Les Miserables

Wow. Hold on. I mean WOW!!!

Les Mis has blown me away. I have never seen the show before nor do I know the story as 1) I dislike films on history. 2) I dislike films on war. 3) I am not a fan of the French.  So this was my first experience of Les Mis. And for someone of many words, all I can say is WOW!!!

Rule number 1. Do not bother to see this film if you hate musicals. There is hardly any dialogue that isn’t sung.

Rule number 2. You are allowed to clap after a moving scene. Yes it is cinema but some of these performances deserved a standing ovation.

This is set in France during the French revolution. The first scene is amazing and better than it would ever be portrayed on a theatre set. (Which is hard for me to say as an ex-stage actress myself). But the perception it is filmed from and wetness of the sea on the men really gives it another dimension.

The outfits are great but I think have been borrowed many times by Adam Ant and Coldplay! Even the young rebel looks a bit like laddie from The lost boys.

There are so many outstanding performances to mention but I have to give my Storm award (better than an Oscar!) to Anne Hathaway who plays Fantane. She plays the role with such heart and emotion.  She is a real actress who gave her locks for her art. (They hack her hair off in a scene and she let them do it to experience it). This really works.  All the actors sing live and Anne’s big song is ‘I dreamed a dream’ which she sings with hope and despair and emotion. I can completely forgive her for her ‘One Day’ accent now (well almost).

Hugh Jackman (yes Wolverine to most of us) is another actor giving another outstanding performance.  He is the main thread of the film and again, gives the film heart.  Who knew he could sing?  Russell Crowe is his nemesis and they meet several times over the years throughout the film. They work well together with no one actually stealing a scene but complementing each other. 

Samantha Barks plays Eponine and although it is a smaller part than others, I thought she gave it her all. Amanda Seyfried from Mamma Mia fame is Cosette . Thank goodness this is the only link with Mamma Mia as I hate what they did with that film. (Using famous actors who couldn’t sing a bloody note!). The young Cosette is played by Isabelle Allen and she is outstanding in her small role. I predict a wonderful future for this young actress.

I even quite liked Sasha Baron Cohen as the Innkeeper, but his wife is played by Helene Bonham Carter and she plays it all wrong.  It is almost like she has reprised her Sweeney Todd role. Now I am not getting at Helene – Oh no she can act. Look at Lady Jane Grey or The Queen mum in the King’s Speech. She was amazing. But Tim Burton has tainted her character and now she is the person everyone calls on for a ‘quirky’ character. She belongs in Harry Potter, not Les Mis and to put on a cockney accent absolutely spoils it when Sasha is doing is best impersonation of a Frenchman. They are the light entertainment of Les Mis and do bring another dimension.

This is a long film, but so is The Hobbit and Django unchanged so maybe this is the trend to be able to tell the full story. Think of it as getting more for your money. You are not clock-watching in Les Mis. You are living and feeling their pain.

Verdict: Outstanding film version of Les Miserables. If only ‘Lincoln’ hadn’t come out at the same time this would win all the Oscars. If you love great acting and a story with heart, this is for you.

 

 

The Hobbit – an unexpected journey

The Hobbit – an unexpected journey

This is the story of Bilbo Baggins.  A hobbit who likes his home comforts.  He is rather put out when a load of dwarves turn up on his doorstep and start raiding his larder and throwing around his antique crockery. He is invited to join the dwarves quest but declines.  Of course he changes his mind or there wouldn’t be a story to tell.  This is the first part of a three film version of The Hobbit and this first film has many of the original stars of the ‘Lord of the rings’ trilogy.

Unfortunately, this film lacks impact for me.  I love Lord of the Rings films and adore The Hobbit book, but much of this film lacks a bit of character development and humour.  The actors do a sterling job but it is the script that I feel lets this film down.

I will not dwell on the negatives (well it is Christmas), but will instead offer my favourite parts.

The story of the Dwarves and how they lost their home, Erebor, was a good opener of action and I felt it fitted well for those who know Lord of the Rings films and do not know The Hobbit.

But the only outstanding scene in this film is the one with Gollum who steals the show.  He is absolutely brilliant and I loved the riddle game that he plays with Bilbo.  I love Gollum’s split personality with Smegel and how he talks to himself and how he uses the language to talk.  ‘What’s a bagginses?’  Gollum is what you call fantastic character development and not since Yoda has such a wonderful job been done.  Andy Serkis does a fantastic job (again) of Gollum and I just hope he gets recognised for the fine actor he is.

A mention should be made here for both Ian Mckellen who reprises his role of Galdalf the grey who holds the film together along with Martin Freeman as Bilbo, a newcomer to the cast but does a fantastic job of portraying the younger Bilbo (Ian Holm is still in the film as the older Bilbo).

I feel this film is like anticipating a good meal when you are really hungry. You are so looking forward to it that it just doesn’t deliver the high expectations you have built up.  I was hoping for this to be the film of the year but unfortunately I do not feel I can say that now.

As a side note, I watched this film in 3D at a Cineworld D-box.  The 3D effects are quite good. (Those of you who read my reviews regularly will know I do not love 3D as a rule). However I had expected more from the D-box but it moves a bit too gently (even on full) to work well with this film. Rather disappointing., especially considering that Pleasure Beach at Great Yarmouth has a 4D cinema which offers not only chairs that move, but water sprays, bubbles, feathers tickling you and 3D films!  I look forward to Cineworld taking the next steps!

Heaven 17 Luxury gap tour - London 3rd Nov 2012

Heaven 17 fans are going to live for a very long time!

Those of you who read my blog will know that I have already declared a love for Heaven 17.  But let me try to explain how I felt about this gig.

If you have seen the movie, love actually, you will know the story of Sarah, the American who is in love with Karl her co-worker for over two years. At the Christmas party they finally get it together and she invites him back to her house. She asks him to give her 5 mins and secretly jumps for joy behind the wall over how excited she is. Times that a few hundred times and it will give you an idea of how much I was looking forward to this gig! It was my birthday week and I had flown back from Prague the day before to see Heaven 17 do the Luxury Gap album in full.

My checklist:

·         Ensure you are in the country they are playing. (flew in from Prague especially)

·         Book a hotel so you never have to leave early to get home (no dedicated fan would catch the last bus/train home)

·         Be feisty (in my case to stop abusive women from trying to get in front of me at the gig)

·         Buy an O2 phone especially for the gig to ensure priority booking (yes I did)

Heaven 17 are under appreciated. Their talent and experience of electronic pop is outstanding and I have always considered Martyn Ware to be a musical genius. He is a founder of that sound. Heaven 17 has never been awarded the commercial success that they really deserve.  Everyone knows Temptation, but I wish they appreciated the other H17 work that only a cult few seem to get. Anyway I proudly belong to this cult and was off to enjoy an awesome gig.

The set list was always going to be great as the Luxury Gap features works such as Crushed by the wheels of industry, Let me go, We live so fast, Come live with me and Temptation.

Who’ll stop the rain is one of those under appreciated tracks, so if you don’t know it, go Google it now and see if you agree. Let me go has such powerful lyrics. ‘I walk alone and yet never say goodbye, let me go’.  Come live with me is always a crowd pleaser but when Glenn sang it straight at me I had the green eyes of every woman in the audience upon me! They don’t need to worry; I am not seventeen either.

You’ve lost that lovin’ feelin’ which was originally by the righteous brothers, was done simply with just Glenn and Martyn singing. It was beautiful and lovely to see Martyn come out from behind the keyboard.

Fascist Groove Thing really got the crowd going. Yeah baby! Mike Read should be hung for banning this track but he was one of those who ‘just don’t get H17’. I wonder if he regrets his decision today?  Penthouse and Pavement is in my top five of all-time favourite albums so anything H17 played off of it would make me happy but they did several tracks (yes I was so ecstatic my cheek bones hurt from smiling too much!) including a new version of Geisha Boys and Temple Girls and ‘we’re going to live for a very long time’. This is another moment of musical genius. How clever is this track? The lyrics and tune work beautifully together to produce irony of the sweet pop song with lyrics that can be almost evangelical. Glenn is almost ministerial in his deliverance of the song.  I’m your money should have been on the Penthouse and Pavement album and every H17 fan knows it fits that genre. 

The boys did a few early Human League songs (you should all already know that Martyn is a founder member of the band), but I hadn’t heard ‘Crow and a baby’ for years and it was wonderful to hear it again. Being Boiled is becoming an expectation at H17 gigs and they did not disappoint. Then Glenn picked up a guitar and played a version of ‘Don’t you want me’. Martyn should know the loyalty that his fans give him and believe he was the talent in Human League.

One of the most moving parts of the gig was during the encore when H17 did The Associates track, ‘Party fears two’. Glenn told the audience that he did this track a few years back at the Billy Mackenzie memorial gathering at the same venue. You could hear a pin drop as the audience were hypnotised by Glenn’s rendition of the track.

The last song of the night had to be Temptation. Leave them on a high is the motto here. Now for those reading this who like Heaven 17 and temptation but don’t know them well, here is my tip. Go listen to ‘Sunset now’. I challenge you to not love that track just as much!

But that was the end of the gig. I couldn’t believe it had finished so quickly. All the good things have to end, but for me it didn’t end there. Thank you Martyn for inviting me to the after show. Now that really did make my night! (I’m gonna need new cheekbones at this rate – haven’t stopped smiling since).

Heaven 17 have still got it and if you want to see some real 80’s legends, go see them while you can. (Luxury Gap is still touring Europe now or fingers crossed for ‘How men are’ a few years down the line.)

 

photos from this gig can be found at http://www.flickr.com/photos/jasminestormie/sets/72157631928837797/

Follow me on Twitter: @Jasminestormy

 

 

 

Level 42 (Northampton)

Level 42.

I have loved Level 42 since Love Games.  I remember Love Games distinctly as Radio 1 did a competition using the beginning of the track to rap over.  (I am ashamed to say I can still remember it). This was in the days when you had to send postcards in and couldn’t Google the answer to the competition.  I never won, but Love Games and Level 42 became a big part of my teenage years.  (checking Wikipedia I was shocked to find it only got to number 38 in the charts.)

I loved the “Level 42” album including star child, why are you leaving and turn it on. I loved “The pursuit of accidents” with Weave your spell and The Chinese way.  OK, I have grown up enjoying Level 42 but until tonight I had never seen them live.

Well that was about to change at the Royal and Derngate in Northampton on a cold October night. I drove there which was rather stressful with the one way system, but got there with plenty of time. I had not been to this venue for over 10 years so went to the back stage door to find out how to get in.  They were lovely people who were very interested in my review of tonight’s gig as they don’t often do standing gigs.  Well I am not sure if it is the age of the Level 42 fans but it was a very civilised affair.  No pushing, no checking bags or treating us like criminals, (Blur’s gig at Hyde Park threw my hand cleaning gel away for goodness sake!).  It was just the kind of way a gig for my generation should be!  (And anyone who reads my reviews will know my luck with drunks, glad to say I didn’t encounter any on this occasion).

I enjoyed the support who was Dan Clews.  He did an acoustic set of mainly original material with a cover of China in my hands.  He interacted with the audience and could sing and play well.  I met up with him afterwards and he was a lovely guy to boot!

But Level 42 was what I was here to see and Level 42 is what we were all cheering for when they came on.  Turn it on they sure did!  They started by playing the Running in the Family album in its entirety.  Tracks such as Lessons in love and Running in the family had the crowd dancing and set the tone for the night.  It’s over was sung with such sincerity, it was moving.

Level 42 sound exactly like the recordings on their albums.  I was very impressed.  They moved on to do a bit of an acoustic set with Mike on an accordion and Mark on an acoustic guitar (Not bass!).

Then they said we came to hear some funk.  We sure did!  They rocked Northampton town with some of my favourite tracks such as Starchild (Mike had a bit of a boogie!); The sun goes down (living it up) and finished on The Chinese way. 

This was a fantastic set and I could watch Mark play his bass forever!  Their music took me right back and I felt just like a teenager again. It was wonderful.  Thank you, Level 42, for a wonderful gig.

My only disappointment was I really never got to hear them play Love Games as they cut it from the show (although they had played it two nights ago at Guildford).

So this is an open invitation to Level 42, if they nip round my house and play it for me, I will provide all the tea/coffee necessary!

Love you guys. Thanks for a wonderful night. xx

(Photos will be uploaded to http://www.flickr.com/photos/jasminestormie)

 

Looper

Looper

I have come to the conclusion that it is rather hard to make a good time travel film. You spend so much time trying to explain how the time machine works and how it would impact on your past or present timeline. To be honest the only really successful one is Back to the Future.

To make a hit film you want to make a film that people want to see more than once. This means more money at the box office and again when released on Blu-ray or dvd. Back to the Future ticks this box too.  Unfortunately Looper doesn’t!

Basically 30 years from now time travel has been invented and outlawed. Gangsters send back people who they wish to do a “garbage disposal” job on and a Looper kills them and gets paid for it.

But what happens if the person they send back is you?

It has promise as a story, but made for the American audience everything is explained in minute detail such as how a scar on your hand appears is because they are currently cutting up your younger self or the TK link or even the range of the guns. It feels that the script is so busy educating us on what it all means it diminishes from the pace of the film and the action.

Bruce does what he does best, in fact the acting from Bruce, Emily Blunt (who can’t love her?) and Joseph Gordon-Levitt are all excellent but the script and execution of the story lets the film down.

SPOILLER!!

If you ask what I would do to improve this story, I wouldn’t explain so much as it takes too much time up and I would give an alternative ending where Sara stands at Joe’s grave pregnant with his child. Loop the Looper! It would give a lead for a sequel too.  Next time  Hollywood should just ask me!

The Sweeney

The Sweeney

This film is from the series of the same name, but with its new make-over it is almost unrecognisable. The new film is sleek, sharp, clean and full of action. It is set in London and in the year that gave us back our patriotism with the Jubilee and Olympics, it shows off all London has to offer and it easily matches any other major city in the world. (Or I feel very patriotic).

It is beautifully filmed. The action is clear and yet slow enough to actually see what is going on. The director and the cinematographer should be nominated for awards for this. It is really a beautiful piece of work. John Thaw made Jack Reagan a legend. Who can fill his boots in the 21st century? Ray Winstone is the only choice and is outstanding in the role. Ben Drew (who plays George Carter), is also excellent in his role as Regan’s partner and they work well together.

The opening scene is a great one with some humour with some of the Sweeney talking about only marrying someone who is a 3 (they are grateful) or a 9 (you are grateful). This dialogue as they are on their way to stop an armed robbery is almost reminiscent of Tarrantino. An excellent opening. Unfortunately there is not enough humour throughout the film.

The story overall is rather weak and predictable, which is a shame as the action is excellent. A lot of the scenes are filmed on location, including the amazing shoot out in Trafalgar square. I cannot get over how they shot each other (with silent bullets – sound was added afterwards for fear of 999 calls to police) inside of the National Gallery. I have been to the National Gallery on several occasions and know we are not even allowed to take flash photography there; so valuable are the paintings.

I did get a bit fed up with the love interest story (especially the earring- won’t tell more as spoilers). The language, violence and sex makes me feel there should be another rating between a 15 and 18 as it is a bit near the knuckle for 15 year olds.

Top Gear did the finale car chase scene and you can see their expertise in this as it is exciting and fast paced. Some of the car shots made me want to duck as if I was actually in the car.

I am very disappointed the original Sweeney theme tune (which is iconic) has been changed almost beyond recognition. When things are that iconic – they shouldn’t be touched.

My only other irritant is Damian Lewis who play Frank (Reagan and Carter’s boss) has over-plucked his eyebrows and this is very distracting to his role. His face doesn’t move much either and it looks like he is more bothered about his Botox than catching criminals.


Verdict: I feel a sequel or three coming on. Now get ya trousers on, ya nicked!

 

Shrek the musical

I was worried that buying my 15 year old son a ticket for this show he would feel a bit old to enjoy it. This was unfounded...as he LOVED it!!

This is a show suitable for all ages and especially for fans of the Shrek films. The story is of the first Shrek film and has a lot of songs that have been especially written for the show.

Dean Chisnall is outstanding as Shrek and really is believable in the role. Princess Fiona was played by Hollyoaks actress Carley Stenson. She did the role proud and brought some much needed humour to the role.

Richard Blackwood is Donkey and is brilliant with both his acting and dancing. It is a shame he doesn't have a strong singing voice as everyone else in the cast are outstanding singers.

My personal favourite characters are the Dragon (the puppeteers are amazing and it is one of the best scenes in the whole show) and the woman voicing the Dragon, Landi Oshinowo, has the most amazing voice and stole the show!! ( I would buy this woman's albums!!).

I loved the Pinocchio character, he is so funny and his nose really does get bigger! I also loved how they made Lord Farquaad small. Poor Neil McDermott must have very sore knees!!

All the swing cast have a set character which is fabulous and I loved how they did the gingerbread man!.

There are some really strong great songs in the show (with a blues/soul feel to them) but also some fillers that could easily be cut out.

The nearest tube is Covent Garden. The Theatre Royal is a lovely old theatre and the balcony is not suitable for anyone with mobility problems as there are an awful lot of stairs to climb.

My 15 year old loved the show and said he would go again and he didn't miss his xbox360 once! - that should be enough for you to make a decision on buying a ticket!!

So...Do you know the muffin man?