Movie Review: HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS

HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS

2000
PG


"One man's toxic sludge is another man's potpourri."
-- The Grinch

How the Grinch Stole Christmas is a 2000 comedy film directed by Ron Howard that serves as a live-action version of Dr. Seuss's classic Christmas tale. The town of Whoville is jubilantly preparing for their Whobilation celebration on Christmas, spending their time buying as many gifts as they can possibly buy for their friends and family. However, all of the emphasis on the material possessions starts to bother a little girl named Cindy Lou Who (Taylor Momsen), who wonders if that's really the true spirit of Christmas. She learns of a mysterious creature called the Grinch (Jim Carrey) who lives on Mount Crumpit just outside Whoville who hates Christmas and the Whos. Cindy doesn't believe anyone should be left alone on Christmas, so she nominates the Grinch to be this year's Holiday Cheermeister, and after some persuasion, he reluctantly agrees to attend the ceremony. However, Mayor Augustus Maywho (Jeffrey Tambor), who had past tiffs with the Grinch, humiliates the Grinch during the ceremony. As payback, the Grinch decides to ruin Christmas for the entirety of Whoville.

I was twelve when this film was released, and at the time, I was in quite a pro-Jim Carrey swing. While I still love him as an actor, I think he's lost a tiny bit of appeal from my younger days. However, when I saw How the Grinch Stole Christmas, I thought it was one of the funniest movies I had ever seen. Eleven years later, I can see that's a rather lofty platform on which to place this film, but it still has quite a bit to like.

Ultimately, this is a film that's really going to pander toward Carrey fans. Director Ron Howard gives Carrey a lot of free reign to run with the Grinch character, and he takes it as far as he possibly can with a PG-rated film. I do admit that his manic presence does go a little too far at times, but there are a couple handfuls of gems in terms of his one-liners. Whether they were ad-libbed or written into the script, I don't really know, but either way, there's plenty of laughs to be had at the Grinch's expense. The rest of the cast fills out rather nicely, but it's tough for any of the other characters to shine when they're being upstaged by Carrey's performance. Momsen plays a convincing, wide-eyed girl looking for the beauty in the Christmas holiday, and compared to her adult co-stars, she goes above and beyond. We get some okay bits from the likes of Tambor, Molly Shannon and Christine Baranski, but as I think I've made clear: this is Carrey's film and his film alone.

However, I think what makes this film so good is the storyline. While the screenplay isn't by far the greatest in the world, the basic story that Dr. Seuss laid down with his original story is simply fantastic. Yes, you could just as easily read the book or watch the original 1966 animated version to get the overall message, but it's good that someone took the time to reinvigorate the story for a more modern audience, especially considering how how materialistic society has become. The basic moral of the story is that Christmas shouldn't revolve around the presents and the material possessions on which we place so much importance; rather, the holiday should be a time of happiness and joy that we spend with our family, friends and loved ones. This film does a great job showing us that's how we should be spending our holidays rather than engaging in rampant over-spending to satisfy our desire for earthly possessions.

At the end of the day, the message should be enough to get you to like this film. As I previously stated, this is going to be a film most loved by fans of Jim Carrey, so if you're not into his brand of comedy, this one might not be for you. However, if you love him - or can at least tolerate him - I think you'll be in for quite a treat with How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Don't expect anything brilliant, lest you be terribly disappointed. Just go in expecting a straight-forward, heart-warming tale, and you'll be doing just fine.

Movie Review Summary
Grade: B+
1.5 Thumbs Up

Movie Review: COWBOYS & ALIENS

COWBOYS & ALIENS

2011
PG-13


"I need to know where you came from."
-- Ella Swenson

Cowboys & Aliens is a 2011 sci-fi action film directed by Jon Favreau that centers around a 19th-century battle between humans and invading aliens. The film opens with Jake Lonergan (Daniel Craig) waking in the middle of the desert with no recollection of his past and a mysterious metal bracelet attached to his wrist. He makes his way to the small town of Absolution, where he somewhat inadvertently helps a young hot-shot named Percy Dolarhyde (Paul Dano) into finding trouble with the law. This causes the local sheriff John Taggart (Keith Carradine) to recognize Lonergan as a wanted criminal, and it sets Percy's father Woodrow (Harrison Ford) quickly against him. Just as Taggart is sending Percy and Lonergan to federal marshals and Woodrow attempts to take custody of their lives, mysterious lights in the sky begin to attack the small town, kidnapping a number of the people - including Percy and the sheriff - there. Convinced that demons have set into the town, Woodrow and Lonergan take a rag-tag group of survivors into the desert to find the creatures and save their kin. With the help of a young woman named Ella (Olivia Wilde) who knows more than meets the eye, the group plans their attack against the creatures in the hopes of ridding the menace once and for all.

If you've been reading my blogs for a while, you'll know that I was drinking from the Cowboys & Aliens Kool-Aid since I first saw the trailers last year. I placed it as my second most anticipated film of the 2011 summer because, as I stated in that post, "there's something about the concept of aliens mixing with the Old West that's entirely intriguing." And considering the film has a line-up of producers that includes Steven Spielberg, Ron Howard and Brian Grazer, you'd have to think that there could be something about this film, especially when their excitement is so palpable.

Suffice it to say, I was a little let down by the final product that Cowboys & Aliens placed on the screen. While it's not a terrible movie by any means, there just wasn't enough to keep me entirely intrigued throughout the entire film. (To be fair, I did see this at a midnight showing after an extremely long day, so fatigue and exhaustion could be playing a bit into this review). Now, there wasn't a huge issue with the level of acting. I thought it fit well with this particular film even if certain members of the cast found it commonplace to overact during the entire film. Our two leads - Craig and Ford - are the most guilty of this particular crime, but we've also got some lesser characters who ham it up during their time on-screen (look for the usually brilliant Dano to fall into that category this time around). Still, it's not bad enough to make you cringe, but I just thought the acting could have been a tad bit better.

The real issue with the film is the storyline. I know that I can't really bash it too much considering this is literally a film about cowboys fighting aliens, but if you want your audience to suspend their disbelief, you need to throw them enough to do just that. The biggest problem was the that story was entirely predictable. At every moment, you knew which direction it was headed, and who was going to go where. If your audience can start guessing (correctly) what's going to happen next, you'll quickly lose their focus and concentration. For me, Cowboys & Aliens nearly fell into that particular trap, offering little to no sensible storyline for me to follow. Because the acting itself was suspect, that left little on which to cling.

I do have to say that the special effects and action sequences were relatively well-crafted. It's a fun idea to pit these two adversaries against one another and see how it might unfold. I also have to give credit to the filmmakers for creating an original creature to throw at the humans. It's a multi-faceted beast that can strike in a number of ways, adding to its overall effectiveness. So kudos there, good sirs.

At the end of the day, you really can't take Cowboys & Aliens for more than its title suggests: it's a movie about cowboys fighting aliens. If you go into the film expecting something brilliant, you'll surely be disappointed. However, if you go in just wanting a fun, popcorn-munching time, then you'll probably be set. It's a film that doesn't require any thinking whatsoever, so just shut your brain off and let the film entertain you on a purely superficial level.

Movie Review Summary:
Grade: C
Thumbs Sideways

Movie Review: THE DILEMMA

THE DILEMMA

2011
PG-13

You can watch the trailer here

The Dilemma is a 2011 comedy directed by Ron Howard that follows Ronny (Vince Vaughn) who finds his best friend’s wife Geneva (Winona Ryder) while she’s cheating on her husband Nick (Kevin James). All the while, Ronny and Nick are trying to seal a deal with a new type of car engine with Chrysler, and Ronny is trying to work up the courage to propose to his longtime girlfriend Beth (Jennifer Connelly). Ronny starts to question whether he should tell Nick about what he saw, but he decides to take matters into his own hands and confronts both Geneva and her new boy-toy Zip (Channing Tatum).

We’re not getting much from the screenplay. It’s not entirely innovative, and it’s definitely predictable. As interesting as it is to see Ronny go through all the ups and downs while he struggles with this decision, you never really shake the thought that it’s all going to end up okay between him and Nick. I just never got the sense that there was actually a “dilemma,” so to speak. Yeah, there’s a situation on-screen, but I never felt like there was an urgency or anything pressing to it.

The acting is okay, but it’s not like the actors are knocking it out of the park. To be honest, when Channing Tatum is the best actor on the screen, there’s something a little bit wrong. Vaughn and James essentially mailed in their performances. Ryder and Connelly have their moments. But it’s Tatum who steals the scenes he’s in. I’m not sure whether it’s the fact that he brings his A-game or the fact that everybody else didn’t manage to bring more than their C-game. Oh, and Queen Latifah has a small role that almost makes the movie un-watchable. The filmmakers probably thought they’d get the rauchiness from her role, but it just comes across as annoying and unnecessary (no, seriously – they didn’t need that role).

I know that I’m kinda berating this movie a bit, but it’s not the most horrendous flick I’ve ever seen. It does enough to keep you captivated, and there are a few moments that are worth seeing. The Dilemma simply isn’t a movie that’s going to stick with you for a long time after you see it – it’s a one-and-done kind of film, and that’s probably all it ever set out to be.

Movie Review Summary:
Grade: C-
Thumbs Sideways