I’ve commented before that it’s a testament to Pixar’s animation and storytelling skills that they can make hard, inanimate things like cars or generally uncute creatures like bugs, fish, rats and monsters into adorable, fun characters. That is definitely true of wall-e, where they’ve taken a bunch of robots and made them delightful, cute, and…
Category: (4.5 out of 5)
The Spiderwick Chronicles – Movie Review
What kinds of magical creatures lived in your backyard as a child? Did you imagine any fantastic lands just beyond the next tree? The Spiderwick Chronicles (based on a series of kids’ books) is about Jared Grace (played by the ubiquitous Freddie Highmore) and his twin brother Simon (ditto re Highmore), and their sister and…
The Golden Compass – Movie Review
I first picked up Philip Pullman’s novel, The Golden Compass, for the typical reason: I was looking for something to fill the void between Harry Potter books. This movie adaptation was likely made with similar motives, but I think viewers expecting a Potter-esque fun-ride might be a bit disappointed or confused by Compass’s extra complexity….
Stardust – Movie Review
The story of Stardust begins when an Englishman crosses over a wall that separates his village from the mysterious, magical kingdom of Stormhold. Years later, his son Tristran (in an attempt to win the heart of Victoria, the beautiful but indifferent object of his affection) promises to bring her the falling star that passes over…
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix – Movie Review
As a big Harry Potter fan, there was little question of whether or not I would enjoy the fifth movie, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. However, I have to say that I found it even better than the previous film, Goblet of Fire. This time around, Harry returns to Hogwart’s School of…
2007 Season Finales
Another television season has ended, and on some cliffs we’ve been left hanging–but nothing to make me crave next season. Alias, Battlestar, Lost, X-Files, and even Friends was always good for some major game-changing in the last episode, but this year’s shows aren’t quite stringing me along for next fall. Heroes – “How To Stop…
Oscar, Schmoscar 2007
When Oscar time comes around, movie fans get excited about the nominated films, and I’m no exception. In the past several years, I’ve done a little viewing blitz around this time, trying to catch up with some of the major nominees, but lately I’ve been a bit disappointed. Last year, I really wasn’t interested in…
Akeelah and the Bee & Bubble – Capsule movie reviews
It’s been a while since I’ve been to the movie theatre, but I’ve still been watching movies. I recently caught up with a couple of movies that were released a short while ago to great reviews. They’re both on DVD, and I highly recommend them. Akeelah and the Bee It’s amazing how spelling bees have…
Pan’s Labyrinth – Movie Review
Have you heard literature geeks talking about how the original fairy tales (i.e. Anderson’s, Grimm’s etc.) were actually very dark? How the queen in Snow White was forced to dance to her own death in iron shoes? We’re living in a post-Disney age when most of these stories have been sanitized for our viewing pleasure….
