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tomswift2002
Reviews
George and the Christmas Star (1985)
One of The Greatest Christmas Specials Of All-Time
Ever since I was young I have seen this on numerous occasions and I can't say what it is, but it is that type of special you just don't forget.
It's to bad that it is not aired anymore here in Canada. Also it's to bad that it hasn't received a proper DVD or Blu-Ray release (the artwork is very detailed, so I think a 1080p scan of the negative would really bring out a lot more detail than what you can currently see in the current composite video), as the release I have from DigiView is a poor transfer from a VHS tape.
As far as story gets, it really stretches credibility---think of this as the Canadian version of a Looney Tunes cartoon, except that it's one of those one-off cartoons. The Paul Anka songs really go great with this cartoon, and while they are not Christmas songs, they still add to the atmosphere.
Anyway, this special deserves to be up there with "A Charlie Brown Christmas", "Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas", "Rankin/Bass' Frosty The Snowman" and Hanna-Barberra's "The Nativity". And for Canadian cartoons, it's right up there with "The Log Driver's Waltz".
10 out of 10. Go check it out this Christmas!
Casper's First Christmas (1979)
A Christmas Classic
I haven't seen this special in 20 years and it was a sure delight to see it again.
The opening with the Yogi gang singing as they travel to the lodge in their 1920's era car passing through a snowbank and a couple of fields full of snow was a really fun and great way to open this cartoon. Plus the antics between Casper and Hairy Scary are hilarious.
This special was way better than "Yogi's First Christmas". If you can find it on VHS or DVD you should check it out, and hopefully a station will re-air this special over the Christmas season, since this should be a special that gets a re-airing every year.
So get ready to have a funny "picnic lunch" with Casper, Yogi and the rest of the gang in this Christmas Classic.
Herbie: Fully Loaded (2005)
Rip-roaring sequel/remake
You've got to give a 10 out of 10 for this movie. Out of all the sequel/remakes that have appeared in recent years, this is the best of them all. Herbie: Fully Loaded contains very little in the way of CGI for most of the effects are real stunts. And even when there is a little bit of CGI, the CGI just adds to the laughs.
Go out and buy this DVD, cause you'll have a cruisin' good time.
Also, having the opening credits filled with stuff from the old movies was a very wise choice. The opening song "Getcha Back" by the Beach Boys was also a very wise choice.
Don't just sit there, go out and get this movie.
Superman Returns (2006)
Routh Looks Good As Clark Kent, But Superman Just Doesn't Fly
Super Big-Hype. Super Big-Disappointment.
Superman Returns was advertised as a quasi-sequel to the 1978 Superman: The Movie and the 1980 Superman 2. Unfortunately it didn't live up to the standards set by the first one, much like Superman 2 didn't live up to it's predecessor.
Brandon Routh looked like he could've been Christopher Reeve's twin for Clark Kent, but as Superman he looked very plastic looking. In fact, his suit looked like it was made out of wax. In fact, when the Daily Planet was printing Superman's death, I was hoping that Bryan Singer had really killed off Superman.
The actress who played Lois Lane (Kate Bosworth) didn't look like Margot Kidder or any of the other Lois Lane actresses, and Bosworth put in a pretty weak performance as Lois Lane. I didn't feel that this Lois Lane could really handle being stuck to the underside of an elevator, or almost falling off of a 60 story building.
The Lex Luthor in this film was no where even close to being the Lex Luthor portrayed by Gene Hackman, John Shea or even Michael Rosenbaum. In fact, Kevin Spacey almost made me wonder if I was even in the right movie.Kevin Spacey put in an extremely weak performance.
I did like how Jack Larson and Noel Neill were brought back from the 50's TV series, however, I would've preferred Larson in the role of Perry White, since Frank Langella's performance of Perry White didn't even match that of Jackie Cooper or Lane Smith. Speaking of Perry White, his nephew came off as being a big jerk, who managed to get Lois's attention because he was the assistant editor. I also wish that Singer and the other writers had made it more clear that the character of Jason White was actually Superman's son, however they didn't so you were left wondering what was up with the kid.
Also, why was Clark Kent in the movie, besides for running out and tearing open his shirt. Other than that, there was really nothing for Routh to do as Clark.
The visual effects, while some where great (like at the beginning of the movie, where the FX guys took a piece of the Krypton footage from the 1978 Superman that showed the council hall and trial hall and blended it in with the CGI Krypton) most of them where down right awful. You could tell that Singer and Warner Brothers really went for computer animation. There were quite a few shots where Superman was flying close to the camera and you could tell that it was not Brandon Routh, but a computer model. Or even when Superman lifted the boat out of the water or lifted the new Krypton into outer space, it was all CGI. Hollywood has got to learn to stop depending on CGI, since CGI takes away the realism if it is overused, and the CGI in Superman Returns was over used way, way, way too much.
Also, with the airplane sequence, why would Superman try to alter the plane's course from the tip of the starboard wing? Why wouldn't Superman just fly under the nose of the plane and stabilize it from there. There was no need to show Superman ripping off the plane's wing, and causing the other wing to break off.
Superman Returns doesn't even live up to the tag line from the original Superman Movie (1978), "You'll believe a man can fly!". In this movie, it is hard to believe that even aliens could fly in our atmosphere. Hopefully Hollywood will get the message that people don't want to see CGI in every single shot. People want to see effects that are real, they want to see suits that don't look like wax or plastic (trust me, Superman's costume was the worst of the worst. It would've been better for WB to have had Brandon Routh fitted into a suit that had been used for the Christopher Reeves movies, or for the Lois and Clark TV series) but look like they are made out of real material, like cotton.
Even the story wasn't that good. There was about 45 minutes of dialog, and then the other 1 hour and 45 minutes was of VFX shots.
All in all, Superman Returns could've been a good movie, but it wasn't. Hopefully, if WB does another Superman movie, they'll put in less CGI and more dialog/action/adventure/live effects.