TheRetroCritic

Bit of a late review this one... After all, this gritty movie version of Les Mis is now a full-blown Oscar-winning blockbuster! Which is pretty cool considering it isn't a tongue-in-cheek crowd-pleaser like Chicago and actually tried something different with the musical genre rather than settle for a generic template. Something which Nine soon learned just is not always the way to go. Not that Les Miserables isn't an Oscar-friendly flick, it totally is, it's simply that it manages to be that and more. Having never physically been to see the musical prior to seeing the film and having never read Victor Hugo's novel (I know, being French it's especially shameful of me), I wasn't 100% sure about what to expect. I'd heard most of the songs from the show, though, so I wasn't completely oblivious as to what Les Miserables was about. Recorded singing directly on camera, sometimes in long one-shot scenes, the cast sure had their work cut out. Hugh J

So that's the Oscars over and done with and, as ever, here we have a good bunch of winners and losers. Some deserved wins, some predictable, some undeserved... It's a mixed bag. Let's start off with the big ones: BEST PICTURE ARGO Yes, that Ben Affleck movie about a fake sci-fi movie saving a bunch of people from a not very good time. Good film, I enjoyed it, but in no way was it the most memorable film I saw last year. Let alone the best! Would have preferred to see Les Miserables win mostly because of the top performances and the unique, game-changing take it had on movie musicals. Or Django Unchained because... well, it's a good Tarantino flick. Or even Skyfall ! But that's just the 007 fan in me whining. I should be happy the film won Best Song and Best Sound Editing. Also surprised Argo won over Lincoln , which was an equally worthy flick I felt. Still, not the best choice but definitely not the worst. BEST DIRECTOR ANG LEE Gott