"A Nightmare Before Christmas" Movie Review

This has fast become one of the holiday classics for the younger generations. The stop-motion animation is very well done. The music is fun and original, if not award-worthy. The storyline was cleverly thought through. And the characters are so likable, even the bad guys, that you can't help but watch their escapades!

I really like this film. It's great fun! And it's the perfect thing to watch when you're sick of the usual Christmas carols blaring at you from all sides at every department store!

I randomly found this cake and thought it was awesome!

"Harry Potter" Movie Review

"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1"

I just saw this last night and I liked it. It was really enjoyable, just like all of the other films in the series. I like that they were trying to use the whole book in the movies, but that might have been more noticeable in the earlier movies. There wasn't as much going on in this book, though it was better as a movie than it was as a book. But I miss Hogwarts so much!

I thought everything was done so well in this movie. The clothes (the red armbands on the guards of the new ministry was a nice touch), the special effects, the writing, the acting (Helena Bonham Carter kicked ass in this film), and the cinematography were all great. The animation threw me off a bit though.

This is the first movie in the Harry Potter series to have animation in it and I found it very jarring with my perception of the movies. I mean, they used a lot of animation in certain places throughout the series, but it never felt like we were watching a cartoon in the middle of a live-action film. It was done really well, but they couldn't find a few actors to use in this part and then just CGI the hell out of it just like every other scene in this movie?

But I was surprised to find that the ending was actually an ending, albeit an all-hope-is-lost kind of ending. One of Harry's friends had been murdered and He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has the most powerful wand in the world....But we all know how the second part is going to end.

I think some place ought to have all the Harry Potter movies playing on the day the last part of "The Deathly Hallows" is released to theaters! That would be awesome! But they would need food and a bathroom readily available, otherwise it would be a long two or three days.

"The Polar Express" Movie Review

This film is stunning and will probably be all over the Hallmark channel because of that alone. But it's definitely worth watching over the holidays.

It is beautifully animated, it is adventurous and perfect for the whole family. Tom Hanks does a great job transforming into each of the characters. He does every voice in the film - except for the little kids. I thought that that was very clever because that is how you would read the book that this film is based on (if you were reading it out loud of course). You would change your voice to match each of the characters.

My niece borrowed this book from her school's library. It's a beat up copy mind you, but the pictures are still resplendent. The filmmakers followed the book closely and it paid off. It is a scrumptious feast for the eyes!