The Phantom of the Opera (PG-13)
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Well, I reckon everyone has at least a vague concept of what the story's about. I always did. And now I've seen this movie, the only adaptation I've ever really seen, so I must presume it's reasonably close to the original. In any event, there's a girl named Christine (Emmy Rossum), who is in the chorus of an opera, but when Carlotta Giudicelli (Minnie Driver) throws one of her diva fits, Christine gets to play her role. I should say there's a lot of backstory here. A woman named Madame Giry (Miranda Richardson) raised the orphan Christine alongside her own daughter Meg. And before Christine's father died, he had said an angel of music would look after her. And there's this guy who lives in the opera house... he's called the phantom of the opera (Gerard Butler). No one ever sees him, he's like a legend. But apparently he has taught Christine to sing, and she thought of him as the angel her father promised to send her.

And once Christine takes a lead role, um... well, she and the phantom/angel get a bit closer, though he's still quite mysterious, always wears a mask because his face is disfigured. And it's hard to say if he thinks of himself as a father figure to her, or a potential lover, I dunno. But there's a guy named Raoul (Patrick Wilson), who was a childhood friend of Christine's, and they're getting closer now, too. Which makes the Phantom jealous. And there's plenty of things he's upset about, including how the new owners of the theatre don't heed his notes to them on how to run things. So he makes trouble for everyone.

I don't really know what else to say. There's some great music, and I guess the basic plot is okay. I've always wanted to like the story, long before this movie was ever made I wanted to like it, and assumed I would. And I do. Just not quite as much as I expected to, I'm afraid. Objectively, though, I'd say it's better than my opinion of it.