Sabtu, 22 November 2014
Starting off our look at what's to come in 2015 with the trailer for Lucasfilm's animated comedy musical adventure, Strange Magic...and right off the bat I know it's going to suck! The plot involving 2 worlds collding involving forests & magic is already very reminsicent of last year's Epic, another botched up film with a heavy environmental message along with Arthur & the Invisbles with a smidge of Shrek because of the pop culture gags. Not only that, but the dialogue is so so clumsy with attempts at slang & so called 'badass' or 'snarky' lines which make no sense or are so out of place. The worst part about this was the humour (& by that I mean attempts at it), with not a single joke making me laugh, mostly consisting of juvenile bodily function humour, bad & out of place pop culture references or stupid reaction shots! In fact, I didn't smile once when watching the trailer. The animation isn't bad per se, with the texturing being very nice, but the world looks so generic of other films & the character designs looking really unappealing & ugly! I know what route they were going for with the mystical creature vibe, but it doesn't suit what the movie is trying to be! In fact, the whole film feels like 2 completely different ones trying to fight against each other! Oh yeah, and the voice acting sucks! OK, at least Alan Cumming kind of tries being all hammy, but even at that, it's still at most aub-par with the atrocious & cliched dialogue given! Kristin Chenoweth grated on me (which is sad cos I like her), Evan Rachel Wood doesn't even sound like she's trying, Elijah Kelly's talents are wasted & the others like Maya Rudolph are gonna be wasted. The characters all feel like cliches or copies from other films with the most glaring examples being a handsome pompous blonde solider & Marianne, the 'badass' protagonist clearly being reminiscent of Prince Charming & Princess Fiona from the Shrek films. Oh yeah, and Elijah Kelly's character is just a sassy black sidekick cliche which is just as racist as Skids & Mudflap from Transformers 2! As for the songs...why?! None of them suit the tone of the film at all, they immediately give it a dated feeling with pop songs being usef which have absolutely no purpose other than crossing off the Dreamworks tropes list from 10 years ago! Overall, this feels like a very bad start to 2015 & a product of a studio mandate rather than something with passion put into it! It just makes me wonder how George Lucas was involved with this piece of crap!
Kamis, 20 November 2014
Cinderella Trailer
Yes, the trailer for next year's reboot of Cinderella has finally come out, and I must say, it surprised me! For starters, unlike Maleficent, the story pretty much looks exactly the same as the original but with no talking animals, Cinderella's mother appears in flashbacks, the romance between Cinderella & the Prince is expanded (a bit like Ever After except Kit lies that he's a palace servant), there are no musical numbers (aww, I wanted to hear Helena Bonham Carter sing Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo) & the Fairy Godmother appears as a beggar before revealing herself as a fairy. Oh yeah, and they finally revealed her real name is Ella & Cinderella is a cruel nickname given to her by Anastasia & Drizella. None of these changes really bother me & I am so glad that they don't tamper much of the story & keep the message of the original movie while making it relateable to a contemporary audience. Second: the visuals! Not only do they look gorgeous with the CGI being taken full advantage of (especially when the Fairy Godmother conjures up Cinderella's ballgown & glass slippers), but it is interesting they put a 40s twist on the clothes with Lady Tremaine & the stepsisters & I love how colourful everything is compared to other fairytale films which place emphasis on having dark & broody tone. And the settings look fantastic! In fact, they almost look exactly like the original movie while putting their own twist on it, especially Cinderella's chateau, the scene where the Fairy Godmother makes the coach, horses & coachmen out of the pumpkin & animals & Prince Kit's castle! And yes, the acting is also pretty good, especially from Helena Bonham Carter as the Fairy Godmother! I know people complained about it since she always does the same quirky roles in all her films, but in this, she's just perfect for the role! However, I still have reservations thanks to some of the dialogue being a bit clunky, I'm a bit worried with what they'll do with Lady Tremaine's character despite Cate Blanchett's great acting & I'm not really convinced by Lily James' acting as Cinderella. But other than that, I can already tell this is going to be an improvement over Maleficent & it's clear that Kenneth Brannagh knew what to do with the source material & make it timeless while accessible for a modern audience. While I don't think it'll be as good as the 1950 classic, I still think it looks like a huge improvement over all the big budget live action fairytale movies out recently!
Jumat, 14 November 2014
Animation Advent Calendar 2
Well, since last year's Animation Advent Calendar went so well, I thought it best to bring it back for this year! Considering I reviewed most if not all of the well known theatrically released animated Christmas movies last year, I had to mix it up a bit by adding more direct to DVD movies or specials from cartoons this time round! Well, I may as well reveal the list for this year now & I hope you enjoy it when it comes in December! (By the way, this list is in no particular order although I know which one I'll be reviewing on Christmas Day)
1. Snowed in at the House of Mouse2. Dexter’s Laboratory: Dexter vs Santa Claws
3. Grandma Got Ran Over By a Reindeer
4. A Charlie Brown Christmas
5. Happy Feet6. Phineas and Ferb Christmas Vacation
7. Have Yourself a Goofy Little Christmas
8. Ice Age: A Mammoth Christmas
9. Rugrats: Babies in Toyland
10. Fairly Odd Parents: A Merry Wishmas
11. Kung Fu Panda Holiday
12. Gift of the Night Fury
13. The Snowman and the Snowdog
14. Prep and Landing
15. The Christmas Tree
16. Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire
17. Rugrats: The Santa Experience
18. Ed, Edd n Eddy Christmas
19. Barbie: A Perfect Christmas
20. Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer (1964 Rankin/Bass special)
21. Chuck Jones A Christmas Carol
22. Arthur’s Perfect Christmas
23. Care Bears the Nutcracker
24. Flintstones Christmas Carol
25. Family Guy: Christmas Guy
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