Unique animation divides audiences; I like it ok. Decent little film; only nominated because Oscar hates anime. Only saw English version…
Animation unique divise le public, je l’aime bien. Petit film décent; seulement nommé parce Oscar déteste l’anime. Ne voyait version anglaise …
What’s more:
Parents, be cautious with this one; the subject matter isn’t light. Uncharacteristically for me, I would have liked this to be a little longer – spent more time with the characters before all the action starts. Because there’s some good things going on here.
I really should track this down in French with subtitles. The voiceovers are not that smooth and really draw attention to the fact that you’re watching something that has been overdubbed.
I’m sort of indifferent on the animation. I don’t hate it and I can appreciate the child-like style they were going for, but it’s not my taste. I don’t find it off-putting, and at times it’s quite beautiful.
Forget the snobby reviews – this was a very fun, very entertaining movie. Overlong like POTC sequels, rocky middle 3rd, but overall a blast.
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Some of the stars were outspoken after the movie “tanked” this summer, criticizing the media and critics for intentional negative reviews borne of deliberately low expectations when the film seemed in trouble. At the time it seemed like people trying to right the ship and/or push off blame for poor receipts, but something about their claim struck true with me. Too often people smell blood in the water and pile on. There is a definite enjoyment in crowning the next Ishtar.
Having now seen the movie, I can report that the cast had every right to be defensive about being labeled a failure. This was a good movie, and if you are open minded enough to go into it not looking for problems you will enjoy it.
Perhaps part of the problem is Depp. Despite being a wonderful chameleon over the years, he’s getting a little long in the tooth for some of these roles. The whole quirky act is getting a little old and going back to the well with the Pirates team was likely to attract some criticism.
So how is he? He’s good. Hammer is really charming and the two have a nice chemistry. The good casting kind of hits a wall after that. Tom Wilkinson is his usual capable self but in a sort of tone deaf role, and the next time I’m happy to see Helena Bonham Carter in a movie will be the first time. Basically the cast is fine, but the characters are kind of crap.
In all, it’s basically two movies. The fun, modern western with gorgeous visuals and thrilling action pieces, and the overly involved plot-heavy one that drags the middle of the movie out. Too bad, because this came quite close to being an excellent movie, but ended up being Pirates 5.
The major problem, as I see it, is that there seems to be a little confusion over what movie they were making. Disney seemed to market this as a family movie; there was a Lego tie-in for goodness sake. And a big portion of the movie fits this description. But there’s all sorts of dark and weird stuff in here with genocide and cannibalism that was neither interesting or necessary. I know the Pirates movies had some gruesome stuff, but I don’t think this is in the same category, possibly because the subject is less fantastical in nature.
So, expect fun and you’ll get it. But save some popcorn for the middle, because you’ll be looking for something to do…
Proud to say I saw the initial theatrical release 30 years ago. Spent years trying to convince others to watch it. I think I can stop now…
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For a long time I couldn’t watch this movie. We were early to the party on this one. My dad loved Jean Shepherd from his performances on WGBH in Boston and a show run on PBS American Playhouse “The Great American Fourth of July and Other Disasters”. (I haven’t seen that in 30 years but would love to see it again (time to search the interwebs). According to iMDb (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084022/) it starred Matt Dillon and was shot in Boston.
So when A Christmas Story was announced, my dad made sure we got to it. I tried in vain to tell everyone I knew how funny it was, and dad screened it at his school for years. We taped it off of tv at some point and any time friends came over to the house it was one of the movies they always wanted to watch (along with Holy Grail). So I got sort of sick of it. And when it started running 24 hours a day at Christmas, I no longer needed to actively plan to sit down to watch it. I’d catch a bit here or there, and enjoyed it exactly as much as any other annual Christmas special.
But this year I wanted my daughter to see it properly, not piecemeal. So we sat down and I re-discovered a nearly perfect movie. There were no revelatory moments; everything was just where I’d left it. But it was a true pleasure to accompany my girl into her first viewing and remind myself just how funny each gag is. And, yes, it holds up. Not just for me – she laughed herself silly…
Better than 1st in most ways. Tony Head replaces Brosnan. Clearer but maybe not as epic; toothless. New characters mixed bag – Tyson cool…
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Since the first movie doesn’t seem to have many supporters, it was a little surprising a sequel was green-lit. Thank the gods for international receipts. Personally, I think a sequel was warranted; it’s a great premise, a good setting, and the books have sold well.
The feedback on this one was almost universally, “it’s much better than the first movie”. Damning with faint praise, maybe, but after listening to the bitterness and derision towards the Lightning Thief film from fans of the book, I guess this is progress.
“This is the fabled Golden Fleece. It can heal anything. So if we lay it across the franchise…”
And it is better. Not night and day better. Despite my protestations, my daughter couldn’t wait to tell me all the things they got wrong, and which parts actually were in the first book and that they made up the majority of the ending. I was trying to review the films themselves, not the adaptations. But it’s very hard to divorce the two when watching anything that has been adapted.
Character development is slightly better, but then, it couldn’t have been worse. The ridiculous looking centaur played by Pierce Brosnan has been replaced by a ridiculous looking centaur played by Anthony Stewart Head. A very cool character named Tyson has been added. A very annoying character named Clarisse has also been added. These take time away from the sidekicks Grover & Annabeth, who really didn’t have time to spare.
“Still waiting for something to do…”
Stanley Tucci continues to make the rounds on the cameo circuit to no useful end, but the cameo of 2013 goes to Captain Hammer, Nathan Fillion.
“This shield is not the hammer…”
All in all, I thought this movie was exactly ok. I didn’t have the baggage that the fans of the novels were burdened with, so I took this as it came. And it was fine. No more than fine, but fine.
