TRAVIS BYRAM'S MOVIE REVIEWS

Before I go into detail about the powerhouse musical that is "Les Miserables" (referred to as "Les Mis" in this review, though throughout awards season I've heard it referred to as at least 5 other titles.), let me exclaim my bias for musicals, as I have worked on several of my high school's musicals along the way.  At first guys never want to profess their interest for the movie musical, but after a "Grease" or "Sound of Music," their interests are usually turned for the best.  The truth is, despite the macho stereotype, there are decent, non-Disney musicals out there on the market for an audience, and "Les Mis" happens to be one of them. Well, I suppose you could go into a "Grease" or a "Seussical" with no prior musical background and still be pleasantly surprised.  "Les Mis" is strictly for musical lovers, as it's not so much a musical as it is an opera (think "Jesus Christ Superstar,...

Most movies, at least it seems nowadays, people don't care who's directing a film.  Although Joss Whedon is a respected name in Hollywood, you think a billion people saw "The Avengers" for the sake of Joss Whedon? No.  Last year's "Hugo" suffered the opposite fate; legend Martin Scorsese was at the helm, it got massive critical acclaim (deservedly) and it still earned less than its budget.  So here's the question: are directors selling points to movies anymore? The answer: maybe, but Tim Burton is certainly the exception.  An array of beautiful, eccentric characters comes to mind, most of them featuring Johnny Depp, the Thelma to his Louise: the Mad Hatter in Wonderland, Edward Scissorhands cutting paper, Beetlejuice terrorizing homeowners and Sweeney Todd giving "haircuts."  Just thinking of his movies puts a smile on your face.  While not all his projects are on par, like his remake of "Planet of the Apes," even when his movie...

It seems more and more the best movies made nowadays aren't from Hollywood, a weirdly ironic statement considering that's all there was back in those days; Hollywood. Take a look at the past 3 Best Picture winners: "No Country for Old Men," "Slumdog Millionaire" and "The Hurt Locker," all backed with famous directors but released independently. I'm not sure why this is such a large trend with films currently but I love it, because "The King's Speech" is one of the best movies you will see all year. The film concerns a very large fear in the world: public speaking. There's that old statistic that says more people would rather "be in the coffin than the person speaking about it." Now picture yourself as the king of England with a stuttering problem trying to address the entire country. The film opens with a humiliating speech Bertie (King George VI, played with absolute brilliance by soon-to-be Oscar winner Coli...