http://www.worldofkj.com/KJ-Phantom.php

Grade: A

KJ

Fantastic. Brilliant.


Welcome to my Top Ten, Phantom




A+

Of the year? Or ... ever?

EVER.

After seeing the play four times, I can now officially say this is one of my most favorite films, ever. I can't explain how amazing it is, to me....

It was crap. Pure torture. I am not a broadway fan but I LOVED Evita and LOVED Chicago.

Maybe it's the story itself, but I just didn't enjoy it one bit. The songs were crap. The singing was crap. The acting was crap. The sets were mediocre. and if i hear "Christine...." something one more time... UGH!

don't see it.

F

good review.

you obviosuly haven't seen the film. whatever.

you know, i HATE lord of the rings. I HATE IT. but i can appreciate the craftsmenship and work that went into the films. thats why I can not ever bring myself to giving it lower than a C-

if you have seen the phantom you would appreciate it...... you would think.

whatever. sorry you dont like it. i thought it was grand, and so did everyone else i have spoken to.

come on zach! there were even many parts were the lip movements didn't even match the music. this movie was not even good technically. there were many scenes were a slow song was met with one loooonnnnnggg shot of the character doing the same thing. not even music videos do that. to keep the audience attention, things have to be happening on screen.

I understand your gripes. The film is flawed, I agree. But I still love it. :wink:

I think it simply boils down to if you like the music you will like the movie with this one ...

Here is something i wrote in another thread:

So true, KJ, so true. EXACTLY how I feel. I guess they just can't hear the bell. That's okay. It's just not for them.

Brilliant. Especially how they changed up the end singing a little

A+

:Kiss:

I haven't seen the broadway play but this is an amazing film. Absolutely mesmerizing. I need the soundtrack ASAP.

- A

=D> Dahling, you should stop by the Phantom thread more often. :wink:

Saw it second day it opened and I place it in my top five for the year, great film. I feel Schumaker did not fully show the sexual nature of the realtionship between Christine and the Phantom, but other wise very good.

Yes, since he had the PG13 rating he should have went further.... too inocent, that Christine Daae...

Average KJ User Rating: B+

I think you misunderstand me, I do not mean having The Phantom and Christine make out or anything,a good director would have been able to show that Christine has a profound sexual attraction to the Phantom that conflicts with her sensable love, heartfelt attraction to Raoul...but a las he did not.

ah

I see your point. And I agree, again.

And I still wanted more sex. :-#

Phantom of the Opera: It's Officially The Worst Musical I've Ever Seen!

Well, like many people of my generation, I had been a good cultural consumer and went to see the stage show of Phantom of the Opera back in the early 90's. At the time, my review was that it was the worst stage musical I had ever seen. (Just for context, the best stage musical I ever saw was Les Miserables). Worse even than all the other Andrew Lloyd Weber musical's - which is really saying something! But in the intervening years, I began to doubt my opinion; I thought to myself, maybe I was sitting to far back in the theatre. So try as I might, I gave in to my resistance and went to see the new movie version last night.

At the beginning, I thought perhaps my doubts were true - I quite enjoyed the first half hour up till the part that Christine had to substitute for the lead role in the opera and sang a beautiful classical sounding opera song. The actress they have playing Christine has an awesome look and a great voice. However, as soon as the Phantom came on screen, the whole enterprise went straight in the toilet. The two lead male roles are played by abominably bad actors and singers, and the story itself is laughably simplistic and unromantic. Plus, it might have been nice if Weber had seen fit to write more than two songs for this lengthy production - seriously there is only the title track and "Music of the Night" and they are repeated over and over amidst some joyless little filler ditties. This is one bad musical - be it stage or film!

On the other hand, after the movie, I heard a group of 20-something women down front sobbing uncontrollably. I overheard them say they react that way every time they see it because it is so "impossibly romantic". I asked myself what could possibly be causing this polar opposite in our reactions? After all, I loved Moulin Rouge (it's on my top ten all-time favorite movie list), and it's another romantic musical - so what gives? I just couldn't fathom this reaction, but later my significant other suggested it might be due to an Elektra complex (the male version of the Oedipus complex, i.e. an unhealthily strong fixation of a woman on a father figure), and what with the Phantom raising Christine since he rescued her from the circus as a child, there's gotta be something going for that theory. So that may explain some of the so-called "phans" who have seen this musical multiple times.

So bottom line - if you're a big "phan" of the stage version, and/or you have unresolved psychological issues with your parents, then by all means check out the movie version - you've got the best seat in the house.

To everyone else - the Phantom is really scary!

1 out of 5.

Bradley,

I am going to have to say the Elektra complex is just foolish. Alot of women feel close to the story for a lot of reasons, and people are touched by it for a lot of reasons. The movie requires a certain suspension of belief to be effective, the people who are unable to get rapped up in the music and forget about some things are thus unable to like the movie.

You must be able to accept the fact that the phantom has a powerful emotional hold over Christine. It is this love for her father mixed with the belief that he sent the Phantom to her, and she is supposed to be with him. You have to accept, without much background story to back this up, that these are the main two men in her life. Raol she met years ago, and had a childhood crush/love with. When her father died she left him, and for... I would say 3-4 years ....had not seen him. She came to study at the school , and the phantom has been talking to her ever since. The phantom was there for her to comfort her with regards to her fathers passing. She became attached to him, and her love FOR her father spilled over, the line was blurred, and when she met him ... she fell for him. You could tell as she is being taken down the hall ... she is completly entranced, can not tell reality from ... well ... what she is going through. Simply look at the hall, it is all extravagant, meant to show you what she is feeling, seeing, but later it is just a dusty web filled hall.

She falls for two men, the phantom is this lonely sole who thinks christine can not love him because of his face, when infact she can not love him because of his soul. He kills, he cheats and lies, and that she can't handle. He comes to realize that, and that is why he lets her go, that is why he ... is in a sense changed and lives the rest of his life watching over her, and loving her, but nothing more.

You have to give into the movie a bit and let yourself accept the depths of their relationships, and take all the little facts that are given to you .. but not given in great detail.

As for your claim that the two lead male roles are horrible actors ... I think you are wrong. A lot of people complain about the music in the movie, and I don't see why. I would have to say that in this case ... you are in the minority. To prove that I would simply point to the best selling soundtrack .... which I own.

I know many people who LOVED the movie. The songs have a more popish sound to them, making the movie much more accesiable to the masses who do not go to standard operas. I think maybe it is that same popish tendancie that turns you off from the music ... however you have to at least understand that it is not like this for everyone.

The movie has grossed over 100 million dollars worldwide. And will likley pass 170 million before its run is over. I expect another 200 million on DVD, VHS, and rentals. Like it or not the film is a sucess. Maybe it is not the standard musical, but I think it has effectivly carved out its own niche, with little to no advertising.

I wouldn't rank Phantom as one of my favorite musicals of all time but the film is good. Numbers like Masquerade are stunning and can stand up to the greats within the genre.

I am most happy to hear that you enjoyed the movie and the soundtrack! It was actually Archangel's thread over in the Box Office forum (you know, the one with 32% of KJ's bandwith...), that convinced me to give the movie a try - he/she was just so darn enthusiastic. I will never try to explain away someone's joy in moviegoing, but I in my review I'm trying to come to my own terms with my opposite reaction to the many who love this movie so much. As I said, I absolutely love Moulin Rouge, so I don't have any innate hate of romantic musicals. As to the Elektra complex - well most of Freud's work is pretty much considered old fashioned these days, but nonetheless it seemed to click for me when I thought of the women sobbing at my screening.

In the end, it's whatever turns your crank - so Happy Moviegoing, Eagle!

:razz:

Yeh .. I just dont think that the emotional connection with those women has anything to do with their father ... and rather with the connection of being torn between two men ... not knowing where to go or who to love. All that coupled with the pain of the phantom, pain society has placed on him, and only christine has relieved in any way. And because of that he clings to her, and eventually lets her go, lets her love. She helps him overcome all the anger he has, that it part of the beauty of the story.

In the end I really think the reason you couldn't like the movie is the poppish sound ... but I could be wrong.

:razz: