Les Miserables Lends an Unflinching Glimpse at Systemic Prejudice

No prisoner 24601 to be found here. Instead, Les Miserables is a 2020 French movie hailing from director Ladj Ly, one that follows an assortment of different lives in Paris, France who find themselves entangled over the course of a single day. This story begins with Stephane Ruiz (Damien Bonnard), a new transfer to the Paris police department. For his first day on the force, he's paired up with Chris (Alexis Manenti) and Gwada (Djebril Zonga). It isn't long before both Stephane and the viewer realize that Chris is prone to using his powers as an officer to target citizens of color. Meanwhile, juvenile delinquent Issa (Issa Perica) has sparked conflict in his neighborhood by poaching a lion cub from a circus troupe.

Grab Your Catnip For The Musical Madness of Cats

Musicals are inherently absurd creations. People don't sing their feelings in real life, after all. Because they work as the antithesis to reality, the best musicals can create sights & sounds you'd never see in another medium of creative expression. Avenue Q, for example, where else could you see a puppet show that doesn't even try to conceal that the puppets are being operated by people? Or how about Little Shop of Horrors or The SpongeBob SquarePants Musical? Both thrive on unabashed weirdness! Such strange yet enjoyably bold creativity is why I love musicals. When people think of musical oddness, though, one go-to reference point might be Andrew Lloyd Webber's 1981 musical Cats.

There's Lots to Unpack And Contemplate Over In The Phenomenal Monster Movie Colossal (SPOILERS!!!!!)

This review contains massive spoilers about Colossal. Seriously, do not read this before seeing the movie. Just know it's an amazing motion picture and you should see it pronto. 

K?

OK, let's get on with the review.... 

Monster movies are usually dismissed as dumb cinematic fodder, stuff reserved for gifs and children only. And, yes, it is hard not to chuckle at the fun gifs emerging from goofy monster movies of yore (King Kong feeding Godzilla a tree will always make me laugh), it's worth noting that many of the biggest monster movies have underlying themes to them that lend weight to the seemingly shallow proceedings. The original Godzilla was all about the nuclear age, the first King Kong movie is all about the dangers of man trying to exploit animals while a more modern day example can be found in Cloverfield was an incredibly prophetic movie about how we react to the unbelievable in the modern day world.

The Theory Of Everything Review

When Theory Met Sally

Eddie Redmayne was a super memorable part of Les Miserables, to the point where I thought to myself "That kids gonna be a star one day" as I left the theater. Well, now he's making good on my thought, as his turn as Stephen Hawking in The Theory Of Everything is generating tons of praise, as it should. Redmayne gives a great performance, though he's held back by a movie that's more dull than interesting.

New Into The Woods Trailer Shows Off Songs, Characters, Bizzare Johnny Depp

Hollywoods treatment of musicals in things like trailers has always been peculiar. Very rarely are the actual songs from the film depicted in the advertising materials, a weird predicament considering the epic musical number Let It Go became one of the most beloved pieces of Frozen. After the smash hits Les Miserables and the aforementioned Frozen, the two big musicals for this Christmas have reversed this trend, with Annie trumpeting its tunes in its trailer, while Into The Woods makes up for its musical free teaser with this theatrical trailer that boasts plenty of singing. Check it out below!