Life of Pi, Les Miserables & The Hobbit - Film Reviews

I don't usually bother with film reviews on here, but I have seen three films in the last couple of weeks and since all were based on books, I thought I'd make a little post this time.

Having enjoyed the book, I was unsure when I heard this would be made into a film. Happily, they have done an amazing job. I'm not a 3D fan, but in this film it works well and the whole thing looks beautiful. This is a sensitive and clever adaptation and I can highly recommend it.

Now, I am a big fan of this musical and have seen it around 25 times on stage, as well as owning about 8 CD recordings and both concert versions on DVD. I was so excited about this release, but found myself disappointed. The look is great and the casting reasonably good, but I thought the new song was rubbish and I missed all the bits they cut and hated the way they swapped the order of songs. Perhaps it will grow on me, but the first watch only made me wish I were back in the UK and could go and enjoy the show on stage once more.

I adored the Lord of the Rings films and was eagerly awaiting this new series. I had my reservations about the story being split into three films at first (even after learning a lot had been taken once again from the LOTR appendices to bulk things up) but, having now seen Part 1, I think it will work. This film was a joy to watch and never dragged. The casting was great and I was pleased they kept the look and musical themes from LOTR. It will be hard to wait till next year for Part 2, but one day I look forward to being able to do a marathon of all six films together!