littlehobbit13 Reviews

An Adventure in Space and Time (2013 TV Movie)

A true 50th Anniversary Special

[10/10 · 24 November 2013]

I've watched all the Doctor who anniversary specials now: Day of the Doctor, The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot, and just now An Adventure in Space Time.

There's a moment at the end of An Adventure in Space Time, where they're filming Hartnell's departure, that sums up the entirety of Doctor Who's legacy, I think. Hartnell begins to flip switches on the console, and as he looks up, he sees Matt Smith's Doctor standing at the console with him. Smith smiles at Hartnell, and Hartnell smiles back. In that moment, you see the Doctor's legacy, and it's a beautiful moment. The moment only lasts about 45 seconds, and it moved me to tears.

It was unexpected, and it was right, and it was perfect.

I think anyone wishing to call themselves a "true" Whovian should see this Special. The production does an amazing job of showing you how hard it was to get everything going, and how much the cast and crew had to do to keep make the show what it was. It's funny to take a step back, as you're watching, and remember that these are all real people you're getting attached to. As you watch bits of the Who family slowly move on. As you watch Hartnell truly become the Doctor, playing with little kids who only see him at such. As you watch Hartnell find out he'll no longer be playing the Doctor. (I don't think I'll ever be able to watch Tennant's farewell the same way again, and I wonder if it wasn't an intentional nod to Hartnell.) The film closes out with what I think most fans would agree is still the most moving and best written speech of the entire series: "One day I shall come back. Yes, I shall come back. Until then, there must be no regrets, no tears, no anxieties. Just go forward in all your beliefs, and prove to me that I am not mistaken in mine."

The Princess and the Frog (2009)

Not true classic-Disney, but certainly the best thing since!

[9/10 · 11 December 2009]

9/10 - Go see it! It needs saying that I went into this movie with hesitant expectations. It's been a long time since the classic-Disney era, and they aren't doing so hot these days. I'm happy to say, I was beyond pleasantly surprised.

The story is as follows: Tiana has always dreamed of opening her own restaurant. She works two jobs, has no social life, and saves every penny she can. Just when it seems her dreams are about to come true, there's a bump in the road. When the froggy prince Naveen barters help getting to that dream in exchange for a kiss, she takes it. However, not being the princess Naveen assumed she was, he stays a frog and she turns into one. The two travel through the New Orleans bayou to find the voodoo woman who can change them back, and (obviously) have a life changing journey doing it.

Tiana is a good female lead. She's certainly not your classic Disney princess, but she is, at heart, a Disney princess. She'll be a good role model for girls (and boys alike I suppose) on the value of working hard to get what you want. She's countered by her best friend (and New Orleans princess) Charlotte, who has gotten everything she's ever wanted and whose goal is to marry a prince. HOWEVER, despite her "spoiled rich girl" background, Charlotte is a fantastic character. She never acts spoiled, and is truly a best friend to Tiana despite the seemingly obvious differences between them. And without spoiling it, her actions in the end of the movie were surprisingly good. (You'll know it when you see it.) I liked that she wasn't painted as the typical, at least partially self-centered out-for-herself best friend. What I also liked was her ...split personality? Talking sweet one minute and shouting in true tomboy fashion the next. This girl rocks.

But let's move onto the prince. Naveen. Oh, Naveen. I'm not sure ANYONE would fall for his froggy "sweet talk"...but it was still hilarious to watch. Here we've got your typical, spoiled, rich kid. Life of luxury, girls, money, etc...until his parents cut him off. Now he's got to marry a rich girl if he wants his old life back. He really doesn't understand Tiana at first, and how she's had to work all her life, but his character development is smooth. And hey, it's Disney, so it's not a spoiler if I tell you he did good in the end, right? But how does he get turned into a frog, you ask? Dr. Facilier, the Shadow Man. There was no one more perfect to be his voice than Keith David. It was AMAZING. Facilier was just the right of amount of pure evil and terror to rival the great Disney villains, even ones as great and evil as Maleficent herself. Disney pulled no punches on creating such a true villain, who does everything from conjuring dark spirits to plotting murders.

The one thing about the movie that didn't sit perfectly with me was the music. It was nice to see the return of the people behind some of the best animated movies ever, but it was sad that one of the greatest Disney composers of all time was unable to join them. Instead, we're treated to the musical stylings of Randy Newman. The blunt answer: the music was definitely satisfactory, and more than one song (though sadly not all) had that true Disney energy, but none of the songs will immortalize themselves the way Friend Like Me or Beauty and the Beast or Kiss the Girl did. I can't see teenagers today singing these songs years from now when they've grown up and reminisce. It felt like they shoved one or two many songs into the movie as well. Like they were trying to make up for lost ground in the movies not sporting sing-along-songs. Or maybe it would be more accurate to say that sometimes it just felt like they were showing off, like "Look, we brought back the musicals!" I would appreciate it if Newman, assuming he plans to continue his work with Disney, would leave out his signature musical style and compose for the feel of the movie instead.

On the flip side though, the animation was SPECTACULAR. If I've missed one thing since the days of classic-Disney it was that smooth, natural feel that only comes from the hand-drawn touch. I don't care what the song in the movie says, it does matter what you look like, at least for movies. I especially liked Tiana's dream sequence, where they switched the animation to match the style of her dream-picture. Nice touch. And needless to say, but I will anyways, the voice work was beyond reproach. The voices fit, and the actors bring character presence to the movie.

And on a side note: the homages back to old Disney were well done, everything from the Magic Carpet cameo to the Sleeping Beauty dancing and more.

Disney, you had to backtrack a little to do it, but you may have found your way again! Thank you, and keep up the good work!

So do yourselves a favor and go see it at least once! ...Unless you beg for more. ;)

Alice (2009)

"Utterly fantastic" provides the best description

[10/10 · 8 December 2009]

I think it needs saying that anyone going into this show expecting an attempt to outdo or outshine the upcoming Tim Burton movie will not be able to enjoy it fully, because that is not this movie's purpose. However, that's not to say that Tim Burton's is a standard to achieve. Nick Willing has written a story that is a retelling, a remaking, and an epilogue to the original story all wrapped up into one brilliant script.

From the very start, we get to see that this is not the old Alice. Our Alice is a strong, believable leading lady: black belt, charitable, and yet scarred by her father leaving when she was just 10 years old. Scorsone plays it well. When she tries to rescue her boyfriend from being abducted, she winds up falling through the Looking Glass into Wonderland. It's here that she learns how the Queen of Hearts has been abducting people to harvest their emotions to keep the people of Wonderland on an emotion "high". Alice gains an early (if at first questionable) ally in Hatter. Hatter makes a good match for Alice. Street-smart, witty, and dashing, Potts brings real flair and life to the character. Oh, and he really was quite smooth with his hat handling, which just helped make the character better. Matt Frewer, true to his talent, gave a brilliant performance as the realm's last White Knight, both in the comedic and the more serious scenes. The quick scene where he's finding himself and Hatter a path through the casino is a personal favorite. Jack was a good character, and he looked the part. He looked like a Jack. ;) The on-screen chemistry was outstanding, as was the pacing at which inter-character relations developed. Hatter's subtly developing affections for Alice were done nicely: increasingly apparent, yet not overplayed and main-point-of-all-scenes obvious. To put it shortly, it was cute. True, honest "cute", not "god why are they making me watch this" cute.

At this point, I need to gush about the costumes. They. Were. FANTASTIC. Everything from Caterpillar's caterpillar-looking coat, to Hatter's hat (needs a mention all its own), to Alice's simple blue dress. Personally, I loved how the styling on Alice's dress gave the hinting appearance of the petticoat apron without being overly, finger-pointing obvious. It was a nice touch. I felt the same way about Willing's Tin Man. His costuming team is just getting it so RIGHT.

On a personal note, I feel this movie had only one flaw. In the end, and those of you who have seen it know which scene I'm referring to, Hatter's hair sported not enough fluff and not enough hat! ^_^

So to wrap this up, I hope nobody's going into this show expecting the same mind-trip that Burton will soon be providing us with. Separate the two, because otherwise you're doing them both a disservice. As another commenter said, this is a show for those of us who love stories along the same vein as "10th Kingdom", where the children's story worlds of our childhood have grown-up with us, for better or for worse. Alice, like Tin Man (but dare I say better), is a retelling, a remake, and an epilogue all rolled into one utterly fantastic story. I can't wait to see what Willing brings us next.