I'm going to throw this out there in the very first line: Valentine's Day is not a day for all us singletons to mope about, recycling tissues and watching re-runs of soppy romcoms whilst listening to Taylor Swift on full blast. Nor should there be dead flowers in your rubbish bin, the petals having been used for "he/she loves me, he/she loves me not" chanting. And the emergency ice cream must not be touched. Asides from the extra  PDA-fest of the streets, it is just another Thursday. Just because you aren't in love, doesn't mean you can't celebrate love.

Just for the record, for all the loved-up couples out there, keep celebrating and I hope you stay together forever and ever and ever. You should not be spending today catching up with Beview; you can do that tomorrow.

I'm using today as an opportunity to ramble on a bit about love. It's not just about romantic stuff though; there has been one - and only one - time where I've been so struck by love that I've been moved to tears on the spot. And I risk sounding like a complete lunatic here, but here goes... It was a man and his dog. A very old man, barely able to walk anywhere other than on the straight line of the path he was on, in a park. The dog, active and eager as ever, knew this and instead of having his owner throw the ball for him (assuming it was a "him") to catch, he would run to the top of the hilly bit by the side of the path and drop the ball. Whilst the ball started rolling, he would run back down and retrieve it, all by himself. Then look up at the man, and do it all over again. As I was walking by, I swear I could just tell that the dog loved the owner, and the owner loved the dog. And that was true love just like that.

I'll confess I don't really know a lot about love, but if there's one thing I aspire to in life, it's someday having what these people have. These people being elderly couples still as in love as when they first met. Of course, I wasn't around when they first met, but I am around now and it is the sweetest, most genuine thing you can ever seen. Take Up, for example. Probably one of the most romantic films in my movie history, and it's an animation. The first ten minutes has me in floods of tears literally every time (get tissues, click if you haven't seen it, then rent the rest of the movie), simply because it is just a simple, classic love story. Friendship, partners, growing old together. Can I get an "awwwwww"? 

Awwwwwwwww.

Yep, forget roses and chocolates, 8 figure salaries and the lot; that video there? That's the dream.

Happy Valentine's Day. I love you all.

Bev x

I'm going to start this post with two confessions. 1) My apologies to the guys. You're not going to like this very much.. 2) I have a slight fascination/minor obsession with looking at the nice red carpet outfits of the stars. Continuing on with that, it's only fair to the fashion-fascinated side of me that I write a little bit about such dresses. And what better timing than just after the weekend's glitzy BAFTAs and Grammys? For those who probably don't know (that's most of you), I used to have a fashion blog called the White Shirt Challenge (Google treasure hunt it if you so wish) involving wearing a white shirt in many, many different ways for at least 30 days, and it's been a while since I've done a fashion post. So this is where I  ramble on a bit about pretty dresses and the weekend's rockin' outfits on both sides of the big pond. Again, sorry males.

1. Monochrome

You only need to flip open any women's magazine to "discover" that this season is supposedly all about the black and whites. I've always been a fan, and trends like this don't need to be "in" to be worn, but it's been very popular on the carpets of late. If this were a competition, Beyonce has the edge. And not just because every girl secretly wants to be Beyonce a little bit...




 

  Hello world. Apologies for the slight hiatus from Beview, but we are up and running as ever before and back with one of the most talked about film over the film season. I'm writing this review nearly a month after its release date, but in the midst of the glitzy Hollywood award season, it will be at least another few weeks until the Les Mis buzz dies down. (You'll be able to hear it in people's humming song choices.) Having been super-psyched for Tom Hooper's film adaptation ages before the film had even been given a release date, I had high expectations and was more than ready to compare the film with the stage musical.

I learnt several things from my movie experience: 1) Javert, played by Russell Crowe, is the definition of persistent. 2) Contrary to popular reports, Russell Crowe can actually sing. 3) I am pretty sure I gained an allergic reaction to my tears. 4) Guys cry. It's not a myth. Don't worry; all will be explained as we continue on...

The first thing you should know about Les Mis is that it is probably comprised of 99.9% singing and very little else. Don't be put off - it works. For some reason, the music feels natural and the flow of conversation through the medium of song is effortless, thanks to Cameron Mackintosh and co. who produced the original stage version. I'd grown up with a majority of the songs embedded in my in-built knowledge - Castle on a Cloud from the primary school days, Do You Hear the People Sing? from the secondary school days, and I Dreamed a Dream from - well, Susan Boyle. Les Mis boasts one of my favourite soundtracks of any musical - from big ensemble pieces and intimate tearjerkers (On My Own) to tug at every heartstring in the cinema. It's sheer depth originates from the actual story, but is made very real by the soundtrack. 

Big songs need big voices, however, so let's talk casting. The casting people realised this and went for big names. I'd heard about Hugh Jackman's Broadway one man show and of course, seen his Oscar and Tony Award Ceremony performances, so I was pretty pleased with his casting.  In interviews, you hear the rest of the cast gush about what a leader he was and you can see that in the film too. The Les Mis story follows his life and change-around. He is singing from the opening number to the final curtain call; he sings with the pained past of his character and protagonist Jean Valjean. We also have Anne Hathaway the scenestealer. Although her screen time as troubled but loving mother Fantine is limited, she makes a lasting impact. We've all seen that hair chopping and that song in the trailers, which is enough to send goosebumps rippling through the audience. It's hard to believe it's the same Anne Hathaway of The Princess Diaries all those years ago and she is a more than credible contender for the Best Supporting Actress Oscar. We also have Amanda Seyfried, who can obviously sing a la Mamma Mia, and her sweet innocent voice is a perfect match for Cosette, the adopted daughter of Valjean. Damn that girl can sing freakishly high.


Not all of the cast names are particularly known for their singing though. You can look at people like Russell Crowe and Eddie Redmayne and not automatically think "oh, they can sing" but they prove every critic wrong. With Eddie, I compared him to Nick Jonas who played Marius in the stage show I saw several years ago. Eddie made me cry in Empty Chairs and Empty Tables, Nick didn't. Redmayne 1, Jonas 0. And Russell Crowe wasn't the Pierce Brosnan of Mamma Mia at all (in other words, can't sing). Helena Bonham-Carter, in a role that was practically written for her, and Sacha Baron Cohen, are interestingly eccentric as the Thénardiers and maybe just slightly bonkers. Finally, Samantha Barks, who featured in the Beview Ones to Watch list of 2013, is the unsung heroine. No she does not have a big name - unless you count appearing in that reality show I'd Do Anything as the equivalence of Hollywood stardom. But she plays Eponine, the unfortunate bearer of unrequited love. She's a central character and I'm so glad the producers didn't opt for a big sparkly moviestar (rumour has it Taylor Swift auditioned?). I was lucky enough to see Samantha Barks as Eponine on stage, and she successfully transfers that magic onto the big screen. One to watch indeed! 

So I've rambled on quite a bit about the casting...now onto the plot. You can read the Wikipedia intro (but not the plot summary!): an ex-convict (Valjean/Jackman) becomes a changed man and agrees to care for Fantine's daughter Cosette whilst avoiding being captured again by police inspector Javert. Javert is quite literally obsessed, and I know musicals aren't exactly the most believable thing, but I struggled to comprehend just how crazy he was (and how little he aged over the 17 year timespan). Javert is a superangry Superman. I mean, Jean stole a loaf of bread like, a hundred years ago and you're still mad!? Throw a love triangle into the mix and the matter of the French revolution (particularly the June Rebellion led by student societies) and you have a very powerful story. Tom Hooper brings an impressive cinematographic backdrop of "Paris", and made a good call in having the actors sing live on the spot, rather than miming to a pre-recorded studio soundtrack. 

What I really enjoyed about the story/film were its morals. Standing up for what you believe in. Helping others. Turning from past sins and making changes in your life for the better. Singing whenever you feel like it. The decision to take such an iconic musical and reproduce it on such a big scale is a risk that has definitely paid off. You'll see that the emotional songs feature a lot of close-up, and it's because we get to see every tear and crease of the forehead (and every single one of Mr Redmayne's freckles. Not complaining.) that we could never see in the theatre, not even with the shiny red 50p binoculas. The best part is that thousands of people can finally share in such a phenomenal musical. And maybe sing along, too. 

Bev x
Ps. Point number 3). Yes I did sob my heart out on numerous occasions. So much so that my skin broke out into an allergic rash for the next few days...