Quick Movie Reviews: Les Mis, Reacher, Lincoln, Skyfall

Les Miserables

I’ve never seen the stage show, but I was familiar with the story and the music going into it. The scenes that worked best were either lifted straight from the stage production or those that took advantage of the fact that this is a movie with access to modern tech. The all too brief grand views of France were fantastic. Too much time was spent in extreme close-ups. Russell Crowe was seriously lacking. Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter stole every scene they were in, and they were perfect! Totally worth seeing just for their performance.
 
This review pretty much covers my thoughts on it, except for their opinion of Hugh Jackman.


Jack Reacher

Apparently based on a series of books, I found it a workable action flick. While I’m not a big fan of Tom Cruise, I thought he did a pretty good job of playing the ex-military cop, off the grid, believes in justice but not law type. The other actors did fairly serviceable jobs.

There was an odd mix of slapstick with serious action, which didn’t seem to mesh together well. I almost felt like there were 2 directors, and they didn’t completely agree what type of movie they were making.

It was enjoyable fluff, but unless you really liked the series you can wait for it on Netflix/DVD.


Lincoln

Wow... Seriously well done. Usually there’s something I can criticize a movie for, but everything here worked. Everything. A must see.


Skyfall

James Bond, awesome as always. I rather liked the new Q. Also, got some nifty ideas from the casino scene. I’d try to catch this while it’s still in the theater.