Another big hit from the famed director Tim Burton comes the film Corpse Bride. A new mix of CGI and stop motion animation techniques, it marked it’s place in the film world.

The story telling of the woes of one man, Victor Van Dort (as voiced by Johnny Depp), and his quest to marry his love, Victoria Everglot (Helena Bonham Carter). The seemingly simple task gets off course through deception, a dark plan, and of course an accidental marriage. Whats any love story without wedding one’s non-betrothed.

The movie is told in hues of blue and grey in typical twisted, dark Burton style. Overall I found the animation to have been very well done, and in scenes that allowed the story to flow well. A movie I greatly enjoyed it is hard to find flaw, but it is also not a movie for everyone. The story line itself was dragged out a bit for the film to be longer, but it doesn’t go slow due to the soundtrack and plot twists added in.

If you are someone with a fondness for the macabre I would suggest this film, but if death and, semi graphic (as it is all depicted purely in animation) injuries, are not your cup of tea this movie is probably not the best choice for you.

A tale as old as time, or at least 1963 when Maurice Sendak first released it, Where The Wild Things Are like many beloved childhood stories became a feature length film in 2009, previously only existing as a children’s book and an animated short.

Directed by Spike Jonze, and staring Max Records as Max, the film takes us on a tale similar to that of the book, but if you’re looking for a carbon copy of the story, this isn’t the adaption for you. The story begins with a young boy playing in the snow, turning a pile of snow pushed of the road into a hollowed out “igloo.” As the boy tries to get his older sister and her friends to play with him. While his attempts were successful he hs trouble handling the rowdieness of teens and gets injured, taking out his frustrations on his sister. Later in the evening we see more on his homelife, with his mother punishing him he runs off and proceeds on a journey that ends with him being where the wid things are. AFter many wild journeys with them and being declared their king, handling drama and emotions and broken friendships he teaches them new ways before heading off on his own. WHile the movie has a happy ending it wasn’t one I enjoyed.

The movie itself is pretty solid technically, with a diversity in lighting and colors. What it lacks to me is a solid story adding a bunch of filler to take it from a short to a movie things move slow paced. The story itself builds up for the majority of the movie leaving the ending feeling to rushed, ending it as quick as it does in the original story with disregard for the majority of the story of the film.

Personally this isn’t a film I would recommend, but if you are someone who enjoys the original book, or movies that don’t take a lot of focus to watch maybe it’s still worth giving it a shot.

A film born from the uncertainties of war, Casablanca, Director Michael Curtiz’ 1942 film noir, gives us a glimpse into the refugee town of Casablanca, Morocco and its day to day life that first glance appears to be a laid back town with days filled with drinking, gambling, and entertainment. Upon a closer look at the town however, it becomes apparent that xenophobia and illegal activity run rampant.

Our main character Rick Blaine, played by Humphrey Bogart, runs a gin joint in Casablanca. While he goes about his daily routine of avoiding sharing drinks with patrons, remaining completely neutral on every matter to come up, and giving people a place to do their drinking and gambling, things get shaken up when his old flame Ilsa Lund, played by Ingrid Bergman, comes walking into his business.

This time period, where Nazi’s reign as the greatest threat, and the resistance within Nazi France is growing, Rick is forced to choose between his heart and his head, with the more details he uncovers the harder that decision gets.

With powerful dialogue, and dramatic styling, Casablanca makes for an interesting watch, if not in a sense dated by the results of war. The director made a good use of shadows to show what the frame doesn’t, and to add more flare to other scenes. While the actors/ actresses themselves did an overall good job of portraying their characters, it seemed to me that they at times lacked apparent emotion the scene could’ve had.

Overall the film was good, and I found it to be worth the watch, but it isn’t one of my favorites to date. I would recommend this movie to others based off its solid plot and technical skills, especially if you’re someone who enjoys a good timepiece as this makes for a fun glimpse into the underground war era type business.

In the 2011 film Hugo by director Brian Selznick, we find the captivating story of a young boy, Hugo Cabret (played by Asa Butterfield), as he embarks on a personal journey to seek his place in the world starting with the last tie he has to his father. With a bit of help from a local girl, Isabelle (played by Chloe Grace Moretz), and skills he’s gained living in the walls of a Paris train station, this young boy will change the lives of an orphaned inspector, a retired magician and his assistant, and his own life forever.

The film opens with a sweeping view of Paris into a busy train station, where from within the walls we can see a small boy peering out from the inside of a clock. As the movie gets going we find the boy to be an adept thief, stealing food to survive, and trinkets from a local toy shop. In an attempt to steal a windup toy we get led to a backstory showing the boy and his father working together on repairing an automaton. Throughout the film the boy continues to work on this machine, uncovering secrets about the past of Isabelle’s godfather, Georges Méliès ( played by Ben Kingsley), and the life he left behind.

The difference between a film, and a good film frequently comes down to the acting, and the actors portrayal of their roles. In Hugo the actors and actresses did what I find to be a rather excellent job capturing the spirit of their roles. The emotion they showed in their visage, and the shift in how they carried themselves throughout the film stayed true to the story making for a convincing cast, and a overall immersive watching experience.

The techniques of the film itself, involved a lot of darker lighting, shifting angles, and mood setting scenery. The costumes of the actors fit how I imagine the time period in my mind, and appearance wise everything fit together like a puzzle. The editing of the film made for a good seamless plot line without having terribly slow spots. While the lighting of the film did good to convey the time period style of the film, it seemed to at times lack in scenes that could have done well with a bit different set up.

A running idea throughout the film is this boys journey of understanding what his place is in the world, and how everything works together. As he continues to repair his machine and continue on his quest he finds himself coming to understand more of what his role is, and how everyone plays their part. It is an important message given through the film about self discovery and us all having a part to play no matter how small.

I personally found the film to be enjoyable both entertainment wise, and on technicalities, with it being easily worth the time to watch.

Like most people, I enjoy a good movie. Personally my preferences are in thriller and romance, but are far from limited to those. I’ve always enjoyed analyzing things as a past-time and hope I can give helpful and unbiased reviews to help you with finding the perfect movie, or even just help you decide if its worth spending the 2 dollars to rent.