Tag: movies

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The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux

Phantom_of_the_Opera_1009I reread this novel recently after having seen the play. Part of my interest in seeing the play was to see how they adapted the novel to the stage. The relationship between Christine Daaé and the Phantom is portrayed in the popular perception as a beauty and the beast romance. My reading of the novel did not leave me with that feeling.

The plot is this. The two current managers of the Paris Opera House are tired of being blackmailed by the Opera Ghost aka the Phantom of the Opera aka Eric. They pass the reins onto two new managers, Armand Moncharmin and Firmin Richard. The Opera Ghost continues his blackmailing ways, but the two new managers initially think it is a practical joke either on the part of the exiting managers or their other co-manager. There are a series of incidences and disasters that change their minds.

There is the Opera Ghost who is obsessed with Christine. He becomes her musical tutor in a cryptic manner, but Christine thinks he is the Angel of Music sent from heaven Continue reading “The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux”

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20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne

20000_Leagues_Under_Seas_1110This book was not quite what I expected. What little I knew about this story was from seeing bits and pieces of the various movies based on this book. The movies emphasize the adventure aspect of book. Perhaps the best way to describe the book would a travelogue for 20,000 leagues most of which was under the sea.

Towards the end of the book Professor Aronnax is reviewing his time aboard the Nautilus. He does so in a short paragraph:

“My nerves were somewhat calmer, but in my excited brain I saw over again all my existence on board the Nautilus; every incident, either happy or unfortunate, which had happened since my disappearance from the Abraham Lincoln—the submarine hunt, the Torres Straits, the savages of Papua, the running ashore, the coral cemetery, the passage of Suez, the Island of Santorin, the Cretan diver, Vigo Bay, Atlantis, the iceberg, the South Pole, the imprisonment in the ice, the fight among the poulps, the storm in the Gulf Stream, the Avenger, and the horrible scene of the vessel sunk with all her crew. All these events passed before my eyes like scenes in a drama.

It is these events that Hollywood has sucked out of the book to make movies. Continue reading “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne”

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True Grit

True GritWe were walking outside the theatre.  I had purposely waited this long to comment on the movie to Robin as I wanted our conversation to be private.  No particular reason, it is just my preference.  I begin gushing about the movie and how much I enjoyed it.  I think I may have used the word fantastic in there somewhere.  I ended my spontaneous critique with the comment, “But then I do not go to a lot of movies.”  And I do not.  Last movie I saw in a theatre before True Grit was Avatar.

There was a “gentleman” walking in front of us.  He turns around and asks, “What movie did you see?”  I’m thinking I did not invite you into the conversation, but politeness lead me to answer, “True Grit.”  Continue reading “True Grit”