Sun, Jan. 23
... Turn my head with talk of summertime
Ahhhh. Kim and I (finally) went to see
Phantom of the Opera last night. Holy crap. I was impressed. There were a few moments where the acting itself wasn't exactly the most incredible I've ever seen, but the rest made up for it.
Especially that first moment. There are parts of the movie that are in black and white, and the first transition from black and white to color was absolutely incredible. I got goosebumps. And yes, Kim, I think that they just might be Schnell-bumps.
But seriously. One of the best moments (technically, of course--it wasn't an acting "moment") I've seen in a long time. As Kim called it, "it's an orgasm for the eyes." Uh, yeah. But, oh, it was incredible. That sequence was just about worth the entire $10.95 admission. But then the rest of the movie made it really worth it. If you haven't seen it, do. It's well worth it. And I'll definitely be seeing it again once it hits the cheap theatres.
If (when) you do go see it, see if that scene (when they uncover the chandelier) reminds you of Titanic at all (both Kim and I thought of some of the sequences in Titanic there). Except that it completely blows Titanic out of the water. Pun totally intended.
Anyways. All that to say that I just about peed myself. It was that amazing. It was one of those movies that I wanted to stay and watch again.
I have to see it live. I really wish we'd seen it in London this summer, but therer are just so many shows that are worth seeing. If we'd seen Phantom, it would have been instead of Les Mis, which was excellent, but I think I may have wanted to see Phantom more. But that was the show that Mom bought the tickets for, so we didn't really have a say. Next time. Next time I'm in London or New York, or a touring production comes to Calgary, I'm so there.
And, you know, I have no problem enjoying mainstream movies. I read an interview with someone who basically maligned anything that wasn't being shown in an art-house cinema. Those are fun, and sometimes better than the big-budget ones, but I would tend to categorize my favorite movies into three categories:
- "Mainstream" movies, that are still "artistic" and/or thought-provoking, such as Chicago, Finding Neverland, Garden State, Memento, Romeo + Juliet, etc...
- "Artsy" movies that are lower-budget, and attract the small-cinema crowd, like Before Sunrise, Before Sunset, waydowntown, etc...
- "Just for fun" movies that aren't designed to win awards or break new ground, but are just fun to watch, like Sweet Home Alabama, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, etc...
They all have merit, though, and I'm not about to shun a film just because it's not "indie" enough for some snootier tastes.
But apparently (according to this article), Calgarians watch the most movies per capita in Canada, and the Chinook theatre is the highest grossing box office in Canada. Says something for our entertainment habits, n'est-ce pas?
Anyways. All that to say that I enjoyed Phantom, and even though it's a major picture, I'm not ashamed to admit it.
And seriously. Andrew Lloyd Webber is a musical genius. Think about the variety of musicals that he's composed. It takes some serious talent and creativity to do that. Unbelievable.
P.S. Laurel had her own sort of adventure yesterday. You should ask her about it sometime.
infinite || abyss
posted at 12:50 p.m.
