no one her privacy. 

The speech was more a sharing of 50 years of success, hardwork, hardship, joy and pain.

Here is a woman who has given herself to the screen, the art of acting and to her world of fans and aficionados. She gave herself over 47 years… and now at 50, is almost in shock that half a century has gone by and here she is. With 2 children… a lifetime achievement award in her hand.. friends, family and yet regret. With regret and pain she saluted her mother who suffers from dementia… with regret she ended her speech saying she is lonely… wants more… and will continue to make her mark, in her own way, in her own words and in her own lifetime.   

It was an autobiography given in a span of several minutes… with brilliant combination of humor, emotion, regrets and pride for her achievements.  It was a gift. An un-hollywood moment, that clearly was “no Honey booboo”.

Here is the video and transcript of her lifetime acceptance speech in receiving the Cecil B. DeMille award at Sunday night’s Golden Globes. Tell us what you thought of it…

“Well, for all of you ‘SNL’ fans, I’m 50! I’m 50! You know, I need to do that without this dress on, but you know, maybe later at Trader Vic’s, boys and girls. What do you say? I’m 50! You know, I was going to bring my walker tonight but it just didn’t go with the cleavage.

“Robert [Downey Jr.], I want to thank you for everything: for your bat-crazed, rapid-fire brain, the sweet intro. I love you and Susan and I am so grateful that you continually talk me off the ledge when I go on and foam at the mouth and say, ‘I’m done with acting, I’m done with acting, I’m really done, I’m done, I’m done.’

“Trust me, 47 years in the film business is a long time. You just ask those Golden Globes, because you crazy kids, you’ve been around here forever. You know, Phil you’re a nut, Aida, Scott — thank you for honoring me tonight. It is the most fun party of the year, and tonight I feel like the prom queen.

“Thank you. Looking at all those clips, you know, the hairdos and the freaky platform shoes, it’s like a home-movie nightmare that just won’t end, and all of these people sitting here at these tables, they’re my family of sorts, you know. Fathers mostly. Executives, producers, the directors, my fellow actors out there, we’ve giggled through love scenes, we’ve punched and cried and spit and vomited and blown snot all over one another — and those are just the costars I liked. But you know more than anyone else I share my most special memories with members of the crew. Blood-shaking friendships, brothers and sisters. We made movies together, and you can’t get more intimate than that.

“So while I’m here being all confessional, I guess I have a sudden urge to say something that I’ve never really been able to air in public. So, a declaration that I’m a little nervous about but maybe not quite as nervous as my publicist right now, huh Jennifer? But I’m just going to put it out there, right? Loud and proud, right? So I’m going to need your support on this.

“I am single. Yes I am, I am single. No, I’m kidding — but I mean I’m not really kidding, but I’m kind of kidding. I mean, thank you for the enthusiasm. Can I get a wolf whistle or something? [Audio is silent for seven seconds] … be a big coming-out speech tonight because I already did my coming out about a thousand years ago back in the Stone Age, in those very quaint days when a fragile young girl would open up to trusted friends and family and co-workers and then gradually, proudly to everyone who knew her, to everyone she actually met. But now I’m told, apparently that every celebrity is expected to honor the details of their private life with a press conference, a fragrance and a prime-time reality show.

“You know, you guys might be surprised, but I am not Honey Boo Boo Child. No, I’m sorry, that’s just not me. It never was and it never will be. Please don’t cry because my reality show would be so boring. I would have to make out with Marion Cotillard or I’d have to spank Daniel Craig’s bottom just to stay on the air. It’s not bad work if you can get it, though.

“But seriously, if you had been a public figure from the time that you were a toddler, if you’d had to fight for a life that felt real and honest and normal against all odds, then maybe you too might value privacy above all else. Privacy.  Some day, in the future, people will look back and remember how beautiful it once was.

“I have given everything up there from the time that I was 3 years old. That’s reality-show enough, don’t you think?

“There are a few secrets to keeping your psyche intact over such a long career. The first, love people and stay beside them. That table over there, 222, way out in Idaho, Paris, Stockholm, that one, next to the bathroom with all the unfamous faces, the very same faces for all these years. My acting agent, Joe Funicello — Joe, do you believe it, 38 years we’ve been working together? Even though he doesn’t count the first eight.

“Matt Saver, Pat Kingsley, Jennifer Allen, Grant Niman and his uncle Jerry Borack, may he rest in peace. Lifers. My family and friends here tonight and at home, and of course, Mel Gibson. You know you save me too.

“There is no way I could ever stand here without acknowledging one of the deepest loves of my life, my heroic co-parent, my ex-partner in love but righteous soul sister in life, my confessor, ski buddy, consigliere, most beloved BFF of 20 years, Cydney Bernard. Thank you, Cyd. I am so proud of our modern family. Our amazing sons, Charlie and Kit, who are my reason to breathe and to evolve, my blood and soul. And boys, in case you didn’t know it, this song, all of this, this song is for you.

“This brings me to the greatest influence of my life, my amazing mother, Evelyn. Mom, I know you’re inside those blue eyes somewhere and that there are so many things that you won’t understand tonight. But this is the only important one to take in: I love you, I love you, I love you. And I hope that if I say this three times, it will magically and perfectly enter into your soul, fill you with grace and the joy of knowing that you did good in this life. You’re a great mom. Please take that with you when you’re finally OK to go.

“You see, Charlie and Kit, sometimes your mom loses it too. I can’t help but get moony, you know. This feels like the end of one era and the beginning of something else. Scary and exciting and now what? Well, I may never be up on this stage again, on any stage for that matter. Change, you gotta love it. I will continue to tell stories, to move people by being moved, the greatest job in the world. It’s just that from now on, I may be holding a different talking stick. And maybe it won’t be as sparkly, maybe it won’t open on 3,000 screens, maybe it will be so quiet and delicate that only dogs can hear it whistle. But it will be my writing on the wall. Jodie Foster was here, I still am, and I want to be seen, to be understood deeply and to be not so very lonely.

“Thank you, all of you, for the company. Here’s to the next 50 years.”

What did you think of it? Leave your comments below and join the conversation!

The complete list of Oscar Nominations 2013!

Four Hispanics were nominated overall at the 2013 Oscar nominations: Jose Antonio Garcia for BEST SOUND MIXING for ARGO, Paco Delgado from Barcelona nominated for BEST COSTUME DESIGN for LES MISERABLES, CHILEAN cinematographer Claudio Miranda for BEST CINEMATOGRAPHER in LIFE OF PI and “NO” from CHILE makes it in Best FOREIGN FILM directed by Pablo Larrain. Many upsets, but many predictable moments too. 

Read below the full list of nominations:

BEST PICTURE:

“Beasts of the Southern Wild”
“Silver Linings Playbook”
“Zero Dark Thirty”
“Lincoln”
“Les Miserables”
“Life of Pi”
“Amour”
“Django Unchained”
“Argo”

BEST DIRECTOR:
David O. Russell, “Silver Linings Playbook”
Ang Lee, “Life of Pi”
Steven Spielberg, “Lincoln”
Michael Haneke, “Amour”
Benh Zeitlin, “Beasts of the Southern Wild”

BEST ACTOR:
Daniel Day Lewis, “Lincoln”
Denzel Washington, “Flight”
Hugh Jackman, “Les Miserables”
Bradley Cooper, “Silver Linings Playbook”
Joaquin Phoenix, “The Master”

BEST ACTRESS:
Naomi Watts, “The Impossible”
Jessica Chastain, “Zero Dark Thirty”
Jennifer Lawrence, “Silver Linings Playbook”
Emmanuelle Riva, “Amour”
Quvenzhané Wallis, “Beasts of the Southern Wild”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Christoph Waltz, “Django Unchained”
Philip Seymour Hoffman, “The Master”
Robert De Niro, “Silver Linings Playbook”
Alan Arkin, “Argo”
Tommy Lee Jones, “Lincoln”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS:
Sally Field, “Lincoln”
Anne Hathaway, “Les Miserables”
Jacki Weaver, “Silver Linings Playbook”
Helen Hunt, “The Sessions”
Amy Adams, “The Master”

ANIMATED FEATURE
“Brave”
“Frankenweenie”
“ParaNorman”
“The Pirates! Band of Misfits”
“Wreck-It Ralph”

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
“Amour”
“Kon-Tiki”
“No”
“A Royal Affair”
“War Witch”

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
“5 Broken Cameras”
“The Gatekeepers How To Survive A Plague”
“Searching for Sugar Man”

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
“Argo”
“Beasts of the Southern Wild”
“Life of Pi”
“Lincoln”
“Silver Linings Playbook”

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
“Amour”
“Django Unchained”
“Flight”
“Moonrise Kingdom”
“Zero Dark Thirty”

CINEMATOGRAPHY
“Anna Karenina”
“Django Unchained”
“Life of Pi”
“Lincoln”
“Skyfall”

COSTUME DESIGN
“Anna Karenina”
“Les Miserables”
“Lincoln”
“Mirror Mirror”
“Snow White and the Huntsman”

FILM EDITING
“Argo”
“Life of Pi”
“Lincoln”
“Silver Linings Playbook”
“Zero Dark Thirty”

MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
“Hitchcock”
“The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey”
“Les Miserables”

ORIGINAL SCORE
“Anna Karenina”
“Argo”
“Life of Pi”
“Lincoln”
“Skyfall”

ORIGINAL SONG
“Before My Time,” “Chasing Ice”
“Everybody Needs A Best Friend,” “Ted”
“Pi’s Lullaby,” “Life of Pi”
“Skyfall,” “Skyfall”
“Suddenly,” “Les Miserables”

PRODUCTION DESIGN
“Anna Karenina”
“The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey”
“Les Miserables”
“Life of Pi”
“Lincoln”

ANIMATED SHORT
“Adam and Dog
“Fresh Guacamole
“Head Over Heels
“Maggie Simpson in ‘The Longest Daycare'”
“Paperman”

LIVE ACTION SHORT
“Asad”
“Buzkashi Boys”
“Curfew”
“Death of a Shadow”
“Henry”

DOCUMENTARY SHORT
“Inocente”
“Kings Point”
“Open Heart”
“Redemption”
“Mondays at Racine”

SOUND EDITING
“Argo”
“Django Unchained”
“Life of Pi”
“Skyfall”
“Zero Dark Thirty”

SOUND MIXING
“Argo”
“Les Miserables”
“Life of Pi”
“Lincoln”
“Skyfall”

VISUAL EFFECTS
“The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey”
“Life of Pi”
“The Avengers”
“Prometheus”
“Snow White and the Huntsman”