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simply awe-inspiring The firt time I saw the preview for the Phantom of the Opera, I thought it looked a bit too "opera-ish" and flamboyant for me. But I broke down when a friend of mine begged and begged and begged me to go, with the additional pushing of my mom. Walking into the theater, I was a bit afraid I had blown eight dollars on a movie I was certain I wouldn't like. Yet when the end credits began to roll, I found myself grinning from ear to ear, singing along with my friends to Masquerade! What a simply beautiful movie! I was pleased with most of the acting; Raoul seemed like he could've had more emotion, but Gerard and Emmy did a marvelous job and had great chemistry. Minnie Driver made me laugh out loud with her vivacious accent and drama queen persona. Not to mention having dashing Mr. Butler as the Phantom certainly made you more biased towards Raoul;). The sets were gorgeous, especially the scene of the Masquerade, I loved all the dancing and interesting costumes. As for the songs, I found myself humming them for weeks after I saw the movie (twice!). When I finally broke down and bought the soundtrack, they became permamently engraved into my brain! Very hard to stop singing the beautiful lyrics to Music of the Night. Of course, no one can deny the wonderful talents of Michael Crawford. I am a big fan of the original Broadway soundtrack. But for a movie adaptation, it blew me away.