We finally saw The Phantom of the Opera over the weekend. I’d been putting it off because it got such dreadful reviews, but I love the music (pretty much love most of Webber’s music) and so I had to give it a go.
Well, the reviews were pretty much right, I’m sorry to say. The main problem is that it is opera. I’m not an especial opera fan but I have nothing against it either. Opera is almost entirely an affair of the stage where the immediacy of the performance helps to balance the fact that you’ve got people standing and singing for long stretches of time while very little else goes on. A stage is necessarily limited in terms of action and special effects but the fact that things are unfolding right in front of you makes up for that. There is nothing like a live performance with the story and the music rolling out fresh and immediate, right in front of you.
And this movie is nothing like a live performance. Unfortunately, it isn’t much like a movie either. It is more like a filmed play. Sometimes that can work - especially when the story is clear and gripping, the characters well-developed and the acting solid. If there is good chemistry between the cast members, so much the better. This movie, sadly, lacks all of these things. The story is scant and rushed, the characters cardboard and the acting perfunctory at best. Some props should go to Gerard Butler (the phantom) for at least infusing some passion into his performance. The other two main characters, Christine Daae (played by Emmy Rossum) and Raoul (played by Patrick Wilson) have no presence and no personality.
But the music is still breathtaking.
Dad and I went up to Portland, ME on Saturday to have lunch in a restaurant called DeMillo’s. Not cheap but very, very good - some of the nicest fish I have ever had and an absolutely superb Portuguese sausage soup - rich and spicy. DeMillo’s is also interesting because the restaurant itself is a ship.
DeMillo’s
And I finished the hat :)
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Go organize that stash girl! I did mine a couple of weeks ago and I just love looking in the yarn closet now. Life is so much easier when it’s done. Once I started it only took a couple of hours. It was so worth it! Pictures are in the archives of my blog.
http://www.ayenforyarn.blogspot.com
I actually liked the movie version of Phantom but found the singing to be mediocre. Nothing can compare to the live theater version of the show, however.
Lisa - You’ve helped me decide. Tomorrow, god willing and the crick don’t rise, it’s getting done. I can only tolerate so much chaos - though my tolerance level for yarn chaos is pretty high :)
Donna - Yes, sadly, the singing was mediocre and I would love to have to opportunity to see this on stage some time. I have seen Webber onstage (mumble-something years ago) but not this one - yet!
organizing yarn? horrors! good luck on the project if you decide to do it- rest frequently, drink plenty of water, etc - it can be a risky business finding items you’ve long forgotten (or lost)- heck, it could become an event for the knitting olympics- umm, you might gather i live in the midst of a yarn mess-
afghan looks wonderful-
stay happy-
Darling hat & enchanting entrelac. :) Coincidentally, Doug & I were just discussing opera on Sunday. It’s not really my thing, but he was saying we should dress the boys up & take them just once...’cause he had to when he was a child & he’d like to share the suffering. hehehe
Barb - Organization is not my strong suit, as Myria could tell you. But, once in a while even I have to straighten things out - usually when I’ve reached a point where I don’t really know what I have any more!
Bron - My folks used that arguement on me about going to church. They didn’t, but I had to because they had to when they were young. Actually I now understand why my parents might have enjoyed a couple of hours to themselves on Sunday morning :) But I sure hated being all by myself in church.
I’ve wanted to learn enterlac forever...your tutorial rocks! Thanks so much!
