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AICN Downunder: Latauro Blesses Zemeckis' A CHRISTMAS CAROL!!
I am not the person Disney wants reviewing A CHRISTMAS CAROL. See, for the past seven odd years, my father has been doing a one man show in Melbourne in which he portrays Charles Dickens reading "A Christmas Carol", in much the same manner Dickens did back in the day. It's become bigger each year, and if you think that watching someone recite a book at you can't be entertaining, you really need to come see it. But my point is that not only do I have a personal motive for disliking any competition, I now know the text inside out. (Everyone has biases and pre-conceived notions when they see a film. The only dishonest thing is not admitting to them.) Unfair it may be, but I went into this film with my knives sharpened and at the ready.
This is the point at which Disney may allow itself a sigh of relief: I loved it. It's not just good, it's very good -- far, far better than I thought it possibly could be. Robert Zemeckis adapted the material himself, and he has a pretty clear understanding of it. It's also a surprisingly faithful adaptation, with large chunks of dialogue repeated verbatim, instead of being "updated" for a younger audience (which was my biggest fear). The film is not narrated, but classic descriptions of Scrooge -- "Even the blind men's dogs appeared to know him; and when they saw him coming on, would tug their owners into doorways and up courts; and then would wag their tails as thought they said 'No eye at all is better than an evil eye, dark master!'." -- are depicted visually. Rather than being easter eggs for fans of the book, they illustrate Scrooge the way Dickens would have... they way he did, and so the spirit of the book remains intact.
So do the characters. Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Bob Hoskins and Cary Elwes all do superb work, inhabiting their roles perfectly. Jim Carrey, playing Scrooge, the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future, and god knows who else, is at his best here. His frequently-untamed characterisation is conducted to superb effect, and there's not one moment where I thought he was getting away with himself. As much as I love Carrey, I wouldn't have picked him for this role; his nailing of it therefore came to me as a total surprise.
I really enjoyed BEOWULF and the majority of CASTAWAY, but I'd say this is the best Zemeckis film since CONTACT. As for his new toys? Well, they're certainly improving. There's something wonderfully unnerving about Scrooge -- perhaps the first photorealistic caricature in history -- but the "dead eyes" that plagued THE POLAR EXPRESS are well and truly gone. There's still room for improvement in the facial expressions, but this is an impressive leap forward for the technology.
There are two great Christmas stories, both about redemption. IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE tells the story of a good man at the end of his rope. "A Christmas Carol" tells the story of a bad man who lived his entire life there. George Bailey spent his life saving people and is then redeemed. Ebenezer Scrooge is redeemed, and then spends the rest of his life saving people. They're essentially the same tale, mirror images of one another. Robert Zemeckis's A CHRISTMAS CAROL may not be the first adaptation to get it right, but it's nice to have another great version to add to the collection.
Latauro
AICNDownunder@hotmail.com
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Or whatever that is he's riding... Is that from the original text? Getting smacked in the face with icicles? I'm not a Dickens scholar - please correct me if I'm wrong.
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...Alastair Sim, bitches.
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Another guilty pleasure of mine.
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DickensInAss.
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Does anyone remember a made for television cartoon of A Christmas Carol that had some frightening imagery? I don't remember if it was in black and white or not. I recall one of the ghosts presented two little children spirits who were introduced as need and want, and they looked really creepy. Also really creepy was the swarm of otherwise invisible ghosts hovering around a destitute woman and her child in a park that Scrooge was able to see.
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...Mis-tah CRATCHETTT!!!!
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from the commercials. At least not as realistic. But I'll give the movie a chance.
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http://tinyurl.com/yhqdqfz
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It would have been interesting to see his take on it.
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My main problem with the film is the obvious overly done voice-acting by Jim Carrey. The commercials are painful.
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I wjust ant to say, heretically, that I am SICK & TIRED of hearing that Sim is the definitive Scrooge and no one else comes close ... HUMBUG! I find Sim way too cuddly in the part, even at the beginning where he's supposed to be hard & mean. Best Scrooge yet? Michael Caine (Muppets). That's right, bitches. I will attend this Carrey version with an open mind, and from now on, all knee-jerk Sim idolators will be punched in the balls.
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Sean Connery. That would rock.
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I mean the part of the book where Scrooge is shrunken and says Humbug randomly in a squeeky voice is, if I'm not mistaken, what inspired Peter Sellers into comedy as a young man. Yup Zemeckis really has a handle on that text all right.
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Why ? Well, it is a long story and actually quite a convoluted one, long story short, Devin actually got upset that he could not attend an advanced preview (as a member of press) to see an advanced preview of a picture that shall remain nameless. He also has a personal grudge against Jim Cameron himself. This i will explain, Devin has been blacklisted by FOX execs, the reason for this is partially down to the fact that Devin was obnoxious in reviews insulted core members of various teams and insinuated lies and lawsuits. This can even be seen today in his writings on AVATAR`s plagiarism claims. There is also it has to be said a great deal of backdoor shenanigans involving Devin and the hierarchy of FOX. In short Devin is blackballed. Devin found this out via his own message board forums. Now im not standing here trying to defend FOX`s output for the last 6 years, how could i ? What i am trying to inform you on is this... This is personal, This has nothing to do with fan expectation, it has nothing to do with the progress of cinema...
IT HAS EVERYTHING TO DO WITH A PERSONAL EFFORT TO DERAIL THE PRODUCTIONS IMPACT.
Yes it is pathetic, yes it is childish, but if you read Devin for any amount of time, you realise childish is exactly what Devin is. the whole AVATAR deal on Chud.com is what the online industry describe as "Leaf littering" take your core audience turn them onto your ideals and use that in turn to attack your enemies. Very simple and very effective. It has been done before and it will continue to happen. It can be a good thing, however when the motives become personal and not representative of the greater fact, that is when moral issues arise. I have it on high authority FOX and in particular Jim Cameron is highly upset with Devin and the continuing abuse he keeps throwing at not just the production but the people who this movie is aimed at (which by the way, is everyone). If you were to lay out the level of abuse aimed at AVATAR and pin that to the production outgoings, you will clearly see that Chud and the level of attack has steadily gone up with the anticipation, until finally we see an attack so blatant and mean that it will make even the most skeptic sit up and pay attention, Devin is literally trying to get third parties involved to actually file lawsuits against the core creators of AVATAR, in particular James Cameron. I am told this is serious stuff, and fox is itching for Devin to step a foot out of line so he can be drawn over the coals. This is a very childish and personal situation Devin has created for himself. My guess is the biggest backlash will eventually fall on Devin. -
I will not see this movie, based on the ridiculous sequence in the trailer of scrooge being flung into the sky.
Why? What does that add? Nothing.
Muppet Christmas Carol is still the best one. -
Maybe this weekend. If I don't like it, I will become very mad. And then, I'll mail a bag of vomit to Zemeckis. And then, I'll giggle and think about how he might mistake it for a stew from his mom and eat it. And then, I'll wait for a week, and mail him a letter telling him it was norwegian vomit, and that I ate the ticket slips to his latest movie before I vomited in the bag. Then I'll giggle some more.
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..good for Zemeckis, good for me.
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If what you're saying is true...then I still don't care.
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Again, I'm amazed no one mentions it in their review. I'm starting to wonder if pple just *want* it to be good so they ignore the dreadful looking stuff for their reviews...
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Which worries me and makes me wonder about these AICN reviewers... But, thats just based off 15 review so far.
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At least use paragraph breaks in your rants, would you? I would have at least read all of your post if you had.
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You really ARE mad.
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uuuhh.... yeah... Beowulf sucked ass dude. EVERYONE knows this so... so much for your opinion. Right fellow talkbackers! GIVE ME "HELL YEEEEUUUUUUHHHH!!!!"
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trailers on tv are bat shit crazy eff'in insane looking
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"This is the point at which Disney may allow itself a sigh of relief: I loved it."OH BROTHER!! Who is this guy? Give me break... I'm embarrassed for this weirdo. Like Disney gives a fuck what you think.
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I'm a little high right now and was a little harsh...
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I rather like Beowulf myself.
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starring Jim Carrey. The man who ruined 'The Grinch' forever. No Thanks.
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How much is Lightstorm paying you?
NippleEffect: I hear you. Outside of Mori on Hitflix, all connected to AICN have been mum on "Ninja Assassin". Weird, considering it was at Fantastic Fest. I, for one, am stoked. Sho Kosugi, bitches! -
PUUUH-LAAANTCHA!
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Thanks for the apology, but I take your point. What I meant was that they could be relieved that somebody who could be described as a purist and being very familiar with the source material still thinks their version is great. Probably should have been clearer about that, as it did end up coming across a bit egotistical, didn't it?
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Got a better choice. Kevin Spacey. Beat that one.
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He retired and took a permanent vacation to Mars. Good luck with that.
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Now I am racking my brains on it. It was in color if I remember and it freaked me out when I was younger too.
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award on PBS tonight? The next Cosby talkback on AICN will be his OBIT. ignore me.
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The creepy cartoon version you refer to is the 1974 Richard Williams directed version that aired on ABC, with Alistair Sim reprising his role as Scrooge, albeit only in voice. It was indeed in color, but the most memorably creepy images you mentioned (the boy and girl, the restless spirits) were rendered in mostly black and white.
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Here's part 1
http://tinyurl.com/y9nsjy3 -
Nov 04, 2009 7:35:38 PM CST
P.S The 70's cartoon version may be availble for viewing....
by subliminaljones
...here at Google Video;
http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=-8817517652455175582&q=a+christmas+carol+sim
I can't verify becuase my work blocks the site, but a search on google does show it as available for viewing. -
Harry is awesome, but a review by someone with a little more level head on his shoulders is much more likely to get me to actually see this. Glad you liked it Lat. Wonder what McWeeney thinks of it.
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Ian McKellan ... Anthony Hopkins ... Daniel Day-Lewis ... John Hurt ... Michael Gambon ... Christopher Lee ... Ben Kingsley ...
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The loony toons stuff is not a majority of the film. Its there to add action and excitement to an otherwise very dark and talky story. It makes up about 25-30% of the film. It works in context. Judge it after seeing it. That is why its not coming up in reviews. because in the larger context it is a very minor aspect of the movie. In other words its irrelevant and will not make you hate or love the movie.
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...Albert Finney as Scrooge. The 1970 musical. That's right, I said I love that musical. Loved it so much I got the DVD. "Thank you very much!..."
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Moe played a dandy Scrooge, Curly was a great xmas past, and Larry a great xmas present.
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Really? Contact?
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He is my pick for the big screen's best Scrooge! I love that film and it's versions of the ghosts - not to mention a certain Jedi as Marley - and the look/feel of the film is just note-perfect. Finney has a great edge as Scrooge at the beginning and his transformation is very believable and heartwarming at the end. Can't be beat for my money's worth!
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"Sim" partisans are Dickensian sleepwalkers and knee-jerk conventionalists. I'd rank Sim merely 3rd or 4th-best Scrooge, at highest. And I'll soon tell y'all what I think of Carrey.
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I was just being an ass. Ignore my comments. Everyone should always ignore Batzilla. : )
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