A Christmas Carol

Some people will never, ever agree with me when I say that motion capture has its own advantages. I shall defend that in a bit.

I shall give A Christmas Carol a passing score. And not because it's Christmas.

First, because Jim Carrey's acting was excellent. In motion capture films, an actor not only provides the voice, but the performance as well. So all the facial twitches of Ebenezer Scrooge were performed by Carrey. Oh, and Jim Carrey also performed all of the Christmas ghosts.

Second, the supporting cast was also excellent. Gary Oldman as Cratchit was terrific. Although I can't say the same for Colin Firth, as his character's facial expressions looked fake. Well of course. He's still computer-animated. Oh, and Fay Masterson is in it. Fay Masterson was my long-time crush from The Power of One.

Third, it used effective realism. Thank God Zemeckis didn't modernize the dialogue. He stayed true to the book. I'm sure Charles Dickens' ghost would've haunted him if he messed up the canon. Some may need subtitles to understand the dialogue, but those who enjoy dated languages (like me) will have a blast with listening to authentic nineteenth century syntax.

And fourth, Zemeckis' motion-capture technology has greatly improved. I can see now the advantages of motion-capture versus live action. Motion-capture gives the director absolute control. As in absolute control. Anything Zemeckis wants onscreen, he gets. If he wants this kind of look, or this kind of expression, he gets it. To have a great actor in your cast is one thing. And to have absolute control over a great actor is another.

And so there you have it. I predict Robert Zemeckis will be pushing motion-capture to its limits, maximizing it to its fullest potential. And unless he tires of playing cinematic god, we have him to thank for any developments of this promising new medium.


*some info from IMDb
pic from dailybruin.com


A Christmas Carol. USA. 2009.


Rating: Seven and a half out of ten.

Beowulf

All the English majors, say it with me: That's not how the story goes!

If it were any other writer, the script would probably be criticized by English Department chairpersons as a desacration to one of the first epics of English literature. But then again, this is Neil Gaiman folks, and Neil Gaiman can get away with anything.

The retelling is brilliant, the direction (by Robert Zemeckis) is top-notch, but the medium somehow just doesn't cut it. I still prefer live action anyday. But then again, that's just me.

Things to watch out for: Brilliant performances by Sir Hannibal Lecter himself (who apparently accepted the movie without any prior knowledge of the original Beowulf epic, and having only read his own lines in the script); John Malkovich, delivering the brand of sarcasm that only he can deliver; the ubiquitous Brendan Gleeson, who seems to pull off any role given to him; the computer-generated Mrs. Brad Pitt, who looks beautiful without the fine lines; and the great Ray Winstone, who looks more like Sean Bean here.

Rating: Three stars.