Now, as sung by Anne Hathaway in the trailer of the latest movie adaptation of the classic 1862 novel by Victor Hugo (also famous for novel The Hunchback of Notre-dame), it re-enters the world 14 years after the similarly titled movie which starred Uma Thurman, in the role of Fantine that Anne Hathaway takes, Liam Neeson, Geoffrey Rush and Claire Danes.

In fact, the story of Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman, Wolverine) an escaped prisoner whose encounter with the superhuman forgiveness of a priest changes his life, and who then transforms the destinies of those around him, is so well known, that the trailer’s skimpy on the details.

Then again, what movie, much less a 98-second clip can do justice to the original story that’s 365 chapters long and told over 5 volumes?

In a nutshell, the story set in the 19th century in France, follows police inspector Javert’s (played by Academy Award winning actor Russell Crowe, Gladiator) dogged pursuit of Valjean, who has worked his way to respectability becoming mayor in a small town that knows nothing of his criminal past of stealing a loaf of bread. Hathaway’s Fantine, enters his life as an employee discharged for having an illegitimate daughter, who is forced into prostitution and ill health to support her daughter, Cosette (played by Isabell Allen as a child). Feeling responsible, despite not being a part of firing her, Valjean, at risk of being re-arrested, promises the dying Fantine he will care for the young Cosette, who has been fostered out to/abused and bullied by the Thenardiers and their daughter Eponine. In later years, the tables turn as a grown Cosette (played by Amanda Seyfried, Mamma Mia!) , now the daughter of Valjean, becomes of the love of Marius (Edward Redmayne, My Week With Marilyn) a young French revolutionary, who’s the secret love of an impoverished Eponine (Samantha Barks), who is forced to introduce them.

Besides Hathaway and the star-studded cast, the Golden Globe-nominated film also stars comic actor Sacha Baron Cohen (The Dictator)  and Helena Bonham Carter (Bellatrix Lestrange in the Harry Potter series) as the crooked and crude innkeepers Thenardiers.

As with the stage musical, but unlike the 1998 movie, we were treated to non-stop singing for the entire 2 and a half hours – yes, everything was sung, even dialogue. But kudos to British director Tom Hooper (who won the Best Director Oscar for The King’s Speech) for the idea of not using any pre-recorded music for the film. This required the actors to literally “sing” their lines, which provided freedom for them to showcase their raw talent by singing in whatever way they want, and allowed the audience to capture fully the emotions they were trying to portray.

Using original songs from the musical composed by Claude-Michel Schonberg and written by Alain Boublil and Jean-Marc Natel, the film offers such gems as “I Dreamed a Dream”, which has been sung by a host of gifted musical theatre talents including Lea Salonga (who also did an unforgettable Eponine years earlier), Patti LuPone, Idina Menzel and Lea Michelle. While not as powerful vocally, Hathaway’s manages the song competently and manages to infuse the emotions effectively, justifying the occasional lapses in perfection. The best test is that it continues to linger even after the film’s over.

UrbanWire‘s second favourite number is Samantha Barks’ performance of Eponine’s  “On My Own”. Singing in the rain at night about her loneliness and her unrequited desire for Marius, the setting was perfect, down to every detail. Every lyric of the song bares the heart wrenching longing of her character, making your hair stand.

However, while the idea of almost 150 minutes of singing sounds dreamy, it can really tire you if you’re not used to musical theatre. As mentioned, every single word is sung, and you might try so hard to catch every single word they’re singing, you secretly hope that a snatch of spoken dialogue will emerge to relieve your senses and allow you to breathe.

Nevertheless, the impeccable execution of the songs were coupled with acting performances that were nothing short of spectacular.

We all know Anne Hathaway well, and how she’s evolved from her Princess Diaries days to a drug addict in Rachel Getting Married (for which she received her first Best Actress nomination at the 81st Academy Awards) and as Catwoman in The Dark Knight Rises. Once again, she dazzles us with her mind-blowing if short performance as the tragic victim of societal scorn. We’re glad to see her making use of her good voice, which was only known to the world after her performance with Hugh Jackman during the 2009 Oscars. Nevertheless, despite not being blonde, she easily portrayed Fantine’s fraility and desperation with a surprising maturity, flooding the audience with a sea of emotions and despair.

Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter were simply perfect as The Thenardiers, adding a much needed humour to the otherwise depressing film. Being perfectly eccentric in their original selves, it must have been effortless for the both of them to accomplish their roles, and to keep a back-room full of stolen products with labels from “spectacles to buttons” and so on.

Russell Crowe, on the other hand, was a little disappointing. Donning his immaculate uniforms combined with his “manly” aura, he was probably too dashing and charming, to be the righteous man everyone loves to hate.  Geoffrey Rush did a better job at sending chills down our spines from the previous film adaption in 1998, given his strictly no-nonsense demeanour.

To prep for this film, Hugh Jackman went on a water-free diet for 36 hours, to lose weight and to look unrecognisable with sunken cheeks. An already slender Anne Hathaway lost 4 kg for the film (not to mention she’d her hair shorn). These sacrifices lend authenticity and together with the emotionally compelling and story of romantic love, human redemption, mercy and justice and patriotic idealism, and the inspirational music, leave you with a timeless and universal  film masterpiece.

Vive la Les Miserables!

• Movie name: Les Miserables
• Rating: 4/5
• Release Date: 25^th December 2012
• Runtime: 158 Minutes
• Language: English
• Censorship Rating: NC16
• Genre: Drama
• Director: Tom Hooper
• Main actors: Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, Amanda Seyfried

Your loved one is charged for murder and is sentenced to life imprisonment. Of course, it’s easy for you to say that she’s innocent. But how far would you go to prove it and release her of a fate only you believe she doesn’t deserve?

Based on 2008 French film, Pour Elle (Anything for Her), The Next Three Days is directed by Paul Haggis and starts off with introducing the Brennan family: John (Russell Crowe), a college professor, Lara (Elizabeth Banks) and son, Luke (Ty Simpkins). Their life seems perfectly normal until police crash into their house one night and arrests Lara for committing murder against her boss.

Their lives turn topsy-turvy as an untimely squabble with her boss and unexplained circumstances leaves her with a bloodied coat that proves against her. When Lara resorts to attempting suicide, John realises the only way is to break her out of jail. Turning to Damon Pennington (Liam Neeson), an author who has escaped from prison 7 times, John plans out a meticulous plot that leaves him with 3 days in a do-or-die situation to finally execute it.

Half psychological drama and action thriller, the uncertainty of Lara’s innocence holds suspense throughout the movie and is 1 factor that keeps the audience engaged. Breaking out of jail is the easy part and tension accumulates as the couple race across Pittsburgh to evade the cops (a plan that also involves abandoning their son at a gas station). Lara’s hesitation further complicates their desperate situation.

Academy Award-winner, Crowe (Gladiator) was convincing in fighting scenes and pulled off the role of a loving father and husband, a college professor and a fierce criminal, excellently. Banks, who’s well-known for comedy and films like Definitely, Maybe, delivers more than a solid performance in this thriller.

However, a little more work on the plot to better portray Brennan’s transition from ordinary college professor to jail-breaking badass would have made the movie much more believable. Google’s fantastic but scenes like Brennan referring to YouTube for a lesson on how to break into a car dampens a bit of the mood. His complete faith in his wife despite the evidence against her is also a little unrealistic.

That said, Haggis who brought us poignant films like Crash and In The Valley of Elah managed to develop the emotional core of the movie (maybe a bit too well at times, slowing down the action thriller) but the film is still worth the popcorn. Sadly, the movie opened with to an estimated US$6.75 million (S$ 8.87 million) but that’s what happens when you’re competing with blockbusters like Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 which had a US$125.1 million (S$ 164.3 million) opening weekend.

Movie: The Next Three Days
Rating: ★★★✩✩

Opens: 25 Nov 2010
Duration: 133 minutes
Language: English
Rating: PG
Genre: Action, Thriller, Suspense

Director: Paul Haggis
Cast: Russell Crowe, Liam Neeson, Elizabeth Banks

It’s best to kill that image as soon as possible for in Ridley Scott’s rendition, while Robin Longstride (Russell Crowe) is indeed an archer and Sherwood Forest is mentioned briefly, the similarities end there. It’s much like all the other prequels that have preceded this, like Casino Royale; you only see the character that you are used to at the end of the movie.

The film, which was the curtain raiser at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, follows Longstride, a common man fighting alongside King Richard The Lionheart (Danny Huston) in the Crusades. When the king dies in battle, Longstride, along with his Merry Men (but they’re never acknowledged as such), masquerade as knights retuning the king’s crown to gain passage back to England after the real ones were killed in an ambush.

Robin Longstride thus becomes Sir Robert Loxley.

A whole lot of trouble accompanies the new name because Longstride becomes tangled up in politics as he plays an unwilling witness to a treacherous plot hatched by Sir Godfrey (Mark Strong) to aid the French in invading England.

The false front has to be kept up when Longstride returns Loxley’s sword to his father upon the latter’s request and is asked to assume the man’s identity to protect the land. The famed Maid Marian turns out to be no maiden, but Lady Marion Loxley (Cate Blanchett), Loxley’s widow. A gradual romance blossoms between Longstride and her, as they learn to be man and wife.

Robin Hood deviates greatly from the woodland tale the audience is familiar with, much like what Guy Ritchie did with Sherlock Holmes. While purists may argue that it’s near blasphemous to do so, the end result is stunning.

This movie is more of a story that explains the origins of Robin Hood, or Robin of The Hood, rather than one that chronicles his adventures in redistributing wealth. He does redistribute grain though, if makes fans feel better.

Crowe’s Robin is, in the words of King Richard, “honest, brave and naïve”. While you’re bound to compare this role to Maximus in Gladiator, with the similar theme of fighting for rights, Crowe is more relaxed in this role, with less of a scowl.

Best Supporting Actress Oscar-winner Blanchett is, not surprisingly, excellent in her role as Marion. While seemingly cold and uncaring, Marion has a heart of gold. It’s a role that Blanchett slips easily into, with her icy exterior, much like her turn as Galadriel in Lord Of The Rings.

The onscreen union of the 2 Academy Award winners was highly anticipated and they don’t disappoint. The burgeoning relationship between Longstride and Loxley is slow and believable. Loxley doesn’t fall into Longstride’s arms, instead, they are equals and through a battle of witty remarks, they find each other.

The battle scenes are also a triumph. The sound effects are loud, with every flight of the arrows (and there are a lot of arrows), a swoosh that you feel more than you hear. The scenes are also authentic, with vats of boiling pitch, explosives and hand-to-hand combat. While the sequences are smaller in scale compared to say, Lord Of The Rings, but they’re no less brutal.

This is Scott’s and Crowe’s fifth film together and, much like Tim Burton and Johnny Depp, they still hit it out of the park. They do a wonderful job of bringing the legend of Robin Hood closer to this generation, balancing great action with solid characters and a plot layered enough to make audiences think, without being left confused.

For more information on Robin Hood, head over to CTV‘s Movie Mania to find out more!

Title: Robin Hood
Opens: May 13
Duration: 140 minutes
Language: English
Rating: ★★✭✭☆
Genre: Action, Drama
Director: Ridley Scott
Cast: Russell Crowe, Cate Blanchett, William Hurt

“They’re gonna hang me in the morning… I’ll never see the sun,” hums the notorious Western outlaw Ben Wade (Russell Crowe) after stabbing Tucker (Kevin Durand), who was ironically disturbing Ben with that very same song, repeatedly in his throat.

An update of a 1957 western-based story by Elmore Leonard, James Mangold’s modern version of 3:10 to Yuma is certainly no boring ol’ cowboy show. Void of typical cowboy showdowns, the movie is a modern version of the quintessential American genre, western.

Ben Wade and Dan Evans (Christian Bale) live on opposite extremes of the West. One is a former Union Army sharpshooter turned rancher who came out of the Civil War with a hobbled leg and degraded to a modest life in the Arizona territory. The other is an infamous outlaw whose roguish charm, violent hold-ups and loyal gang make a legend.

When uncurbed corruption and an ongoing draught render Dan towards poverty, he sticks to the righteous side, refusing to stoop to the level of his tormentors. Aware of how his son Will’s (Logan Lerman) respect for him is waning and his wife is beginning to question his resolve, Dan seizes the opportunity of saving his ranch by arresting and joining the posse who is to escort him to the town of Contention for a reward.

Leading the expedition is veteran bounty hunter Byron McElroy (Peter Fonda), a deadly God fearing mercenary with a burning hatred of Wade. The group also includes Tucker, a local thug; and Doc Potter (Alan Tudyk), a gentle veterinarian with little taste for violence. But even when Ben is in shackles, he’s one deadly cowboy, killing and trying to escape whenever he can. While they were escorting Ben to the train to Contention, the numbers of the posse dwindle as Dan’s beliefs to do the things he has to do to complete the mission strengthen.

As Dan and Ben draw closer to the train to Yuma, they discover a hidden kinship and Dan finds the chance to redeem himself, in his eyes, his family’s eyes and also the chance to teach his son what it is to be a man.

3:10 to Yuma has an incredible story build up that will stir up an increasing interest to pursue the journey to Contention to the end. What starts off as a seemingly drab movie will have you smiling, reflecting and satisfied when the credits roll. Not only are the action scenes realistic and gripping, there’s the emotional quotient present so you don’t feel like you’re watching a meaningless action flick.

Also commendable was Ben Foster’s performance as the ruthless Charlie Prince, Ben Wade’s second-in-command. A different side of Foster is shown juxtaposed to his character, Angel, in 2006’s X-Men: The Last Stand. Charlie Prince is anything but an angel, showing off how he kills swiftly and without emotion.

His lack of mercy leaves the audience hating him yet at the same time admiring the amount of respect and loyalty he has to Ben, therein creating a love hate relationship for his character, Charlie.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Movie Details:

Opens: Jan 17

Running Time: 117 mins

Language: English

Cast: Russell Crowe, Christian Bale, Ben Foster

Director: James Mangold