Note: Whit has already posted his review of Frankenweenie. We both saw the same film, but somehow, I came out a bit less enthused. Here’s my review: Tim Burton’s latest film is a stop motion tribute to the black and white sci-fi and horror classics… Read More »Frankenweenie – My Review
When I first heard that Disney had selected Pixar’s Finding Nemo to be one of the movies retooled for Disney digital 3D, I thought back to when I first saw the film in the theaters. Even back then I thought it would make a great… Read More »Finding Nemo 3D Review
I’m going back to some of my favorite places to dine at Walt Disney World and reviewing them as if it was my first time there. Obviously, some of my previous experiences will impact my report, but for the most part I’m going to view… Read More »Yorkshire County Fish Shop – Review
The Perry Files is a Phineas and Ferb compilation DVD that was released on June 5th. It features 7 full-length episodes with a heavy focus on everyone’s favorite crime fighting mammal. For anyone who is new to the series, here is a quick synopsis of the… Read More »The Perry Files Review: “Curse You Perry the Platypus!”
My boys and Merida strike a pose at Disney California Adventure (she’s usually in Disneyland, but she made a special appearance for Cars Land Media Day).
Pixar took some lumps after Cars 2 was released. There were more than a few people that believed that it was not up to Pixar’s standards. I was one of them (all is forgiven thanks to Cars Land!). Don’t worry, Brave (and La Luna) has Pixar back on the pedestal where it belongs.
Brave is set in Scotland, and it follows the contention between Princess Merida and her mother, Queen Elinor, over the fate of the former — and it wasn’t something pulled from a previously existing fairy tale, but rather the real experience of story creator Brenda Chapman (except she isn’t Scottish royalty). According to Brave Director Mark Andrews (pictured below), “Brenda Chapman came up with the storyline and the characters, and it came out of her being a parent and her trials and tribulations with her daughter.”Read More »Be Brave and See It
I excitedly picked up the John Carter Blu-ray combo pack last week, popped it into my player, and then fell asleep about 40 minutes into the film. Suddenly, a week went by and I realized I didn’t really have the urge to finish the film. Not a good sign. But, you know, I owed it to myself, and to the creative team (who I like!), to finish the film and then develop an opinion.
John Carter, based on the novels by Edgar Rice Burroughs and directed by Wall-E’s Andrew Stanton, is a befuddling work. It’s ambitious, chock full of characters, special effects, and a fairly dense plot, but in so many ways it just doesn’t work. The civil war between Helium and Zodanga is convoluted right from the first scene; both forces wear nearly the same uniforms, save a batch of blue or red here and there to distinguish them. Carter’s motivations and acceptance of his status on Mars seems all too convenient. Odd edits, especially during Dejah’s first “damsel in distress” moment (I mean, really, how many times did Carter need to catch her while falling in this movie?), make following the action difficult. The acting, especially from lead Taylor Kitsch, is adequate but far from the kind of engaging you need to launch the kind of franchise Disney was looking for here.
Unfortunately, the biggest sin against the film is its lack of emotion, which is surprising, given Stanton’s (not to mention his fellow screenwriters, who include Pulitzer Prize-winning author Michael Chabon) pedigree. The romance between Carter and Dejah just sort of happens, since it’s supposed to, and the objectives for other characters, like Dominic West’s Sab Than or William Defoe’s Tars Tarkus, are barely addressed. If you were unfamiliar with Burrough’s stories, as I was, you probably aren’t going to find yourself invested in these characters.
I really wanted to like this movie. I disregarded a lot of the negative buzz, which had more to do with the film’s financial failures than its creative ones. I suppose that’s why, once I finally got around to finishing it, I was ultimately disappointed. It’s clear that John Carter had a lot of ambition and there are elements to like, like the Tharks, Dejah, and some of the less cumbersome mythology, but the film is weighed down by its many flaws.
I think I’ve mentioned this before but my husband measures how much I enjoyed an episode of Revenge by the amount of yelling I do from the other room. Not surprising, I let out quite a few shrieks and non-publishable phrases during this week’s season finale.
So I decided to divide this episode into moments that provided the biggest “whoa” factor for me.
1. Emily and Daniel broke off their engagement. That’s right, she gave the ring back. In the middle of the season I was pretty sure Emily was surprised that she actually had feelings for a Grayson. But then he was accused of murder, got the crap beat out of him in jail, found out about his dad’s secret doings and decided he needs to carry on the Grayson name. Daniel certainly changed his tune over a season from wanting nothing to do with his family to becoming the epitome of a Grayson. It makes me hate him. (I’m still holding out hope that he’s concocting his own revenge plan.) When Ashley lets it slip that something happened between Jack and Emily, Emily doesn’t even try to cover it up when Daniel asks her about it. She tells him he’s changed, they both have, and she hands back the ring.
Victoria’s reaction: “I knew your future with Daniel was as empty as that box. Best of luck with your new endeavor.”
My Revenge viewing buddy described this week’s episode as: “omg omg omg holy sh*t”.
After finally catching the episode on Thursday, I can only agree.
Unlike last week’s yawner, this episode started with a crying Emily digging a grave. Since this show is nothing like it seems, we could only guess who the grave was for.
Operation White Haired Guy is in full swing and Emily and Daniel’s wedding has now turned into a full-blown publicity stunt ala Ashley’s “brilliant” brainstorms.
It’s no surprise Emily is more into uncovering the whereabouts of this white-haired man (WHM) than discussing table linens and the most minute details of the next “royal wedding”. (Oh, I wish I made that up. Ashley called it that, quick to remind Emily that Daniel is the royalty.)