DVD Review: Alice In Wonderland

Disney is known for his animation. But his very first works combined both animation and live-action, like Who Framed Roger Rabbit would do decades later. These live-action/animation shorts were based upon the Alice In Wonderland tales Walt had read in his childhood. And in 1951, Walt created (Arguably) the most famous adaptation of Lewis Carrol's book.

Alice is a small girl who runs down a hole in search of a white rabbit. She learns that she has stumbled into a zany world called Wonderland, where mad hatters and Cheshire Cats roam free. But how can she get home? That's the puzzler...

I am a large Disneyana fan. And, let me just say right now, we are rabid about Walt Disney movies. But for some reason, as a child (and today) I didn't get it. Not only isn't there a plot line, there really isn't an objective throughout. You get the feeling they're missing up great story opportunities that Tim Burton's adaptation did so perfectly.

The voices are great though. The immortal Sterling Halloway does wonders as that perfect Cheschire Cat. And Kathryn Beaumont does her second Disney heroine role here (she also does Wendy in Peter Pan). Still, the film, like Peter Pan, is a bit on the weaker side of Walt's classics.



Rating: 7.1 out of 10

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Robert Zemeckis Has A Dark Life

Robert has decided to adapt the novel Dark Life for Disney. This MAY be in live-action. I'm crossing my fingers, as I'm hoping this once master gets all those duck-taped-tennis-balls out of his systems and make this Live-Action. We shall see.

SYS

Film Review: The Lightning Thief

The Lightning Thief is a film that's at odd with itself. The book series it's based on is one of the funniest ever. I am one of the biggest fans of the series, owning all the books and anticipating the movie. The cast seemed to be in place..so what went wrong?

The story is that Percy Jackson has never fit in..until he learns he's the son of Poseidon. He soon goes to a camp for Half-Bloods (sons of god and humans). Along with his friends Grover and Annabeth, he has to get a precious God artifact and Percy's mom.

The trouble with the film is that the books mainly took place in Percy's mind, so humorous comparisions and descriptions would come. Percy and his pals were also younger and funnier. The film just never wnats to be what the book was: a comedic/action book. The film just wants to be an action pic.

The gigantic amount of things cut from the book is daunting. Among the most disturbing things cut are Krono's (the books main villain) and The Prophecy which would become the main thread of the books. The fact that this and important characters like Ares were cut makes me think sequels would only get worse.

Although casting was terrific, the film has bad visuals and too much cutting. I suppose it's fine for the casual film fan, for a fan of the books though it's an abomination.

Rating: 6.0 out of 10 or C
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A Lost Symbol To Be A Film

Dan Brown's books are huge in the US. So it's no surprise that The Lost Symbol, the final Dan Brown book is becoming a movie. I have mixed feelings about the Dan Brown franchise, but I don't know. I'll have to see how casting goes for this.

SYS

Film Review: the Lovely Bones

Adapting a book is a thankless job. No one really gives you credit and most just rip it to shreds. However, for once there seemed to be some valid excuse as to why The Lovely Bones might be bad. Mainly, cutting out a violent death scene to keep a PG-13 rating. It's cut may have gotten it to be viewed by teen girls (and this reviewer, who can't stand R-rated fair) but it also has gotten complaints from teen girls and critics alike. So how does the final film stand up?

Well first of all, you should know this film is about Susie Salmon, who dreams of being a photographer. She is one her way to her first date when a neighbor named George Harvey (Stanley Tucci) murders her. Soon, she watches her family from the afterlife, finding out her father wants revenge...

The fact that this is a Peter Jackson film surprises me a little. It isn't a big VFX film like King Kong. It's a small frightening drama that wokrs better than you think. Of course, the film is slightly predictable, but it all boils down to Stanley Tucci's outstanding performance. He should get an Oscar for his peformance that's unlike anything else I saw this year.

Otherwise, the film is alright, cliche' but better than anything I was expecting.

Rating: 7.4 out of 10 or B

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Scorsese Visiting The Hugo Cabret

Martin Scorsese seems to have his next film planned out. This one will be based on Hugo Cbaret, the famous children books. Hot after the Cecil B. DeMille award, I guess Martin's feeling lucky, though I bet if anyone can make this film work it would have to be Martin Scorsese.

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Blu-Ray Review: How The Grinch Stole Christmas Deluxe Edition

The Grinch is one of the many staples of the holiday season. Of course, Dr. Seuss couldn't have predicted that it would be so famous. And yet, today it is still one of the most watched Christmas specials in America, getting 10 million viewers last Monday.

In this classic, The Grinch hates all the Who's down in Who-Ville because of all of the commotion and noise that CHristmas brings. So, he sets out to steal it all only to learn that Christmas may be just a little bit more.

The Grinch's popularity can be traced mainly to Chuck Jones, who directs the outing. His animation department certainly evokes the original books drawings nicely and yet gives them Chuck's flavor. It looks nice and feels good as well. Of course, the solitary song in it (Your A Mean One [Mr. Grinch]) is a delightful tune and one that has remained a song that is impossible not to remember and has a nice rhyming pattern to go with it to boot.

The Grinch really does a splendid job and holds much better than you might think. If there is a defenition of a classic, The Grinch is one of them!!

Rating: 9.3 out of 10 or A

SYS

DVD Review: Land of The Lost

Land of The Lost was reviled and loathed upon its release this past June. Now, call me crazy, but this film had me laughing riotously throughout. Maybe I have a low IQ, but I liked this film a lot.

This film is about Rick Marshall, a scientist who believes in time warps. He soon tests out a device that travels through time warps with Dr. Holly and tour guide Will. However, the land they discover is full of dinosaurs and lizard like Sleestacks. There soon is trouble ahead and they have to get home before it's too late...

A fun thing in this film are the dinosaurs. I liked Grumpy, a T-Rex that chases after Rick throughout the movie. Although with all the language in the film his name seems too childish, he still is fun to have around since he's very vicious and scary.
Will Ferrel is fun as Rick, as is Danny McBride as Will and Jorma Tacome as the monkey/person Chaka.

The film is a comedy up front, though, and it shows. There's many a good laughs, including a hilarious one at Matt Lauer's expense, including Rick's title of the book he publishes on Time Warps. Another good one is Chaka has a great singing voice. I kid you not!

There are a few missteps, like a motel sequence that goes on WAAAAAAAAAAY too long. However, overall the film is a delight that shouldn't be missed, especially if you liked Will Ferrel's other films like Blades of Glory or Anchorman.

Rating: 7.8 out of 10 or B+

SYS

3D Film Review: A Christmas Carol

A Christmas Carol is amazing. It is a terrific film, but before we indulge into that, let me give you a brief summary of the animation used here.

The animation in the film is Mo-Cap which is when actors dress in black suits and have their movements recorded on CGI characters. Examples of this are Gollum from Lord of The Rings and Na'avi in the upcoming Avatar.

Robert Zemeckis (the director) has now made 3 films in this format: The Polar Express, Beowulf and now A Christmas Carol, his best since Cast Away.

We all know the tale, so let me get to the point: this film is something to marvel at. There have been god knows how many adaptations of this story, and yet this never feels like it is a retread. On the contrary, this feels like you'll remember this singular tale for Christmas's to come.

Jim Carrey astounds as Scoorge (in all of his ages) and The 3 ghosts that haunt him. He really puts a fine job here and I think it's my favorite performance of him ever. He really seems to be having a lot of fun as these 4 characters. Bob Hoskins is nice as Cratchit and Fezziwig and Colin Firth is delightful as Fred, Scrooge's nephew. Robin Wright Penn is even in here as Scrooge's old girlfriend Blle, though she doesn't get to do much.


I haven't really like Mo-Cap until now. The Polar Express frightened me with it's zombie like humans and Beowulf just seemed out of place with it's actors and characters. Here all of that has been fixed with even the yes looking much better. It feels more genuine than ever before.



Another good thing is that most of this film is straight from the book by Charles Dickens. Scenes that aren't in most adaptations are in here and don't feel tacked on.

I have just noticed now that I have gone on for a while just praising this film to the high heavens, but it really is a grand christmas joy. I say, see this film the holiday season or your Christmas just won't be complete.

Rating: A or 9.4 out of 10

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