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ulkis @ 2011-09-07T22:32:00

2011-09-08T02:31:15Z

A 10,000-word big bang for small fandoms!
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Don't know if I'm inclined to do it myself, but spreading the word.

Nooooooooo

2011-06-17T17:53:53Z

Andrew Lloyd Webber's Love Never Dies Will Close in London in August.

ulkis @ 2011-03-12T23:46:00

2011-03-13T04:46:43Z

So, while I'm not a Phantom or Andrew Lloyd Webber disser - I like a couple of his musicals, I like Phantom, has a couple of good tunes, nice sets and costumes, decent story, I definitely wouldn't list Phantom among my favorites either. But somehow, I have ended up listening to eleventy billion different musical versions of it, thanks to Phantom Reviews, which hilariously reviews every shitastic Phantom adaptation out there. And in every Phantom adaptation, there is usually one song that is like cracked and makes me feel vaguely ashamed when it comes up on my music rotation. I don't often feel guilty about any songs I listen to, but these Phantom songs are definitely guilty pleasures.

ulkis @ 2010-10-01T15:46:00

2010-10-01T19:46:23Z

Andrew Lloyd Webber's Love Never Dies Will Not Arrive on Broadway This Season.

Boo. Why can't we have ~~horrible, godforsaken~~ nice things? Sure there's Addams Family, and Spiderman and King Kong coming up, but I'm sure Love Never Dies is the most awesome one.

ulkis @ 2010-08-31T18:06:00

2010-08-31T22:06:36Z

Tomorrow over here we're starting a read through of Les Miserables, one discussion thread per each book in the, er, book. I'm opening up the first thread for discussion, which is solely about the Bishop, so I suspect there will not be much conversation about it. But still, if you have a yen to discuss some Les Miserables, come back for more exciting chapters, like Waterloo, and the discussion about the sewers and convents! Oh yeah, and barricades and blowing up shit, if you like that sort of thing. It one chapter per day, so technically you can count the chapters and figure out what day we are going to discuss which chapter. So please, if you're so inclined, join us!

ulkis @ 2010-08-19T22:35:00

2010-08-20T02:35:39Z

collectingbees, I meant to post this on your birthday but I got the day (not the date) of your birthday confused, and I decided it would be more unexpected, and thus fun, to post it a couple days later anyway. A convenient excuse for my ineptness. :) Anyway, it's just a mix of songs I like by female singer/songwriters. mix.

ulkis @ 2010-07-30T19:03:00

2010-07-30T23:03:34Z

Meme week for me I guess. You know the rules: guess the lyrics without cheating.

1.a long time ago/we were walking around/we were rolling around/in the garden

2.You're not quite who you think you are/Can see the symptoms from afar/I'm hosing down your shooting star

3.~~Mama, the weeping/Mama, the angels/No sleep in heaven/Or Bethlehem~~

4.I've been glad before but this is more than glorious/Someone has arranged for me to feel victorious

5. Blue moon sinking from the weight of the load/And the building scrape the sky

6. ~~One bedroom one bath hardwood floors/With a view of the trees/One bedroom one bath parking space~~

7. ~~The love we share seems to go nowhere/And I've lost my light for I toss and turn I can't sleep at night~~

8. So don't wreck yourself/Take an honest grip/For there's more tales beyond the shore

9. Got no place to go/ but there's a girl waiting for me down in Mexico/ She's got a bottle of tequila, a bottle of gin/ And if I bring a little music I can fit right in

10. ~~It’s not always rainbows and butterflies/It’s compromise that moves us along~~

ulkis @ 2010-07-22T19:55:00

2010-07-22T23:55:32Z

If musicals dot net doesn't return soon, I'll be forced to return to the broadwayworld boards. Unacceptable!

ulkis @ 2010-06-25T13:47:00

2010-06-25T17:47:10Z

So last I was here I was posting about how inappropriate the lyrics to a song in the Phantom sequel was. And then the song may have proceeded to become one of the most listened to on my shuffle. I don't know how that happened. And the second most listened to may have been a song with lyrics like this:

Phantom:
And I touched you!

Christine:
And caressed you!

Phantom:
And I took you!

Christine:
And I felt you!

You get the idea. What? It's a catchy song. Apparently I love songs with atrocious lyrics. And then my i-shuffle or ipod shuffle or whatever it's called lost itself in protest I guess. But in the meantime I discovered the youtube channel that has all the Phantom reviews, and it is hilarious. I mean some of this stuff all you have to do is read the summary and it's enough to make you laugh/gasp at the horror. Twilight only wishes it were as dumb as the Dario Argento Phantom. (Also, that channel may have led me to listening to this song for a while. I recommend watching the review.

ulkis @ 2010-06-01T22:15:00

2010-06-02T02:15:10Z

To the les mis ladies celebrating barricade day this year, have fun! Not only am I jealous that you're all going on a trip but that you've got the guts to go out on your own and do it and of everyone's ability to organize on hectic schedules. Make sure to take lots of pictures!

ulkis @ 2010-03-09T20:34:00

2010-03-10T01:34:01Z

So I listened to most of the Phantom sequel.

So you know how "Music of the Night" is a thinly-veiled seduction using lots of music metaphors? Well, there's basically a song like that in the sequel, a rock version. Except here, he sings it to a 10 year old who he thinks is his son. These are some of the lyrics:

Phantom:
You can feel it!

10 year old (who, I swear I am not exaggerating, growls or whispers each time he says this):
Yes!

Come closer!
You've no fear of the beauty underneath
You can face it
You can take it
You see through to the beauty underneath

(The kid is interjecting YeeeEEEES after almost every line, by the way)

Do you sense the strangest things?
Things no one would ever guess
Things mere words cannot express
Do you find yourself beguiled by the dangerous and wild
Do you feed on the need of the beauty underneath
Have you felt your senses surge
And surrender to the urge
And the hooked as you looked at the beauty underneath?

Is . . . is that appropriate?

ulkis @ 2010-03-08T15:35:00

2010-03-08T20:35:13Z

Oh my gosh, the Phantom sequel is opening tomorrow in London!!!

I am so excited for the badness.

ulkis @ 2010-02-10T19:20:00

2010-02-11T00:20:25Z

Made a Les Miserables picspam.

ulkis @ 2009-12-31T11:48:00

2009-12-31T16:48:50Z

Happy new year everyone! Hope it's a good one.

And thanks to everyone who I've chatted here and on the boards and wherever, I suck at saying how much I enjoy it, but I do, and thanks.

ulkis @ 2009-12-23T17:31:00

2009-12-23T22:31:11Z

The American Girls Christmas: Music of Christmas Paaaaaaaast album

ulkis @ 2009-11-20T15:34:00

2009-11-20T20:34:14Z

I want Marius' doofy smile back in my icons. But I really like all my icons right now! And actually do NOT want more icon slots because otherwise I would never use half of them anyway and it would take me half an hour to post a comment while I decided what icon I wanted to use. But I cannot decide what to take out for once. Logically it should either be the Eponine icon or the Battlestar one, but I love both of those. Plus, Battlestar is a good catch-all for any space show.

Decisions, decisions.

ulkis @ 2009-11-18T15:38:00

2009-11-18T20:38:39Z

I forgot to mention yesterday that it was the 20th anniversary of the release of the Little Mermaid. Crazy!

ulkis @ 2009-11-12T18:16:00

2009-11-12T23:16:20Z

Yes! Broadwayabridged is coming out with an album of the site's parodies. Although I think they're better read. But they're still pretty damn funny to listen to.

ulkis @ 2009-10-31T11:58:00

2009-10-31T16:04:21Z

Happy Halloween! Last year I believe I posted the Lon Chaney Phantom of the Opera, so here is the Lon Chaney movie The Unknown. I was surprised at how much of a hit (well for my channel) it was, because the movie is not too hard to get, it's on DVD. Lon Chaney is a circus performer who pretends he has no arms for some reason (I think he's a criminal and that's part of his disguise) and it works out well for him because fellow circus performer Joan Crawford doesn't like men putting their arms on her. So he decides to get his arms actually chopped off, cause he's an idiot apparently. But it's a pretty weird/good movie, and has a great performace from Lon Chaney, as usual. Also directed by Tod Browning, who directed "Freaks".

ulkis @ 2009-10-17T20:38:00

2009-10-18T00:41:10Z

song of that Run This Tour/Town video.

I bought headphones less than a month ago, or exactly a month, and already the left earpiece doesn't work. Yes, it was as cheap as shit, but still, I expect them to last at least 3 months. bah.

ulkis @ 2009-09-22T15:28:00

2009-09-22T19:30:02Z

So this singer, Essence came out with a new album in July, except that I didn't notice then because I genuinely thought she wasn't going to come out with another album, she hadn't updated anything in so long. About three years ago I heard her on a World Cafe Live album. On it was a song called "Sleeping with the Driver", quite good. Anyway, on the new album, FINALLY this one song I've wanted, "Hello Hello" was available, so I bought it. So if you're interested in the quirky singer songwriter type I recommend her/those two songs.

ulkis @ 2009-07-08T22:27:00

2009-07-09T02:28:49Z

Making fun of the Phantom of the Opera is too easy, but broadwayabriged's parody is still awesome.

ulkis @ 2009-06-24T19:10:00

2009-06-25T00:08:05Z

Apologies to those who have seen me ramble on and on about the movies.

So now I've seen almost every Les Miserables movie available, so I'm gonna make a list, because that's always fun. I'm gonna start with the ones that I don't think are worth the effort, unless you also like watching every Les Mis movie for the heck of it.

1952: This one is horrible. It stars Michael Rennie and Robert Newton and they play the dullest Javert and Valjean ever. I don't think I could even bring myself to pay attention to most of it. Debra Paget as Cosette was okay. Marius is horrible, fugly and too old for the part, especially since Cosette looks 12, the worst next to the guy from the 2000 mini-series. The thing is, they put this on the other side of the disc for the 1935 version, so you're drawn to watch it out of a sense of curiousity. (Sucks so much no one put it up in youtube, even.)

And that's it. I thought there was another one I didn't like at all, but apparently not. Yes, that's right, I even really like the 1998 version.

-1978: This one I didn't pay much attention too, but it's probably the most accurate of the English speaking versions. I just found it kinda dull. If I hadn't seen much better versions, I would have liked it better. But it has Anthony Perkins as Javert, who is really good. And Flora Robson, who always makes everything better simply by being in a scene. The rest of the actors are good too.

-1995: This isn't a straight-up adaptation, but a WWII story that compares itself to Les Miserables. I didn't pay attention much, but what I did see was good.

-1935: The only reason I think fans don't criticize this one as much as the 1998 is because it's not as well known. It's a good movie, bad adapatation like 1998 as well. If anything, though, I'd say it's a worse adaptation because 30s standards forced it to sanatize pretty much everything. Also, most critics seemed to like Charles Laughton's Javert, but they're crazy. He stinks in the role. He always looks like he's about to burst into tears.

-1998: I really like it, okay? I mean, I haven't watched it in years so I guess I don't like it THAT much, but if I saw it on TV I'd probably stop and watch a bit. Geoffrey Rush is fantastic, even though they made Javert way too brutal. And that goes for Valjean too. I can accept a lot of changes, but I cannot accept that he would slap Cosette. Ever. Even in the context of the movie, it seems unlikely that he would slap her, let alone if you've read the book. I just, I really hate that slap. But otherwise, I like all the actors and I think the movie has a good pace and is engaging. It's too bad that they didn't make it a longer movie. That probably would've helped.

-1957: (Link is only a clip to hear the dub of doom.) This is available with an awful, awful dub. I thought when it came out on DVD they would have the option of with or without dub, but no, they came out with just the dub, to mock me. I've caught some snippets here and there of it in French, and it is much better, but it's still not my favorite, despite being very accurate. Eponine has the weirdest hair ever, I get Marius and Enjolras confused (Enjolras is slightly fuglier), they don't go into detail with Fantine (I'm biased towards Fantine - I think she's really important and I hate when movies make her into a walk-on role), and I feel kind of evil for saying this, but I'm not that fond of Jean Gabin as Valjean. I do not know why. I think it's cause he's not scruffy enough, maybe? Okay, now it seems like I've eviscerated the movie, but I do like it. I was just listing the reasons why it's not my favorite, despite the accuracy. I like Cosette. The Thenardiers are good. And props to the Gavroche dub, the only person who doesn't sound like they're going to fall asleep.

-1982: I just saw this one, and it's good, but I have mixed feelings. They did a good job with Enjolras and the friends of the ABC, realistic living conditions and weather, and the Thenardiers and their life in the Parisian criminal world, but otherwise there were a lot of weird choices in directing and music. This was in French with no subtitles, so maybe I missed something, but there was no dialogue to confuse me in this particular part. This is what happened: It's the end of the movie, and Valjean is walking down the street and then gets robbed. I think. But then we see him in bed, and then he staggers up, and he walks towards some windows and then the shutters blow open and the glass breaks in them, and meanwhile Cosette and Marius rush in (as fast as they can in slo-mo) but Valjean has already died. Meanwhile, choral music is playing really loudly in the background. It's all very odd. I admire the director for trying to do something different but he didn't really pull it off. Also, Gavroche sings "Little People" from the musical a LOT. And Cosette and Marius have awful 80s hair.

-2000: This was a mini-series with Gerard Depardieu. People don't really like it for a lot of reasons, varying from large to small: Valjean is in love with Cosette, Eponine has a fancy red dress on, Marius is hideous and too old for the role, they botch up the episode in the barricades even though it's a running time of about 6 hours, Jeanne Moreau and John Malkovich have weird random scenes that weren't in the books. I still like it however. Valjean being in love with Cosette annoys me because he tells Marius, which, fine I can accept they decided that Valjean has romantic feelings for Cosette, but he wouldn't tell Marius, and probably he wouldn't admit it to himself. I don't mind Eponine's dress, I fanwank that she stole it. They don't show the fall of the barricades but they show Fauchelevent come and stupidly get shot even though Valjean tells him to stay away. Yeah, this is kind of weird movie. I still like it though. Once again I like Cosette, she's played by a lovely actress and her character is fleshed out nicely. Eponine is also played by a lovely actress and in this movie it makes no sense that they fell in love with Marius. And they have scenes together too, so it is even more ridiculous that they did not go and run away together.

1934: (Some people say 1933, I go back and forth but mostly stick to 1934 because that's when the movie came out according to imdb. Very important detail, I know.) My favorite! It's not the most accurate, but it's just so well made. And I make it sound worse than it is when I say it's not the most accurate film: part 1 (it comes in three parts) is ridiculously accurate. Later on, it gets muddled, but unlike other films I can understand why they made the changes they made, although I would have preferred less from part 1 if it meant they could have squeezed in Thenardier in the sewers. I spend so much time praising this one I'll list some of the bad things about it: overuse of tilting the camera, hammy acting (at times), leaving out Thenardier in the sewers/Marius finding out about Valjean from him. And sometimes they don't explain things properly, and I think it would be confusing if you didn't already know what was going on. But mostly the acting, the costumes, the music, and the direction are incredible.

ulkis @ 2009-06-09T21:18:00

2009-06-10T01:19:17Z

More period film icons.

Oh, and Neil Patrick Harris' song from the Tonys.

ulkis @ 2009-06-05T14:17:00

2009-06-05T18:18:10Z

Icons, again.