...about how Phantom of the Opera weasled a Golden Globe nod. Seeing how the film is failing on almost all fronts.

Do I think that all of the Hollywood Foreign Press all saw this film? No.

Do I think that the Hollywood Foreign Press voted for it because they *thought* it would be an Oscar/awards contendor? Yes.

Do I think WB is trying to bury the critical reviews on Rotten Tomatoes... because it's not listed in the "new movie" column, it's listed at the bottom of all the new releases! Yes.

Once again, the HFP proves themselves to be out of touch.

They are really no better than the gossipy likes of us, GoldDerby, Oscarwatch, etc. It's rather sickening.

It is weird seeing it nominated over Spanglish, for example since that movie at least got some great reviews mixed in with the negative ones.

I don't know, I just figured since they have favored musicals in the past they had done it once again.

I think it has more to do with the fact that they would always probably want a token musical in the musical/comedy category.

but it is weird how they have excluded Spanglish...

I don't think Phantom of the Opera was bad. I thought it was pretty good. It was just mediocre is what it is... and having even a mediocre POTO movie is always good cuz it is a CLASSIC. So, because it was a horribke mess, they nominated it. I think alot of people saw it.... I mean it only came out 5 days after Spanglish!! Plus more were anticipating it and they rushed to see it. So you can also argue than maybe because more people saw POTO than Spanglish is why the nods are the way they came.

Well, if that was a conspiracy at the Golden Globes, how come that the Broadcast Film Critics Association nominated it for the best movie of the year it's in their top 10 and it beat out Closer and Spanglish for that as well?

My vote goes to...another conspiracy.

Ya, how does such populist trash make its way onto a stage like that?


Simple:

The Golden Globes themselves are populist trash


J/k, some of their picks have actually been better than the Oscars, but that's not saying a lot.

Anyways, The Phantom is unsurprisingly getting bashed. Has anyone listened to the atrocious music? It's horrendous. Webber deserves to be shot for it.

I had been hoping they would have cut it out, but to my surprise (I really was surprised), they made the music the central point. Right there, that should tell you they didn't aim for a masterpiece. If they wanted to make a good movie ,not just a good-looking movie, they would have given the shrill sounds that are meant to be beaitful melodies (*snicker*) the boot.

Exactly!

I agree. I don't think Phantom was nominated in some areas because it was actually good, but because some places automatically voted it in ASSUMING that this was going to be another great musical, like Chicago and Moulin Rouge before it. Instead, it didn't turn out that way.

PEACE, Mike

I think it deserved the nominations.

I tend to stand on the side of the fence sayng that while the movie is not for everyone, people are bashing it unecicarily. The general moviegoer is rating the movie a B+ to an A, and tend to recieve it much better than critics.

The music is being bashed to peices, and frankly I think that is just wrong. I personally greatly enjoyed the music, found it to be inspiring, touching, soothing, an just in general uplifting. Rossum is amazing throughout, and the other actors do fine jobs. I am not honestly sure what exactly critics were expecting, but after the praise for Chicago and Rouge, I dont see how this is in anyway less of a movie.

KJ

thank you. A voice of reason.

Maybe I can provide an explanation of why the critics, as well as those who appreciate music, might bash this kid to hell and back. Consider these lyrics:


Christine:
In sleep he sang to me
In dreams he came
That voice which calls to me
And speaks my name
And do I dream again?
For now I find
The phantom of the opera is there,
Inside my mind

Phantom:
Sing once again with me
Our strange duet
My power over you
Grows stronger yet
And though you turn from me
to glance behind
The phantom of the opera is there
Inside your mind


Ok, so what is the intended scenario? One of two things, I should hope:

1) The Phantom wants to turn Christine into a successful singer. The relationship is between a teacher and a student then

2) They're in love.

Do those lyrics suggest anything of that kind? Of course not! The poor girl is terrified, and the horrific words of the phantom imply an almost violent overtaking of the girl. This is a terrible way to communicate either 1) or 2).

Consider the lyrics that follow up on it:

And in this labrinth
Where night is blind
The Phantom of the opera is here/there

How can night be blind? What does that mean? The night cannot be possibly blind; that's a qualification reserved for living beings, not for a concept of time. People can be blind during the night, yes, but the night itself is not.

Consider another atrocious song:


Slowly, gently
night unfurls its splendour . . .
Grasp it, sense it -
tremulous and tender . . .


Grasp what? What exactly is there to grasp? What splendour is this guy talking about? If I were Christine, I'd be confused as hell right now. What am I supposed to look at? The freak? Or something in the night that isn't there? Well, it's supposed to be night's splendour, so I guess that's a clue. Urgh, awful awful lyrics.

Let's go further:

You alone can make my song take flight -
help me make the music of the night . .


Oh ya, ok, so that's why he's got her down there. He wants to make babies then? If you view it from that perspective, consider how the meaning of those lyrics beforehand changes:

Close your eyes
and surrender to your
darkest dreams!
Purge your thoughts
of the life
you knew before!
Close your eyes,
let your spirit
start to soar!
And you'll live
as you've never
lived before . . .
Softly, deftly,
music shall surround you . . .
Feel it, hear it,
closing in around you . . .
Open up your mind,
let your fantasies unwind,
in this darkness which
you know you cannot fight -
the darkness of
the music of the night . . .
Let your mind
start a journey through a
strange new world!


So, he wants Christine to:

1) surrounder to her darkest dreams. I wander what those are supposed to be, hm...

2) let her spirit soar? How, orgasm? Nice...

3) you know you cannot fight it -- oh ya, that is real smooth, ain't it? As if the freak abducting you isn't enough, now he will force you to do anything he wants. How romantic.

This is bad music, really bad music. And the lyrics aren't the only problem, it's the bombast. Too much of a (to begin with) bad thing just is...wrong.


The original story was meant to be very creepy, and it was. You can see how the Phantom really is a creepy character. How can a film possibly attempt to turn this into a romance? It's just nonsensical. And as for the merit of the music, well, I gave some reasons above as to why it's not all that great as it seems to be.


So, I'd say no, this definitely does not deserve a nomination when you have other much better films out there.

Besides Raffaki, how many people bashing The Phantom of the Opera in this thread has actually seen the movie?