Tag: Hugh Jackman

Movies That Make Me Irrationally Angry: Les Misérables

I dreamed a dream that I don't want this to happen.
I dreamed a dream that I will hate this movie.

Okay. I have a dilemma. Since October, I have been struggling (struggling) to write about Les Misérables. This post has gone through multiple drafts. First, I attempted to mock the character posters, which are awful. Then I called it “My Inability to Give Two Shits About Les Mis,” which fell through because obviously I do give a shit. Now I’m hoping to write this post without seeming like a bitter bitch who hates Anne Hathaway, which is an easy trap that some people apparently fall into. (Hating someone’s face is an absurd reason to dislike an actor/actress. But I digress.)

So why does everything associated with Les Misérables make me irrationally angry? I honestly don’t know. We are in the middle of the full Les Miserables publicity onslaught. Red carpets, talk show appearances, magazine covers, everything. All of this has me convinced that Les Mis will be a massive disappointment. This is really bothering me.

Let me go down my list of grievances and maybe work through my issues. Continue reading “Movies That Make Me Irrationally Angry: Les Misérables”

Odds and Ends from the Tonys

It dawned on me during the Tony Awards last night that the only musical I have seen in the last six months was a disastrous production of Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark. When you figure that I saw it with many of my former high school teachers, this was easily the worst Broadway experience of my life. So I have started the “help Joanna go to a Broadway show that isn’t Spider-Man so she can regain her faith in humanity musical theater” fund. (Note: This is a legit fund. I don’t care which show it is. I will sit in the most nosebleed-y seats of any production as long as it is NOT Spider-Man.)

Thank god for the Tony Awards though. They were great fun and gave me a dose of exactly what I was missing out on – Sutton Foster, Priscilla Queen of the Desert, dancing and singing Mormons, dancing and singing Harry Potter, Sutton Foster. The Book of Mormon cleaned up by winning nine awards, including Best Musical. The Book of Mormon is arguably the best thing to happen to Broadway in a while; it has injected far more life into the stage scene than Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark ever could.

(By the way, everyone’s favorite musical mess opens for real this time on Tuesday. What’s that? The sound of you casually strolling to the Times Square TKTS Booth to purchase your tickets for Anything Goes and not Spider-Man? I don’t blame you.)

Aside from The Book of Mormon domination (music to Joseph Smith’s ears?) and the success of plays, War Horse and The Normal Heart, Neil Patrick Harris was once again the best host imagineable. Did I mention the awesome NPH and Hugh Jackman host off/dance off? (“But buddy, if I’m the bottom you’re the top!” – Annie Get Your Gun will now have a revival.) Please Oscars producers, take note.

What follows next are some of the entertaining Tweets I read during the night’s festivities:

Continue reading “Odds and Ends from the Tonys”

Wolverine Is Getting Ready

To host the Oscars and this preview proves it! Look at the hat! Look at those dance moves! Look at the muscles!

Some people are apprehensive about Hugh Jackman hosting the Academy Awards because he isn’t well, Jon Stewart. Let’s face it, the stand up comedians are great at hosting but Jackman is an incredible live performer. (See: The Boy From Oz.) I think he will rock the Academy Awards.

Plus, I’m a sucker for song and dance numbers.

Hugh Jackman to host Oscars

Forget Ricky Gervais. The Academy reportedly wants 2008 Sexiest Man Alive Hugh Jackman to host the Oscars.

UPDATE: It’s official. Hugh Jackman is the host of the 81st Academy Awards. I’m wicked excited for this.

OMG! I love it!

This is something that has been in the back of my mind for a while. Why? I have fond memories from when Jackman hosted the Tony Awards from 2003 to 2005.

Check out this clip from 2004.

This could be the best idea the Academy has ever had. After all the Academy Awards worked so much better when Bob Hope was host.

Review: The Fountain (2006)

There is a moment in every person’s life when they realize that they just spent one hour and thirty-six minutes of their life completely, without-a-doubt, 100 percent confused. That happened to me on Friday night when I saw The Fountain.

It’s not that The Fountain, directed by Darren Aronofsky, is a poorly made movie. It is visually stunning and technologically impressive. Yet for all its creative and inventive elements, there is a definite lack of plot and character development.

The three intertwining stories of The Fountain are over-ambitious. It “begins” during the Spanish Inquisition when an explorer Tomas (Hugh Jackman) sets off to find the Fountain of Youth. The scene jumps to the present with Tommy Creo, a scientist (Jackman) is struggling to save his wife Izzi (Rachel Weisz) from cancer. The final stage of the journey is of a 26th-century astronaut (Jackman) attempting to understand life and its mysteries. Through the themes of adventures, death, and the love of a woman, the three plot lines form an intriguing and thought-provoking exploration of life.

While the basic concepts of The Fountain are fascinating, the movie quickly falls short expectations. Often, it feels as though there is no connection between the three story arcs creating a lack of interest in the movie. Scenes become tiresome, drawn out, and boring.

Despite it’s flaws, I found The Fountain captivating.

If you are looking for a film that is eccentric and trippy, go see this movie. You might not understand it right away(at least I didn’t), but something about The Fountain, (I’m not exactly sure what that something is) clicks, in a good way.

Updated October 12, 2010