So yay, it’s now 2005! Alas, ’tis not a happy new year for everyone (though fortunately, my family in that part of the world are OK). Anyone who hasn’t already donated to one of the many charities trying to help out — what are you waiting for?

I spent the evening at Laurie’s NYE party, which was most entertaining, particularly when we scared her dogs with sparklers (oops!). Earlier in the day, another friend and I went off to see The Phantom Of The Opera, since we were both curious to see what it’d be like as a movie.

These things I liked:

• Emmy Rossum. Hot dang, she can sing. And she does a good job playing the innocent, sweet, pure, unattainable stereotype called for in her character.
• The costumes and the set design, both very impressive. One of the things I noticed at the Perth production of Phantom was that although it was pretty cool overall, it was a bit rough around the edges, particularly in areas like sets and make-up. No such problems in this big-budget film.
• The orchestra. Whoever they were, they were awesome.

These things I didn’t like:

• All the missed opportunities — such as the chandelier scene, which wasn’t as cool as it could have been, and the lack of creativity in camera angles. It often felt like I was just watching a recording of a stage production, rather than an adaptation designed to take advantage of a different medium.
• The make-up effects on the Phantom. When he took his mask off, I was hardly shocked. Heck, that face didn’t look much worse than mine does when my acne becomes unusually severe …
• Gerard Butler. He needs to learn how to sing, although he did get better towards the end.
• The sound system at Millenium Cinemas. I suspect they bought the cheapest gear that did what they needed, since it was clearly unable to handle opera (I heard clipping! clipping, I tell you!).

Overall, though, Phantom is a pretty good film. Anyone who hasn’t seen a stage production of Phantom will be impressed (and rightfully so), although anyone who has may be disappointed.

But anyway. I should go off and proceed with my other major plans for today, one of which is to commence preparations for Daniel’s LAN gathering, which starts on Monday. My hidden inner geek is getting a dangerous opportunity here to see the light of day …