A Christmas Carol - reviewed by Small Town Laura

I never would have imagined that I’d be asked to write a movie review. I have a hard time staying awake during movies. Not many people can say they fell asleep during “Twister” at the theatre. Well, I can. And I don’t know how I did it because that movie was freakin’ loud.
Last weekend I took my eight-year-old daughter to see Disney’s “A Christmas Carol”. I was a little nervous about seeing this movie for a few reasons: Robert Zemeckis, Jim Carrey, and my daughter’s fear of ghosts.
Robert Zemeckis, the director of this version of “A Christmas Carol”, was also the director of some of my favourite movies – Castaway, Forest Gump, and Back to the Future. He was also the director of “The Polar Express” – a movie that rubbed me the wrong way. I think it was the creepy animation that put me off and I was afraid that it would be more of the same thing in “A Christmas Carol”. Thankfully, I was very pleasantly surprised – the animation in this movie was beautiful from the over-sized pores on Scrooge’s nose to the gorgeous aerial views of Victorian London.
I was also I little worried that Jim Carrey might be too “over the top” for the role of Scrooge. Again…I was pleasantly surprised. He not only played a fantastic Ebenezer, but also nicely played the voices of the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet to Come. Some other cast members include Colin Firth as Scrooge’s cheerful nephew, Fred, as well as Gary Oldman as Bob Cratchit, Marley, and Tiny Tim.
As much as I loved this movie, I would not recommend it for young children. The first scene depicted Scrooge plucking away the coins covering the eyes of a very realistic and very dead Marley. Even my eight-year-old daughter covered her eyes through every scene containing the Ghost of Christmas Future. There was a young family sitting behind us with a three-year-old and they left after the first fifteen minutes. If you’ve read and loved this Dickens tale, you won’t be disappointed with this movie. It’s considered as most faithful to the original text. It’s also a great way to get into the Christmas spirit…even if we’re in the third week of November and it’s still 10 degrees outside. Check it out…you won’t be disappointed

The Men Who Stare At Goats

I went to see this movie the other night. There were four people in the theater which didn't bode well. Now it was a Monday and the weather had been good all day so I was trying not to pass early judgement. Plus - let's face it - the title is too long. I find that most of your average movie-goers only like three words in the title, maybe four if the words are short. So if this movie had been called 'The Men Who Stare'...well, you just never know.

Normally I can tell if I begrudge the price of my movie ticket or I don't. This time...this time I'm just not sure. This might be one of those movies I have to watch again to decide if I like it. After all, plenty of film afficianados believe that the second time you see a movie is really the first time. Because you're able to look at the whole thing as a piece of work rather than disjointed scenes or sub-plot. So maybe that will help me decide.

There were so many good things about this movie. Two of the best things - Ewan MacGregor and George Clooney. Ewan (Or Obi-Wan as most of us know him) plays Bob Wilton a disgruntled journalist in Iraq searching for a story that will help him make his mark. Enter the adorably scruffy George Clooney as Lyn Cassady, a member of the New Earth division of the army. Or as he tells Bob - the jedis.

He's a psychic soldier on a mission. A warrior monk who thinks he can make the clouds move with his mind and is working on his third level of invisibility. I'm not telling you more than that because...well, I don't know how much more I truly understand than that.

Clooney and MacGregor are the best part of the movie. Jeff Bridges has a fairly integral part of Bill Django, the creator of the 'jedis', but I found him too campy. It was one of those roles where you could feel him thinking 'Oscar, Oscar, Oscar' the whole way through. Yuck. Clooney and MacGregor had a weird, off-beat, quirky chemistry that was fun to watch. When they are alone on their journey...best part of the movie.

It's really the last half hour or so that lost me. Director Grant Heslov (who co-wrote 'Good Night and Good Luck, a brilliant Clooney vehicle) was really going for the big Hollywood ending. And I just didn't buy it.

But who knows...maybe if I watch it again, I'll buy it this time. Go see this one. Let me know what you think.