“LES MISERABLES 2012″ Movie Review. LOVE EMPOWERS EVERYTHING.

“LES MISERABLES (2012)” PRESS PREVIEW

 (A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE)

This CHRISTMAS, go watch LES MISERABLES the MUSICAL MOVIE.

It is a striking film with a haunting score that will tug at your heartstrings.

 Oscar-winning director TOM HOOPER (“The King’s Speech”) leads his cast of stars to perform the songs “live” on-camera instead of having them lip-synch to pre-recorded tracks.

Set against the backdrop of 19th-century France, LES MISERABLES takes us through a heart-wrenching parable of angst, forgiveness and redemption, in a world shackled by injustice and the lack of compassion.

HUGH JACKMAN plays ex-prisoner Jean Valjean, hunted for decades by the ruthless policeman Javert (RUSSELL CROWE) after he breaks parole. When Valjean agrees to care for factory worker Fantine’s (ANNE HATTAWAY) young daughter, Cosette, their lives change forever.

This movie is a fitting tribute on the subject of the timeless resilience of the human spirit.

Yuletide season maybe, but go feel, watch and cry your heart out with the film’s characters, all in the spirit of love.

Love is universal, among other things.

Hope gears you up but it is love that keeps you going.

If you dare stand up in the spirit of  love and fight for whatever you believe in,

Then you dare dream,

Because in eventuality, love empowers everything.

But only if you believe.

Feel the  emotional anguish by the character Fantine as she sings:

“I dreamed a dream in time gone by
When hope was high
And life worth living

I dreamed that love would never die
I dreamed that God would be forgiving
Then I was young and unafraid
And dreams were made and used and wasted

There was no ransom to be paid
No song unsung, no wine untasted …”

There is grandeur in its scope and scale that will make you sit up.

 LES MISERABLES is a musical that’s both stylish and gritty, with rousing performances from an all star ensemble cast under director Tom Hooper’s relentless direction. Be mesmerized by the exuberant and biting performances of HUGH JACKMAN and ANNE HATHAWAY.

At 2 hour-and-38-minute long, it’s a beautiful and inspiring movie that will linger on your mind long after you leave the cinema, a true musical that must be seen more than once.

Don’t miss it!

To all my readers, a MERRY CHRISTMAS 2012!

“REAL STEEL” Movie Review. A FUTURISTIC CLUNKY TALE with a rollicking HEART and SOME SOUL.

“REAL STEEL” PRESS PREVIEW

Nay, I’d not even go this far to say I am a fan of HUGH JACKMAN, even though much has been reported that this Australian actor carefully selects his roles.

Nor would I bestow myself the dubious honor of being in a boxing arena as a spectator, cheering fighting robots.

But the reality is: these are facts assembled here in this clunky tale of competitive robotic fights amid an irresponsible father who’s seeking redemption over the custody of his long lost son.

And you bet, it’s one helluva of an enthralling, mesmerizing, keeping-you-on-edge movie, fresh from the oven of DISNEY.

Which says a lot about wholesome family entertainment with a heart.

HUGH plays Charlie Kenton, a down-on-his-luck robot fight promoter in REAL STEEL. His character Charlie is forever on the run, because he takes on bad risks he cannot accomplish, and is in severe financial straits.

The happening?  Some time in 2020s. Charlie is an underdog ex-boxer now turns robot fight promoter.

Along with his live-in girl friend Bailey (EVANGELINE LILLY), she is the one woman who stands by him and believes in him when the whole world don’t.  Her father was his coach, Charlie has consistently been trying to acquire fight robots with little success.

Luck has never been his calling card.

Now he has first, to reckon with a rude shock from the unexpected arrival of an 11-year-old son Max (DAKOTA GOYO) from a past relationship. The moment Charlie sees Max, he’s ever eager to transfer the right of custody to the boy’s aunt and her rich husband for a sum, simply because he needs money to buy robotic parts.

It is much later that his computer whiz son sees the potential in one discarded robot that’s in a badly twisted wreck and needs to be remodeled. He called it Atom.

The ultra-stylized special effects that propel the robot fighting are awesome.

The robots are humongous, powerful and fun. You can almost discern that they are “thinking” robots, each with his own own personality and in the case of some, heart.

“REAL STEEL” narrates a futuristic clunky tale with a rollicking heart, some soul and lots of action.

Superb acting from HUGH JACKMAN, DAKOTA GOYO and EVANGELINE LILLY takes this movie way to the top.

There’s a wonderful, magnetic chemistry between Charlie, the screen father and his teenage son Max, with plenty of emotive scenes that will surely sear your tear ducts.

Notwithstanding a magnificent sound track that will charm you.

It is, without doubt, one of the best cinematic offerings for the pre-Christmas season.

And hey presto, the Film director SHAWN LEVY sees bigger things lining up, such as a big screen franchise.

GO WATCH IT FOR ALL IT’S WORTH!