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Published on Friday, November 6, 2009 - 1:57am |
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Capone alternates between fascinated and disappointed while watching Robert Zemeckis' A CHRISTMAS CAROL in IMAX 3D!!!
Hey, folks. Capone in Chicago here.
I'll start by saying that for as long as I can remember, Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" has been my favorite story of all time. I remember being some single-digit age, reading the book for the first time, and feeling like I was getting some message from the story that wasn't in the words--a message about regret, forgiveness and family. Strangely, I never believed the story was really about Christmas. Plus, the idea that you could see how people would act after you were dead fascinated me more than you could possibly understand. But most importantly, this was a ghost story with specters that were both scary and useful. Marley's ghost will always terrify me, even if he means well. Growing up, there wasn't a film version of A CHRISTMAS CAROL that I wouldn't watch--the more faithful to the book, the better. But when all is said and done, my list begins and ends with the 1951 film SCROOGE (I believe later video releases took the film back to its original name) with Alastair Sim as Ebenezer Scrooge.
My point in telling you all this is to make clear that even hearing Dickens' words thrills me to no end. Scrooge insisting that Marley's ghost is a figment of his mind caused by undigested food always gets me. The way he dresses down his assistant Bob Cratchit for wanting to take Christmas off is pure poetry. The way he pleads with the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come that he's a changed man is so desperate and honest. So watching writer-director Robert Zemeckis' largely faithful rendition of A CHRISTMAS CAROL was a pleasure at times, simply for the memories it stirred up inside me. There's also a certain fascination factor that goes into watching a film comprised of motion-capture performances by a handful of actors playing multiple roles, most of which actually have features that resemble in some way the actors themselves. This is by far the most realistic-looking version of this process that Zemeckis has been spearheading in recent years with THE POLAR EXPRESS and BEOWULF. The "dead eyes" are a thing of the past, but the fact that nearly every character has unusually rounded cheeks struck me as bizarre. Still, to watch these characters move, it's incredibly easy to forget sometimes that these are computer-generated beings and not actors in makeup.
That said, lead actor Jim Carrey (who plays various ages of Scrooge as well as all three spirits, including the one who doesn't talk) would have been the best choice for a live-action version of this story as well. LEMONY SNICKET proved that he's a man who can wear effects makeup and prosthetics well. He's the man with a thousand voices and faces, and he can handle the dramatic elements as easily as the comic, overly gruff side of Scrooge. What we get is a beautifully strange animated work that, at times, looks so perfect in capturing human looks and behaviors that it's a distraction from the timeless story. The version of this film that I saw was in IMAX 3-D, and some of the cityscapes and flying sequence are exquisite. But for every detailed tour of 1800s London, there are money shots of Scrooge flying through the air or running away from a haunted horse and carriage that act as unnecessary action sequences in a film about plot and characters.
I appreciated that this version of A CHRISTMAS CAROL is absolutely not for little children (not that any version really was). Marley's ghostly jaw nearly detaches when he screams. The Ghost of Christmas Present (perhaps the most stunningly rendered of any element of this movie) has what appears to be a massive coronary, dies, and turns to skeletal ashes. There are dead bodies throughout, scary moment galore, and a lead character that would rather see poor people dead than be charitable toward them. Be smart, parents, and leave the little ones at home.
There are some really nice moments in A CHRISTMAS CAROL, particularly the scenes of Scrooge's past, when he was an abandoned boy and young man surrounded by a few people who loved him. Robin Wright Penn voices both Scrooge's sister and his only real love (nothing weird about that, nope), and the scenes between them are heart-wrenching. Bob Hoskins is on hand as Scrooge's first boss, the jovial Mr. Fezziwig, Colin Firth plays Scrooge's nephew Fred, and Cary Elwes plays a legion of characters throughout the story. But it's Gary Oldman who most impressed me as Bob Cratchit and Marley's Ghost, and even Tiny Tim. Oldman has a bevy of great voices and personalities to choose from, and he pulls out a couple of gems for this film. The touches are nice, but something about this production just didn't gel for me. I almost want to watch it again with the sound off just to fully appreciate the visual landscape and really pick apart what I like and dislike about the human character designs going on here without feeling like I'm missing plot points.
On a certain level, if you are endlessly fascinated by the new technology that is going into making today's animated works look so groovy, then you really can't miss A CHRISTMAS CAROL. But if you actually cherish this story, you may find the entire experience frustrating and disappointing. In the end, I don't think I can recommend the experience of going to this movie, but if decide to take it on, you shouldn't have difficulty finding a unique vision to stare at for 90-some minutes. The film is a failure on an epic scale, but that doesn't make it any less of a curiosity and a continuing experiment.
-- Capone
capone@aintitcoolmail.com
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Reader Talkback
THE CAPONE ZONE by The_Crimson_King | Nov 6th, 2009 01:09:03 AM | What??? by zacdilone | Nov 6th, 2009 01:15:46 AM | okay...... by bubstersaddles | Nov 6th, 2009 01:26:47 AM | Capone, you have some splainin
to do by bubstersaddles | Nov 6th, 2009 01:28:11 AM | Capone done watched a lot of
moovees. by lockesbrokenleg | Nov 6th, 2009 01:44:36 AM | Get back to live action Bob by kwisatzhaderach | Nov 6th, 2009 01:53:35 AM | I'm not of the 'all CGI/Mo Cap
work is evil' mind by tomdolan04 | Nov 6th, 2009 02:00:59 AM | This is "not for children"? by D.Vader | Nov 6th, 2009 02:15:34 AM | failure on an epic scale by mynemaborat | Nov 6th, 2009 02:25:26 AM | I agree Capone- CHANGE your
review title! by D.Vader | Nov 6th, 2009 02:30:30 AM | I gotta agree with the failure
part by tomimt | Nov 6th, 2009 02:32:43 AM | "riding a damn ice-shelf" by Toonol | Nov 6th, 2009 02:49:51 AM | Conflicted Capone by Limey_scum | Nov 6th, 2009 03:54:46 AM | Worst review ever!!! by JohnRyder | Nov 6th, 2009 03:56:56 AM | no English actor for Scrooge ? by livingwater | Nov 6th, 2009 04:25:28 AM | Yeah Capone, I'm with some of
the others by JT Kirk | Nov 6th, 2009 04:29:01 AM | The multiple role schtick... by Talandir | Nov 6th, 2009 04:34:34 AM | Nothing tops Muppets Christmas
Carol by WT | Nov 6th, 2009 04:58:29 AM | @Talandir by Limey_scum | Nov 6th, 2009 05:00:06 AM | For a so called "failure on an
epic scale" by ricarleite2 | Nov 6th, 2009 05:08:05 AM | And I want MASSA to review
this shit by ricarleite2 | Nov 6th, 2009 05:17:27 AM | A Curb Christmas Carol... by Pingo | Nov 6th, 2009 06:28:09 AM | Wow an AICN review that makes
no sense by IndyCollector | Nov 6th, 2009 06:41:30 AM | wow A REVIEW by SylarTheCylon | Nov 6th, 2009 06:44:25 AM | A failure on an epic scale? by Mr Gorilla | Nov 6th, 2009 06:46:47 AM | Another emotional failure by caprica | Nov 6th, 2009 06:56:17 AM | This review is confusing by Jack Burton | Nov 6th, 2009 07:13:25 AM | Sorry for being redundant by Jack Burton | Nov 6th, 2009 07:20:49 AM | you contradict yourself by doom master | Nov 6th, 2009 07:24:24 AM | My interpretation by WT | Nov 6th, 2009 07:40:45 AM | The Alastair Sim Scrooge... by Marshal_Lannes | Nov 6th, 2009 08:32:51 AM | WTF Capone by Robots In Das Guys | Nov 6th, 2009 08:41:03 AM | The commercials for this... by Scorchy | Nov 6th, 2009 09:08:02 AM | Failure on an epic scale by Capone | Nov 6th, 2009 09:24:14 AM | WT by Mr Gorilla | Nov 6th, 2009 09:24:32 AM | No Capone! by Mr Gorilla | Nov 6th, 2009 09:31:06 AM | Yeah, Alistair Sim OWNS
Scrooge by FeralAngel | Nov 6th, 2009 09:35:53 AM | Puppetry IS motion capture by FeralAngel | Nov 6th, 2009 09:39:50 AM | Enjoyed this review by manzoniman | Nov 6th, 2009 09:49:24 AM | Ebenezer Scrooge and a
lightsaber! by cribble | Nov 6th, 2009 10:01:49 AM | RE: Mr Gorilla by Capone | Nov 6th, 2009 10:18:01 AM | Wow by Jack Burton | Nov 6th, 2009 10:33:27 AM | Lash out much? by gotilk | Nov 6th, 2009 10:42:47 AM | Capone by Mr Gorilla | Nov 6th, 2009 10:45:37 AM | This review was an epic
failure. by kiwicanuck | Nov 6th, 2009 10:49:38 AM | Distracted by the technology by Limey_scum | Nov 6th, 2009 11:03:23 AM | Sorry, Capone, but you are
wrong by Atticus Finch | Nov 6th, 2009 11:16:15 AM | New York area reviews by Orbots Commander | Nov 6th, 2009 11:27:06 AM | A Christmas Carol re-telling
needed.... by Orbots Commander | Nov 6th, 2009 11:39:50 AM | I agree with the posters by MisterManReturns | Nov 6th, 2009 11:43:06 AM | Orbots Commander by Mr Gorilla | Nov 6th, 2009 11:52:27 AM | A thought on this mo-cap
thing. by Mr Gorilla | Nov 6th, 2009 12:01:35 PM | "failure on an epic scale" by TheBaxter | Nov 6th, 2009 12:08:46 PM | That last line ruined the
review by Andy_Dufresne | Nov 6th, 2009 12:13:56 PM | once again by TheBaxter | Nov 6th, 2009 12:17:18 PM | No, you weren't clear Caopne. by the_patriot | Nov 6th, 2009 12:27:37 PM | Yeah what's with this "Failure
on an EPIC scale"? by LORDOFLIGHT | Nov 6th, 2009 02:26:13 PM | I love AICN, by andrewsubtitle | Nov 6th, 2009 02:26:57 PM | Capone, you're not expressing
what is and isn't working by JT Kirk | Nov 6th, 2009 02:32:56 PM | Capone is a fucking retard of
an "epic scale" by Menstrual_Bloodfart | Nov 6th, 2009 02:42:01 PM | EPIC SCALE by PackofRedApples | Nov 6th, 2009 02:46:13 PM | Another review I read said it
looks great by Big Jim | Nov 6th, 2009 02:53:08 PM | Really? It sucks? Shocked. by lockesbrokenleg | Nov 6th, 2009 02:54:03 PM | new AICN meme by TheBaxter | Nov 6th, 2009 03:19:09 PM | You had me at "failure of an
epic scale" by Spacelab | Nov 6th, 2009 04:04:25 PM | "Failure on an epic scale" by Adelai Niska | Nov 6th, 2009 04:15:48 PM | And about mo-cap by Adelai Niska | Nov 6th, 2009 04:17:32 PM | Capone's gone Schizo!! by Ronald Raygun | Nov 6th, 2009 04:25:14 PM | Re: Capone's first response by ricarleite2 | Nov 6th, 2009 06:06:28 PM | Re: TheBaxter by ricarleite2 | Nov 6th, 2009 06:16:09 PM | Anyone see Carrey on Conan
last night? by drewlicious | Nov 6th, 2009 06:16:16 PM | "The film is a failure on an
epic scale, but..." by finky089 | Nov 6th, 2009 06:33:26 PM | Like the old days with Drew by MisterManReturns | Nov 6th, 2009 06:52:01 PM | Capone's Review: by ThusSpakeSpymunk | Nov 6th, 2009 08:43:08 PM | Jeez what a lazy review by MadEyeMongo | Nov 6th, 2009 09:50:40 PM | Um, he clearly stated that
there were two names for the
51 versi by MisterManReturns | Nov 6th, 2009 09:58:14 PM | Wow by Maceox | Nov 6th, 2009 11:42:53 PM | On a different note.... by MisterManReturns | Nov 6th, 2009 11:47:23 PM | Good but epic fail by mothandrust | Nov 7th, 2009 12:25:05 AM | Point is Robert needs to go
back to making actual films!
Not by GQtaste | Nov 7th, 2009 12:31:48 AM | So tired of people using "epic
fail" by lockesbrokenleg | Nov 7th, 2009 01:46:18 AM | People never saying "epic
fail" again... by gotilk | Nov 7th, 2009 05:27:12 AM | Mr Gorilla by WT | Nov 7th, 2009 01:11:34 PM | Reminds me of the
film-in-a-film in "Scrooged" by jsarnold513 | Nov 8th, 2009 02:38:54 AM | Why does Zemekis want to put
animators out of jobs? by jsarnold513 | Nov 8th, 2009 02:42:46 AM | WT by Mr Gorilla | Nov 8th, 2009 08:31:17 AM | I have two major pieces of
news by emeraldboy | Nov 8th, 2009 08:47:45 AM | I think the reason zemeckis
favours mo cap.. by emeraldboy | Nov 8th, 2009 11:45:13 AM | I love the Callow by WT | Nov 8th, 2009 01:20:40 PM | But this cost $200 million and
is a BOMB!!! by jsarnold513 | Nov 8th, 2009 01:21:24 PM | then cameron.. by emeraldboy | Nov 8th, 2009 01:39:29 PM | that should have read.. by emeraldboy | Nov 8th, 2009 01:41:05 PM | re brian blessed by emeraldboy | Nov 8th, 2009 01:48:08 PM | I liked it by Emperor_was_a_jerk | Nov 8th, 2009 02:16:30 PM | too kind. by Obscura | Nov 9th, 2009 03:21:30 AM | "I realize you hate not being
told what to think, but
there's no by Lost Jarv | Nov 9th, 2009 06:36:03 AM | epic failure by The_Crimson_King | Nov 9th, 2009 11:25:28 AM | The ultimate definition of
"epic failure" is by MisterManReturns | Nov 9th, 2009 01:31:30 PM |
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