Movies & TV series

Top Movies – Star Wars Special: Revenge of the Sith Review – Movie Reviews Sites

The clone wars are coming to its end and the Jedi are about to win, but the dark lord of the Sith finally reveals his face! Welcome back to my string of Star Wars reviews leading up to The Force Awakens.

Genre: Action/Fantasy/Science-Fiction

Director: George Lucas

Cast: Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Hayden Christensen,
Frank Oz, Samuel L. Jackson, Jimmy Smits & Ian McDiarmid.

Runtime: 136 min.

US Release: 19 May 2005

UK Release: 19 May 2005

German Release: 19 May 2005

Following my The Nightmare Before Christmas reviewyesterday, I return today to my Star Wars Special. After having reviewed both, Clone Wars the movie & the television series, I will continue with the third and last instalment of the prequel trilogy: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. This film concluded Anakin’s story and linked the prequels to the original series.

While this wasn’t specifically a good Star Wars film, it is what Episode I should have been getting better in quality with Episode II. Revenge of the Sith had a lot of areas for improvement, but it also felt like it was finally heading into the right direction.

—Be Aware That This Review Contains Spoilers—

This sci-fi blockbuster was a mixed bag for me. Though I was happy the plot finally felt like Star Wars again and set out the path of Anakin towards the dark side of the force, I also found there to be a lot of issues with the story.

One of the main problems I had with Episode III was in the opening act, when Anakin and Obi-wan enter Grievous’ ship. We get introduced to a new villain in the first couple of minutes, while witnessing the death of Dooku by the end of the opening act. All of this happens far too rushed, not giving the viewer enough time to process all that new information.

I’ll state this here because there was a scene that bothered me immensely, I hated the fact that they gave R2D2 the ability to fly; that episode where he is spotted in the hangar by the two droids and he sets them on fire with his rockets by spilling, what looked like flammable oil on them, was plain stupid.

One of the biggest plot holes in the film happens when the Emperor executes “Order 66”. If you did not watch the Clone Wars TV Show you will not know how this order came to be, which was released way after this movie. In Episode III though it was randomly thrown into the viewer’s face, without them knowing when that order was established.

But the movie also had it’s positives, like the direction of the story; the darkness sweeping over the republic and Anakin’s recurring fear of losing a loved one, this time as a vision of Padme dying during childbirth. That vision is ultimately what makes him realize that he is not the Jedi he is supposed to be.

The dialogue improved a little bit, but was still very wooden and I had a feeling as if much was being rushed to finally get to the conclusion of the movie. One of the worst dialogues in the film was between Obi-Wan and Anakin during their confrontation.

The relationship between Anakin and Obi-wan was a big part of Episode III. Their relationship did develop into a brotherly one, with both showing mutual respect for one another. That is until Anakin is drawn to the dark side of the force and a heartbreaking scene is shown, in which it is revealed to Obi-Wan that his former apprentice killed the younglings.

Ian McDiarmid’s scenes in this science-fiction opera are much bigger than in the previous films and he was fantastic in them! The way he manipulates Anakin by driving a wedge between him and the Jedi council was great and his conversation with him about the dark side of the force and his former master Darth Plagueis was dialogue gold. Palpatine used Skywalker’s confusion to twist his moral point of view during personal conversations.

Sadly Hayden Christensen till was terrible as Anakin Skywalker. His giving in to the dark side of the force happened way too fast and was developed really sloppy, especially considering that mere 3 minutes ago he was shocked and repulsed to learn that his close friend Palpatine is the dark lord of the Sith. His turning to Darth Vader though, the way the mask finally dropped onto his face, was beautiful to watch.

One of the biggest disappointments though was how new characters kept being introduced, just to kill them off in the next scene. Best example is Count Dooku, who was revealed as a major villain by the third act of Attack of the Clones, only to immediately kill him off during the beginning of this sequel. If we get major characters introduced in one act just to have them killed in the next one, people won’t be able to build a relationship towards the character.

While talking about the inclusion of new characters, in my review for Episode I I mentioned how specific characters from the original movies should not have been included. Well, Episode III incorporated the much beloved character of Chewbacca, for no reason! The Wookiee resistance was good, but his character should have been left out!

The cinematography is where the largest improvement was made. The movie still makes an immense use of CGI, nothing changed in that aspect, and I do wish they had used more practical effects. Still I need to confess that it looks much better than in the previous two movies.

I also loved the way the space battle of the first scene was filmed. It reminded me of Return of the Jedi, in which the rebellion launched a full-scale battle against the newly build second Death Star. My only issue were the lightsaber fights, where Lucas used close-ups once again.

Verdict: Though Episode III was a huge improvement in comparison to the first two instalments of the prequel saga, it still had some major issues and was miles away from the quality of the originals. Still, the movie included some great space fights, solid dialogue lines and the fight between Yoda and Sidious at the end was very entertaining. But it also felt very rushed and so I will give Revenge of the Sith a 7 out of 10.

Now that I finally completed my section of the prequels, I can finally move on to the original trilogy, but before I do so I will include a review of Star Wars: Rebels, which played between Episode III and A New Hope. What did you think of the third film from the prequel trilogy? Leave a comment below and if you like my review go ahead and share it. As always thank you for reading!

Top Movies – The Nightmare Before Christmas Review (Christmas Special) – Movie Reviews Sites

The third of Advent is upon us and that means, another Christmas movie review. Today I will be talking about my favourite winter holiday film, created by Tim Burton.

Genre: Animation/Christmas/Music

Director: Henry Selick

Cast: Danny Elfman, Chris Sarandon, Catherine O’Hara,
Ken Page, Edward Ivory & Glenn Shadix.

Run Time: 76 min.

US Release: 29 October 1993

UK Release: 25 November 1994

German Release: 08 December 1994

Welcome back to my third Christmas review on this third Advent Sunday, while I am taking a short break of my Star Wars Special. Today’s review I am really excited about, since it is one of my favourite movies of all times. I am talking about Tim Burton’s infamous The Nightmare Before Christmas, the movie that brought horror and joy to children and adults during Christmas time and at the same time managed to capture the Christmas spirit perfectly.

Burton’s beautiful and grotesque gothic X-mas vision was created during his time as a Disney animator, in form of a poem. Disney stalled the project believing it to be too dark and quirky, but after Burton’s success with Beetlejuice and Batman the project was picked-up again. With Selick as director and Rick Heinrichs as the character sculptor, the stop-motion animation took two years to make.

The Nightmare Before Christmas received worldwide critical acclaim, praising the film for it’s delightful visuals and stunning looking stop-motion effects. The movie’s originality was also a factor for the high praise.

–— THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS—

The film takes us into a mystic and imaginary new world, where each holiday has an own world. The story revolves around Jack Skellington, the pumpkin king of Halloween Town, who is suffering a depressive episode from doing the same thing over and over again on Halloween and starts questions his existence. One day he stumbles accidentally into Christmas Town and is overwhelmed by the idea of Christmas.

He soon concocts a plan to take over Christmas that year, going as far as “kidnapping” Santa, but his plan fails. Instead of joy and happiness he brings horror and nightmares to the people in the real world and he soon realises that being what he is not as bad as he thought. But is there still time to save Christmas?

Tim Burton is known for his dark and gothic style, which are always represented in his movies and it is that atmosphere that made A Nightmare Before Christmas so original. This film was one of Tim Burton’s most personal stories, as it is a metaphor for his lonely feelings as a child and his fascination for the holidays.

One of my favourite aspects of the film is how mature the story of Jack Skellington is, who is saddened and bored by doing the same thing every year and is feeling alone, since no one shares his opinion. Sally, who has a secret crush on him, is the only one that somehow understands what he is going through.

This animation had a very grown-up tone, from the topic of depression to the toned down sexual implementation. I also really enjoyed the horror aspect of Halloween meshing with the warmth and festive Christmas decorations. This movie truly created a completely new and fantastic world.

Jack Skellington was a great character, which showed that even horrifying and creepy figures are just “human”. He lost his way and is searching for his purpose, as he doesn’t feel that being the pumpkin king is his true calling. It surprised me at how relatable this walking and talking skeleton was, when re-watching this animation as an adult. We all went through such a phase, searching for our true calling in life.

Oogie Boogie was a great villain, he is just hinted at through half the movie and is slowly build up until we finally got to see him and although he was just a bag full of maggots, it was Ken Page who lend Oogie Boogie the voice that gave him that menacing vibe.

During its time The Nightmare Before Christmas had been revolutionary in the genre of animation, especially given the fact that stop-motion was considered a dead form of art to be replaced with the computer animation that was taking over. Burton and Selick proved everyone wrong and the effects still look brilliant today.

Jack Skellington and co. jump, dance and move as in any computer animation, but through the three dimensional sculpturing the characters get more of a realistic touch.

I’m normally not a big fan of musicals, there are only a few movies in this genre I can watch without being bored or annoyed by the singing and eventual dancing, and this is one of them. Composed and partially sung by Danny Elfman, it contains some of the most impressive and memorable songs I heard in a movie.

Verdict: The Nightmare Before Christmas is my absolute favourite Christmas movie, even topping the classic Home Alone. The characters are well developed and portrayed, the animation was beautifully spooky and still holds up today and the songs are scary and memorable. I give this amazing and dark Christmas tale a 9.5 out of 10.

Are you a fan of Burton’s magical Christmas film? My next Christmas review will be next week Sunday, on the new Michael Dougherty movie Krampus. I hope you enjoyed my Christmas special this week and as always, thank you for reading!

Top Movies – Star Wars Special: The Clone Wars Review – Movie Reviews Sites

**Another day, another Star Warsanalysis. Welcome back to my review series to one of the most epic science-fiction sagas, today I’ll be talking about a slightly different movie.**

Genre: Animation/Fantasy/Science-Fiction

Director: Dave Filoni

Cast: Matt Lanter, Ashley Eckstein, James Arnold Taylor,
Tom Kane, Nika Futterman & Ian Abercrombie.

Runtime: 98 min.

US Release: 15 August 2008

UK Release: 15 August 2008

German Release: 14 August 2008

This is the third day in my countdown to The Force Awakens and my third review of the Star Wars movies, following my two posts in the past two days. Since I am writing reviews based on the chronological timeline of these movies, today I will be analysing the animated sci-fi film Star Wars: The Clone Wars, that was released in 2008. While some may argue that it is not a true Star Wars movie, it was still released in theatres and is part of canon.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars was originally to be intended as a TV show (which happened later that same year) and planned during the postproduction for Revenge of the Sith. Fact is, you can tell that this movie is three/four episodes of the TV series meshed into one long screening and once again it is mostly George Lucas fault, who after watching the first couple of episodes decided it should be made into a movie.

The film did not get positive reviews, standing on an 18% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and most critics panned this animation for its bad effects, bad script and the lack of the original cast. This review will be much shorter compared to my other Star Warsreviews.

—Be Aware That This Review Contains Spoilers—

The plot follows Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi as they are right in the middle of the clone wars, trying to stop a strategically important planet to fall into the hands of the separatists. They obtain news that a baby Huttlet from Jabba’s family was kidnapped. Anakin takes Ahsoka, his new apprentice with him to free the baby Hutt, while Obi-Wan is trying to keep his former student under the Order’s control.

It is hard to keep an objective tone for this critique, as everything about this movie pains me. I will admit that there are some things I did not find terrible, but it was simply poorly executed in the movie and would have been perceived much better in the television series cinematic.

My biggest issue with the movie though is the fact that it is an overlong pilot episode for the TV show, marketed as a movie that bridges the gap between Episode II and Episode III. Even worse, this movie takes place in between the series timeline, meaning that it isn’t as much of an actual Pilot but rather the middle part of a TV show that was released in the wrong chronological order.

The Clone Wars was basically a gigantic advert for the TV series and an opportunity for George Lucas to cash in on hardcore Star Wars fans, without investing in an emotional story. The film’s story simply jumps from battle to battle and does not focus once on character development.

If Lucas had wanted an animated movie for theatres, he should have given the effects team the time and funds needed to make an appealing movie. Maybe even focus on the beginning of the clone wars and how Anakin became a Jedi Knight, as in the Star Wars: Clone Warscartoon of 2003.

If there is a positive aspect in this movie, it is that due to the low investment of character development Anakin Skywalker partially comes of as the character I envisioned him to be in Episode II, not the whiney brat with tantrums he was portrayed as by Hayden Christensen.

Now let’s talk about the animation, which felt downright lazy and cheap. The fact that it was originally planned to be for TV standards, did not help that it was later released as a cinematic film. I am not implying at all that it is the artistic team’s fault, it is Lucas his who was pushing the team to make a movie out of those episodes, even though they did not have the funds to scale them up for the movies. The characters felt very mechanical and unemotional, with dull eye movement and flawed lip sync.

Finally, my last issue with this animated sci-fi flick was the music. While in the TV show the tuned up and fast paced John Williams’ score fitted perfectly, I wished they had kept the original soundtrack for the animated film. The music simply made the movie feel disjointed from the rest of the Star Wars universe.

Verdict: As much as it pains me to say it, because I am a huge Star Wars fan, but Star Wars: The Clone Wars is a terrible movie in every possible aspect. It has no emotional investment, the animations are bland and the story is a promotional piece of garbage for the televisions series. I will give it a 3 out of 10.

What is your opinion of Star Wars: The Clone Wars? Did you dislike it as much as I did, or did you find it entertaining? Thank you for reading, and if you are interested in my other Star Wars reviews I made so far, here are the links:

Top Movies – Star Wars Special: Attack of the Clones Review – Movie Reviews Sites

**The second film of the Star Wars prequels did not really make things any better. Lucas did not manage to reprimand his errors of the previous Jedi adventures, but only made things worse**

Genre: Action/Fantasy/Science-Fiction

Director: George Lucas

Cast: Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Hayden Christensen,
Christopher Lee, Samuel L. Jackson & Ian McDiarmid.

Runtime: 142 min.

US Release: 16 May 2002

UK Release: 16 May 2002

German Release: 16 May 2002

Welcome back to my review series of Star Wars. Following yesterday’s post for The Phantom Menace, I will be writing today about Episode II – Attack of the Clones, which in my opinion made things only worse. The basic plot was a good idea; the unrest in the Galactic Republic due to a separatist movement that could bring on a civil war and the senate’s decision of creating a great army, as the Jedi are overwhelmed.

Sadly those ideas were badly elaborated on screen and focused on that what made Episode I bad. The screenplay written by George Lucas took the plot in a very different direction, skipping the formation of the separatist movement and their members and once again focusing on much talking, more wooden acting and a lot of walking in front of a green-screen. The plot also revealed a lot of inconsistencies.

—Be Aware That This Review Contains Spoilers—

Starting with what bothered me the most; the dialogue and story development was awful! I don’t know if Lucas ever had a conversation with another human being, but that is not how you write a dialogue. Characters ignored one-another when talking to each other, completely missing on an engaging discussion.

An example for bad dialogue would be the love scenes between Amidala and Anakin, which are completely dysfunctional and feel forced. Anakin comes of as a stalking freak with tantrum problems, while she obviously seems to be scared of him, yet they end up together. Not relatable at all!

Another relationship that bothered me was the one between Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin. Skywalker was bitchy, arrogant and ungrateful to his master, while Obi-Wan was constantly overcritical and distrustful of his apprentice. That is not how a Jedi & Padawan relationship should be, especially knowing that Kenobi always gave Luke the benefit of the doubt, even when Yoda had his doubts!

From here on onwards, I compiled a list of things that made me want to scream:

Anakin and Padme going heads in first to save Kenobi without a plan and getting caught.
The rest of the Jedi doing exactly the same in a pathetic try to save the three and getting slaughtered.
Samuel L. Jackson as Jedi Master Mace Windu and the order of the Jedi being portrayed as presumptuous a**holes.
Sith apprentices spawning everywhere (What happened to the rule of two?).
The gladiatorial battles set up for Obi-Wan, Anakin and Padme and the Viceroy of the Trade Federation complaining about it like a b****.
Finally, the return of Jar Jar Binks even though he did have a much smaller part.

But not all was bad. I thought giving Boba Fett an origin story was quite interesting and wished for a little more insight into it. I also liked the twist about the revelation of the Clone Troops and their order to be created by Jedi Master Sifo Dyas.

Character wise, much was done wrong. The persona of Anakin Skywalker was portrayed and developed wrong; Hayden Christensen played him as a spoiled brat with tantrums making the persona very unlikeable. Anakin should have been a respectful young Padawan, with vast knowledge of the force and always impressing his Master, his faith in the force severely shaken by the death of his mother. That would have made the character more likeable and sympathetic to the viewer.

Christopher Lee I did like as the villainous and mysterious Count Dooku, but I do wish for him to have been shrouded more in mystery and to not reveal his Sith heritage in this movie. Ian McDiarmid’s impression of Supreme Chancellor Palpatine was once again good; he did the best with what he was given.

Like I stated at the beginning, this movie overuses computer imagery again! Lucas designed an incredible amount of alien races, far to many different spacecrafts (who thought that a space shuttle with sails would look good?), and all displayed in an ungodly CGI fest that does not look good during this time of age. I understand that the Galactic Republic has a vast selection of species, but by then Lucas was adding up to 50 different species in each new instalment, but never truly used one of the original series!

While we are at it, the Clone Troops should never have been computer animated! Again, what happened to using practical effects and extras? The original trilogy used an amount of extras, but if Lucas was worried about the battle he could have simply multiplied the extras during editing. I also thought that Coruscant was portrayed like a cheap futuristic Tokyo with flying neon cars and billboards. If going for futurist cities with a Tokyo-like style, Lucas should have gained inspiration from Scott’s Blade Runner.

The only scene in this sci-fi flick I would call impressive is the last shot where the Destroyers leave Coruscant to fight in the Clone Wars and an immense horde of Clone Troopers, getting ready to be deployed. That was an incredible and epic shot, even though it was all computer generated.

Verdict: Overall, I found Star Wars – Episode II: Attack of the Clones to be the weakest instalment of the prequel trilogy. It uses far too much computer imagery and green screen, the main characters are really unlikeable and the story is boring and filled with plot holes. This is was by far an even bigger disappointment than Episode I and the weakest, live action Star Wars film of the series. I’ll give it a 4.5 out of 10.

Do you agree with my opinion? If you think otherwise, be welcome to leave a comment below. Tomorrow I’ll review the animated film Star Wars: The Clone Wars as well as the TV series on my other Blog, so if you are interested look out for it! Thank you very much for reading and if you enjoyed this review click the like button!

Top Movies – Star Wars Special: The Phantom Menace Review – Movie Reviews Sites

In a galaxy far, far away… A galactic dispute is going on, the Galactic Republic and the Trade Federation are having trouble negotiating. Welcome to my Star Wars reviews.

Genre: Action/Fantasy/Science-Fiction

Director: George Lucas

Cast: Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman,
Jake Lloyd, Pernilla August, Kenny Baker & Ian McDiarmid.

Runtime: 136 min.

US Release: 19 May 1999

UK Release: 16 July 1999

German Release: 19 August 1999

Hello and I salute you to my review special on Star Wars movies. As I mentioned in my earlier Star Wars – Trailer Talk, I am a big Star Wars fan boy! Going as far having bought several T-shirts, a Stormtrooper PEZ dispenser and having other Star Wars merchandise. That is how much I love this franchise, which I grew up with! So I am really excited and can’t wait to see The Force Awakens in cinemas this month.

To celebrate the release of J.J. Abrams new sci-fi opera, I decided to dedicate part of this and next week for my reviews of Episode I-III, the television shows The Clone Wars and Rebels, and finally my reviews for the original trilogy. Starting off today will be my analysis of the first prequel instalment: Star Wars: The Phantom Menace.

—Be Aware That This Review Contains Spoilers—

Let’s start with the obvious; the plot was handled absolutely wrong. It was too political, too dry with much talking and walking but nothing off interesting happening. Re-watching this in 3-D theatres in 2012, I remember losing my patience. Even the inner workings of the Jedi council seemed to be running on boring bureaucratic machinations, and they do not resemble the actual peacekeepers from the original trilogy in any way.

I have nothing against a well-structured political thriller, but this was not it! The movie threw us right into a political dispute of a Galactic Republic we know next to nothing, a little explanation of which planets belong to the republic and what exactly the Trade Federation is would have been of much help.

The original trilogy was dark and mysterious filled with philosophical and spiritual issues and it plunged you literally into a world that you could invest in. This one was build up on boring politics, slapstick humour and a Christian subplot-scenario, presented by conversations between Shmi Skywalker and Qui-Gon Jinn; when she tells him that her pregnancy of Anakin came out of the blue, which makes Anaking practically Jesus! Seriously Lucas?!?

The Midi-chlorian conversation practically destroys the original series mysticism about the Force, taking away all the magic of the original trilogy. But there had been also parts I did enjoy, like the mother and son moments that are crucial for the development of Anakin’s character, which was sadly handled wrong in the sequels.

Some of the casting choices made for major characters were complete miscasts. Up and running is Jake Lloyd as Anakin Skywalker and although I feel sorry for him, since this role ruined his career, he frankly was terrible as young Anakin. His over the top squeals when he got happy and poor choice of phrasing lines, which sounded as if he was speaking for a children’s TV show, was simply bad!

I didn’t like Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan Kenobi at all, this might be just me because I am not a fan of him, but it felt like he didn’t really understand the character of Obi-Wan. He right out insulted other living species by saying to Qui-Gon “Why do I sense that we have picked up another pathetic life form.” I also was absolutely disappointed by Natalie Portman’s portrayal of Princess Padme Amidala, but her acting wasn’t her fault rather that of Lucas’ writing and directing.

Even Liam Neeson who I really like as an actor, had trouble to portray his character, though he was one of the better personas. Qui-Gon’s character was the source of what Obi-Wan should have been. Ian McDiarmid reprised his role as Palpatine (aka Darth Sidious) and he did well as a nice, but obviously sleek politician with his own agenda. My only complaint; the character should have been portrayed different and the obvious hints towards him being the evil Sith Lord should have been downplayed.

Personally I was a huge fan of Darth Maul, like many others. He was by far the coolest thing that happened to the prequels. The design of him was horror inflicting and the fact that he had no lines, or a background story made him mysterious and interesting, sadly Lucas decided to kill him off at the end. On the other hand, one the worst characters that came out of the new Star Wars films was Jar Jar Binks, do I need to say more?

A lot of characters were coming and going without a proper introduction or letting the audience get acquainted with them, which resulted in simply not caring for them. An example is Samuel L. Jackson as Mace Windu. Lucas decided to hire Samuel L. Jackson due to one reason; he needed a big Hollywood name to sell his prequel trilogy.

I understand that Lucas wanted to pay homage to some of his original characters, but some were outride misplaced. Lucas should have left R2D2 and C3PO out of the prequel trilogy as they did not really fit in any of the three films, plus I downright refuse to believe that C3 was built by Anakin. The Tusken Raiders scene during the pod race was simply unnecessary; if he wanted to pay tribute to any of his creations, he should have replaced the Gungans with the Mon Calamari.

Apart from the cheesy screenplay and forced dialogue, the movie featured heavy use of computer imagery that did not age well. One of the reasons for the acting being so wooden was because 80% of the movie was filmed on green screen! The CGI scenes and characters though look really bad by now. You could make out sceneries that were purely computer generated and you always noticed when an actor was standing in front of a green-screen background. What happened to using props? There were scenes in the movie that would not have needed all this CGI!

The fighting scenes between the two Jedi and Darth Maul are good looking, but I did wish that Lucas had not used close-ups of the different characters during the battle. I also appreciated the little similarities to the original series, e.g. the death of a Jedi Master by the hands of a Sith, witnessed by his apprentice.

Verdict: Overall, I found Episode I to be a disappointment for the Star Wars franchise, when compared to the original series. No practical effects whatsoever have been used, most of what we saw was computer generated and it really shows by now. The acting was atrocious and the story a snooze fest. I will give The Phantom Menace a 5 out of 10.

Do you agree with what I said about Episode I? If not, leave a comment below and let me know what you thought of George Lucas’ The Phantom Menace. My review for Star Wars – Episode II: Attack of the Clones will be uploaded tomorrow and as always, thank you for reading!

Top Movies – Bad Santa Review (Christmas Special) – Movie Reviews Sites

**It’s the start of the second week of Advent today, which means another Christmas Special review. This time I am writing about a rather peculiar Christmas movie; I am talking about Bad Santa.**

Genre: Christmas/Comedy/Drama

Director: Terry Zwigoff

Cast: Billy Bob Thornton, Tony Cox, Brett Kelly, Lauren Graham,
Bernie Mac, Lauren Tom & John Ritter.

Run Time: 91 min.

US Release: 26 November 2003

UK Release: 05 November 2004

German Release: 18 November 2004

Zwigoff’s Christmas comedy is a rather distinctive one and it is more for those people who stand critical towards the upcoming winter holiday. Nevertheless Bad Santa is one of my favourite Christmas films, starring an amazing Billy Bob Thornton and an incredible hot Lauren Graham. It may not be the typical lovey-dovey, snow filled holiday picture people are used to around this time of year, but it does have a message by the end of the film and it is hilariously entertaining throughout its length.

The movie had some creative issues during its production, with Terry Zwigoff and the writers having trouble to get the tone of the script right while creative differences between Zwigoff, the Coen Brothers and the Weinstein Company made filming very difficult. The Weinsteins even went as far as to film additional scenes with a different director, without the knowledge of Zwigoff.

Bill Murray was originally supposed to play Thornton’s role, but was already filming Lost in Translation. This was also John Ritter’s last movie before he died in September 2003.

Nevertheless, these issues didn’t stop the film from getting moderately good reviews by most critics, who praised Thornton’s acting and the rude and offensive black comedic tone of this anti-Christmas movie. Even if not for everyone, Bad Santa is a very well written and executed comedy, including an actual happy ending.

— THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS—

Willie T. Stokes (Billy Bob Thornton), an alcoholic and sex addict, and his dwarfed assistant Marcus (Tony Cox) are two professional thieves, who disguises themselves every year as the department store Santa Clausand his elf, in order to rob the shopping malls at Christmas night.

At the Saguaro Square Mall in Phoenix, Willie is visited by Thurman Merman (Brett Kelly), a friendly but naive and overweight boy who thinks Willie is the really Santa and is taunted and bullied by a skateboarding gang. At a bar, Willie meets Sue (Lauren Graham) the bar keeper, who has a Santa Claus fetish, and the two begin a sexual relationship.

One night, Willie gives Thurman a ride home, where he lives alone with his senile grandmother. Thurman reveals that his mother died, and his father is in prison. Willie takes advantage of Thurman’s naivety to let him live in his house.

On Christmas Eve, during the heist, Willie goes to get Thurman a pink stuffed elephant that he had wanted for Christmas. Marcus then reveals to Willie that he intends on killing him, because he became careless. Just as Marcus is about to shoot Willie, the police swarm the mall, tipped off by a letter Willie gave to Thurman. Willie flees, chased by the police, intending to give Thurman his present.

This Christmas picture is not afraid to state things as they are and doesn’t make any compromises. It is as rude as it can get and doesn’t soften its characters in anyway, simply portraying them how they are. But what I like most about Bad Santa is that behind all the rude and insulting dialogue there is a message about the ever so growing and partially disgusting consumerism people show on Christmas, which is magnified by companies and the media.

I was surprised at how funny this movie was, laughing from beginning to end. It is not that I am not a fan of this type of humour; I do like Family Guy and am a great fan of South Parkand although this movie had a similar tone to those comedy series, it was different and original.

Billy Bob Thornton was absolutely fantastic as Willie T. Stokes, a beat down nobody with an alcohol and sex addiction. His whole life revolves around whiskey, sex and robbing houses or malls, that is until Thurman comes into his life and shows him that there is more to living than just self loathing. In some sort of way Thurman resembles the adult Willie, just without the alcohol and sex problem.

Brett Kelly did a heartbreaking performance as the overweight kid Thurman, who stalked Willie a.k.a. Santa around the Arizona suburbs. He is a broken child, who has neither friends nor family; the only one looking out for him is his semi-comatose grandmother. When Willie walks into his life, Thurman believes to have finally found a friend and purpose in his life.

This might also be Tony Cox’s best performance given to date. He is not a particularly good actor but he really nailed the role as Marcus. I loved every scene he was in, throwing around those smart-ass and insulting speeches. Lauren Graham was rather eye candy for the male viewer, but her character is also the one that brings a little Christmas spirit into the lives of Willie and Thurman.

The musical score contrasted the bleak reality that is Willie’s life, a metaphor for the fact that not every person on the planet has a happy holiday as depicted in most Christmas films.

Verdict: Bad Santa is a very different Christmas movie, but one I do cherish and watch every year during X-mas time. This is not a family friendly holiday-comedy, it is rated R for strong language, sexual content and violence, giving the whole Christmas season a macabre but hilarious twist. This movie is best enjoyed with friends or alone and I will give it an 8.5 out of 10.

So are you a fan of Bad Santa, or do you prefer the lovey-dovey Christmas pictures that are normally screened? Comment below and if you enjoyed this review, like it and share it. Next Sunday I will be reviewing one of my all-time favourite animated movies, The Nightmare Before Christmas.

Top Movies – The Gift (Spoiler Free Review) – Movie Reviews Sites

Bullies can leave emotional or physical wounds, some of the victims might forget their harassment while others might not forgive that easy. The Gift is a deep psychological-thriller that touches upon that subject.

Genre: Thriller

Director: Joel Edgerton

Cast: Jason Bateman, Rebecca Hall, Joel Edgerton,
Allison Tolman, Tim Griffin.

Runtime: 108 min.

US Release: 07 August 2015

UK Release: 07 August 2015

German Release: 26 November 2015

Joel Edgerton’s The Gift was released in the US and UK this year, in early August. So why am I reviewing it now? It was shortly released in Germany (nearly four months after the US release), on November 26. I already had heard positive things about the movie, so I was looking forward to seeing this film in the cinema and I need to say, although I heard good chitchat about it I was completely astonished how good it is!

Most reviewers and film critics gave The Gift positive reviews and praised nearly everything in this movie, including the performances, direction, tone and the screenplay. I, although knowing Edgerton directed and starred in the film, had no idea that Edgerton also wrote the screenplay and was therefore even more surprised about the incredible good quality of this movie.

I say surprised because most people who write, direct and star in a movie end up messing up the cinematic picture, embarrassing themselves and the team working on it. The Gift though profited from Joel Edgerton’s experience as an actor and his talent as a writer and director.

The plot revolves around married couple Simon and Robyn who move from Chicago to the suburbs of a Californian city, not far from the town Simon grew up. Through a chance encounter Simon meets Gordon, an old acquaintance from Simon’s school, and from there on their quiet and planned life is shaken to the core. What started as a string of friendly gifts from Gordon soon turns into psychological torment.

Edgerton’s script is close to being fantastic. The slow pace of the film helps to build up tension and does not hinder the movie experience. In fact I really appreciated the time the director took to develop the characters in this film. Every person in this thriller is hiding something and has secrets.

Edgerton also proves to have an acute hand for the psychological-thriller genre and executed it immensely well, because even though the viewer is let to believe that it is a typical thriller, it is completely unpredictable.

The only complaint I have is that the creep factor was turned to the maximum from the very first moment we get to see Gordon, instead of building it up slowly. That as a turn made feel really unpleasant throughout the first half of the movie and I had too look away from the screen several times.

The performances were incredible. This thriller is full of broken people; even the side and minor characters seem to be damaged to some degree. The dialogues have been written incredibly well and were smart and intriguing; another dialogue driven movie that managed to capture my interest, was this year’s cerebral science- fiction film Ex-Machina.

Joel Edgerton gave a fantastic performance. His character Gordon is this socially awkward person who has seen and has been through hell in his life. Yet, he does not really talk about it, he doesn’t talk much at all. Most of his performance was done through bodily movements and through the use of his eyes.

Jason Bateman was the star of this movie, stealing every scene he was in. This is the first time I truly saw him acting, far away from the typical comedic roles he is usually typecast as. The depiction of his persona was perfect, as he managed to surprise me at how menacing he can become.

Rebecca Hall gave another great performance. The happy facade her persona Robyn puts up, when meeting the new neighbours or Simon’s working colleagues, crumbled once you get a look into her eyes. Hall reflected the pain and depression of her character through them, which gave it all a sensation of realism.

Edgerton proved with this intense psychological thriller not only his talent for writing but also his aptitude for cinematography. The motion-picture-photography is beautiful, with strong colours and great focus on the three main characters. The slow moving camera helps to build up tension and the beautiful and creepy shots of empty hallways intensifies the effect of the film.

Verdict: The Gift is a great psychological thriller with great performances by Jason Bateman, Rebecca Hall and Joel Edgerton. The script was really clever and amazingly written and the cinematography perfect for this movie. If you have not seen The Gift yet, I do recommend you go see it in the cinema or wait until the Blu-ray/ DVD release. I will give Joel Edgerton’s masterpiece an 8.5 out of 10.

Leave a comment below with your opinion of this film.

Top Movies – The Good Dinosaur (Spoiler Free Review) – Movie Reviews Sites

How would the world look today if the meteor that killed most of the dinosaurs had simply passed by? The second Pixar movie this year answers that question.

Genre: Animation/Adventure/Comedy

Director: Peter Sohn

Cast: Raymond Ochoa, Jack Bright, Jeffrey Wright,

Frances McDormand, Marcus Scribner, Sam Elliott.

Run Time: 93 min.

US Release: 25 November 2015

UK Release: 27 November 2015

German Release: 26 November 2015

As stated in my previous review for Inside Out, this is my follow up review of Pixar movies that came out this year. The Good Dinosaur was developed and created by Bob Peterson and Peter Sohn, who started working on a concept in 2009. This Pixar animation did go through some production issues and was originally supposed to premiere on November 2013, but was shifted later on to a May 2014 release until finally setting a date on November 2015.

This is why I entered the movies somewhat worried, when I managed to catch a viewing on Tuesday afternoon. A movie that goes through so many production issues normally ends up being a disappointment, but The Good Dinosaur was a fun experience. It was not as good as Inside Out and had some obvious plot issues, other than that though it was an enjoyable film.

The fact that I was the only person sitting in the theatre also helped me to fully enjoy this movie, as there was no talking, no seat kicking or wild and out of control laughter. This movie experience was one of the best in years for me.

The Good Dinosaur takes place in a world where the dinos have not been extinguished by the meteor that hit the planet millions of years ago. The giant reptiles evolved and turned into ranchers and agricultures. Arlo, the youngest son of an Apatosaurus farmer family gets lost during an accident and needs to find his way back home. Along his path he meets the human Spot and together they experience one adventure after another.

There are several elements in this movie I really liked, such as the alternative reality where the dinos survived and evolved into a human like manner. I thought the story idea was smart and well developed, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that it could have gone a little deeper. Overall though the film was fun and delightful, as we follow the two main characters (both outcasts of a sort) who form a bond as they are travelling the land to find their way back home.

There also was a real message behind the story and not just moving pictures with a pseudo meaning, which I liked. Arlo, the Apatosaurus who feels disconnected from his family because of his physical and psychological issues, needs to grow beyond his limitations to unlock his true potential and overcome his fears.

My biggest issue with The Good Dinosaur though was also the story, which I felt was somewhat of a rehashed plot from other Disney and Pixar movies, specifically The Lion King. I also thought that the whole concept was an attempt to bring Disney’s TV series Dinosaurs to the big screen.

The bonding between the main characters, after each experienced a tragic event, is the heart and soul of this Pixar animation. Every other friendly character that came after, just felt unnecessary and distracted from the actual plot.

Arlo was at the beginning a little bit annoying, he is afraid of everything and though smaller children might find it funny, all I could think of is how quickly he would die if he were to be in the real world. His fears also cause him to do one stupid decision after the other, which just gets him into more trouble. Once he finally starts manning up though, his softer and nicer character triads start to break through the cowardly facade.

Spot depicted the other half of Arlo, when they were together they acted like one. Although they started of as rivals, it is Spot who showed Arlo that only together both have a chance to get out alive of the wilderness and back home. Arlo’s father, a great character and well performed by Wright, reminded me a little too much of a character in The Lion King.

The Good Dinosaur has jaw-dropping and beautiful effects, especially the background animation which looked fantastic and very photo realistic. It could have been a real background taken from a documentary about nature in the valleys, particularly when I saw the water reflecting the mountains and trees.

The dinosaurs, even though more cartoony than the background animation, were designed quite nice and included a great amount of detail; I couldn’t take my eyes of the screen when I noticed that I could see all scales on the dinosaur’s body.

The only problem I had wit the animation was that the uber realistic background and the gorgeous details on the dinosaurs themselves, sometimes clashed with the cartoony design. It did not feel like these creatures belonged into that world.

Verdict: Altogether I found The Good Dinosaurto be an entertaining family movie. Children will definitely love it and adults will find moments in the plot that are very emotional or straight out disgusting/terrifying. It isn’t a movie though you specifically need to see in cinemas; if you are planning a family night, then I do recommend it, otherwise wait for the Blu-ray or DVD. I will give this Pixar animation a 7.5 out of 10.

Did you manage to see The Good Dinosaur already? If so, what did you think of it? Which Pixar movie is your favourite? Leave a comment below and as always, thank you very much for reading!

Top Movies – Home Alone Review (Christmas Special) – Movie Reviews Sites

A happy first Advent! Christmas time is upon us again and what better way to celebrate this festive moment, than with a couple of reviews of X-mas classics.

Genre: Christmas/Comedy

Director: Chris Columbus

Cast: Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern, Catherine O’Hara, John Heard, Roberts Blossom, Devin Ratray, Gerry Bamman & John Candy.

Run Time: 103 min.

US Release: 16 November 1990

UK Release: 07 December 1990

German Release: 17 January 1991

Welcome to my first Christmas Special. I will be posting every Advent Sunday until Christmas Eve a review of one of my favourite Christmas movies. Today I will be writing about Home Alone, one of the first films I remember seeing as a child on Christmas. It does not only count as one of my dearests due to the nostalgic factor, but I actually find it to be one of the better movies revolving around the holidays and a game changer for Christmas blockbusters.

Home Alone shines with perfectly placed comedic moments and really funny performances by Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern, Catherine O’Hara and Macaulay Culkin. While not stellar acting, it was the comedic input by the actors that made this movie so memorable.

Overall, this Christmas film received rather poor reviews by film critics; Roger Ebert even went as far and called it implausible. Sure the movie does have plot holes and a disbelievable story, but it is a holiday comedy and disbelieve is part of what makes this film great. When watching Home Alone, I just sit back and enjoy seeing Kevin take on the two burglars!

— THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS—

Kevin McCallister is an 8-year-old boy and the plight of the McCallister family. When the family oversleeps and has to race to the airport, little Kevin is overlooked and left alone at home. As he wakes up and finds the house empty, his first thought is that his previous wish – to erase his family from existence – turned real and celebrates it by doing everything that he was not allowed to do.

Kevin’s mother Kate finally realizes they forgot him and tries to find a way back from Paris, to get to her son who she can’t contact, due to a storm that killed the phone lines. While mean, back in the Chicago suburbs two burglars make their rounds robbing houses and when they come across little Kevin, being all alone at home, they decide to take out the kid at night and rob the place.

Kevin needs to man up and fight his biggest fears to protect his family home from the two mischievous men. He devises a battle plan to improve the house’s security, by improvising and using everyday tools.

The plot and script of this movie would nowadays be categorised as cheesy slapstick-comedy, but Home Alone is more than that. We can all relate with Kevin, children as well as adults, as the 8 year old Chicago resident is battling with everyday household chores, such as laundry, grocery shopping and shovelling snow outside the house’s driveway.

I also love how it depicts the fear of small children from either the den, the radiator in the basement as well as creepy looking neighbours. These all are moments we can identify with the main character, since we were all once afraid of something that felt unnatural to us.

My only issue with Home Alone is the dialogue, which sometimes comes off as too light hearted and makes it hard to take serious during specific plot moments. Culkin’s line delivery, although most of the time quite good, came off as goofy from time to time. Overall though, I found the script and story quite amusing.

Macaulay Culkin as Kevin McCallister was great; he really incorporated that character and managed to make him incredibly likable, even when he was being a brat. Without Culkin, Home Alone would have never had the success it had. Kate McCallister was played by Catherine O’Hara and played her part as the worrying but headstrong mother pretty well.

Harry and Marv are, apart from Kevin, my two favourite characters. They play two stupid and incredible easy to manipulate thugs, who are outwitted by an 8-year-old. Their chemistry is fantastic and I loved seeing them trying to team up against the little plague. By the end they manage to catch the “boy wonder” and Kevin is saved in the nick of time by elderly neighbour Marley (Robert Blossom).

One of the most memorable parts of this comedy is its flawless musical score composed by John Williams and also features some of the classic holiday songs, such as: White Christmas by The Drifters, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas by Mel Torme or Run Rudolph Run by Chuck Berry. If the movie’s story did not set you into Christmas mood, the soundtrack surely will.

Verdict: Home Alone might not be a perfect movie, but it is one of my favourite Christmas films! It has a relatable main character; two stupidly funny antagonists and some unforgettable home defences build by an 8-year-old. It is one of the first movies I watch around this time of year and I can only recommend it to anyone who has not seen it yet! This is true family fun for everybody and I’ll give it an 8 out of 10.

So, what are your favourite Christmas movies? Do you agree with my opinion of Home Alone? Leave a comment below and I hope you look forward to my next Christmas Special, which will be on Bad Santa.

Top Movies – Inside Out (Spoiler Free Review) – Movie Reviews Sites

From Disney Studios and Pixar Animations comes the tale of a young girl’s emotions, as she is going through some life altering changes.

Genre: Animation/Comedy/Drama

Director: Pete Docter & Ronnie del Carmen

Cast: Amy Poehler, Phyllis Smith, Bill Hader, Lewis Black, Mindy Kaling, Kaitlyn Dias.

Run Time: 94 min.

US Release: 19 June 2015

UK Release: 24 July 2015

German Release: 01 October 2015

Inside Out, a Pixar movie set inside the head of Riley, an eleven-year-old girl, was released in the US and the UK for quite some time now, but just came to theatres last month in Germany. With only a month setting it apart from The Good Dinosaur, I decided to review both movies around the same time. I did go see this animation in the theatres when it came out and was surprised about its originality and cleverness, something we have not seen from Disney or Pixar for quite a while.

Inside Out has received very positive reviews and critical acclaim, some calling it one of the best Pixar movies since years. I couldn’t agree more, as this animation will stir up the clichéd formula of latent Pixar (and other animation studio) films. I found Inside Out to be a call back to older times, such as Toy Story, Finding Nemo or even WALL-E.

I won’t get into much detail about the plot, because this movie should be experienced knowing the minimum amount about it. When Riley, an eleven-year-old pre-teenager, and her family are forced to leave their home in Minnesota due to her father accepting a job in San Francisco, her world is turned upside down. Riley experiences for the first time in life an episode of depression.

The story of Inside Out was inventive, fresh and original. It had smart jokes for children, who were bursting out in laughter when I went to see it, but also a deep message for adults to enjoy. I was surprised at how moving this film was, managing to revive very familiar memories as we all went through emotional turmoil when we were young.

The animation’s plot has variety of deep layers and offers a view into the psyche of a pre-puberty kid, who has to deal with some life altering changes that shake up her normal life. Since most of the movie plays inside Riley’s head, it is her emotions that act as the main characters of this film. Joy, Sadness and co. are still child-like and need to learn to co-operate, trust and respect each other.

Inside Out also was educational to a specific point, trying to teach children and adults alike, that to be a balanced and healthy human, all emotions need to balance each other out. In this day and age it is something very difficult to accomplish as we are putting ourselves under constant stress.

I just had a little problem with the movie and you might call it nitpicking, but I found that the middle part, when specific characters are on their way back to control centre, a little bit too long and it could have benefitted from a few shorter scenes.

Joy (Amy Poehler) and Sadness (Phyllis Smith) were amazing characters and the dialogue between them was fantastic. Joy, who is the leader of the emotions, needs to learn that Sadness is a normal and healthy spectrum of Riley’s emotions. As we all know, sadness and joy are two emotions that are not only polar opposites, but also more alike than any other emotion.

Riley, played by fairly unknown actress Kaitlyn Dias, was portrayed very well. She is the character that the viewer, no matter the age, is supposed to relate to and Dias nails it! Richard Kind, who played Bing Bong, gave another great performance; his performance was sweet and funny.

The cinematography for Inside Out is great. It has beautiful looking effects and the way Riley’s mind contrasts the grey and hopeless reality in San Francisco is fantastic. In some sort of way, the grey colour tint also depicts the emptiness Riley is feeling, as in Minnesota when she was happy everything was beautifully coloured.

The music is suits the film and contributes to the story, but then again this should not come as a surprise since it is a Pixar movie.

Verdict: Inside Out is a fantastic animation production by Pixar and Disney. It has been quite a long time since I saw a unique movie like this; I believe the last one that truly moved me was WALL – E in 2008. It was smart, did teach something of value and I couldn’t help it, but I shed a tear or two as the story managed to reach my heart. Apart from me thinking that it was 5-10 minutes too long, it was one of the most memorable films of 2015. I will give Inside Out a 9.5 out of 10.

Did you watch Inside Out yet? If not, I truly recommend to buy it as soon as it is released on Blu-ray and DVD. If you did see it, I still would recommend to add it to your movie collection, but let me know what you thought of it by leaving a comment.

I will go see The Good Dinosaur next week Monday and post my review the next day, so keep an eye out. My next review will be uploaded tomorrow and is Christmas themed, as tomorrow is the first of advent.