About Time

ROMANTIC COMEDY, SCI-FI

Picking the Right Moments

7.8 out of 10 | DVD or RENTAL

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Rated: R  Language and some sexual content
Release Date: November 8, 2013
Runtime: 2 hours 4 minutes

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Director: Richard Curtis
Writers: Richard Curtis
Cast: Domhnall Gleeson, Rachel McAdams, Bill Nighy, Lydia Wilson, Lindsay Duncan, Richard Cordery, Joshua McGuire, Tom Hollander

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SYNOPSIS:  At the age of 21, Tim discovers he can travel in time and change what happens and has happened in his own life. His decision to make his world a better place by getting a girlfriend turns out not to be as easy as it sounds.

REVIEW: Richard Curtis, director of Pirate Radio and Love Actually, writes and directs a new romantic tale taking place on the British Isle. Can his new effort stand up to the success of his previous works? Only time will tell.

A young man Tim (Domhnall Gleeson, Dredd 3D) is told by his father (Bill Nighy, The World's End) on the day after a huge annual family New Years Eve party that all the men in the family can travel back in time. Will he try and gain riches and fame with his power? Actually, all he really wants is to find a girlfriend. Moving to London to pursue a career as a barrister, Tim finds himself on a date with a young woman Mary (Rachel McAdams, The Vow). Completely smitten, Tim does all he can to make every moment perfect with her. Will his time traveling lead to a perfect life, or will he alter it so much that it will be unrecognizable?

Built as a dramedy with a science-fi plot device, About Time can be categorized in the same genre as Keanu Reeves' Lake House, Paul Dano's Ruby Sparks, and Eric Bana's The Time Traveler's Wife. Time traveling is paramount to the story and serves it well, but the story is more than just that notion, revolving about love and loss, regrets and realizations, and life decisions made.

Decidedly British, About Time's Tim is a young Hugh Grant, awkwardly stumbling around his words around girls and strange situations. As he grows up, he matures but keeps his innocence and naivety. Time travel is not an easy concept to wrap one's mind around, but Tim does his best to find his way through it. Tim's dad tries to guide him in the intricacies of the legacy ability as best he can without keeping Tim from finding his own way and own voice. The American Mary is the perfect blend of girl next door and romantic pursuit. She is worthy of Tim's time and the audience's investment. rounding out the ensemble is Lydia Wilson as the free spirit and younger sister Kit Kat, Richard Cordery as the eccentric Uncle D, and Joshua McGuire as barrister pal Rory.

The sci-fi time travel angle is quaint and its rules simplistic. The traveler can only move along his own lifeline and affect only immediate change in his own life. He does not overlap with multiple versions of himself, instead embodying his one body at any one time. There are other rules, but they are more important to the story, so they will be left unsaid. Needless to say, some of Tim's actions do result in increasingly obvious consequences.

Tim and Mary are fun to watch, their chemistry evident. Dramatic with dry comedic edges, you root for their success. Add in the light sci-fi angle and you have an intriguing and engrossing tale of sweet romance, no matter what time it is.

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Jack the Giant Slayer

ACTION/ADVENTURE, SCI-FI/FANTASY, 3D

Fee, Fye, Foe, Fumm

7.0 out of 10 | DVD or Rental

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Rated: PG-13 Intense scenes of fantasy action violence, some frightening images and brief language.
Release Date: March 1, 2013
Runtime: 1 hour 55 minutes

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Director: Bryan Singer
Writers: Darren Lemke, Christopher McQuarrie, Dan Studney, David Dobkin
Cast: Nicholas Hoult, Eleanor Tomlinson, Ewan McGregor, Stanley Tucci, Eddie Marsan, Ewen Bremner, Ian McShane, Bill Nighy, Cornell John, Andrew Brooke, Angus Barnett, Ben Daniels

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SYNOPSIS: The ancient war between humans and a race of giants is reignited when Jack, a young farmhand fighting for a kingdom and the love of a princess, opens a gateway between the two worlds.

REVIEW: Valkyrie and X-Men director Bryan Singer returns to the big screen with a fantasy adventure based on the classic tale of Jack and the Beanstalk. A cadre of writers flesh out the original tale, including Shrek Forever After scribe Darren Lemke, Jack Reacher screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie, plus David Dobkin and Dan Studney. Can Singer succeed with a farm boy named Jack where he failed with a farm boy named Clark.

Jack (Nicolas Hoult, Warm Bodies) loves to hear about the legends of King Eric, magic beans created by monks trying to commune with their god, a massive bean stalk that led them to a realm between heaven and earth - a realm ruled by Giants with the thirst to acquire material objects and acquire the taste for human meat. Only the creation of a crown created from the hard heart of a Giant and worn by King Eric was able to stem the tide of the pillaging giants ravaging the earth and return the leviathans back to their realm. Fact became fiction. Fiction became legend. Legend became myth and stories to be told to children from fairy tale books. Young Jack revels in the stories his father tells of the legendary giants. Ten years later a more grown up Jack works on his uncle's farm, sent to the kingdom's castle to sell a horse and cart. While there, Jack intercedes when a young woman Isabelle (Eleanor Tomlinson, Alice in Wonderland) who is being accosted by village drunks. When Isabelle is sought out and rescued by the guardians of King Brahmwell (Ian McShane, Snow White and the Huntsman). As Princess Isabelle flees from the castle in search of adventure, she stumbles upon Jack's farm where an errant magical bean creates a beanstalk that transport Isabelle up to the mythical  floating lands of the Giants. The King summons his most trusted guardian Elmont (Ewan McGregor, The Impossible) to take a team up the stalk to rescue his daughter. Roderick (Stanley Tucci, The Hunger Games), Isabelle's arranged husband-to-be volunteers to go with the retrieval team, as does his assistant Wicke (Ewen Bremner, Great Expectations) and Jack himself. When they get to the top, they come face to face with a throng of Giants led by General Fallon (voiced by Bill Nighy, Total Recall), including Fee (voiced by Cornell John, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian), Fye (voiced by Andrew Brooke, Nice Guy), Foe (voiced by Angus Barnett, Hugo), and Fumm (voiced by Ben Daniels, Luna).

Based on the classic Jack and the Beanstalk tale, Bryan Singer and his stable of writers take the story and create a different spin on the tale of a farm boy taking on a land full of Giants bent on the pilfering and destruction of the human race. Can one forgettable boy birth succeed where royals and the noble ranks cannot? The tale is one of perseverance of a wayward dreamer pushing on in the name of romance and love. Add in the threat of mankind-hating Giants and you have a fantasy tale that a pre-adolescent audience will enjoy.

The Jack the Giant Slayer cast fit very well this fantasy adventure. Nicholas Hoult plays both the dreamy eyed farmboy and soon to be heroic conqueror of giants in equal measure. Ian McShane brings back a character similar to that he played in The Seeker: The Dark is Rising, always moving and speaking in even stoic tones. Tomlinson's Princess and future Queen Isabelle takes after her mother with a rebellious nature and adventurous spirit. She is beautiful enough to catch a man's eyes and tough enough to stand up for herself in the wild. Ewan McGregor, playing the King's General of the Guardians Elmont, takes a chapter from his later Ben Kenobi role to lead his men with grace, preparedness, and nobility. Stanley Tucci's Roderick and Ewen Bremner's Wicke represents the worst of humanity as he and his assistant only looks to take over the kingdom for his own power and gain, willing to use the Giants in the kingdom in the clouds to decimate the peoples in the lands Roderick wishes to rule. Bill Nighy leads the voice actors as the Giants' General Fallon.

Watching Jack the Giant Slayer is like watching The 7th Voyage of Sindbad or Jason and the Argonauts on Saturday morning television. While the story is fun and entertaining, the effects don't live up to expectations. The Giants in their own land in the clouds are stylized and well-defined but they don't really hold when on screen against the human actors. Maybe meant to be fanciful and stylized, the scenes with human actors against a green screen on a soundstage with additionally shots exterior horses and actors and CGI work behind doesn't mesh well together at all. In this world of The Lord of the Rings franchise or any of a number of superhero action adventures one would think that Brian Singer could have put together a tighter CGI fantasy effort.

Brian Singer is known for exemplary work with films like X-Men United, Apt Pupil and The Usual Suspects. He is no stranger to fine storytelling or good work with special effects. Somehow in this effort Singer missed the mark with FX that detracts from the story.

Jack the Giant Slayer will be a good flick for older kids and young teenagers. Parents or adults may like some of what they see but will realize they have seen better. So, when dealing with farm boys, Singer still struggles.

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Total Recall (2012)

Bad Memory

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Rated: PG-13 Intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action, some sexual content, brief nudity and language.
Release Date: August 3, 2012
Runtime:  1 hour 49 minutes

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Director: Len Wiseman
Writers: Kurt Wimmer, Mark Bomback, Ronald Shusett, Dan O'Bannon, Jon Povil, based on the short story 'We Can Remember It for You Wholesale' by Philip K. Dick
Cast:  Colin Ferrell, Kate Beckinsale, Jessica Biel,Bryan Cranston, Bokeem Woodbine, Bill Nighy, John Cho

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SYNOPSIS: Factory work Douglas Quaid begins to question the reality of his life after a visit to memory inducing company ReKall goes awry and he finds himself on the road from both people he thought he knew and unknown shadowy government agents.

REVIEW: Underworld series writer and Underworld and Underworld: Evolution director Len Wiseman tries to remember what is real and what is illusion with a sci-fi remake of the 1990 Arnold Schwarzenegger Total Recall based on the short story 'We Can Remember It for You Wholesale' by cult sci-fi writer Philip K. Dick. Forsaking a trip to Mars for locales for terrestrial, Kurt Wimmer (Salt) and Matt Bomback (Unstoppable) write a screenplay based on the original screen story by Ronald Shusett and Dan O'Bannon (Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem), and Sliders series writer Jon Povil. Can Colin Ferrell erase the memory of the Arnold Schwarzenegger's movie vehicle and replace it with something completely different?

In a world of the late 21st Century, the planet has been ravaged by over population and global chemical warfare. Years later, the only inhabitable regions of the earth are on the opposite sides of the globe. The United Federation of Britain stands as the technological and economical center while the Colony (Australia) serves as the source for cheap labor for the UFB. Joining the two regions is a tunneled transport called The Fall, a massive subway rail that runs through the center of the earth itself. Douglas Quaid (Colin Ferrell, Horrible Bosses) lives with his wife Lori Quaid (Kate Beckinsale, Underworld: Awakening) in the Colony, Douglas taking the 17 minute Fall trip through the planet to work on the Synthetics assembly line with his friend Harry (Bokeem Woodbine, Devil) in the UFB. Working as hard as he can to get ahead on the job, Doug still finds that he is missing something. With nightmares of a hard fought escape with a beautiful woman, Doug is restless and unsure of himself. Doug takes a trip to ReKall, a business that can implant realistic memories of vacations, or life as a wealthy or powerful individual. But just as the technician McClane (John Cho, American Reunion) starts the ReKall implant process, something goes awry and armed law enforcement tactical team burst in to apprehend Douglas. Escaping the situation by using unknown combat skills against the soldiers, Doug finds that he is unsure of his true memories as his wife, friends, and government turns against him in a expansive plot of UFB government led by Cohaagen (Bryan Cranston, Rock of Ages) against the rebellion led by Matthias (Bill Nighy, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel). Only the woman from his nightmares, Melina (Jessica Biel, New Year's Eve), seems to be the only one that Doug can trust. Or can he? 

Cool for its time, Arnold Schwarzenegger's Total Recall was a film I took in at a summer drive-in theater. But, to be honest, aside from the practical visual effects and the novelty of the story, I really did not love the original effort. I just couldn't come to grasp the ancient terraforming mechanics on the red surface of Mars. Why did the original Douglas Quaid's hand fit the alien technology? Maybe another viewing of the original is in order. Maybe not. All I found that the bulging eyes scene at the end of the film was more comical than anything else.

All that being said, we need to look at what Colin Ferrell and crew bring to this sci-fi remake. Many wonder - as with many remakes - is Total Recall (2012) a necessary film? I think that Wommer and Bomback do a fine job crafting a completely different tale based on the same memory wiping concept from Philip K. Dick and the original screenwriting team. Keeping the action firmly on Earth, instead of traveling to the Red Planet of Mars, this version creates a world on the brink of collapse with precious resources encapsulated in two overpopulated regions of the planet. Wommer, Bomback, and director The Colony is a bottom-feeding Asian Fusion society with a Blade Runner flair, while the UFB is a high-rising magnetic sky rail utopia more similar to I, Robot and Minority Report. The original film would never have thought to use as much touch technology as we are treated to in the remake. It is amazing what real  technology can do on the limits of science fiction technology. And with any good remake, it is important to pay homage to the original - spending one moment with a well-endowed working girl and another with a red-headed traveler.

The action is fierce and fast throughout. From the opening dream sequence where Doug and Melina shoot their way out of a soldier infested compound, to the epic Synthetics shootout at the end, Total Recall jams as much firepower and fist power into its 109 minutes. Colin Ferrell shows that he has the ability to be an action star if he wanted to be and Kate Beckinsale reinforces her status as a true femme fatale powerhouse. The fight choreography alone is worth the price of admission. Ferrell and Beckinsale's hand-to-hand close-quartered fights and rooftop chases are excellent. Add in magnetic roadway and claustrophobic cubed elevator pursuits with bullet ricochets and you have perfect popcorn entertainment.

Even though the story is varied enough to offer many brand new lot angles, the concept of false memories or loss of memories have become common place. From memory-shackled films like Memento, to amnesiac special agents in the form of The Bourne Identity, to the original Total Recall, moviegoers have become fairly savvy about affairs of the mind. The remake does lose a couple points because of the fact of familiarity with the premise, even though director Wiseman takes the film in a different direction.

Visually impressive, Total Recall makes great use of anamorphic camera lens work to add more life into each scene. J.J. Abrams did a great job with the same technique in the Star Trek reboot/prequel/sequel. The horizontal light trails, coupled with top-notched modeling, CGI, and matte work, paints a complete picture of the bleak post-global war society.

Total Recall is great popcorn entertainment, allowing you to simply enjoy the spectacle that is one possible future. If you are old enough to remember the original film, you will recall some of what will probably come about. Filled with sweet action and a decent story, you may forget all about that early 90s version of... what were we talking about again?

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WORTH: Matinee or DVD

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Lost in an Exotic Locale

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Rated: PG-13 Sexual content and language
Release Date: May 4, 2012
Runtime: 2 hrs 4 mins

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Director: John Madden
Writers: Ol Parker, from the novel 'These Foolish Things' by Deborah Moggach
Cast: Maggie Smith, Bill Nighy, Judi Dench, Tom Wilkinson, Dev Patel, Penelope Wilton, Celia Imrie, Tena Desae, Ronald Pickup

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SYNOPSIS: A group of British retirees find their way to India to a less than desirable hotel for a variety of reasons. While there, they struggle with finding their purpose.

REVIEW: John Madden, director of The Debt and Shakespeare in Love, brings together a collection of the best British actors and actresses for a tale revolving around the elderly and beautiful. With an adaptation by Imagine Me and You writer Ol Parker based on the Deborah Moggach novel 'These Foolish Things', Madden takes the audience, young and old, on a journey of discovery.

Several retired British men and women find themselves at a tipping point in their lives. Evelyn (Judi Dench, J. Edgar) lives a life of solitude after her husband's death, finding that he left her in a pool of debt. Bigoted and unhappy Muriel (Maggie Smith, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2) needs a new hip and can have the procedure completed more cheaply and more quickly outside of England. Graham (Tom Wilkinson, The Green Hornet) decides that he doesn't want to wait for a retirement party to make a change in his life. Douglas (Bill Nighy, Arthur Christmas) and his wife Jean (Penelope Wilton, The History Boys) have money troubles and a desperate need for a change. Madge (Celia Imrie, Nanny McPhee) looks for a change in scenery and a possible future husband, while Norman (Ronald Pickup, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time) looks for some passion. All of them find themselves in India at a less than elegant and less than functional hotel run by a dreamy-eyed Sonny (Dev Patel, Slumdog Millionaire) looking to restore the wonder and glory into the establishment that his father always hoped to open.

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (for the Eldery and Beautiful, as director John Madden joked that he would have added to the title if he could have) brings together the best and most talented actors and actresses from across the pond. Director John Madden artfully and skillfully weaves a colorful tapestry for The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, telling a series of personal stories about the unfulfilled dreams of youth and the forgotten dreams of the elderly. Each member of this group traveling from Great Britain to India has their own reasons for the journey - most of them not of their accord. Forced from their homes due to finance or injury or unresolved issues, they arrive at a hotel run by Sonny that in no way resembles the gorgeous establishment depicted from the brochure or website. Evelyn, Graham, Norman, Muriel, Douglas and Jean, and Madge each has a road to travel looking for something missing in their lives. Evelyn had never done anything without her husband at her side. Graham seeks out a friend from his childhood in India years ago. Norman looks for a new outlet for romance and passion. Muriel, forced to travel to India for an operation, just tries to endure the trip. With Douglas and Jean, Douglas goes out to enjoy the wonders of the culture and the city while his wife Jean sits in the grassy courtyard of the hotel hoping life will change for the better. Madge seeks out adventure in hopes of snaring a husband. And Sonny, trying to fulfill his own and his late father's dreams of operating the hotel, tries to live up to the self imposed standards of worth for his girlfriend Sunaina (Tena Desae). All of their stories are told with attention to detail and handled with reverence and care, using the bustle and beauty of the city to help craft a visual pleasing and uttering engrossing film.

The caliber of artists involved in this film makes it worth seeing. Dench, Wilkinson, Nighy, Smith, Wilton, Imrie, and Pickup are a director's dream team. Each brings with them a stable of films and accolades and talent that allow the structure of the story to become something more than the sum of its parts. With the direction of Madden and a solid script from Parker, everyone in the cast is allowed to shine. Dench brings a practiced innocence to her role. Nighy struts about like a knight dismounting his steed, full of chivalry and vigor. Wilkinson and his softly booming voice commands attention at every turn. Maggie Smith speaks volumes with only a tilt of her head or roll of her eyes. Imrie and Pickup show that age is truly just a number. Not to be left out, Dev Patel's Sonny rattles on with boisterous and politely spoken dreams, only trying to secure the worth and love of the beautiful and sweet Tena Desae's Sunaina.

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is one of those rare quiet films that spellbinds simply on the strength of the story, its cast members, and exotic locale. Madden uses his skills to the fullest, by letting his cast do what they do best. The story is funny and tender, sweet and real, subtle and simple. Through all of our lives, we live and survive. Some of us may live our entire lives content and fulfilled, but other may find that as the sun starts to descend in the western skies, their foot has stepped upon an unknown path headed to a destination that has yet to be revealed.

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WORTH: Matinee or Rental

Wrath of the Titans 3D

Like Father, Like Son

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Rated: PG-13   Intense sequences of fantasy and sci-fi violence
Release Date: March 30, 2012
Runtime: 1 hr 39 mins

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Director: Jonathan Liebesman
Writers:  Dan Mazeau, David Johnson, Greg Berlanti
Cast: Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Sam Worthington, Rosamund Pike, Bill Nighy, Danny Huston, Toby Kebbell

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SYNOPSIS: Perseus is called upon again to save the world, including his father Zeus, when the Titans are released to wreck havok upon humans and gods alike.

REVIEW: Jonathan Liebesman, director of Battle: Los Angeles, takes a Kraken (is that a bad pun?) at the sequel to the reboot of The Clash of the Titans. But tackling sequels to rebooted franchises should be no problem for Liebesman has already showed promise with another reboot sequel with a chainsaw instead of a sword, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning. Based on characters and screenplay from Beverley Cross, newcomer Dan Mazeau, Waking Dead, Red Riding Hood and Orphan screenwriter David Johnson, and Green Lantern writer Greg Berlanti extend the tale of the demi-god Perseus and his quest for a normal human life.

Kraken slayer Perseus (Sam Worthington, Man on a Ledge) has settled into an ordinary fisherman's life raising his son Helius (John Bell, upcoming Battleship) after the death of his wife. When Zeus (Liam Neeson, The Grey) visits Perseus with news of a growing threat by Chronos and many escaped Titans, the god of gods pleads for his son to assist him in overcoming the menace. When Zeus, Poseidon (Danny Huston, The Warrior's Way) and Ares (Edgar Ramirez, Vantage Point) travel to the underworld to enlist Hades (Ralph Fiennes, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2), only to be betrayed to be used to reawaken the weak and slumbering Chronos from his labyrinth prison. When his village is attacked by a stray Titan, Perseus takes the quest to save humanity only in order to keep his son safe. He seeks out Queen Andromeda (Rosamund Pike, The Big Year) and Poseidon's demi-god son Agenor (Toby Kebbell, The Conspirator) in order to find another fallen god, the weapon master Hephaestus (Bill Nighy, Arthur Christmas), and a weapon to defeat Chronos.

Wrath of the Titans manages to do one thing right out of the gate. The sequel shrugs off the confines of the rebooted Clash of the Titans and the difficult expectations of living up to the Harry Hamlin original. Zeus sets the stage for when needs to be done in the sequel with a quick narrative of Perseus' exploits from the original and an unscheduled visit to Perseus to lay out the quest that he will ultimately need to undertake. When his family is threatened, Perseus must weight his ordinary simple humanity side against the demi-god side filled with the godlike power and responsibilities he possesses. 

Keeping the cast streamlined and the story focused, Wrath of the Titans focuses on one simple concept - family. Ares rebels against his father Zeus because he envies Perseus as Zeus' favorite son. Brothers Hades and Zeus clash over Hades banishment to the underworld, and Hades betrayal of Zeus in support of their own father, Chronos. Poseidon's demi-god son Agenor is considered a 'great disappointment to his father but he tries to become a hero in spite of his failed reputation. And although Perseus accepts the quest to save the world against the Titan, he does it simply to save the life of his son.

With a trio of Cyclops, Titans like a two-headed fire-breathing canine-like beast, conjoined warrior swordsmen who have each other's back, and a Minotaur guarding a prison labyrinth, Wrath of the Titans is a fun fantasy popcorn film that supplies plenty of eye candy that gets better and better once Perseus, Andromeda, Agenor, and Hepaestus square off against Ares and attempt to break into the Underworld prison that houses Chronos. The post produced 3D still doesn't dazzle, but it has come a long way from the 3D debacle from Clash of the Titans that soured many a moviegoer for 3D films.

In Perseus' ancient world, the Greek deities are slowly losing their unfathomable power because human society has outgrown their use for the ever manipulative, self-serving and silent gods. They are so depowered, in fact, that they can no longer keep omnipotent tabs on their former followers without the follower inciting prayer to a specific god. Only the most powerful gods, Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades, still retain a fraction of their former glory. Ares, the god of war, has become more powerful since battles still rage on the earthly plane. The age of the gods is coming to a close, but the fruits of their 'labors' has left the earth filled with demi-god offspring trying to love ordinary lives.

Wrath of the Titans is a gritty, action-oriented ancient fantasy without the stylized reds of 300 or the golds of Immortals. Liebesman removes the silvers of Clash of the Titans for the sequel. Toby Kebbells' Agenor supplies some lightness and Bill Nighy's Hephaestus supply some craziness to break up the drama, but the rest of the cast is focused on the task at hand, saving the ancient world from a more ancient threat.

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WORTH: Matinee or DVD

Arthur Christmas (3D)

How Do They Do It?

Director: Sarah Smith

Writers: Peter Baynham, Sarah Smith
Cast: James McAvoy, Hugh Laurie, Bill Nighy, Jim Broadbent, Imelda Staunton, Ashley Jensen, Marc Wootton, Laura Linney, Eva Longoria, Ramona Marquez, Michael Palin, Robbie Coltrane, Joan Cusack

SYNOPSIS: The youngest of two sons of the current Santa Claus finds out that one child has not received a present for Christmas, spurring him on an adventure to deliver that present to her before she wakes up.

REVIEW: What happens when you mix any number of Christmas adventures with the hi-technology of Mission: Impossible? You get the new 3D holiday animation from the minds of writer/director Sarah Smith (TV mini-series Thin Ice) and fellow screenwriter Peter Baynham (Arthur (2011)). Together, they bring a new twist on a holiday tale that revolves around Claus and his family, from The Santa Clause to Fred Claus.

Arthur Claus (voiced by James McAvoy, X-Men: First Class) is the youngest of the Santa Claus children. While Arthur is relegated to responding to Christmas letters, his older brother Steven (voiced by Hugh Laurie, House) runs the yearly operations from the North Pole command center with his father Malcolm (voiced by Jim Broadbent, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2), the current Santa Claus, delivering christmas presents around the world with battalions of elves and impressive technology in support. When the latest Christmas Eve is a complete success, except for one wrapped pink bike undelivered to a young girl Gwen (voiced by Ramona Marquez) in a small town in England, Arthu, aided by his Grandsanta (voiced by Bill Nighy, Pirate Radio), goes against his dad, brother and his own phobias in an attempt to deliver the present.

A cross between The Santa Clause and Mission: Impossible, Arthur Christmas delves deep into the mechanics of the festive holiday. Like NASA, Santa Claus is supported by a North Pole mission control center manned by hundreds, if not thousands, of elves. And from the deck of the mammoth S-1 sleigh-craft carrier, complete with holographic camouflage under panels, specialized gift delivery elf battalions repel from the hovering craft into every home that celebrates Christmas. Santa himself is now more of a figurehead than the man who travels the world in one night.

Beyond the technology that the Spirit of Christmas must employ to counter the logistics of the holiday, Arthur Christmas deals with the succession of the man who is Claus. Arthur is filled with the spirit of the season, joyful of who his father is and what Santa Claus means to the waking children around the globe. His brother Steven, on the other hand, has developed and run the Christmas delivery operations for some time and now believes it is his turn to take the reigns over for the Claus vestige and have his father retire. At the other end of the spectrum is Grandsanta who wishes Arthur to learn of simpler ways of handling the Christmas responsibilities without modern technologies and manpower. I am sure most can remember a "In my day,...!" speech.

Arthur Christmas is a wonderful story of the spirit of Christmas, and what the season truly means. Arthur represents the wide-eyed innocence that all of us revel in when we see children opening presents from the Big Red Guy! And as much as the film is touching, it is funny. Just seeing an aging reindeer with a broken antler and an Elizabethan collar hanging its head out the side of a classic Santa's sleigh will make you smile.

Heartfelt and fast-paced, this 3D adventure has what every Christmas film needs to get you in the holiday spirit. Filled with good tidings, and additional cameo voice talent like Joan Cusack, Eva Longoria, Robbie Coltrane and Laura Linny, Arthur Christmas will make your heart three times too big.

WORTH: Matinee and DVD

Rango

There's A New Chameleon In Town

[Johnny Depp, Isla Fisher, Abigail Breslin, Stephen Root, Ned Beatty, Bill Nighy]

image from BeyondHollywood.com

RANT: Today was an odd day. I did get to the gym early enough so that I would have time for breakfast and getting a good seat at the theater. I did get breakfast at 11am just when McDonald's was changing the menu boards. But my housemate met me for her Bacon, Egg and Cheese Bagel and we chatted until 11:30, which changed my arrival to the theater. Once in the theater, I was forced to switch seats four times to 1) escape bad angles to the screen, 2) escape kids kicking the back of my chair, and 3) get away from a seat that was being saved for someone.

SYNOPSIS: A chameleon falls out of the back of a car - and into the Mohave desert - where he comes upon a Wild West town with residents in need of hope, a sheriff and water.

Director of the first Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy, Gore Verbinski reteams with his Captain Jack Sparrow actor Johnny Deep to use his voice talents as a chameleon looking for adventure - and finding more than he bargained for in a Wild West town in the Mohave desert.

Writers John Logan, Gore Verbinski and James Ward Byrkit bring animation to the Wild West, and the classic western to animation. But serving Rango as an homage to the best of the genre is only the beginning. Sure, Shane, Blazing Saddles, and Clint Eastwood's Man With No Name films are cited or intertwined into the tale, but Gore Verbinski introduces other films to Rango as well. The trained (and untrained) eye will see Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Star Wars: A New Hope, Deliverance, Transformers, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End - even The Day of the Triffids - somewhere along the tale. What results is pure pleasure and excitement!

Every character is so detailed and rich, every western film stereotype turned into something both recognizable and mesmerizing. In some cases, the character type is more quickly apparent then the desert creature playing it. From Alfred Molina's portrayal of a roadkill armadillo channeling Don Quixote to Bill Nighy's classic black hat honor-bound villain Rattlesnake Jake; from Ned Beatty's corrupt aged turtle politician to Isla Fisher's pure, tough, but naive lizard Ms. Beans; from Stephen Root's spot-on work with several western characters to Abigail Breslin's pig-tailed opossum child Priscilla hanging onto the hope of a strange new sheriff - every portrayal is captivating.

And as rich and detailed the characters, even more so is every plank, every dusty bottle hanging from a mobile, every grain of sand blowing through the dried out town. Every camera shot invokes classic western sensibilities, infuses modern action techniques like slow motion, humor or awe. Everything that Verbinski has learned is poured into this film.

Some of the humor is directed to children as deftly as a close range revolver shot, some more general and widespread like a shotgun blast of buckshot. When asked what name he goes by, Rango responds with avatars, pen names, and boasting one of the few men with a maiden name.

If you love westerns, go see Rango. If you love all of Johnny Depp's offbeat work, go see Rango. If you love well-crafted animation, go see Rango. If you love good cinema, definitely go see Rango!

Worth: Matinee and Blu-Ray

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