SMT Weekly Flick by Paul Krismanits
Lots of F/X and #9
A Christmas Carol
(Rated PG) 96 mins.
2012 (Rated PG-13) 158 mins.
Garden State
(Rated R) 112 mins.
In the last couple weeks there have been a couple of releases that were laden with special effects, studded with stars, and seemed destined to make lots of money. One has a plot everybody knows; one doesn’t have much of a plot at all. They also are both pretty fun to watch.
First up, A Christmas Carol, starring Jim Carrey and Gary Oldman, and directed by Robert Zemeckis in the same motion-capture animation style that he filmed The Polar Express and Beowulf in. While rehashing the same story we all know (it is the most filmed story of all time, with over 20 different versions), Zemeckis has found a style which actually makes Charles Dickens’ classic feel original. That is a very impressive feat. Carrey does an excellent job as Ebenezer and the three Christmas ghosts, and one can tell that he had a great time doing this by the peppiness of his voices. Oldman also impresses as a spot-on compliment to Carrey with his enactments of Cratchit, Tiny Tim, and Marley. Rounding out the great cast is Bob Hoskins, Robin Wright Penn, and Colin Firth, who all do a fine job making sure there is not a weak link in the film. I could go into the story, but you should know it by now (if not, ask an earthling). However it is well done, although it is much more for adults than for children, as the film can get downright scary at times. I recommend parents seeing it first before they make the decision, or maybe waiting for the safety of the home.
Next up is 2012, which would be a pointless film if it weren’t for nearly two hours of awe-inspiring visuals of the earth falling apart. John Cusack, Amanda Peet, Woody Harrelson, and Danny Glover all do what they can to make the best out of a bad situation, but there really is no room for acting here. Reacting is more like it. Running from disaster, offering condolences, admitting regrets, these are the types of things we see here, although mostly in the form of the first. On the bright side, this is a heck of a lot better than Roland Emmerich’s last film 10,000 B.C., which was one of the worst films ever made. 2012 is actually worth viewing because of the amazing special effects, and the lack of plot which would risk getting in the way. Don’t expect anything to write home about, but if you’d like to sit around slack-jawed and bug-eyed for 158 minutes, 2012 will do the trick.
Before continuing with my Top Ten of the Decade, I’d like to recap where I began last week. At 10a I have Casino Royale (2006), the brilliant recreation of the James Bond saga. And as I found it impossible to leave this off the list, at 10b is 2000’s Traffic (2000), the epic immersion into our nation’s ongoing War on Drugs. The next film on my list is nothing like either.
#9. Garden State. While some may find this surprising, I find it to be one of the most original, heartfelt comedies of the last twenty years, let alone the last ten. Garden State stars Zach Braff (of Scrubs fame) as Andrew Largeman, an emotionally detached young man who has left his hometown in New Jersey to become a star in Hollywood. Unfortunately for Andrew, to date he has only succeeded at working in an Asian restaurant, with his only noticeable acting role the part of a mentally handicapped kid in a tv movie. Andrew has no intention of ever returning home until he gets a call from his father telling him his mother has just passed, and he has no choice.
Immediately upon returning home, Andrew finds his relationship with his father still strained, and so he dives into hanging out with his old crew, trying to avoid any kind of serious discussion with dad. While out one day he comes across Sam (Natalie Portman), a girl who is magnetically charming, and yet she never tells the truth. Her quirky ways eventually start bringing out Andrew’s repressed feelings, and we watch as he learns to feel, and eventually love again.
Along with a great deal of original, warm humor, Garden State has a heart as big as its title. Andrew and Sam’s relationship is one of the best film relationships to grace the screen ever, and it will especially ring true to those in their young adult years. Zach Braff is impressive as Andrew, and the fact that he wrote and directed the film proves he has great talent overall. But it is Portman who steals the show here as Sam, a young woman who is nearly impossible to avoid falling in love with. Overall, Garden State boasts characters that are loveable and real, elicits hearty laughs, and tells a story that will warm your soul. It also showcases one of the best soundtracks for a movie, ever. For all these and a million other small things, Garden State is one of the best movies of the last decade.
A Christmas Carol: 4/5
2012: 3/5.
Garden State: 5/5.
