TRAVIS BYRAM'S MOVIE REVIEWS

There are a couple of items to address before going into my review of the highly anticipated "Man of Steel." The first is to pay respects to an actor who's passed, the incomparable James Gandolfini. I didn't have the privilege of watching "The Sopranos," but I thoroughly enjoyed his supporting work in "The Taking of Pelham 1 2  3" and "Zero Dark Thirty." He was a familiar face that'll be missed in the community, and a TV legend in his own right. Second, I haven't written in the blog in a long time; I've been working on a short film with several friends that I wrote and co-starred in, so I've spent a lot of time on that, and will post it as soon as filming completes! Now on to the review: I'd heard polarizing things on this superhero blockbuster, and none of them assured me I was going to love it. I'd listened to mostly good buzz about "Iron Man 3," with raves from my peers in high school, but that obv...

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,...