Review - A Christmas Carol

Rated PG for scary sequences and images.

Quick Synopsis: A greedy and grouchy man is visited by three ghosts in hopes of changing his demeanour.

A Christmas Carol on IMDB
A Christmas Carol on Wikipedia

Available Trailers on Apple Movie Trailers

Well here is the movie review I had promised you. Wow, 3 posts in December. What's going on? Well since everything in my life has slowed down for a bit I thought I'd take advantage. See as many movies as I can, get things done I've been procrastinating. Speaking of which, I just about have the next movie done but since I've done these two reviews I think I'll wait until January to put it up. That way there's one guaranteed for January.

Ah, A Christmas Carol. You always have to watch some Christmas movie at this time (if you celebrate it), so why not watch a classic? Of course, you don't want to waste your time in doing so - not all Christmas movies are that good. In fact, in my opinion, most are not. Some fall in between. A Christmas Carol is one of the latter.

There were some things the movie had going for it, but also things going against it. What was there for it? Well one of the things was that, as I mentioned in the review for The Princess and the Frog, as this is a story most of us probably know already, it allows you to sit back and really take in the cinematic experience without getting lost in the plot's twists and turns and trickery. You can really focus on all that was put into it - the artistry, the acting, the effects. That's always a treat for me, to be blown away by the movie experience.

What kind of cinematic experience was there? Well I got to watch it in 3D which was a huge plus. I don't think I've ever seen a movie in 3D before and it was great. Was it necessarily? Not particularly, but that didn't even seem to matter. It was done so well and integrated quite nicely that it wasn't some flashy gimmick - it was part of the movie itself. The effects, beyond 3D were really great too, especially the ghost of Scrooge's partner. Well done all around.

So what was not so great in the movie? Well, by virtue of the time period it was set in, a lot of the movie was dark. Maybe watching it at home, when people generally have lots of lights on, would make it better, but it was a bit annoying from time to time. But, it was true to the movie - there weren't any lightbulbs at that time, and Scrooge was, well, a scrooge, so there weren't many candles lit.

Jim Carrey's acting is always pleasant, but there seemed to be missing a certain pizazz about it. That certain personality that always seems to accompany him was somehow diminished, even while playing the Spirit of Christmas Present, a jolly spirit indeed. But there was a lot of humour - don't let that fact escape you.

Over all I enjoyed the movie, but if you end up missing it I wouldn't fret much.

Below is a trailer found on youTube. You can also go the Apple link above to find official trailers.



That's all!

-Dan

Review - The Princess and the Frog

Rated G for everyone.

Quick Synopsis: A prince is changed into a frog and must kiss a princess in order to break the spell.

The Princess and the Frog on IMDB
The Princess and the Frog on Wikipedia

Available Trailers on Apple Movie Trailers

Oh look! A review! This isn't the movie I was expecting to review though, so there will be another review up on Monday or so. I just happened to be out with some family yesterday and we decided to catch a flick.

I have to admitt, I was hesistant to watch this movie. Looking at the trailers, I loved seeing that this movie seemed to be going back to basics with Disney. More emphasis on plots than on digital effects. Singing and whimsical characters and creatures. The sort of movie I grew up watching and - wow! - buying on VHS. Can't do that anymore.

But while I had high hopes, that was part of the reason for my hesitation. Was I too hopeful? What if it wasn't that great? What if it they just showed the interesting parts in the commercials? What if it was aimed purely at children and I'd end up being bored with it?

Well if you feel that way, you can rest them aside. It was really great and on par with my hopes of it feeling like a Disney classic. Good singing, good songs, but not too much where it got in your nerves. A lot of jazz music too - the kind of music you just want to close your eyes and snap along with, get your toes a-tappin' too.

Movies like Shrek have comedy for all ages, but certain comedy is aimed for certain age groups. In The Princess and the Frog it had all around comedy, but without making some jokes just for older audiences. This made it "wholesome", I would say, but without neglecting audiences of different ages. Fantastic characters with well developed personalities and subtle comedy embedded within them.

Re-telling old stories is fun too. Who doesn't know this story? Prince turns into frog, princess kisses frog, frog becomes a prince again. Re-telling a story is a good idea - introduces it to a new generation, primarily, but also lets the audience relax into the movie and just absorb it and get the full effect of everything because the plot is shaped around something well known.

Overall, I think it was a delight to watch this movie, and I would definitly buy it from the youngin's in your family, or maybe even for you if this is right up your aley, but I don't know how much of a rush you should be in to see it. It does seem like there's a bit of a slump in movies right now though, so if you're looking for something to watch, The Princess and the Frog is a fine choice.

Below is a trailer found on youTube. You can also go the Apple link above to find official trailers.



That's all!

-Dan

Nacho Libre

Wow, wow, wow! This movie is actually up pretty fast since I put up the last one. The month of December is seeing some slack in my responsibilities so that's why I was able to get this movie done sooner. I also made it one my priorities, and I'm glad I did, because it was a lot of fun to do. Hopefully in the next ... oh, 4 months or so, this slack in my responsibilities will stay, thus giving me more time for Movies in 60 Seconds. I don't know if there will be another movie up this month, but there will for sure be another movie review coming up (on Monday some time in afternoon or evening). I will begin to work on another movie, though I don't know if I'll finish it by the end of December.

Anyways, on to the movie! Part of the reason this movie was so fun to do was because Nacho Libre is such a funny movie. For some reason though, when I reflected on the first time I had seen it, I didn't remember it as being that funny. As soon as I watched it again though, I saw how funny it truly is.

There were so many great parts that when it came time to choosing the Extra Still I had so many funny shots to choose from that it was overwhelming. Sort of. Ultimately I chose one that deals with Nacho, as he is the main character

Speaking of characters in the 60 second movie you'll see that only Nacho is really named. That's because other people's names would probably be too hard to read in the short time they'd be seen. The sister's name is Sister Encarnación and the robber's name is Esqueleto. Well, that's his wrestling name anyways. I didn't pick up on it during the movie, but they say his real name, Steven, but by the time I realized this the movie was pretty much done so I didn't change it.

Also, did you know Nacho Libre is [somewhat loosely] based on a true story? Yes! You'll find a link about the real wrestler, Fray Tormenta (Friar Storm), in the links section below. There's also a link to a comic from Joe Loves Crappy Movies for Nacho Libre.

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Nacho Libre (2006)

He's nacho average hero

Starring Jack Black and Ana de la Reguera

Quick Synopsis: A friar at a poor monestary begins wrestling in order to raise money for the orphans who live there.

The Extra Still: So many funny shots in this movie, but I wanted one just about Nacho. Here we have him trying to impress Sister Encarnación in his stretchy pants.

Interesting Links
Nacho Libre on IMDB
Nacho Libre on Wikipedia
Fray Tormenta on Wikipedia
Nacho Libre on Joe Loves Crappy Movies (Webcomic)


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-Dan

21

Oops! I didn't get this movie done when I had predicted. Sorry!

As explained in the update I did (the post before this), I've had a lot of other work on my plate that has more priority than Movies in 60 Seconds. However, just because updates here may be delayed, does not mean that it is over!

After the update post, I was trying to do a set amount of the movie each day, and for several days I was on track, but then work piled up and I had no choice but to have this project take a back seat.

It looks like things will stay like this for at least another month or two. However, as originally stated when I started this, it's a side project. It needs to maintain its original level of fun, and that means not getting too bogged down in a schedule.

Anyways, I hope you'll enjoy this update! I'll try to make the next come out earlier, but no promises. 21 was a pretty good movie. It's based on a true story! Well it's based on a book, but that's based on a true story! There's not much more to say about it though. It was a pretty good movie, but I probably wouldn't reach for it to watch it for a second time any time soon.

Be sure to check out the comic Joe did (under the links section below) for the movie 21. Makes me laugh every time!

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21 (2008)

They proved the Vegas Blackjack System was beatable...by beating the hell out of it.

Starring Jim Sturgess and Kevin Spacey

Quick Synopsis: A group of students from MIT count cards to win money in Las Vegas.

The Extra Still: It was hard to find a good extra still for this movie, but I finally found one! In this shot from the beginning of the movie, Jill is waving to someone and Ben thinks its him, just to - ouch! - find out she was waving at the guy behind him. But also, standing beside Ben is his wonderfully geeked out friend.

Interesting Links
21 on IMDB
21 on Wikipedia
21 on Joe Loves Crappy Movies (Webcomic)


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-Dan

October Update

Whoa! So, what's going on? Where are all the movies? Didn't I'd say I'd try to post 3 movies a month? Yes. Yes I did. And I have failed.

Right from the get go I didn't want to make a schedule for myself because that always is a contributing factor for me not following through on something. It makes it feel too much like a chore. This is one of the reasons why there have been no updates for a long time here.

But mainly, I've just been really busy. I have a lot of work to do, and when I get free time, I rarely do anything on my computer, since that is where I do almost all of my work. So I go off and do something else, and Movies in 60 Seconds gets neglected.

I still want to have some sort of schedule. So I am trying to do at least one movie a month, and possibly one review. I am working on the next movie right now and if all goes well I'll be seeing Zombieland this weekend and I'll be able to give a nice review about that.

Anyways, big apologies to anyone who has been coming by here and seeing nothing. If you ever get frustrated in the future, just leave me a message on a post and it'll be a kick in the butt for me to start doing things.

Thanks.
-Dan

Team America

It's September 1st and there's a new movie posted already? Wow! I really wanted to get more up this month, and try to keep to a general amount of movies a month. I'm hoping to work on movies constantly, to create a buffer, instead of just waiting to do it when I feel like one needs to go up. It's far easier to just work on for, say, half an hour, or sporadically over a couple hours, then to sit down and do just that.

So that's what I decided to do, keep working on movies, and so I was able to get this new movie up right on time. You know, there were 10 movies up so far, and 5 were for animated films while 5 were for movies with people. I thought, "What should I do next?" and suddenly found this middle ground with puppets! Team America is brought to you by the creators of South Park, so it may not be for everyone, but it's a fantastically funny (and smart) movie. One of my favourite things is the songs, and none is more amazing than the song Kim Jong-Il sings (leader of North Korea). You'll find a link to it further down.

Also, I hope you noticed my review of District 9. I had no intended to do reviews on Movies in 60 Seconds, but I was just so blown away by that movie that I wanted to share some glow for it.

You also may have noticed, only for a day, a segment up called Coming Soon in which I was talking about a new movie coming up called The Invention of Lying. While I do think the movie will be great, I decided against doing this segment, so I took it down. I think just the movies and the reviews is enough, and anything more I can just casually mention such as now. The Invention of Lying looks interesting. Check out the trailer and let me know what you think.

One last thing: from the get go I didn't want to create a schedule for when new posts would come out, lest it leave me feeling obligated and have the fun sucked out of this. But, I am going to try to meet a minimum standard starting today. I am going to aim for at least 3 movies up per month, and maybe one review as well. I want to see more new movies, and this will help push me.

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Team America: World Police (2004)

Putting the "F" back in Freedom.

Starring Matt Stone and Trey Parker

Quick Synopsis: An anti-terrorist group from the United States of America must thwart an international terrorist plot.

The Extra Still: In the end, when Kim Jong-Il dies, we see that there's more to him than we expected as his true form escapes in an adorable little spaceship!

Interesting Links
Team America on IMDB
Team America on Wikipedia
Kimg Jong-Il "I'm So Ronery" Song


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Enjoy!

-Dan

Review Archive

Every now and then I will review new movies, when I see them. As much a movie lover as I am, I don't often head out to the newest movies, which is something I should look to remedy. However, when I do make my way to a new one, I'll write a biased but hopefully helpful review. They are archived on this page. The date given is when I wrote the review (and most likely within a month or two of it's opening).

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A Christmas Carol - December 2009
The Princess and the Frog - December 2009
District 9 - August 2009