Monday, November 9, 2009

Disney's A Christmas Carol

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Title: Disney's A Christmas Carol
Distributor: ImageMovers (Walt Disney Pictures)
Director: Robert Zemeckis
Writer(s): Charles Dickens (novel) Robert Zemeckis (screenplay)
Staring: Jim Carrey
MPAA Rating: Rated PG for scary sequences and images.
Running Time: 96 min (1 hr and 36 min)
Synopsis: An animated retelling of Charles Dickens classic novel about a Victorian-era miser taken on a journey of self-redemption, courtesy of several mysterious Christmas apparitions.

Other Reviews

Critics:

Roger Ebert:
4 Stars
Michael Phillips: 2 ½ Stars
EW: Owen Gleiberman: A

Other Sites:

At The Movies: A.O. Scott: See It, Michael Phillips: Rent It
Rotten Tomatoes: T-Meter: 54% (Rotten), Top Critics: 44% (
Rotten), RT Community: 83% (Fresh)
Metacritic: Critics: 55 out of 100, Users: 7.9 out of 10
MRQE Metric: 66: (21.2% A, 34.4% B, 39.2% C, 4.8% D, and 0.0% F)
Yahoo Movies: Critics: B- Users: B+

My Review

Source Material: Based on 2009 film adaptation of Charles Dickens' 1843 story of the same name.

Acting and Dialogue: B+: Jim Carrey didn't pull off a Tom Hanks in The Polar Express, for those of you who don't know Robert Zemeckis also directed that film also. When I first watched The Polar Express the only person I knew was Tom Hanks was the conductor but with this film I knew every person was Jim Carry so it became to much Carrey in parts.

Art Direction: A: The colors in the animation made it very believable world even thought it was made in a computer.

Cinematography: A+: I think watching the film in 3-D helped the cinematography. It add that "I am living it now" experiences, especially the flying scenes. It might as well been snowing in the theater because again the 3-D gave it that look. Now If I take the 3-d out of the picture it still holds its own in the world of cinematography. Meaning it more of a ghost story set around Christmas time, and the the film maintains that creepy atmosphere throughout.

Direction: A: The direction was good It was directed by a well know guy and this is his third film using this technology. So it seem to run smoothly from beginning to end.

Screenplay: C+: It's not that the story is crappy or even the source material. Form what I can gather it is a spot on adaption. But for me what brings down the quality is the fact that it was a story that has been adapted way tom many times.

Sound and Music: D: Christmas Music gets old fast. The only time of the year it is good for is the week of Christmas. But the score was decent.

VFX: A+: I am a big fan of motion capture and Robert Zemeckis work with it.

Overall: B-: I did enjoy the film overall, even with the faults. One thing I have to say why was this movie released in early November why not late November or early December if not Christmas week. The only thing I see as a explanation is Avatar and the IMAX screenings in December. Either way it is a Christmas type of movies so why not a release date closer to Christmas.

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