So, it's already been made clear that there are more adaptations of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol than...something that there is a lot of? Personally I haven't seen that many versions. In our family the George C. Scott version was our choice of poison.
Ebeneezer Scrooge has been portrayed by many different actors. Alastair Sim, Patrick Stewart, Scrooge McDuck, Mr. Magoo, the list goes on. But you know who I never expected to play Scrooge? Jim Carey... Well, him and Tim Curry. But, if you're at all familiar with the 1997 animated version then you can probably figure out where I'm going with this.
That, and you've probably been paying attention to all the previews and trailers.
So. Jim Carey as Ebeneezer Scrooge. Odd as that sounds, he actually did a good job. Not actually seeing him on screen helped, which allowed you to focus on his voice acting.
As far as the visuals go, they were spectacular. The downside of this is that I felt like they overemphasized said visuals. There were too many pratfalls and physical comedy that felt out of place.
A lot of the humor was juvenile, which made some of the more frightening elements stand out all the more. For that I commend this movie, they weren't afraid of dumbing down what is in fact a ghost story.
Which brings me to another point. The majority of the dialogue was taken straight from the Dickens' novel. Frankly, a lot of people would think that old english would be a little hard for the kids to understand, and since animation is typically a medium focused at children this is surprising. It shows that they not only took the source story seriously, they took the audience seriously.
So, it's worth watching. I'm sure you'll enjoy it, and despite some frightening elements the movie is fairly suited for children.
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
The Twilight Saga: New Moon
What can you say about a franchise that is either loved or hated all over the world? (Well, at least in the U.S., I'm not sure how popular Twilight is in Europe, or if they've even heard of it in places like the middle of Mongolia, or Africa. Some would say not knowing about this series would make anywhere a paradise--starvation aside). Frankly, the books aren't the best written, that much is obvious (of course personal preference isn't really determined by quality all the time). Personally I enjoyed them when I first read them. Though, the series did culminate by doing everything to piss me off. Interesting character? He's actually a borderline date rapist. Interesting relationship development? Turns out Mr. Borderline Date Rapist is also a pseudo-pedophile. Thank you very much.
But, that's not what we're here to talk about, now is it? We're here to talk about the latest cinematic installment of the Twilight Saga (why is everything a saga these days? Does Hollywood even know what that word means?): New Moon.
To start off; it wasn't actually as bad as the first movie. A lot of the technical problems from the first movie have been fixed. The eyes are obviously red or gold on the vampires (though frankly, red eyes look quite silly in combination with dark skin, with pale skin they look creepy, but that's kind of the point), and the sparkles are actually noticeable (a problem I would have preferred if they hadn't fixed. At least in the first movie I could pretend the vampires weren't sparkling in the sun).
The acting was decent, especially from the Volturi (Dakota Fanning is creepy!!). More enjoyably, the Volturi's acting served as an excellent comedic foil for Kristen Stewart's ineptitude.
Now, for the reason why I watched this movie. The werewolves! I was a little worried that they were going to screw them up, the one clip I saw from the trailers made the wolf look too small, too fake. But, I was wrong, the wolves were quite satisfactory. And that scene was actually quite enjoyable. The Wolves were somewhat smaller than described in the books, but it worked great, and the transformation scenes were quite impressive. There weren't enough fight scenes for me, but those that were there did help a great deal to spice up the movie.
Frankly, Bella is unbearable. She's badly written, badly acted, and really just comes across as a place holder for the reader. Her actions in the movie are understandable...actually, I'm not even going to try to be even handed with this. There's no excuse, her behavior is just...urgh. Well, let's put it this way, she's a character, but far from a role model. Which, when you think about it, can be both good and bad. In this case, not so good.
But I'll be honest, I wasn't watching this for the romance, I was in it for the werewolves. And I want to make this very clear: I mean them when they were in their wolf forms, not their human forms!
So, in conclusion, what do I think? While not the best movie, it had its moments. The Volturi were great. Kristen is no actor, and Patterson looks like he's thinking about the pay-check the whole time. Why else would he still be there? Well, that and his contract. There are better vampires out there, but I just think of Bella Lugosi anytime one of them steps into the sun (yes...he's preferable to the sparkles).
It's a need to watch movie if you're a fan of the series. Stay away if you absolutely loathe this series. And if you're undecided, this is a somewhat silly movie, but it actually has conflict (though it does show up a little on the later side), which helps. A lot.
But, that's not what we're here to talk about, now is it? We're here to talk about the latest cinematic installment of the Twilight Saga (why is everything a saga these days? Does Hollywood even know what that word means?): New Moon.
To start off; it wasn't actually as bad as the first movie. A lot of the technical problems from the first movie have been fixed. The eyes are obviously red or gold on the vampires (though frankly, red eyes look quite silly in combination with dark skin, with pale skin they look creepy, but that's kind of the point), and the sparkles are actually noticeable (a problem I would have preferred if they hadn't fixed. At least in the first movie I could pretend the vampires weren't sparkling in the sun).
The acting was decent, especially from the Volturi (Dakota Fanning is creepy!!). More enjoyably, the Volturi's acting served as an excellent comedic foil for Kristen Stewart's ineptitude.
Now, for the reason why I watched this movie. The werewolves! I was a little worried that they were going to screw them up, the one clip I saw from the trailers made the wolf look too small, too fake. But, I was wrong, the wolves were quite satisfactory. And that scene was actually quite enjoyable. The Wolves were somewhat smaller than described in the books, but it worked great, and the transformation scenes were quite impressive. There weren't enough fight scenes for me, but those that were there did help a great deal to spice up the movie.
Frankly, Bella is unbearable. She's badly written, badly acted, and really just comes across as a place holder for the reader. Her actions in the movie are understandable...actually, I'm not even going to try to be even handed with this. There's no excuse, her behavior is just...urgh. Well, let's put it this way, she's a character, but far from a role model. Which, when you think about it, can be both good and bad. In this case, not so good.
But I'll be honest, I wasn't watching this for the romance, I was in it for the werewolves. And I want to make this very clear: I mean them when they were in their wolf forms, not their human forms!
So, in conclusion, what do I think? While not the best movie, it had its moments. The Volturi were great. Kristen is no actor, and Patterson looks like he's thinking about the pay-check the whole time. Why else would he still be there? Well, that and his contract. There are better vampires out there, but I just think of Bella Lugosi anytime one of them steps into the sun (yes...he's preferable to the sparkles).
It's a need to watch movie if you're a fan of the series. Stay away if you absolutely loathe this series. And if you're undecided, this is a somewhat silly movie, but it actually has conflict (though it does show up a little on the later side), which helps. A lot.
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