Category Archives: Movies

Comparison: Les Miserables Complete Song List

Leave a reply

Since we were only given “Highlights Soundtrack“, most of the below is heavily borrowed from the Wikipedia articles of the film as well as the stage versions as a basis… notes are from memory.

Earlier I have posted a comparison article using strictly the Highlights Soundtrack… so the below is the expanded song list and any changes based from memory… which is getting flaky by the day. So do not take this as a total list, but it is close to complete as I am able to recall off-hand… at least until they release a complete film soundtrack (which I sincerely hope they do).

NOTE: Songs marked with an asterisk (*) have already been posted in my Comparison: Les Miserables Soundtrack post.

So below is a table of the breakdown and comparison of the song list between the stage and film versions of the Les Miserables musical… For a quick cheat sheet of the below list, go beyond the break (at the end of the table):

SONG TITLE STAGE SEQUENCE FILM SEQUENCE CHANGES NOTES
* Work Song 1 1 lyric changes Combined with “On Parole” and called “Look Down” in the “Highlights Soundtrack”
* On Parole 2 2 lyric changes Combined with “Work Song” and called “Look Down” in the “Highlights Soundtrack”
* Valjean Arrested, Valjean Forgiven 3 3 none Called “The Bishop” in the “Highlights Soundtrack”
* What Have I Done 4 4 none Called “Valjean’s Soliloquy” in the “Highlights Soundtrack”
* At the End of the Day 5 5 none
* I Dreamed a Dream 6 8 none
Lovely Ladies 7 7 minor lyric changes
Fantine’s Arrest 8 9 none
The Runaway Cart 9 6 none
Who Am I? / The Trial 10 10 minor lyric changes
Come to Me (Fantine’s Death) 11 11 minor lyric changes
* The Confrontation 12 12 missing lyrics Valjean’s final overlapping lyrics with Javert and the lyrics that Valjean is singing to Fantine at the end are cut
* Castle on a Cloud 13 13 none
* Master of the House 14 14 lyric changes Introduction completely revised
The Bargain / The Thénardier Waltz of Treachery 15 15 minor lyric changes
* Suddenly — 16 New Song
Look Down 16 18 added lyrics Gavroche gets an additional verse
The Robbery 17 19 missing lyrics only the opening line, and Thenardier and Eponine’s lines were used
Javert’s Intervention 18 20 minor lyric change
* Stars 19 17 none
Eponine’s Errand 20 21 minor lyric change
* ABC Cafe / Red and Black 21 22 minor lyric change
Do You Hear the People Sing? 22 28 none
* Rue Plumet – In My Life 23 23 none Combined with “A Heart Full of Love” on the “Highlights Soundtrack”
A Heart Full of Love 24 24 none Combined with “Rue Plumet – In My Life” on the “Highlights Soundtrack”
The Attack on the Rue Plumet 25 25 minor lyric changes
* One Day More 26 27 none
Building the Barricade (Upon These Stones) 27 29 minor lyric changes
* On My Own 28 26 none
At the Barricade (Upon These Stones) 29 30 minor lyric changes
Javert’s Arrival 30 31 minor lyric changes and missing lyrics there were some lines that were cut and others changed
Little People 31 32 none
A Little Fall of Rain 32 34 none
Night of Anguish 33 35 none?
The First Attack 34 33 none?
* Drink with Me 35 36 none
* Bring Him Home 36 37 none
Dawn of Anguish 37 38 none?
The Second Attack (Death of Gavroche) 38 39 none
* The Final Battle 39 40 none
Dog Eats Dog (The Sewers) 40 — Cut Song
* Javert’s Suicide 41 41 none
Turning 42 42 missing lyrics only first verse used in the film
* Empty Chairs at Empty Tables 43 43 none
Every Day 44 44 added vocal part when song ends with the trio between Cosette, Marius and Valjean, in the film there is an added vocal part for Marius’ grandfather who is welcoming Marius home
Valjean’s Confession 45 45 none
Wedding Chorale 46 46 none
Beggars at the Feast 47 47 minor lyric changes
* Valjean’s Death 48 48 minor lyric changes Combined with “Do You Hear the People Sing? (Reprise) [Finale]” and called “Epilogue” on the “Highlights Soundtrack”
* Do You Hear the People Sing? (Reprise) [Finale] 49 49 none Combined with “Valjean’s Death” and called “Epilogue” on the “Highlights Soundtrack”

Alright are you as confused as I was? Well how about a quick cheat sheet of the major changes from the above list?
Continue reading →

Comparison: Les Miserables Highlights Soundtrack

Leave a reply

So there was a lot of speculation as to you which songs got cut, added, adjusted, revised, etc… So I figured that I would provide a quick and simple table to help you understand where the changes were made (if any)…

Keep in mind that I using the “Highlights Soundtrack” for comparison purposes that was released on the 21st of December… and all notes in regards to what was in the film is based off of what was from memory… since I saw this film on Christmas Day.

Later this week I will post a more complete list using the song list as shown on the Wikipedia page (once information can be confirmed)
Continue reading →

UPDATES: Changing up the Review process

So I am going to try a new thing when talking about shows that I have seen… since I have a bad habbit of over chatting. At the top of the post I will have a list of points that I either liked, loved, or could do without… then if there were any standouts I would list them.

Once the basic bullet points are over then if you would like to read more in detail then I would do so as I normally would.

Hopefully this would help more in understanding what I was trying to say in the first place.

So the first thing anyone would see when coming onto my blog at the top would be the typical table breakdown of the show, director, musical director, and the creators. Afterwards for musicals I would include my instant thoughts of acting, singing, staging, set, choreography… and finally I would list the standouts and any other quick thoughts that I believe are rather important.

Then after the break I would go into my usual song and dance breaking everything down even more if you want to know the whys behind the whats.

Why am I am changing it up (again) well… after seeing Company out in BrightSide in Naperville with a friend earlier this week I realized that in every show I have gone to I would say something of the following:
– Acting: meh
– Singing: liked
– Set: meh
– Staging: loved
– Choreography: liked

Then I would proceed to go into details of the whys… by doing it this way I think it would give you the readers a chance to do a quick look of my “instant thoughts” as I call it and then if you have time could continue to read.

Would I go back to some of the past reviews and use this system? Probably not, it would take too much time, might as well just start with now.

Review: Looper

A fairly engrossing movie with an interesting plot… I have to say that I did find this particular film intriguing enough for me to enjoy it. Unfortunately being the science fiction geek that I am, this film tends to falter on a few key moments / details.

But first thing’s first… the primary character – Joe Simmons – is played by two actors.

Bruce Willis is well.. what you expect him to be. As the thirty years older version of Joe Simmons he possesses that badass personality of “don’t mess with me unless you want to suffer the consequences” that the younger Joe Simmons has in spades. But what makes him more “human” is the small moment of vulnerability when you realize what it is that he is fighting for. What (or rather who) he is trying to save from his life.

The younger version of Joe Simmons as mentioned has that badass personality but is also brash and crazy and sometimes just flies on the seat of his pants… Which is fine by me… As played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt he finds his way towards what the older Joe is working towards but via a different route.

What I liked about these two actors is that somehow you could see how this younger version could eventually become the older version, and yet see the separation between the two. Somehow they found a middle ground so it is believable that they are one in the same that are leading two separate lives. I mean thirty years can change a person in a million different ways.

But when the older Bruce Willis goes back in time with the intent to killing the younger version of whom he calls the Rainmaker so he could save his wife… Well… The traditional laws of physics and time are completely thrown out the window and a whole new set of rules are in play.

And unfortunately in this department I felt that this movie failed… Miserably.
Continue reading →

Review: Battleship

Before I get started, I will be the first to admit… I was very adverse to the idea of a movie being created about a board game that really didn’t have any premise except to try to sink the other player.

How do you base a whole movie on that? Well… as it would turn out, you don’t. Instead Battleship the Game was really a small ten to fifteen minute clip out of the entire film, while the rest of the film was a battle between the humans and the aliens who came to planet Earth with the intent of taking it over.

Best quote of the whole film?

Cal Zapata: If there is intelligent life out there and they come here, it’s going to be like Columbus and the Indians, only we’re the Indians.

This is going to be fun!

Continue reading →

Review: Tangled Ever After

While listening to ABC’s Dancing with the Stars for the online blog PureDWTS where I am a blogger… there were commercials running for the new DVD / Blu-Ray pack for Cinderella. Typically I zone out these commercials and continue working until something else piqued my interest. Namely the fact that the Disney short film “Tangled Ever After” was to be a part of it.

Say What?!?!?!? Now I loved Tangled when it first came out… so much so that I bought the DVD and watched it a few times since, but now? Yeah… it was a music watch… so here!

Needless to say… I loved it.
Continue reading →

Review: Phantom of the Opera – 25th Anniversary Stage Recording

After watching Love Never Dies with a friend of mine months ago… I realized that I never got around to watching the 25th Anniversary Concert / Production of Phantom of the Opera. So I borrowed her DVD completely forgetting two things:
1: her version was a non-U.S. DVD region
2: I already purchased my own DVD in the U.S. region

So since I had already watched Love Never Dies with the Australian cast… I had a bad habit of comparing the Australian cast to their Phantom of the Opera 25th Anniversary counterpart roles. Interesting thing to note is that three of the roles in the 25th Anniversary Production of Phantom of the Opera were portrayed by the same actors that were in the original West End production of Love Never Dies when it opened:

CHARACTER ACTOR / ACTRESS
The Phantom Ramin Karimloo
Christine Daaé Sierra Boggess
Madame Giry Liz Robertson

There is no denying it, Ramin and Sierra are absolutely amazing vocally and character-wise in their respective roles. Sierra’s voice is absolutely exquisite as Christine, she gives that innocent iridescence to the role and provides the growth necessary as she makes a choice between the two men that she had come to realized that she has loved in her young life.

Here is Sierra as Christine as she slowly acclimates herself as the lead soprano in the aria “Think of Me”

And again when she runs to her father’s family tomb to “Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again”

Ramin is strong and powerful and is able to give that sense of vulnerability when the one thing he has ever wanted he realizes that he would never have and let’s Christine go in the end. There is something about Ramin that is just absolutely mesmerizing and there is no denying it.
Continue reading →

Reflection: Zenobia the Original Musical Production Coming 2013

This was released for public viewing not that long ago:

According to YouTube:

A promotional video for the original musical, “Zenobia,” being premiered in Bolingbrook, IL in 2013 by Theatre-on-the-Hill, a not-for-profit community theatre. Book and lyrics by Lorrisa Julianus, music by Angela Salvaggione. Comments have been deactivated to discourage abuse, but if you are interested in participating in any capacity or attending, please contact us at www.tothbolingbrook.com.

Overview: Zenobia – who was sold into slavery upon birth – is a slave in the household of Danathus, King of Palmyra. While there she falls in love with the young prince: Alexander, who chooses the rebellion against the Roman oppressors which pushes her into the arms of his uncle, Danathus. Together, Danathus and Zenobia expand the empire until his untimely death where she continues the expansion at the chagrin of the Roman Emperor: Aurelian.

How to describe this musical? Epic… that is the best way to describe it.
Continue reading →

Entertainment News: The Miss Saigon film adaptation Wish List

With the buzz surrounding Les Miserables and the anticipated release on Christmas Day… Musical and Film insiders have their sets on another Cameron Mackintosh production that has potential for the big screen: Miss Saigon.

When reading my RSS feed earlier, Playbill goes into detail of the various parties that have been rumored to be involved with the potential production.

Even Cameron Mackintosh tossed this little nugget to the feeders:

If Les Mis is a success then Miss Saigon will be made into a film. It isn’t confirmed at this point but there are many people sniffing around and offers coming in.

There were reports going on for the past few years that working on Miss Saigon was on “Precious” director Lee Daniels’ wish list. There were also rumors circulating that film producer Paula Wagner was working on a deal with Mackintosh for a spell.

According to Broadway.com recent American Idol contestant Jessica Sanchez has been floating around as a possible star.

Schönberg and Boublil collaborated with Richard Maltby, Jr. on the 1989 musical Miss Saigon, which took inspiration from the Puccini opera Madama Butterfly. Set during the fall of Vietnam, the musical centers on an American G.I. and a young Vietnamese prostitute who fall in love against the backdrop of the war. When Saigon falls and the Americans pull out, the young woman is left behind.

But… for someone like myself who is Vietnamese-American, I will be watching and scrutinizing every piece of news of this potential production with bated breath (ok… maybe not that extreme).

Why? Simple, because I want this to be done right, and not just via the eyes of the Americans (or other foreigners) but I would love to see this done right via the eyes of the Vietnamese that have actually lived through the war. This is afterall as much as Kim’s journey as it is Chris’ journey.

So as a Vietnamese-American I have a very specific wishlist of what I would love to see happen in any potential film production of Miss Saigon… ideas and wishes that I believe would not only enhance the film as a whole, but would bring the struggles of the Vietnamese to light. Afterall who better to describe what caused unease for the Vietnamese-Americans and the Vietnamese refugees when the production of Miss Saigon came to light?

THE ULTIMATE MISS SAIGON WISH LIST FOR THE FILM ADAPTATION
1: Potential Actors / Actresses
Continue reading →

Review: Iron Man on DVD

So when Iron Man first came out I didn’t watch it… didn’t have any inclination to do so…

Then a friend of mine wanted to see the Avengers and I thought “why the hell not” and found that I really enjoyed it.

In fact when I first wrote about The Avengers I went so far as to say the following about Iron Man:

I was apprehensive when the first Iron Man movie came out despite the good reviews, and was just as apprehensive when the second movie came out… but when I watched The Avengers I just started drooling. He was funny, and witty and absolutely delicious. So now I know what I’m going to be catching up with this summer.

So yeah… I actually did do some catching up in some capacity over the summer pre-flight and during flight… except I didn’t watch the Captain America film that was available on flight because I just wasn’t in the mood… ah well.

Anyway this post is suppose to focus on Iron Man… so focusing I will.
Continue reading →

Review: The Hunger Games on DVD

Ok… I’ll admit it, I’m a sap… I am a crazy sap particularly when it comes to things like watching Katniss cry over the death of Rue, or watching her care for Peeta or even at the top of the film when she goes for her little sister Prim when Prim’s name was picked from the dish and volunteers to be Tribute of District 12.

But I am getting way ahead of myself. If you have read my reviews for the first two books of the Hunger Games Trilogy (The Hunger Games, Catching Fire) then you know that I am way late in the game with this particular book series and that I was presently surprised at how much I enjoyed the series as a whole. Sure there were times when I felt that the series was a bit predictable and several moments felt forced, but for the most part it was a rather enjoyable series.

The same seems to happen here with the first movie adaptation of the series, I am way behind the times… however, when I finally got around to watching the movie I found that I am much more drawn to the movie version of Katniss than I was with the book version.

Let’s look at what I said about the book version of Katniss:

There were times when I wanted to scream at Katniss for being so damn strong, but then again understood as to why. For someone who had to grow up rather quickly and rather young in life, you can’t help but have a harden outlook on life. However, for some reason Katniss is almost too hardened to be relate-able in any way… and it is those few moments where she lets her guard down and does something straight from the heart that people latch onto and find themselves drawn to where Katniss finds her audience. I suppose by having those extremes in her personality, that is how her more “real” moments become more than special for the reader.

Continue reading →

Comparison: Mirror Mirror vs Snow White and the Huntsman

This has happened in Hollywood before… One movie is announced to be in development and soon after there is another movie of a similar vein that is also announced. This happened with The First Daughter and Chasing Liberty and it happened again between Mirror Mirror and Snow White and the Huntsman.

What is interesting though is that even though Mirror Mirror and Snow White and the Huntsman are deviations from the same fairy tale “Snow White and the Seven Dwarves” they do take two very distinct paths in the retelling / interpretation to their stories…

MIRROR MIRROR
Mirror Mirror very clearly takes a light hearted, comical approach to their storytelling, considering that they have Julia Roberts as the “Evil Queen” I can’t say that I am all that surprised. After all Julia does comedy well… Sometimes almost too well. She does balance it out with the sinister part of the Evil Queen and there are times when I believed in her “evilness” but more often than not I found myself smiling and smirking in the comedy.

But then again there are aspects that I kind of wished I could have seen in this version as well… Like a little bit of fighting between the Evil Queen and Snow White, but you can’t have everything that you want in life.

Oddly enough as I think about Mirror Mirror I realize that it reminds me a little of Ella Enchanted as a bit of a modern day fairy tale where the female is just as strong and independent as their male counterpart. Then again both female heroines had to grow into their independence… Not only that but they happened to fight with their male heroes as well… And nothing says love more than being able to hold your own against a guy!

SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN
On the other side of the spectrum you have an action drama semi-adventure like Snow White and the Huntsman with its fairly predictable plot line and the requisite attempt of a love triangle. Yes there is a bit more mythology involved particularly with that of the Evil Queen and her ascension over time… Or even of that of the Huntsman and his life and the aftermath.

There is a lot that was purposely left open ended with possibilities of sequels down the road and if that is indeed the case, then it is easy to see how and why this first movie was fairly predictable in plot and deviations. Then again between the two, Snow White and the Huntsman tends to stick closer to the original plot while as Mirror Mirror appears to rearrange and takes quite a few liberties with the stories.

Would I have liked to have seen the connection develop more between the duke’s son and Snow White as opposed to taking their relationship at face value? Absolutely, but what can one do? I the end this movie / story is about

Both have something to offer but both also fall short in one capacity or another.

Review: Snow White and the Huntsman

The second movie I decided to watch soon after I concluded Mirror Mirror was – surprise surprise – Snow White and the Huntsman. I mean how could I not? They were both available and it would be a shame to watch one and not the other… So I decided to give it a go.

Snow White and the Huntsman actually keeps the key points of the original fairy tale of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves more so than that of Mirror Mirror… Obviously with some twists and changes along the way. The major deviation is turning the overall tale of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves into more of an action / adventure type of film and in some ways this works out decently in the grand scheme of things.

The Evil Queen is brought to Snow White’s father’s attention via a battle wherein she was the prisoner of the opposing army. Enamored by her beauty the king married her soon after only to be killed on their wedding night. The Evil Queen then takes over the kingdom with few escapees and makes Snow White prisoner with no one that escaped knowing if Sow White had survived or not.

And this is my first issue with the changes… Why keep Sow White prisoner? What purpose does it serve? The Evil Queen has proven time and time again that she will do what it takes to keep her youth by sucking the life out of other women. And she has no qualms of killing anyone around her for self-preservation even going so far as to sacrifice the life of her own brother… So why keep Snow White alive?

Alas, we may never know the answer to this wee little loophole in the story and as thus we, the audience, are expected to take this conundrum at face value… Ah well.
Continue reading →

Review: Mirror Mirror

So on the plane ride to Korea (on the way to Vietnam) I found time to catch up on a few movies that I was interested n seeing but never really wanted to pay for in any capacity due to the mixed reviews… But watch I did.

First on the list: Mirror Mirror

Julia Roberts as the Wicked Queen / Stepmother is hilarious, some really nice one liners. Heck there are some fun one liners in this movie. she balances the whole vanity / self-indulgent thing to the extent that you are not irritated nor wishing the worst of her. In fact I would go so far as to say that the Wicked Queen is not only the antagonist but also the comedic relief in this particular retelling of the classic story.
Continue reading →

Review: Ranma 1/2 – Live Action Version

Yes, you read that correctly there is a live action version of Ranma 1/2 floating around out there, and before you asked I purchased my copy via EBay… and at a glance it would appear that there are still copies of it available.

First I found this little trailer via YouTube (unfortunately no English subtitles):

Before I purchased this anomaly I researched all that I could about this movie even locating the Facebook Page that was created for this live-action film.

But what is the movie about… officially? There is a long thorough summary over at Furinkan.com, but for the essence of spacing there is a shorter summary that I took from AsianWiki.

Akane (Yui Aragaki) is the youngest of three daughters for Soun Tendo. Her father Soun Tendo (Katsuhisa Namase) runs a dojo for martial arts. Akane hopes to carry on her father’s dojo into the distant future.

Meanwhile, Akane has been selected to marry Ranma (Kento Kaku), the son of her father’s long time friend Genma (Arata Furuta). Akane and Ranma’s relationship has developed into a love and hate relationship. Also, Ranma isn’t your typical boy. While on a training journey Ranma fell into the Spring of the Drowned Girl and now changes into a women whenever cold water is splashed on him. Warm water will allow him to revert back to a male. Problems arise when Akane’s father declares that the successor to their dojo must be a male. Now, Akane and Ranma (being a man only half of the time) must find a secret spring that can cure him of his curse.

After surfing a little more there was someone who did a video review of the Ranma 1/2 Live Action film and I highly recommend it:
Continue reading →