Jim Carrey Movie:

Editorial Review:
Fans of Robert Zemeckis's brilliant special effects, and of Jim Carrey's transformative acting abilities, will be swept away by their collaboration in the stunning A Christmas Carol. Perhaps more surprising is that Charles Dickens purists will also be impressed and captivated by this version of the oft-told tale--which is dark, complex, and in its way, uncompromising. Which is all to say that this Christmas Carol is an instant holiday classic, easily taking its place alongside the Alistair Sim version, the Patrick Stewart version, and even the Mr. Magoo version of the tale of Ebenezer Scrooge and his ultimate holiday redemption. Carrey is dazzling as not only Scrooge, the most miserable, and miserly, man in 19th-century England, but as the Ghosts of Christmases Past, Present, and Future. As with The Polar Express, Zemeckis animates the film over the actors' physical performances onscreen, but here, the emotion is intact--even heightened by the spiffy effects. Joining Carrey in the cast are terrific players, including Gary Oldman (Bob Cratchit, Tiny Tim, and the ghost of Marley), Cary Elwes, Bob Hoskins, and Robin Wright Penn. But the heart of the film is Carrey, whose dramatic acting has shone in films like The Truman Show and Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events. The emotional connection Carrey makes with his characters is what brings Dickens's classic alive--and what connects the viewer with the true spirit of the holidays. "God bless us, every one." --A.T. Hurley

A Christmas Carol [Blu-ray] Reviews:
A Great Animation Rendition of the Scrooge Story!
2009-11-27 - I just saw this one in the theater. I chose the 3-D showing. You know the famous Charles Dickens' story. It is the same basic story line, but done in the computer animation that makes the characters look about as close to human as possible, at least for now. I almost forget they are not real, except the eyes never look quite right. The computer graphics are phenomenal, the color is beautiful, and the picture is sharp. If you saw Disney's Polar Express, it is the same animation quality. It is hard for me to believe this is Jim Carrey. It doesn't even sound like him. He does a fantastic job with Scrooge. I watch the Scrooge story every Christmas season, probably several times.

The story begins on Christmas Eve. Jacob Marley has died and Scrooge has made arrangements with the undertaker for a nice wooden box. Scrooge reluctantly pays the undertaker and whisks around to scarf up the tuppences that lay on Marley's eyes, telling a young boy that it is money (and not to be wasted).

The sun is shining brightly outside and the snow is lightly falling, providing a multi-dimensional effect while wearing your 3-D glasses. Snow falls through most of the picture. We hear singing and move through the streets of old London, watching the street vendors hulk their wares. Scrooge moves through the streets, grouching the whole time. It's what he does best, you know. As Scrooge enters the storefront marked by the sign "Scrooge and Marley," the "M" begins to wiggle.

Fast forward 7 years, to the anniversary of Marley's death. We find Scrooge and Bob Cratchett working in the cold, cold office on Christmas Eve. Cratchett is freezing his little buns off but dare not place another chunk of coal on the fire. As a matter of fact, I think the coal box had a lock on it. (Heck, one piece of coal is enough. Who needs feeling in their fingers anyway?) Nephew Fred stops by to visit Uncle Scrooge and gets the bah humbug routine. The two gents come in, asking for a donation for charity and Scrooge delivers the famous "Let them die and decrease the surface population" line.

Scrooge closes for the evening, reminding Cratchett it is not fair that he be off all day on Christmas, being paid for no work, and he need be there early on December 26! They part company, Cratchett scurrying to be merry and Scrooge grouching home to be Scrooge.

The fun begins as we see Scrooge's door knocker come alive, glowing with Marley's face! Scrooge is seriously creeped out, even after he runs upstairs and locks everthing behind him. As he cowers in his chair, the 4 bells above the inside of his door begin to ring, no BANG--loudly, followed by the entrance of (guess who?) J-A-C-O-B M-A-R-L-E-Y!

Of course, like I said, you know the story. The 3 ghosts visit and the computer animations allow for a nice level of visual entertainment as they take Scrooge to the past, present, and the possible future. Through a mixture of heart-touching rememberances, fear, and compassion, they remind Scrooge that it is NOT all about HIM! This story is an excellent reminder of the importance of carrying love and compassion and opening your heart to others, for without our heart-centers, we dry up inside.

This is a great rendition of the classic, I don't care how many times you have seen the story before.

Disney done it again! Enjoy!


A sumptuous visual feast
2009-11-22 - Other reviewers have commented on the acting performances of Jim Carrey et al in Disney's new animated ("live action" performance capture) version of A CHRISTMAS CAROL by Charles Dickens. I'll simply say that Carrey is brilliant in his multiple roles; he's the Scrooge for the Ages.

What I really want to rave about is the visual special FX of this production, especially the 3-D format, which will most assuredly win an Oscar. The opening sequence, in which the virtual camera soars over and through a marvelously re-created 1842 London, is worth the price of admission alone. My wife and I watched the film from the front row of an invitation-only studio screening. During a couple of scenes depicting falling snow, it seemed, through our 3-D glasses, that we could reach out and touch the descending flakes. And one is tempted to flinch backwards as the blackened, skeletal, claw-hand of the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come apparently reaches out from the screen.

It's been decades since I read the Dickens classic. (At least, I think I read it; memory fails.) I suspect that literary purists may object to embellishments of the original story, and over-protective parents may judge it too dark for small children. I say to those, "Get over it!" The visuals will simply knock your socks off and I'd award six stars if the rating system allowed such.

You'll thank yourself if you make the decision to go see A CHRISTAMAS CAROL (2009) on the Big Screen. I'll happily go see it a second time, which isn't something I can usually say about an animated feature.

Scrooged again!!!
2009-11-21 - I don't know how many of you caught The Christmas Carol Train Tour if it came by your city, which promoted this film. Having experienced that along with Zemeckis' previous two CGI gems (The Polar Express and Beowulf), my wife and I were understandably excited about this. After watching the film last night in IMAX 3-D, our opinions dropped harder than a rock in my broth. Here is the dichotomy:

Jim Carrey as Scrooge... Ok, I'm going to lose a lot of people here. For the record, I think Carrey is fine actor, much better than many give him credit for. However, like The Grinch, I felt he was miscast. True, the confines of the character Scrooge greatly limited him to how crazy he can be. However, since he also played multiple roles here, he was able to space out the energy bursts over several planes. As Scrooge, he tried to grain his voice to sound like an old man, and it was so painfully artificial. Also, his dialogue was often delivered in so many sporadic quips and chirps, it got really annoying. If he was just a supporting actor in the film, I probably could have dismissed him. However, since he was the main character, it was like a mosquito bite that just wouldn't stop itching. His incessant laughing as the Ghost of Christmas Present was overboard and overlong.

When Robert Zemeckis mentioned in an interview a few years ago that he felt all movies now should be done totally via CGI, I wanted to cringe. There is nothing wrong with diverting to this format once in a while, but I am SO glad than most other directors have not adopted this idiotic philosophy. Each scene in Zemeckis' last two CGI films were meticulously crafted and were crucial to the final product. Here, however, I felt it needlessly dragged in many spots, especially with an overlong chase scene and the sequence with the Ghost of Christmas Future.

The animation, especially the backdrop detail is truly amazing even getting down to Scrooge's nose-hairs. However, unlike The Polar Express and Beowulf which had existed before merely as illustrations, Christmas Carol has been done on screen before several times and with a fine ensemble of actors to boot. The Polar Express and Beowulf were fresh and original cinematic milestones. This was not. Having watched Alastair Sim, George C. Scott, and Reginald Owen pour their hearts out in earlier versions, they bring an emotional punch that no CGI character can EVER match. Also with an over-emphasis on action scenes here, it seemed Zemeckis was sacrificing fluidity for the sake of showing what his computers can do.

Apparently, a lot of people like this film. So, it looks like I'm a lone wolf here. However, opinions are like noses. Everybody's got one, usually with a couple of holes in it. This one's mine.

A visual feast but this version is not for small children...
2009-11-21 - From an artistic viewpoint, the new Robert Zemeckis film from the man who gave us THE POLAR EXPRESS, is another of his animated features using the motion picture capture technique that allows the actors to play several roles--and the cinematography is exceptionally well done.

JIM CARREY, as miserly Ebenizer Scrooge, looks nothing like his real self. He's a perfect Scrooge, using his voice and mannerisms to great effect, never overplaying the role as you might expect he would.

The visit from three spirits is more frightening than usual, since Zemeckis decided to throw everything he could into startling special effects--sometimes with very gruesome results. The sight of Marley's Ghost with a flapping jaw that has to be realigned by Marley is just one of the "extra" touches. Some of the "spirit" scenes are too intense for small children and more likely to frighten them than anything else.

There are times when the story remains very faithful to the Dickens book, sometimes even word for word. But when Zemeckis decides to show off what the camera can do with flying aerial scenes zooming over Victorian London, it begins to stray a bit. Biggest stray is a chase scene that has a miniature Scrooge going through drain pipes to escape an oncoming coach and horses trying to run him down.

The lovely score by Alan Silvestri blends perfectly with the on screen action and includes a number of traditional Christmas favorites. GARY OLDMAN and COLIN FIRTH do well in key supporting roles but it's really Carey's show all the way. He plays several main characters with great skill.

Not quite as festive as you might expect, it's a darker version of Scrooge, handsomely executed so that many of the scenes look like Victorian illustrations from the novel.

Warning: This is not a child's version of the tale. Parents should be advised that some of the content is too gruesome for young kids. Personally, I enjoyed it and I'm glad I stayed to hear Andreas Boccelli's beautiful voice over the end credits.

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very well done!
2009-11-18 - I just saw this movie in the theater. I just loved it. The animation is so life like. Now I did see it in 3D which was outstanding and added to the enjoyment of this film. The story is the original story which I'm sure you've all seen some version of it and it keeps very true to the original. It was just a feel good movie. Jim Carrey did a good job as scrooge. I had tears in my eyes at the end. I buy about one movie every couple of years and I plan on buying this one so for me that is saying something.