Watching Movies

I decided I deserved a low-key weekend and I'm glad that I was able to have one. All I really did was watch movies Friday Night and most of Saturday. Sunday I went to visit with a few of my gem vendors who were in town to see what they had new and if anything caught my eye, but more about that later.

Movies.

I love movies. I usually read what other people have to say about them but rarely give my written opinion on a movie. If people ask, then I'll tell, but I tend to get technical. What most people want to hear is "I liked it" or "I didn't like it" and then they leave it at that. I can't. I need to say why I didn't like it. What worked what didn't.

Take one of the movies I watched this weekend: Les Miserables. Yes, the new one with Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway, and Russell Crowe. Most people that I spoke with hated it. They said it wasn't well done and they didn't like the singing. That is because what they are used to in movie musicals is the actors going into the studio BEFORE they start filming, singing a few times, recording the best one, then using technology to adjust it. Once they're on set, they lip-sync over what they previously recorded and go from there. This one was different. They did live singing--on set, day of. It's more like they recorded a live theatre night. I like live theatre, so the singing didn't bother me. I've read people who slammed Russel Crowe's performance of Javert. I actually liked it. It was a different spin on the character. Some of the little facial expressions/ticks that he had actually made the character have a different dimension instead of being the "proud, overbearing" character that most men play him as. His voice was strong but not overly powerful; again another dimension. I had to watch it a few times to actually get all the little things. I did enjoy the little things from the book that were put in versus what the stage musical version usually does.

The one problem I did have with the film was some of the cinematography. There were shots in there that I didn't understand why they had chosen that angle. There was also a lot of head hunting (where the camera is in a close up of the person's head/shoulders for an extended period of time). I wanted to see what was going on around them, what setting they were in. There were lighting problems as well.

Another movie: Moulin Rouge (yes, I was on a musicals kick). That movie I could watch over and over again. I really enjoy it. Yes, it's silly. Yes, I can't stand Nicole Kidman's voice. I like the mash-ups of the popular songs. I own the extended version which gives some insight behind things (and I'm a sucker for behind-the-scenes stuff) so having that knowledge gives the film another dimension.

Perhaps the reason I like musicals is I can't sing worth my salt--although some who have heard me sing like to disagree. I like being swept away with a well sung song and even though I don't sing well I do hum along with those that I recognize.

I guess I just needed an escape this weekend that didn't deal with school or fabrics or anything else.

When it comes to the gem stuff, I found a TON of pearls that I hadn't seen before. Mostly out of the baroque style (meaning not perfectly round). I like those. They have more character and I can get larger pearls for cheaper because not to many people buy them--they think they're defective. I also found some white onyx, blue spotter jasper, and a few other jasper types. I've got some fun stuff to work with.