Movie Review #68: The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

Am I the only one who wonders why The Nightmare Before Christmas is always called Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas when in fact it was Henry Selick who directed, not Burton. Why doesn't Henry Selick get the recognition he deserves? That's just something that confused me.

In The Nightmare Before Christmas, Jack Skellington, The Pumpkin King of Halloween Town has grown tired of the same routine and he wants something different. After walking through the woods contemplating life, he discovers a magical doorway into Christmas Town. It is there he has an epiphany: Why can't the citizens of Halloween Town celebrate Christmas? So the townspeople decide to take matters into their own hands. Whether that is a good thing or not.

The one element that makes Nightmare stand out above all the other stop-motion films is Danny Elfman's masterful score and songs. If the movie wasn't a musical, it would just be remembered as a creepy kids movie. The movie would be nothing without the music. All of the songs are memorable. The first three songs are my personal favorite and the visuals match the songs to a tee.

Considering the film is celebrating its 20th anniversary on this very day (I swear I didn't plan that) the animation holds up incredibly well. The animation is astonishing. One of my personal favorite scenes is during Jack's Lament when he walks up the hill and the moon shines causing him to look like a silhouette. I'm not sure why I enjoy that scene so much. Maybe because it is the most iconic scene from the whole film. Or maybe it was a combination of the animation, the music and the environment.
It was great re-watching this in high definition because the colors have never looked more vibrant and the townspeople have never seemed creepier. Which leads me to the characters.

With a film as visually and musically memorable as The Nightmare Before Christmas, you would think that the characters would be very memorable, right? Sadly, the character that I really remembered is Jack Skellington because he was the main character and easily the most likable and relatable. The only reason some of the other characters are remembered is because of the nightmares they gave us as children (or maybe I only felt that way). Aside from scaring us as kids, the townspeople are very bland and boring. Especially the character of Sally. She is given little development or background whatsoever and yet we have to root for her as the protagonist and the love interest when she is a very boring character. The character of Oogie Boogie is pretty awesome though. The voice and design is super cool. I still can't get The Boogie Song out of my head.

Regardless of how bland some characters might be personality wise, they are made up with great character designs. The premise is completely different from anything we have ever seen before. It just blisters with originality and I love it.

Final Report: The Nightmare Before Christmas is an imaginatively original film with stop-motion animation and a awesome musical score that cements the reason why Danny Elfman is my favorite composer. It's a true classic.

Movie Review #67: After Earth (2013)

Yes this doesn't fit in with the halloween theme but there weren't any horror movies at Redbox that peaked my interest so this will have to do for now.

In After Earth, Will Smith and his son in real life Jaden Smith and their ship crashes on a now abandoned earth. When Will Smith gets injured, it is up to Jaden Smith to trek through the wild to find a distress beacon to call for help.

Will Smith plays a legendary military general named Cypher Rage (yes that is his real name) who has undergone a process called "ghosting". That means that he can no longer feel any fear. This makes him very cold and distant with his son Kitai Rage played by Jaden Smith. And yes that is his real name.

What is good about this movie: It has its elements of originality. The technology and weaponry that they use in the film are actually pretty cool. The main weapon used is a double edged metal blade that looks like a medieval version of Darth Maul's lightsaber and that is really cool. The premise is also original and some of the creatures they encounter have their elements of originality. And this could have been a much better film if it were in the hands of a different writer, director and had two different lead actors.

I like Will Smith. He's an incredibly likable guy, but in this he had all of his charisma sucked out of him. His character is so boringI'm not even sure if he cracked a smile in the entire movie. They also pull a complete bait and switch advertising Will Smith as the lead because for the entire movie he doesn't leave the ship and the film focuses on Jaden Smith. Yet Jaden Smith isn't any more interesting to watch than Will Smith is! He either comes off as too whiny or too angry. But one thing he always come off as: A bad actor. Okay, he might not be that bad of an actor but I don't think that he has enough acting chops to carry an entire 90 minute movie. He needs to start out small and when he has gotten better then he should move on to roles like this.

Aside from the sub-par acting, the film also suffers from sub-par directing. If this was in the hands of someone like Duncan Jones, Joe Johnston or Joseph Kosinski it would have been much better. Even if you don't like the directors I listed, you have to admit that their directorial style would have been a much better fit for the film than Shyamalan. M. Night's directing style is dialogue and story based that doesn't require many special effects if any. He needs to go back to making films like Unbreakable or The Village that don't rely on visuals but story and suspense unlike After Earth that had decent visuals but no suspense whatsoever. The closest thing to suspense we get is a scene where Jaden Smith is flying in a flying squirrel suit and is being chased by a giant bird. That scene was actually pretty cool.

Final Report: After Earth has an original story and some neat elements, but its boring pace, sub-par acting, underwhelming action and evident lack of fun or joy makes this a one of my least favorite movies of the year. I just hope M. Night Shyamalan goes on to making movies that he used to make.

Movie Review #66: Tim Burton's Corpse Bride (2005)

Now that I am finally done reviewing each season of The Walking Dead, I decided to review some of my favorite "horror movie." When I say "horror movies," I mean movies that have gothic, creepy elements but they really aren't scary at all. I'll review a few of these until the end of the month.

In Corpse Bride, Johnny Depp plays Victor. He is destined to be married to Victoria, played by Emily Watson. But when practicing his wedding vows in the forrest, he accidentally gets hitched to a corpse named Emily, played by Helena Bonham Carter.

As I said in my review of Sleepy Hollow, I love Tim Burton. He is one of my favorite directors. But even the greats have had their weaker films and some of the more recent Burton flicks like Alice in Wonderland haven't been quite up to par with some of his others. But for me, he has always hit it out the park with animation. Nightmare Before Christmas is phenomenal and last years' Frankenweenie was also great. So he hasn't missed with animation yet and Corpse Bride is no exception.

Corpse Bride is Tim Burton at his best. Not only is the story quirky and funny from the start but the comedy works. I probably found the humor to be even funnier because many of the jokes are puns and I am a sucker for puns. Yes, puns are the lowest form of comedy next to Happy Madison films but I love them nonetheless.

The animation is simply magical. I personally admire claymation more than any other type of animation. I appreciate every aspect of a claymation movie more because the hard work and attention to detail is far more evident. And the particularly impressive scenes are even more astonishing. For example, my favorite scene in the film is when a jazz band of skeletons perform a musical number for Victor. The music in that scene is simply infectious and the animation is stellar. That scene for me could have been a three minute long animated short film and I would have loved it.I also liked how in the world of the dead is significantly more colorful than the world of the living. I'm not sure if that is Tim Burton trying to subtly make a statement with that but the colors really stood out.

My only real complaint is that the film has a run time of only 77 minutes. I wouldn't have minded if it was at least 90 minutes long.

Final Report: Tim Burton's Corpse Bride is a lighthearted, funny romance with exquisite stop-motion animation, great music and enough classic irresistible Tim Burton charm.

Television Review #13: The Walking Dead Season 4 Premiere (2013)

Sorry for the wait for this. The first three reviews took a lot longer than I thought they would. But better late than never!

Season four resumes roughly 7 to 8 months after season three's finale. How do I know this? I estimated how old Rick's baby Judith looks now then she did last season. The prison has gone from a prison, to a community that is in a prison. You might find that comical (which I guess it is) but it actually does look different. Rick has taken up gardening, Carol reads to the children while teaching them about how to properly and effectively slay walkers and they even have some animals around. They even decorated their personal prison cell living quarters! I guess is now quite literally a "gated community."

All of the new members they gained from Woodbury last season have finally found their place in the group. And some of our old favorites from the group like Beth and Carl have finally grown up. Beth doesn't cry anymore and Carl has actually become one of the coolest characters on the show. He finally does what he is told to do. He tells the other punks his age that the walkers aren't sick and that they have lost every bit of humanity that was in them when they died. I'm definitely keeping my eye on Carl because I think that something important is going to happen with his character.

The chemistry between our old favorites like Rick, Darryl and Michonne is great. Michonne has finally come out of his shell and actually cracked a smile or two! It's great to see how the relationships among the cast has flourished.

Spoiler Alert: If you haven't been caught up yet, stop reading!
There is a conflict that has many theories sprouting up all over the IMDB message boards. One of the kids at the prison starts feeling sick and at the end of the episode, he faints. When the camera pans up to his face, his mouth and nose are covered in blood. His eyes then open and we see that he has turned. He wasn't even bit and he still turned! What is causing the living to turn without a bite? Is there something in the water? Is it  being spread through the air? Or is this a scheme concocted by the Governor in order to get the group to leave the group? Only time will tell I guess.

Final Report: Season 4 is sure to be the most intense, captivating, violent and gory season yet. I can't wait for what twists, turns and surprises are in store this season.

Television Review #12: The Walking Dead Season 3 (2012-2013)

Season 3 reunites us with the group roughly nine months after the last season left off and you can tell that they have been through the ringer. They all look sleep-deprived, weak and starved. They keep moving from shelter to shelter trying to not just outrun the walkers but to find a place for the group to call home. Then they stumble upon the prison. It's the perfect shelter for the group to start what could possibly be a normal life. But there is another community close by called Woodbury, run by a man called the Governor. Woodbury looks like the perfect Utopian society. Not just during the apocalypse but even in real life. But things aren't actually as perfect as it looks on the outside.

This is my favorite season of The Walking Dead so far. I loved almost everything about this season, but I'll list my favorite things that happened in the third season.

1. The show finally gets a definitive villain. In the first season, they were fighting against the walkers. In the second season, you could argue that Shane was the villain, but he was mostly the villain towards Rick and not towards the entire group. So I didn't think that season 2 had someone everyone could call villain. Luckily, The Governor is the villain that this show has been deserving of. He starts out calm, cool, collected, reasonable and likable in beginning of the season. By the season finale, you want to see Michonne kill him and stick his head in his freaky fish tank. That leads me to my second favorite new addition to the show.

2. Michonne. The show introduced us to the character of Michonne at the end of season two when she saved Andrea from a swarm of walkers. What I love about her is that she perhaps one of the only characters on the show who actually does what we want her to do. For example: When she walks into Woodbury and meets the Governor, she instantly thinks that there's something off here. The audience knows something is wrong and she does what we want her to do: Leave! She is the only character with common sense to leave when something is strange. And her character introduction was completely awesome. She decapitates two walkers with her Last Samurai katana and the camera pans to her. Her face shadowed by her Sith Lord cloak and hood with to defenseless walkers on chains. How can you not find that completely sweet?

3. The Return of Merle. In the second episode, Rick handcuffed Merle to a rooftop and ended up leaving him stuck there when they lost the key. When they returned, he cut off his own hand and left. We had speculated that Merle was still alive for a while and he finally returns! Even though Merle was only in one episode, I though Merle was a great character. Yeah he was a creep, a jerk and a racist but I found him hysterical. They also give him a great conflict whether he should side with the Governor or the group that his brother is in. It's very interesting seeing his internal struggle.

4. Andrea. No member of the original group since Shane has driven us up the wall quite like Andrea. I almost hated her as much as I hated the Governor! Her character probably got the most development this season. She, like Merle, had to choose between the original group and the Governor. Only this decision is much more difficult for her than it is with Merle because of her very close relationship she forms with the Governor. Her performance is definitely one that stands out. First Shane, now the Governor. She has the worst taste in men.

There are moments when the show slows down. All of those fairly pointless moments courtesy of whenever Rick goes off the deep end and takes the 3:10 to cray-cray town. That was the only time in the season that I didn't care for. Aside from that, I've got nothing else.

Final Report: Season 3 of The Walking Dead is the most satisfy season so far. Enough said.

Television Review #11: The Walking Dead Season 2 (2011-2012)

Season 2 kicks off with Rick and the gang getting the heck out of dodge after a nearly fatal encounter at the Center for Disease Control. On the road, on of their own gets separated from the group causing the gang to split up to look for the lost one. Which is never a good idea to split up, especially during the apocalypse. When searching, Rick's stupid kid Carl gets shot and needs immediate medical attention. Which leads us to Hershel. A doctor who takes the group in until Carl gets patched up.

While there are interesting character arcs that take place and we are introduced to the Green family, I would have to say that season 2 is my least favorite of the three seasons. I'm not saying that season 2 is a bad season, I'm just saying that it is the weaker of the three seasons by comparison. I think that the reason for this is because all the writers for the first season were fired and replaced with a new staff. Why were they fired? Beats me!

There are fascinating issues the group has to deal with. Rifts start forming between the gang leading to quite a few subplots in the show which could get hard to keep track of but didn't bother me. What did get on my nerves was that while some characters became cooler, others became bothersome, irritating and at times quite obnoxious. Carl in particular seriously angered me. Lori and Andrea are also too blame. All of them drove me crazy whether it was because of their inability to do things on their own, their constant desire to grow up and be independent or just that they never did what they were told like STAY IN THE HOUSE! That really got on my nerves.

What makes up for it are the many "No way" or "Shyamalan-esque plot twist" moments that occur during the season. There are more than enough that happen and I relish in those moments when they do.

Final Report: The second season of The Walking Dead might be the weakest season, but it still contains great new characters added to the group, fascinating personal issues the characters undergo, gory violence and a few surprises.

Television Review #10: The Walking Dead Season 1 (2010)

If someone asked me what my favorite TV show is, I would answer Doctor Who without even thinking about it. But another one of my favorite shows is The Walking Dead which happens to be returning for its fourth blood-filled season. What better reason is there for me to review every season of this incredible drama.

Season 1: The Pilot episode starts out with our hero Rick, played by Andrew Lincoln, awaking from a coma. Only to realize that he completely missed out on the apocalypse and that the dead are now walking. This was a great introduction to our main character Rick considering the entire episode revolves around him. An entire backstory was given at the beginning telling that he fell into the coma after getting shot in the line of duty.

The next episodes introduce us to Ricks family and Shane his best friend who was his partner on the force. We are also introduced to the other members of this rag-tag group of stragglers and survivors. There are plenty of characters that you either enjoy or detest. Some characters like Rick and Glen have your approval from the start whereas others like Darryl, might have given a bad first impression but as the show goes on they earn your respect. Darryl, in my humble opinion, ends up becoming one of the coolest fictional characters of all time.

The make-up and prosthetics are fantastic. They look very realistic and definitely not for the squeamish or faint-of-heart because this show is about as gory as they come. And in case you were wondering, the show only gets more graphically violent with each season. On a side note, I adore the use of practical effects like prosthetics in a world of CGI. The writing manages to give enough development towards most of the characters. Some cool characters like T-Dog don't get much development while most of the story revolves around Rick, Shane and Rick's family. But the story is so captivating that we are alright with the fact that some of the characters are underdeveloped.

There is also a big plot twist that is teased at during the season finale that is so good that it would make M. Night Shyamalan proud.

Final Report: Season 1 might be only six episodes long but they pack a such a punch. At least enough of a punch to make you want to keep watching.

Movie Review #65: Gravity (2013)

"In space, no one can hear you scream." That might have been the tagline to Ridley Scott's Alien, but I think that it fits Gravity much better.

Gravity is about a scientist played by Sandra Bullock and an astronaut played by George Clooney and for reasons that I will not delve into, they have to work together to survive after an accident leaves them adrift in space.

After seeing the trailer, (and then re-watching it 20 times) I was completely amazed by the visuals, but puzzled how a premise like that could be stretched out to fit a motion picture? Even though the film only ends up with a 90 minute run-time, It didn't feel short at all.

Alfonso Cuaron, the director of this film, had been working on Gravity for years. He wanted to make this film sooner, but he had to wait until the technology to be far more advanced and progressed to meet what he needed. But luckily in 2009, James Cameron made a movie called Avatar that supplied Cuaron with what he needed. And did it pay off in the end? It was without a doubt worth the wait.

The visuals are jaw-dropping. Everything looked immaculate. It actually looked like some of the move was shot from space. The weightlessness of the astronauts looked so flawless that I can't even comprehend the technology it took to make this! With all of the floating and spinning that happens, I actually felt a bit sick it was so realistic!

 This movie is going to get nominated and most likely win Oscars for visual effects, cinematography, editing and possibly even director. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if it got nominated for Best Picture. Maybe even for the acting categories. Which lead me to the performances.

George Clooney plays exactly what I imagined George Clooney as an astronaut would be. He's a veteran spacewalker who handles everything thrown at him with ease. He's charismatic, suave and at times pretty funny. Sandra Bullock on the other hand is new to the whole astronaut business. She's a scientist who was hired to work on the technology. The two of them play off each other very well. With the exception of the first 15-20 minutes or so, Sandra Bullock carries the film and I would not be surprised if an Oscar nomination is in her future. She deserves it considering she underwent six months of physical training. The voice for mission control is played by Ed Harris. Wait, I'm having the weirdest  sense of deja vu......

I was completely flabbergasted by how few cuts there are in the film. The film begins with an opening shot of the earth and I kid you not, up until Sandra Bullock gets cast away, there was not a single cut. I wasn't keeping track, but that scene must have lasted a good 10 minutes. Editing has most often been used to keep the audience interested. Some filmmakers believe that the more cuts in a film, the more entertaining it is. Well that logic is not true. It ends up confusing the audience, it looks terrible and it is hard to tell what is going on. With Gravity, the single shot style adds to the realism and shows the audience what is actually happening because things happen very quickly.

The score is very subtle and comes into play to enhance particular moments, whether they be emotional or to signal that something horrible is going to happen. That might even end up earning Oscar gold.

Final Report: James Cameron really wasn't messing around when he said that Gravity is the greatest space movie ever. What he said is true. Gravity is a movie that is like no other. An experience that must be witnessed on the biggest of movie screens. Films like this are the reason why I love movies. Gravity is one of the most incredible movies I have ever seen. A true masterpiece.

Television Review #9: Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Pilot Review (2013-)

Well what do you know! The premiere to a new show that intrigues me! I haven't been this obsessed with new TV shows since I binge-watched the first two seasons of The Walking Dead just in time for the third season. But those are reviews for another time. Soon.....

If you have read my earlier reviews, you will know that I adored The Avengers. I loved just about everything about that movie. It actually was the movie that really kickstarted my huge movie obsession which eventually lead to this very blog. So if it wasn't for that movie you wouldn't have me! Getting back to the review....

When I heard that a show taking place after the events of The Avengers was in production, I was pumped. When I heard that Joss Whedon was involved in the show, I was excited. Then I heard that Agent Phil Coulson was going to lead the cast. At that point I was beyond excited.  It also raised a couple questions like:
1.) How did Coulson survive?
2.) Do the rest of The Avengers know he's alive?
3.) Will Samuel L. Jackson make an appearance as Nick Fury?
4.) What about Cobie Smulders as Maria Hill?
5.) Maybe an appearance by one of earths mightiest heroes?!? (Unlikely, but not too far-fetched.)

The good news is that Cobie Smulders does guest-star. The bad news is that my other questions don't get answered. If anything, I was hoping that they would have the episode revolve around how Coulson faked his death. But in the end they just pass his death by like it was no big deal. Like it happens all the time. No. No it doesn't. This is Joss Whedon you're dealing with here. He is notorious for killing off characters you love and for once he brought someone back to life and you pass his resurrection by like it wasn't important at all! Seriously, that was obvious wasted potential.

As for the rest of the story, it started out feeling more like something from an X-Men movie which concerned me. Luckily that feeling didn't last long. They introduce a bunch of plucky, young, attractive characters that are pretty likable. There is an obvious romance growing between the characters Skye and Grant that hopefully won't be exploited in a cheesy way. If that does end up happening, I'm not sure if the charms of Coulson will keep me wanting to watch.

But the best part of the show lies with Clark Gregg as Agent Phil Coulson, but you knew that already. Gregg is a good actor and he plays the role of Phil Coulson so well. It's impossible not to like the guy! Even though the jokes weren't super funny, he delivered them in a way that didn't take me out of the moment, which often happens with weak jokes.

Shepherd Book from Firefly made a cameo which was cool to see. Hopefully we will get to see an appearance by Jayne as a villain that Coulson has to fight. That would be awesome.

Final Report: While Clark Gregg is a joy to watch and the cast does have chemistry, I'm just not quite completely sold yet. Only time will tell!