Sometimes this Blog
will go off in another direction – in the direction of what ever I am
interested in…
I will begin with the
simple fact that I was trying to keep my Pirates Of The Caribbean under
control. I know everyone LOVES Jack Sparrow, but for me someone else caught my
eye. Focusing on Captain Barbossa, my curiosity got the better of me. Curiosity
killed the Fox? I began wondering who is this man who brings my beloved
Barbossa to life? You Tube searches for Geoffrey Rush lead me to video
tributes, full of pictures from movies and theater, of the man. One video had a
picture of Rush from Les Miserables in the black hat, I commented on the video.
Please tell me what movie that’s from! No response. I googled Rush instead,
found that wonderful web site “the many hats of Geoffrey Rush”
Les Miserables was
the movie I had to see. Little did I know that Rush was one of the few actors
that had a Triple Crown of Acting, under his belt {An Academy Award, Tony
Award, Emmy Award & numerous others I could fill this entire Blog with!}
Cash in hand I head
to my local video store with a list of Rush movies. Scrambling down the
unorganized isles of this store to only find a couple of options, Elizabeth and
Les Miserables. I felt like I would have a hard time trying to find Les
Miserables if I did not grab it now. So that would be my first purchase of
curiosity.
I had never seen the
play in the theater nor did I read the book. I went in full naïve only to
recognize the movie after the first thirty minuets. I had a friend in high
school that loved Les Miserables, I remember her having a pin on her back pack
of the Les Miserables Girls face. I also realized she let me barrow this movie
back in the day; she had been crushing on Marius of course.
The first time I
watched the movie the one thing that stuck out in my mind was “Whoa did he just
slap Uma Thurman!” I could not believe it. Rush’s Inspector Javert comes across
as a complex man. I would describe him like this; stern, stoic and haughty & the law is his religion – his
driving force.
I do like Liam
Neeson, a lot. It was nice to see him in this movie too. But Rush stole my
attention. I am amazed at how well he always mesh’s with his co-stars, he’s
always the Yin to their Yang. You cannot have the one with out the other, truly
the best example of a supporting actor.
I do question the
directors camera angles at times, Rush is 6’0 and Neeson is 6’4 but seems to
tower over him at some points.
Did anyone notice that Rush hardly blinks, he is so intense in this movie.
Favorite line from
the movie; I love the part where Captain Beauvais is telling the mayor, Liam
Neeson. That the new police inspector is here to report, Neeson says tell him
him does not need to. Captain Beauvais says “But Monsieur le Maire, if you
don’t permit the inspector to report, I think he will burst into tears!” The
idea of Javert doing this is hilarious – because he is so serious.
My other favorite
part is not exactly a pleasant part of the movie. Javert finds out that Neeson
is who he thought he was and goes into primal rage mode. Confronts Neeson and
Thurman with the ferocity of a wolverine. He blows up in Neesons face and says
“Speak up, people don’t mumble when they speak to me!” & “ Are you joking,
do you think that I am that stupid, I think you do” Rush delivers these lines
& part so ferociously I do not think I could have responded to him if I
where in Liam Neeson’s shoes. He literally acts him out of the universe in that
moment....
Noticing some
similarities of Javert to Barbossa? A couple of times in the movie Javert yells
or barks an order and all I can see and hear is Barbossa. Rush will stand there
and cross his arms high on his chest, very Barbaossa-esque. The hat he wears in
the beginning of the movie, very similar to that Barbossa is sporting as a
privateer in POTC4. Baldric sword / gun belt seems to be an accessory both
like. Long coat, why can’t men wear these anymore? I love a man who can pull
off a trench or pea coat. They are not practical in my neck of the woods,
sadly.
Did anyone notice
that Rush seems to just kind of fall off of that horse? The man has some long
legs you would think he’d have no problem.
These pictures are
screen shots I took while watching the movie. I was trying to get good shots of
him that where not the usual ones you see on the all of the other generic
reviews. During this I stumbled across this: Liam Neeson smashes Inspetor
Javerts face into the wall he slowly slides down and falls into a heap. At that
point, try rewinding in slow motion to see Rush smash his face & slide up
the wall. It’s pretty funny! Sorry Rush.
After I watched the
movie, the 1st time. I found out that many people gave it bad
reviews. Saying it was nothing like the book or the play. That Liam Neeson’s
character was way off from what he should have been, etc. I have nothing to
compare it to, nor did I go the extra step to read the book or see the play.
All I can say is I think it stands on its own. All of the actors did a
wonderful job if you ask me.
Oh, I did see Twitter
blowing up Les Miserables. They are doing a remake of this movie. Apparently
Rush will be Mr. Thenardiers the owner of the bar and care taker of Cosette. I
am excited that that he agreed to play a part in this, but it is not my
favorite character. This re-make has a stellar cast and should do well.
***Correction: Geoffrey will not be playing Thenardiers, I am disappointed because any Rush is better then no Rush at all. They cast someone else - I am not even going to comment about THAT.
Hmmm to see Rush in a
play – that would be NICE. I have heard he is completely different from what we
see in the movies.
Until next time –
Your Rush Obsessed friend,
BlueFox
You need to see Quills!!
ReplyDelete