Reviews

Robots vs. Giant Monsters? What could possibly go wrong? How about bad acting, bad pacing, shallow and clichéd characters, and long stretches between action that feel like they're from another movie? Heck, it'll almost feel like you're watching a sequel to an earlier movie. I get that they wanted to put us in the middle of the story to better catch our attention and intrigue, but it would've been nice to see more of the start of the war instead of a summary. Therein lies one of the movie's main problems: it's rushed in some place...and slow in others. The other problem? The characters are paper thing cutouts we've seen before, and better.

This is also displayed very early in when we meet our hero, Raleigh Becket, and his brother. They literally start their day battling a kaiju...and Raleigh's brother is killed. Thing is, we never learn anything about him other than he's the older brother and that's it. There's no reason to be sad when he's killed. Raleigh misses him deeply, but the audience isn't given any reason to miss him at all. Likewise, most of the other "Jaeger" pilots are just...there. They don't have any personality and play a ridiculously small role for people piloting giant robots to fight monsters. The ones that do have some personality/play a role are one-note stereotypes we've seen before.

The only other pilot who really stands out is Mako Mori. She's given the most depth & backstory...but it's sadly undermined by Rinko Kikuchi's performance. And wouldn't ya know it, she and Raleigh have a romantic subplot that's dull and fairly intrusive.

Raleigh himself is a boring, clichéd, unlikable hero. He has no personality other than being your standard issue fighting ace who fell from grace, but still has amazing, almost superhuman skills. That's all there is to him and we never really learn any more than that. It doesn't help that Charlie Hunnam is just another action movie star who'd skills seem limited to shouting, scowling, and smirking.

Luckily, there's some good supporting players. Iris Elba gives the movie's best performance as the team leader Commander Pentecost. Ron Pearlman seems to be enjoying himself as (the snazzy dressed) black marketer Hannibal Chau. Charlie Day and Burn Gorman bring some energy & comic relief as a pair of scientists (though they can be kind of annoying)

Thing is, it really could've all turned out better. The Kaiju are massive and bestial and look as fearsome as giant monsters would be if they were real.The Jaegers all have unique designs and abilities to help them standout (even if their pilots don't). The battles between them are fast, brutal and bombastic and are indeed the highlight of the film,especially in some pretty good 3D.

Unfortunately, when there isn't any Kaiju vs. Jaeger action, it's as boring as a movie about cities being destroyed in battles between giant monsters and robots can be...

One had to figure there would be a television show based on "Kung Fu Panda", where anthropomorphic animals use martial arts moves in a fantastical version of China. It took longer than expected (even longer than the studio intended) but it eventually happened. And it's rather uneven.

Yes, the animation isn't as good as in the movies. But that's to be expected. Anyone who thought a show with a TV budget would match the quality of a movie with a lot more money and time to burn was being quite foolish and little snobbish.

The real problem is with writing and characterization. It's kinda hard to watch Po here after KFP2. The smarter, more mature, more confident, team player seen at the end of that movie is largely absent. What we often have is the hyper-active, fan-boyish, impetuous manchild from the early scenes of the first movie. It's made even worse by the fact he constantly screws up in order to learn (and teach the kids watching) a lesson. Though things seem to be improving as the show progresses.

The Furious Five aren't handled well either. One has to wonder if KFP's creators ever intended to flesh them out in the first place. I can understand them not getting much development in the movies, but the show also doesn't give them much depth. Sometimes one of them will get the spotlight and even some depth, but a lot of the time the writers either have them out of the way or have them get their tails kicked.

However, it's still fairly entertaining. The characters have a lot of personality and there is some really fun & funny dialog. Most of the voice cast does a good job of sounding like their big screen counterparts. And like the movies, it features fun, inventive action scenes featuring impressive martial arts moves. The show makes things interesting by peppering events with martial arts super moves, powerful weapons, and even magic items and spells.

It also benefits from a colorful rogues gallery of silly and over-the-top villains that threaten the Valley of Peace like Fung, the short-fused leader of a gang of inept crocodile bandits, and Temutai, a huge water buffalo who overdramatically shouts every word. My favorite is Taotie, a warthog who uses machines that could be described as "woodpunk" (even more primitive than steampunk). Not only is he delightfully megalomanical, but the dialog between him and his nonchalant son is a hoot ("Can we please destroy the Furious Five and save the family bickering for later?" "I don't know. CAN we?") So while not as good as the movies, it can pretty entertaining. And things actually seem to be getting better as it goes along

Peter Jackson's "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" is an uneven start of the journey of the Hobbit Trilogy that is filled with both good and bad moments that will appeal and appall casual viewers and Tolkienites alike. There is a good movie & story to be found here, but Jackson and New Line Cinema overreached and the results are a mixed bag.

Making a movie for each book in the "Lord of the Rings" series was a smart move. Making a trilogy out of the simpler, more straightforward "The Hobbit" is an odd one. No doubt New Line wants to recapture the magic (pun partially intended) of LOTR, as well milk Tolkien's work as much as they possibly can. There are scenes and elements to tie the two stories together and even elements from other Tolkien works like. Even things that got a passing reference in the book are fleshed out more here. Perhaps too much...

A prime example would be Azog. In the book he's only mentioned two or three times and was a footnote. In the movies he's Thorin's sworn enemy in an attempt to give this trilogy a central villain. An attempt that doesn't really work as good as likely intended...

Likewise, events that were mentioned but not seen in the book (and the previous version of TH from the 70s by Ranking & Bass Animation) are given the full treatment here. This was to be expected when you think about how battles in LOTR was to long and eventful. For example, it was mentioned that Gandalf & the Dwarfs had to fight there way out of Goblin Town and one HAD to expect the movie to show it. True enough, it's an eventful combo of chase and battle reminiscent of Indiana Jone or The "Pirate of the Caribbean" movies. I liked it, but I'm not sure others will. And I'm sure everyone expected a flashback of how Smuag took Lonely Mountain to literally start the story with a bang.

There are cameos by Frodo (Elija Wood), Galadriel (Cate Blanchete), Saruman (Christoper Lee) and Ian Holm as the older Bilbo to strengthen ties between the two series, some Sauron foreshadowing (including saying his presence is what made Mirkwood murky), and they even go so far as to say that Gandalf helped the dwarfs because he was concerned about Smaug would side with the baddies later. Radagast has small roles in other Tolkien stories but didn't appear in the original book. Here he is almost a different character, has quite a role and may help out more later.

The real problem is that it tried to hard to be like LOTR. Thorin ends up being an Aragon expy and it very different from the book and cartoon movie and there were several scenes that gave me deja vu. And I really didn't want to feel that here...

Some may grouse about the movie having too much comedy, but I'll give that a pass since Tolkien originally wrote TH to be a more lighthearted, fun story than LOTR, even if things get kinda of sitcommy at times.

"I think the worst is behind us" Bilbo says just before the ending. I thought, "I sure hope so..."

From beginning to end, I was most entertained by this movie. Seriously, seeing the Disney Animation Studio logo done 8-bit style with the Steamboat Willie theme in "bleep-bloop" sounds let me know it was going to an interesting evening.

The world of Wreck-It Ralph is fun and imaginative as such a place would be, with video game characters of every occupation and species mingle when their games aren't being played. There are real video game characters (though some are more recognizable than others) mixed with original ones. There are cameos from Q-Bert, Sonic the Hedgehog, Pac Man, the heroes of Street Fighter and more, as well numerous subtle references to video game lore.

The title character is the giant villain from "Fix-It Felix Jr." (which bears several resemblances to the original arcade version of Donkey Kong). Thing is, Ralph is tired of being the bad guy after thirty years and countless defeats of being thrown into a puddle of mud from the top of a high-rise apartment building and going home alone to the dump at the end of day while Felix gets praise, medals, and pies. Now he wants some respect and better treatment. One night things get out of hand and Ralph sets out to earn a medal of earn the respect of Felix and the Nicelanders. He finds his chance when he learns of a first person shooter called "Hero's Duty" but ends up biting off more than he can chew. He then accidentally arrives in "Sugar Rush", a parody of cutesy kart racing games where the characters aren't quite as sweet as their candy themed world would make you think.

Aside from its fantastical world and settings, the movie greatly benefits from some stellar voice work. John C. Reily makes Ralph sympathetic and likable, but with a temper that gets him in trouble. Jack McBrayer plays Felix as an amiable, if not misguided, do-gooder who often talks like a character from the Andy Griffith Show. Jane Lynch is a hoot as Heros' Duty heroine Sgt. Calhoun, a send up of nonsense, tough as nails video game protagonists (complete a tragic backstory that's kind of funny in how over the top it is). Alan Tudyk channels the spirit & voice of late comic actor Ed Wynn in his performance as King Candy, Sugar Rush's seemingly goofy (but scheming) ruler.

The weak link is Sarah Silverman as Vanellope Von Schweetz. The character herself is intentionally annoying, at least in her early scenes, but her storyline is actually quite touching. She just wants to race with the other Sugar Rush characters, but is ostracized and bullied for being a glitch. Fate forces her and Ralph to work together, and watching them bond is kind of stirring. But Silverman make the character more annoying than she needs to be.

Also, the story kinda loses steam in the third act thanks to staying in one place for too long. As well a certain plot twist near the end. To be fair, there is some foreshadowing and hints, but there's a fine line between "Didn't see that one coming!" and "Wait, what?" and this twist (and a later one tied to it) come dangerously close.

With its multiple settings in an innovative & imaginative world, colorful (both ways) cast of characters, and plethora of video game references, this is a fun movie for gamers and casual moviegoers alike.

I'm sure a lot of people will dislike this movie because it throws everything at us but the kitchen sink (and throws that too) and its ending. The professional & semi-professional critics certainly haven't been impressed. But I had a lot of fun until near the end and that counts for something.

We get hot babes using kung-fu moves, swords and almost every gun ever made short of lasers is used. There are giant samurai, zombie Nazis, a big mecha suit, orcs, robots, armored knights, a huge fire breathing dragon,all kinds of air-vehicles, a train on a floating tracks, jetpacks, a bombastic rock score, and explosions of varying sizes.

Is it overkill? Maybe. The movie runs two hours and takes a simple story of young women trying to escape an asylum and throws in whatever it can, taking us into not one, but two levels of dreamworld/fantasy in a way strangely similar to "Inception". And since this is the first film Synder made that ISN'T an adaptation, it's the first time he is able to give a movie a moral...though it doesn't come through as strongly as he may have intended.

The cast is game, but they are often swept away in the comic book/video game mayhem. At the top is Scott Glen as the wise man who acts as Baby Doll's "little voice" & gives the girls assignments that parallel to their escape plans. He seems to be having good time with it. On the bottom is Vanessa Hudgens, whose character does little & is the last likable of the heroines and tries too hard to wring out a big performance from a fairly small role. Everyone else falls somewhere in between between. Emily Browning is good to look at with her pigtails and school girl style outfit (she kinda looks like Sailor Moon, especially in one outfit she wears near the end) and she gives an earnest performance, there's something off about her I can't quite put my finger on...

Unfortunately, the story takes a tragic turn in the third act after all the over the top action that hurts it. And the ending, while satisfying (to me anyway) was far from what I was expecting (though to be fair, the film own trailers warned we wouldn't see it coming).

If you just want to watch a movie for a good time & to be entertained, you will be (especially those of you are good at riffing). But don't expect to leave the theater on the kind of high one gets from seeing a summer blockbuster...

A while back, someone managed to get their hands on this rare movie, was able to put the film on DVD and upload it to the internet on a bit torrent site. This allowed others to watch & download it and now someone has posted it (in parts) on YouTube. And now that I've seen it I'm going to review it to help shed light on this little known (but not for long!) film.

I'll go ahead and warn you that the movie was in Korean with no subtitles, so there are some things I might have missed. But luckily most DB fans know enough of the story it wasn't such a problem (though the things that were added or changed confused me a little).

The movie follows the first Dragon Ball hunt from the early episodes fairly well, even throwing in minor events most fans don't think about (Goku's first night in the capsule house, Yamcha seeing Bulma in the shower, Goku dressing as a girl and then, uh, revealing himself, etc.) Even the lesser monsters that pestered our heroes are present, represented by people wearing Power Ranger-style costumes (but without the masks).

But there's a drawback: it all looks ridiculous. Not only are the costumes, puppets and SFX less than believable, many the locales and sets aren't very impressive. Heck, it looks like the weapons were got from a toy store (Goku's power pole is clearly made of rubber).

However, it overcomes its homeliness and various technical flaws with spunk and heart. They went the extra mile to capture Akira Toriyama's fantastical, anything goes world from early DB as much as they could and they deserve an A+ for effort. Not only is Goku played by a young boy, but they actually got his hair spiky...with the spikes poking out in the right directions! Oolong, Puar and the Sea Turtle look like their animated counterparts. And some the characters get outfits similar to the anime, even if they do look silly.

But the best part is its actions scenes. Highly entertaining on several levels, whether because of their high energy or because they're fakey, I wasn't bored once watching them. A few even made me laugh! They get better as they go along, going from exaggerated martial arts and people swinging around (wildly) on wires to weapons making things explode where they hit and bad guys blowing up when they die (which may be incorporating a little of DBZ). Not to mention interesting additions like having Yamcha's sword shot lasers, Oolong have some fight in him and wielding nunchucks (ineffectially of course), and giving several characters abilities they didn't have in the anime.

It's far from perfect. But trying to adapt Dragon Ball 100% or as close as they could was bound to end with something quite silly and strange. Better than Dragonball Evolution, but not quite as good as DB: The Magic Begins, this is a fun romp for any DB fan. Just forget about pesky details like logic and physics (and brush up on your Korean) and you'll have a grand old time!

I have to admit I wasn't impressed by the trailers & commercials for this movie, which made it look like another "Shrek" wannabe, full of slapstick and snarky characters. However, I liked what I saw of Rapunzel and animals and heard good things about it from those in the know, so I gave it a shot. I'm very glad I did.

It takes us back to the time when Disney was at their best. I felt like I did the first time I watched the classics like "Aladdin", "Beauty and the Beast", and "The Little Mermaid". And that's a good thing. It may sound like too much praise, but in this era of animated movies more interested in pop culture references and wacky (read: grating) antics than good stories and memorable characters, we could really use more cartoon movies like the ones of old.

Even the opening narration reminded me of old-school Disney in how it told us the back story in its older movies. And I like how we get a different take on the story of Rapunzel, changing her from a farmer's daughter who ended up in the hands of a witch to a princess kidnapped to keep a woman (I wouldn't really call her a witch) young, and instead of a prince we get a thief forced to take her from that tower.

The characters are the best we've gotten from a non-Pixar Disney movie it a while. Rapunzel makes a good heroine. With big green eyes and 70 feet of golden hair, she's more engaging than Snow White and Aurora, as wide-eyed and venturesome as Ariel and Belle, and as clever as Mulan. And she's wonderfully versatile with that hair, like Indiana Jones with a built in whip, or Wonder Woman's lasso as a part of her body. Mother Gothel, like Disney's very best villains, is unassuming while manipulative, cunning and, above all else, cruel and self-serving. We get really good sidekicks in the animals. They don't talk (which I'm glad of), but communicate greatly via facial expressions, gestures, and body language. Pascal the chameleon has a good sense of comic timing and his color changing adds to his communication. Meanwhile, Maximus the horse steals every scene he's in, acting more like a dog than a horse, putting up a better fight than the castle guards, and even having some interesting depth. The one character I didn't like was Flynn. Having seen a lot of him in the trailers, I thought he'd be a weak link. And I was right. Not only is his storyline all too familiar, but I've seen his kind in several Dreamworks movies (starts out selfish, snide and scheming then gets better over time). He's basically a pretty Shrek, or one the heroes of "Eldorado" (he even kinda looks them)

This is the second Disney animated movie since "Mulan" to have song & dance numbers, and most of them are pretty good, bringing back memories of "The Litte Mermaid" and "Aladdin", which isn't surprising with Alan Menken in charge of music. The best one is the reprise of "Mother Knows Best" (once again, the Villain gets the best song!). And I should warn you about the weakest, "I've Got a Dream", which is supposed to emulate ensemble numbers of cartoons movies past, but is just too over the top and silly for its own good.

I'll admit its not groundbreaking like Disney Classics of old. But after a decade of many failures, including a few that were close but still missed the mark, this is the kind of movie that made Disney all those years ago with great animation, colorful characters (literally in Pascal's case), and a story that nicely mixes romance, comedy, adventure and heart. This is Disney at its best. And we need more like it.

I loved the first Superman/Batman movie, "Public Enemies". And I love this one even more. It has everything that made the first one great while fixing some PE's flaws.

For starters, "Apocolypse" looks better than its predecessor. While PE based its animation on Ed McGuinness' ridiculous art style, this one tries (though doesn't always succeed) in imitating the gorgeous artwork of the late Micheal Turner, which greatly helps it.

It also gives its characters more depth. In PE, a number of DC Comics characters just showed up almost randomly, many not even identified by name, let alone telling us about them. I watched it with some non-fan friends in the room and they were confused by the lesser known heroes and villains who seemed to show up out of no where and they didn't learn anything about. Here, we get to learn about many of the characters, at least to some degree. Fittingly, Kara gets a lot of focus let us get to know her well quickly and her relationship with Superman is quite stirring.

It even benefits from more time. While PE was the shortest DC Animated film, this one is the longest (even if it's just by a few minutes), it makes good use of every second.

However, it's not perfect. While most of the voice cast does a wonderful job, Andre Braugher is surprisingly underwhelming as Darksied. The spot on dialog would've sounded better and been more intimidating if they'd used Micheal Ironside or even Frank Welker, but Braugher's performance just isn't very menacing.

It also drops a few too many things from the original comic storyline. One such unfortunate side effect of the dropped material is Lyla/Harbinger, whose death is treated with much sadness and importance by the characters, but viewers have little reason to sympathize. To be fair, the character had been so underused/misused in the comics that by the time the storyline happened I doubt many fans cared. But I can imagine her getting enough depth in the comics to give us more reason why we should be as moved by her death as the characters are. Other things I miss are Mr. Miracle, the Justice League's appearance at the end, and explanation why the Doomsday clones are such wusses. Though there are elements I'm glad they dropped like Batman fighting Darkseid and the Source Wall.

As far as I'm concerned, this is one of DC's best animated films. It has everything that made "Superman/Batman: Public Enemies" cool, while surpassing it in a number of areas. A great movie for any DC Comics fan.

I have been a fan of the PUPPET MASTER movies since I was kid watching them on the Sci-Fi Channel, have watched all of them, and have put up with a lot of crap from the more recent entries. After Full Moon Pictures broke off from Paramount, the quality of their movies became noticeably poorer and poorer and they started running out of good ideas. But I stood by the PM series, hoping for a return to the quality of the low budgeted but determined films I grew up watching. But after this entry, I quit. This has to be the worst PM movie ever...and that's saying something!

For starters, the Puppets are absent for a large part of the story as the plot often plays like a WWII era drama about a cripple who wants to be a soldier but can't and then stumbles onto an Axis plot to blow up a weapons factory. When the Puppets are around their movements are stiff and lifeless like someone playing with dolls.

There is also awful acting, a character who looks older than the actress playing his mother, painfully cheap production values (if the other PM movies Had small budgets, the one for this entry is just microscopic), and even an insult to our intelligence by having WWII be central to the plot while having the setting be 1939...TWO YEARS BEFORE America ENTERED THE WAR!!

And to top it all off, the early scenes feature footage from the original PUPPET MASTER that are superior to the rest of the movie and the DVD features trailers for all the other PM movies, which shows how better the older movies were and the unfortunate decline in quality as the series went along.

I am now done with the PUPPET MASTER movies. If there is another one I won't watch it, but I doubt there will another one. I imagine this may be the final nail in the coffin to kill the series for good.

You'll find a lot of scathing reviews of THE LAST AIRBENDER around here. I'd like to give it a fair, level headed review and point out its positives, though I will address its fatal flaws.

This COULD have been a better movie. The trailers and commercials were actually rather promising. But in trying to cover an entire season of a popular cartoon show, it ended up being rushed and disjointed. Director M. Night Shyamalan writes a script that plays like ambitious fan fiction that cherry picks some of the seasons most popular & important moments from the season while throwing out pacing and character development.

I had hoped that what happened to Peter Jackson would happen to Shyamalan and that making something completely different from his previous works would be just the thing he needed. But I forgot that Jackson put a lot of work and effort into his pre "Lord of the Rings" movies while Shyamalan is the laziest director ever (he's even admitted it in interviews) and that he is a humbler, more grounded director.

It isn't entirely Shyamalan's fault. At the last minute, Paramount Studios decided to convert the movie to 3D, which ended up doing more harm than whatever good it could have done, and had several scenes cut that might have helped flesh out the story and add character development.

I'll now get to the good parts. It looks really good, with settings and costumes that often recall its source material and really nice cinematography. There's James Newton Howard's sweeping, stirring music score. I liked the bending effects. They're no perfect but I don't always want my SFX to be like in "Lord of the Rings" "The Matrix" or , Heaven help us, "Avatar" because sometimes that's too much to ask. I liked the action scenes. I liked the imperfect but earnest performances by Noah Ringer and Nicola Peltz as heroes Aang and Katara, Dev Patel's anti-hero Zuko later in the movie (though his early scenes leave something to be desired), and Shaun Toub gives the movie's best performance as Uncle Iroh, capturing the spirit of his character perfectly.

But the rest of the cast is unintentionally hilarious as they give bad performances like a poorly done high school production of Shaekespeare. In particular, Jackson Rathbone is as stiff and dull as he is in the "Twilight" movies (they may as well call his character "Jasper"). Cliff Curtis is just silly as Fire Lord Ozai (both in appearance and performance). And Aasif Mandvi gives a strange performance as Commander Zhao, though the fact that the character was rewritten from being ruthless, fierce, and intimidating to being a gloating, weak, underhanded goon doesn't help. The situation is even worse thanks to the hollow, exaggerated dialogue the actors are forced to say that even hurts the better performances.

The film is also a rushed sense of pace with events happening so quickly we don't get a chance to catch our breath and exposition repeatedly (and over dramatically) told to us to help us keep up. When characters have to talk about plot points every ten minutes or so, that's a clear sign you have a script that's too busy. And to top it all off the movie is poorly edited, going from place to place in its scenes so fast and sudden some viewers might get headaches.

Paramount is hoping to make "The Last Airbender" into a trilogy, with each entry based on a season/storyline from the cartoon. The ending certainly hints at things to come. But the negative reaction and possible box office failure may stop that. If there is a sequel, they better get another director, and if they don't they really need to get a different writer. Because the first entry had a lot of potential...but it was hopelessly mired by uneven acting, awful dialogue, a terrible sense of pacing and crappy editing that may kill the trilogy before it can really start.

The sixth movie in DC's straight to DVD animated movies is possibly the most endearing...and the most frustrating.

Based on a six issue comic story of the same name, it finds the world's two greatest heroes are turned into fugitives by Lex Luthor, now President of the United States,when Superman is framed for murder as a giant Kryptonite meteor plummets toward Earth. The duo have to fend off villains after the reward on Superman's head and heroes with orders to bring him in as they try to find way to stop the meteor and clear Supes.

I'll get the "frustrating" parts out of the way. First, there's the length of the film. While the previous DC animated movies were 75 minutes or so, this one is only 67 minutes (less if you don't count the credits). The character designs are a little strange, with many of the men being really muscular with overly smooth faces (Captian Atom and Major Force look like ventriloquist dummies overdosed on steroids). The two main female characters fare even less well, with Amanda Waller bloated and downright grotesque and Powergirl sporting big anime style eyes that take up half her face and a "disproportioned" chest. But there's blame to go around since character designs are based on those of comic artist Ed McGuiness. And it caters a little too much to fans of the comics in the way a number of characters show up and get in on the action without even being called by name & don't even ask about back stories, which may confuse more casual viewers who are unfamiliar with DC Comics and its characters.

Now for the "endearing" qualities. It may be short but it doesn't waste a second of its run time, giving us one awesome, kick ass action scene after another as our title heroes take on all comers (watching Superman and the power armor wearing Luthor go at it is quite a show), as well as how they deal with the meteor. The animation is very good, though the computer animation thrown in conflicts with the rest of the art. The dialog is lively and smart and the voice acting is top notch, with Superman, Batman and Luthor being voiced by the actors who played them wonderfully in several cartoon series (Tim Daily, Kevin Conroy and Clancy Brown, respectively). And there's something amusing about about hearing Allison Mack (Chole Sullivan from the TV show "Smallville") as Powergirl. And if you are a fan of the comics, you'll be amazed by all the characters that pop up.

It has some annoying flaws, but with so much superhero action I'll recommend it wholeheartedly.

"Ponyo", the latest film by master animation director Hayao Miyazaki, isn't a masterpiece like many of his other works but is still wonderful none the less. It is gorgeous (as usual), fantastic, touching and adorable.

Based loosely on "The Little Mermaid", it's the story of a young fish-like creature who meets a small boy, falls in love with him, and decides she wants to be human. There's more to it than that, but I'll leave it at that because I don't want to give too much away.

The animation is just beautiful. It has the brightest, most vibrant colors you'll see outside of a child's picture book and many of the characters have an eye catching design.

I also need to give credit to Joe Hiashi and his score. Hiashi's music is almost every Studio Ghibi movie and is great. Here, he's at his best. I found the music soothing, soaring, or stirring, depending on the scene.

There's a colorful cast of characters, from the title character (cute both as fish and as human), to Souske, the boy she meets who grows up a little as the movie goes along to their families, including Ponyo's hundreds of little (and I do mean little) sisters and wizard father, who looks like a cross between an 80s rock star and a clown.

If the film has a flaw, it's that there's a lack of conflict and suspense. Even "My Neighor Totoro" and "Kiki's Delivery Service" manages to give their characters some big problems to deal with. Here, when something goes wrong, it's solved rather quickly. Maybe a little TOO quickly...

Also, the movie peaks part way through. There's a wonderful scene with Ponyo running on the ocean waves during a storm after she's turned human while Souske and his mom drive up drive up a cliff side road to get away from the waves that is just exhilarating and marvelous. But after that, things start to go downhill and the movie slowly runs out of steam until the end.

"Ponyo" is not a classic masterpiece of animation like "Spirited Away" or "My Neighbor Totoro" and I'm not even gonna bother comparing it to "Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind" and "Princess Mononoke" if just because it's so different in style and tone. But it's still a Hayao Miyazaki movie. And that means an animated film that is beautiful and moving.

Back in 2002 or 3, Fox Studios announced it would be making a live action, theatrical version of the popular anime series, DRAGON BALL Z. But I thought "They should make a DRAGON BALL" movie first to introduce audiences to the world of the seven mystical, wish granting orbs and the heroic Goku and his super powered friends and enemies before diving into the fairly dense DBZ.

Well, they did. Unfortunately, Fox had little interest in properly supporting the project and the final result is something that certainly won't appeal to everyone. But I found myself liking it.

You'll find many negative reviews of DBE around here and they have some valid points against it, but if you watch a movie just to have a good time and to be entertained, then it's good to kill some time. It's not a great movie by any means, but far from being one of the worst or even THE worst, as some have been (unfairly) calling it.

The hate comes from the fact that DB is one of the all time classic anime shows, which set some rules and a standard that many a anime "shonen" action show still follow to this day. It was funny, exciting, intriguing, and some times a little moving as Goku made new friends and fought strange bad guys while hunting the Dragon Balls. DBZ was an even bigger hit (though I don't quite understand why), with epic, slam-bang, over the top battles between super beings that tore up the landscape around them. This is also part of the hate, as many fans associate the two shows as one and think of DBZ more than DB, meaning they were expecting some pretty big knock downs, forgetting that many of the fights in DB were shorter, yet with more variety as everyone had his or own special moves.

Fox also dug themselves a hole by releasing it in Asia nearly a month before it came to America, and several countries in between along the way, causing it to suffer from much piracy. So by the time it got to America, many fans had already passed judgment from watching the bootleg and causing a very bad word of mouth.

I wanted to give final judgment when I saw it for myself. And truth be told, I kinda like it.

I'll admit it's flawed. There is little here that hasn't been done before and nothing that hasn't been down better in other movies and even TV shows. A lot of them. You'll see better fights, better special effects, better pacing and certainly better acting than you will here. However, you could also do a lot worse, which puts poor DBE in an uncomfortable grey area of mediocrity. How you enjoy it will depend on your individual tastes and standards.

The story combines the first Dragon Ball Hunt from the early episodes of the show with the "King Piccolo" arc that came later in the series. This alone is part of the problem, as the two story lines are very different in style and tone: early DB had a lot of crude humor and silliness while the King Piccolo story was when things started getting more serious and action packed. Combining the two makes for a strange mix, as DBE keeps shifting in tone from comedic to dramatic every few scenes.

It has young Goku (Justin Chatwin) going on a hunt for the 7 Dragon Balls at the last request of his adoptive grandfather (Randall Duk Kim) to protect them from the evil Lord Piccolo (James Marsters) with help from techno-wiz Bulma (Emmy Rossum), martial arts master Roshi (Chow Yun Fat) and bandit Yamcha (Joon Park).

It's supposed to be an epic, rich and eventful story and as a comic and animated show it was fairly deep. But DBE rushes through it in eighty five minutes, with short explanations that don't really explain much, even when repeated to help the audience keep up. In particular, Piccolo makes sporadic appearances that make him a better plot device than villain until the movie's climax. And there's a BIG plot hole I won't bring up here because it would give a big twist away, but I will say it'll cause shouts of "WTF?!" Rumor has it that screen writer Ben Ramsey originally wrote a more eventful, action packed script, but it was rewritten and simplified when the film's budget turned out to be smaller than they'd originally hoped for.

Despite its flaws, I found myself liking it. There were many moments that amused me, some scenes I found genuinely entertaining, and even some performances I liked. For example, I found Chatwin likable much of the time, while I found his bad moments quite funny. And I thought Kim, Marsters, and Jamie Chung (as Goku's love interest Chi-Chi) gave solid performances even though they weren't given much to work with. I even enjoyed Park's cheesy "surfer dude" like take on Yamcha, finding it pretty amusing. The earlier fights actually felt like something from DB to me, and the final battle looked an awful lot like something from DBZ.

In the end, how you feel about DRAGON BALL EVOLUTION all depends. It's far from great, but I think a lot people will still find it entertaining on some level. It's no masterpiece by any means, but it'll provide some solid entertainment if you give it a chance.

For years, fans of Wonder Woman have been crying out for a big screen blockbuster to come to theaters. Those cries keep falling on deaf ears and those who try to make a WW movie keep failing to get it off the ground for whatever reason. It may be a long time before a WW movie is released theatrically, if it comes out at all. But until then fans can turn to this superb animated offering for much solace.It more than gets the job done.

For starters, it feels good just seeing Wonder Woman (AKA Diana) ON HER OWN. More times than not, when she's on film she has to share the spotlight with Superman, Batman and other DC Comics heroes (SUPERFRIENDS, JUSTIC LEAGUE). Not here. This is all her. If you're tired of seeing her share screen time and story roles with other heroes and would like to see her fly solo, then you've come to the right place.

The movie also does a great job on how she does things. Ever since she was reintroduced in 1985, she's actually been one the more aggressive heroes in DC. She's not afraid to get some blood on her hands and even kill for the greater good. Recent film versions (JUSTICE LEAGUE/JL UNLIMITED, JL: THE NEW FRONTIER), have bought this often overlooked side her to light. And this movie further exposes this. When she's relaxing, she can be pretty nice. But then she goes into action, she can be tough. Even brutal.

The story borrows elements from the George Perez relaunch: Steve Trevor crash lands on Themescarya, the island of the Amazons, and Diana wins a contest to take him back to "Man's World" and become the Amazonian emissary of justice and peace. But the Amazons long time prisoner, Ares, god of war, has escaped and threatens to throw the world into chaos and destruction and it's up to Diana and Steve to stop him.

The movie benefits from great animation, featuring a vivid color scheme, quick and fluid movements, and very good character designs. All the characters have a unique design that makes it easy to keep up with who's who and the action scenes are top notch as our heroine and her allies battle Ares and his minions.

Speaking of action scenes, I should warn you that this movie is rather violent. It earns its PG-13 rating, as there are very hard punches and kicks that send people flying trough walls, explosions, stabbings & impalements, shooting from both arrows and guns, some neck snapping, and a couple of beheadings.

There's also some suggestive dialog, mainly courtesy of Steve. But it's mostly done fairly tastefully, to the point and with a ring of truth.

So if you're fed up with Hollywood's inability to even get a Wonder Woman movie started, then watch this one to see the character done right!

It's been a long time since I've wanted to see a Disney movie that didn't have Pixar or Hayao Miyazaki attached to it. For whatever reason, the past several films Disney has made by themselves have failed to live up to the standard of classics like SNOW WHITE, PINNOCHIO, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, and THE LION KING, to name a few. Only time will tell if BOLT will be lucky of enough to held anywhere near the regard those movies are, but it's certainly a step in the right direction.

I'll go ahead and admit it's nothing that hasn't been done before (just once can't we have talking animal movie that doesn't involved a journey of some kind where the characters learn things about themselves and some life lessons?), but it has so much humor and heart that makes up for it's clichés.

The movie sure starts out good enough, with little Penny getting Bolt, a frisky and active puppy, from a pet store in a scene I thought was kinda sweet. Then we flash forward 5 years later to the action parts. As you probably know by now, Bolt is the star of his own action/science fiction TV show, where he uses super powers to regularly save Penny from the henchmen of the evil Dr. Calico. The tone setting scene for the show is like an entertaining cross between Lassie, James Bond and a little of the Matrix Trio (only better). Only Bolt doesn't know it's fake, as the studio does what they can to make him think he really is a super dog in order for him to give a better performance. The situation is made a little worse because Calico's cat (who's in on the sham) taunts him nightly for fun. There's also the fact that he and Penny really care for each other, having a relationship I found fairly touching and doubt most Timmies and Lassies ever had.

One day, the show ends shooting with a cliffhanger and Bolt escapes his trailer to rescue Penny only to end up in a box that's shipped from Hollywood to New York. With the "advice" of some pigeons, he takes a stray cat named Mittens hostage and forces her to help him get back to Hollywood & Penny and along the way they get help from a hamster named Rhino, who's a fan of the show.

The movie is helped by a colorful cast of characters. Bolt is the canine version of Buzz Lightyear or Don Quixote, completely deluded into thinking his powers are real. Seeing him talk old fashioned heroic dialogue at the beginning of the movie bought a smile to my face, and then when he starts doubting his powers and finds out they aren't real, it brings some depth & pathos to his character. Mittens makes the perfect straight man to him early on, street wise and sarcastic, then helps him learn to act like a real dog. And then we learn something about her past that makes us feel some sympathy for her. Rhino is as delusional, if not more so, than his hero, and could be the kind of pudgy, excitable fan boy one encounters in real life at various convention. And Penny is a likable girl who truly cares for Bolt and is even forced to make some hard decisions about her feelings for him. And there's a good supporting cast, from the pigeons to Dr. Calico to his cats to Penny's Agent, who keep things lively. And it's made even better by the great voice acting of the cast.

I'd like to talk about the great animation, but enough people have done that and all I'll say is that the animals, especially the pigeons, move like their real life counterparts.

There are some pretty funny jokes here. Almost everything with Rhino and the pigeons will get some laughs. The pigeons are made funnier because different groups of three are encountered who have the same character design, but have different color schemes and accents. And for a while Bolt thinks his powers were taken away by the Styrofoam packing peanuts in the box he was shipped in and we get a clever running gag about Styrofoam being his kryptonite.

My biggest gripe was said before, as we've seen the story before. And there are times in the middle it drags just a bit. And near the end, things got a little hokey for me.

However, this is still the best non-Pixar movie Disney has made in years as far as I'm concerned. If they can keep it up, they can get back on the right track to being the kings of animations again.

Back in 2005, I saw "Batman Begins" and fell in love with it: finally, a Batman that got the character and the world he lives in right, not a flawed live action cartoon. I thought things couldn't get any better.

"The Dark Knight" has proved me wrong. And I'm glad of it.

For starters, this does what it's predecessor did and treats Gotham City and its inhabitants as if it was a real place. Our hero's gear and equipment have real world origins and explanations, not just something he pulls out of his utility belt and starts doing amazing things with. There are scenes of people reacting to situations as you or I would do, not a bunch of extras following the director's instructions. And there are real world complications that that many other versions of Gotham City didn't seem to have.

Since there are some are some big twists the trailers and commercials avoided showing us, I'll try my best to keep this spoiler free. But the results of those twists have such a great effect on the plot I might go into detail about them, so be warned.

Let's start with the thing on everyone's mind and talk about the late Heath Ledger's performance as the Joker, not the mention the character himself. This is not your father's Joker. Everything about him is changed, right down to his origin. Instead of a career criminal who fell into a vat of chemicals that altered his appearance, we have have a psychopath with unique scars wearing clown make up. There are no gimmicky weapons here: no killer laughing gas, no electrifying joy buzzers, no acid squirting flowers, no guns with BANG flags. This Joker uses a variety of guns, knives and bombs that any criminal really could find and use. And he's no longer a criminal mastermind out to get as much money as possible and have fun committing crime. He's out to cause chaos and panic for his own twisted amusement, his attacks becoming increasingly destructive and deadly as they happen in ways that rival real world terrorist attacks. Later in, he's out to make turn the people of Gotham bad, forcing common citizens to do unthinkable acts in response to his terrible demands. And Ledger brings the character to life in way no other actor has ever done or will. The rumors he may win a posthumous Oscar have much truth to them. If you're one of those people who've always thought Jack Nicholson's Joker from the 1989 "Batman" was over the top and cartoonish, then watch "The Dark Knight" for the complete opposite.

But Ledger isn't the only one doing a wonderful job here. Christopher Bale remains the best Bruce Wayne/Batman ever. Micheal Caine brings both humor and sincerity to Alfred. Morgan Freeman wonderfully shows us the mind (and heart) behind the Batsuit and those weapons and equipment. Gary Oldman gives one of the best performances in his entire career as a stalwart James Gordon. Maggie Gyllenhaal is a vast improvement over Katie Holmes as Rachel Dawes. Aaron Eckhart brings charisma and courage to his role as Harvey Dent, which makes Dent's transformation to the scarred villain Two Face all the more horrifying and tragic (something Tommy Lee Jones didn't even try to do when he played the character in 1995's "Batman Forever"). Even anonymous characters that only get a few minutes of screen time manage to leave an impression.

But be warned: this movie lives up to its PG-13 rating. The violence here is fast and brutal. And even when bullets aren't flying and bombs aren't exploding, the tension is so thick it'll take a lot more than a knife to cut it. There are several jump out of your seat moments and some fairly disturbing scenes. During the last 30 minutes or so, I was on the edge of my seat, my heart constantly pounding and my eyes wide as I hoped for the best but expected the worse. If you have young Bat-Fans, you might want to pause before taking them to see this, or buying the DVD for them when it comes out. Even though the movie has toys and snack food tie ins, I wouldn't let a child under 11 or 12 see this. I imagine even some adult viewers won't be able to sit trough it without squirming in their seats a few times.

My one true complaint is that "The Dark Knight" maybe TOO good, setting the mark a little too high for future Batman Movies. Even if they could find someone to replace Ledger to bring back the Joker, I'm not sure that actor could possibly fill the large shoes left to fill.

"I think you and I are destined to do this forever" The Joker leers at Batman at one point. If only that were true...

Pixar's newest film, "Wall-E", is sure to go down in history as animated masterpiece alongside the "Toy Story" duo, "The Incredibles", and "Finding Nemo".

For starters, the animation is just gorgeous. Which is really saying something when the first part of the movie takes place world that is a barren, trash filled waste land. Unlike so many films from their animation rivals where everything is bright and crisp, the artists at Pixar always add real world textures to everything they make. Just think about the water in "Finding Nemo" or the food in "Ratatouille". While we are taken to a place where everything is smooth and well polished later, I was more impressed by how they were able to make everything dirty, rusty and dented...including our hero.

Wall-E himself is one of the most lovable animated characters I've seen in years. Unlike so many "whacky", "zany" cartoon characters who are annoying, obnoxious and almost soulless, Wall-E is able to emote and make us like him without saying a word. Well, he does say a few words, but they're so few and far between he's practically a silent film star for the 21st century, wonderfully using his eyes, hand gestures, and body movements. The same can be said for Eve, the probe driod who steals his heart (or is it motor?). It is interesting to see them together just because they're so different: he's old (maybe even ancient), clunky, dented and dirty as a machine can be while still working while she's sleek, fast and brand new. The two of them make a good couple, first as a comedy duo with Wall-E as the clown and Eve as the straight man, then as friends, then as lovers. There is even a scene of them "dancing" in space which culminates with the robot equivalent of a kiss. The love story in "Wall-E" wonderfully accomplishes what so many romantic comedies try and fail to do, and I'm not even sure Pixar realizes it!

I also really like the film's messages, which are ones we don't see very often and fairly bold. Most kids & family movies (including Pixar's previous works) use morals about friendship, family, honesty, being true to yourself, etc. There's nothing with that. In fact, it should a good way to impart some important information onto young viewers. But we've seen them all so many times those messages have lost some of their meaning. And sometimes those meanings tend to unfortunately get lost amid the slapstick, crude humor, action scenes, and pop culture references that much of today's family entertainment falls victim to. Not here. The first, most obvious message has to do with the environment: the Earth of the future is a barren garbage dump with no plants or water and Wall-E has made "stacks" of crushed and cubed garbage that are taller than sky-scrapers and the only animal we see is a lone cockroach.

But the movie took me by surprise when it started to show us something about today's society. The story takes us to the giant spaceship Axiom where humanity now lives and here the human race has evolved into a race of pudgy, pampered people who sit in hover chairs and very rarely get out of them, have robots do every single thing for them except eat/drink "food in a cup" (all junk food, at that), talk to each other via holographic screens instead of face to face even when the person they're talking to is nearby, have no knowledge of their surroundings (they spend hours lounging by the pool without even realizing there is a pool there, let alone trying to swim) or history, and the corporation that built the ship (and ruined Earth) tells them what to do via ads in place of a government. The scary thing is that there are several eerie parallels between the society of the Axiom and the one here in the real world that make me wonder about the real fate of mankind.

For the life of me, I can't think of a single flaw with "Wall-E". From the animation to the characters to the story, everything about it is so great I can't think of anything wrong with it. Not only will this be one of the best movies, animated or live action, of 2008, it will be one of the best movies of all time.

With each new entry, the "Pokemon" movie series seems to get a little better. While the first movie was just awful, all of its sequels keep topping each other somehow. So Movie 10, "The Rise of Darkrai", may be the best one yet.

After the introduction, the movie literally starts out with a bang as the dragon-like legendary Pokemon Palkia and Dialga battle in some strange, otherworldly dimension. After the scene ends (but the battle doesn't), the story goes over to Ash, Brock, and their new companion Dawn. They're on their way to Alamos Town to take part in a Pokemon tournament and see the sights, in particular the Space-Time Tower and the town's gardens. But strange things are happening and the mysterious, ghostly Darkrai is being blamed. A local scientist says otherwise, but a posse is formed to capture or destroy it. But before our heroes can resolve that crisis, the battle between Dialga and Palkia spills into Alamos Town, threatening to destroy it completely.

The animation, not surprisingly, is very good and the best yet: movements are quick and fluid while the CGI and regular animation are blend together pretty good. The plot moves along at a good pace, keeping the action coming while slowing down at many of the right places.

What I really like is that this time almost everyone helps out. Not only do the one shot characters and almost every Pokemon shown make themselves fairly useful, it's a treat seeing Ash and Co.'s "sidekick" Pokemon play a decent role, something that doesn't happen as often as it should. And it's rather refreshing seeing Dawn play the hero alongside Ash, as I do tire of him saving the day in many of the movies, even when other characters are given a lot of focus (see Movie 9, "Pokemon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea", for a prime example).

The downside? For starters, if you've seen all the other movies in the series, you'll have some deja vu. "Pokemon The Movie 2000" (Movie 2) and and "Pokemon: Destiny Deoxys" (Movie 7), quickly come to mind. And Dialga and Palkia's fighting will cause flashbacks of many Godzilla films. Also, some might not like the new voice cast. While the cast from TAJ Productions ended up being something of an improvement over 4Kids, the voice actors of DuArt are a slight step back.

But despite its flaws, which don't bother me too much, this is the best Pokemon Movie yet. Can't wait to see what Movie 11 brings to the table.

Every since Full Moon Pictures left Paramount Studios in the late nineties, they haven't been near as good as they used to be. I don't know what will become of the studio in years to come, but this movie is the last straw for me and I'm going to give up on them.

Hell, even the title is inaccurate: only one Worry Doll does anything, and even then we barely see it. A more appropriate title would've been "Woman possessed by Dangerous Worry Doll".

There's nothing special here: a not-too-bad girl in a women's correctional facility? Check. A group of bitches who control everything and are despicable? Check. A warden who lets her personal dislike of our heroine cloud her judgment and lets the really bad girls get away with doing bad things? Check. A guard who's mean and sadistic and one who's nice, a little girl who's more plot device than a character and inmates who there just to make it looks like a real prison? Check, check, check! If it weren't for the doll and its effect on Eva, this would be your standard woman in prison movie that was played out years ago.

The one bright spot is that after she'd possessed, Eva becomes more upbeat and fun to watch. And her tormentors are so unlikable that you'll want to help her kill them. The problem is, we don't get to see the actual deaths, which are simply implied. And I never I'd thought see the day Full Moon wouldn't show a violent death.

Still, this a step backwards for Full Moon for reclaiming their former glory. And it's far, far too late to go back.

After fourteen year absence, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles returned to the big screen, now sporting a CGI animated look as opposed to the live action of the first three from the early nineties. How does it go? Well, it isn't perfect, but I still had fun watching it.

The good folks at Imagi Animation Studios do an excellent job for bringing the Turtles and Company to life. Movements are fluid and smooth, with the our reptilian heroes so quick and nimble they're more like monkeys than turtles. There were times I thought the humans looked strange (to me, April looks like a cross between an anime babe and a Barbie doll), but for the most part they worked.

There's also very good voice acting from Patrick Stewart, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Chris Evans, and the late, great Mako.

The movie has an interesting blend of light and dark elements, mixing the grown up seriousness of the first movie and current animated TV series with the Saturday morning/weekday afternoon goofy fun of the old cartoon from the late Eighties and Ninties and other two movies. The end result makes for solid entertainment. I even found this entry LESS cartoonish than the live-action but often silly second and third movies (Vanilla Ice bursting into an impromptu, strangely accurate rap about ninjas mid-battle? A magic scepter that take our heroes to 18th century Japan where they become samurai?...Huh?!).

My biggest complaint would be how crowded and busy TMNT is: you have Winters & his four stone generals, the thirteen monsters, Karai & the Foot Clan ninjas, Leonardo bringing the group together after a long absence, Rapheal moonlighting as a costumed crime fighter called the Nightwatcher, the tension between the two of them, and even a subplot about April and Casey's relationship. There's enough material here for several episodes of the TV show. Or a longer movie, or at least a less crowded one. Maybe if it were ten to twenty minutes longer or didn't have as many characters/story lines, it could've been a little better. It also would've helped if there had been less monsters, as they end up being more plot device than characters and many of them show up just long enough to be seen.

Overall, if you're a long time fan of the Heroes in a Half Shell, a fairly new fan or casual viewer, you should have a good time despite the flaws.

As a fan of the musical, I was both excited and worried to hear that it was finally being filmed. I was excited because a one of the greatest and daring musicals ever would finally be given the put on the silver screen for all the world to see and worried because there were a lot of things that could go wrong.

When I heard Tim Burton would be directing, I felt it was in good hands because if anyone could get the dark look and tone of the musical, it would be him. Escpecially since he is a life long fan of the show who's seen every performance he could since it premiered on Broadway in 1979.

However, when I heard that Johnny Deep would be playing the title character, I thought "uh-oh". Having a man who's never sung in his life play the lead character in a musical doesn't necessarily mean it will be bad to begin with (look at how things worked out for Rex Harrison in MY FAIR LADY or Marlon Brando in GUYS AND DOLLS), but I couldn't help but worry. And I became concerned as I heard about the rest of the casting, including Helena Bonham Carter as Mrs. Lovett. So in the months of production, I listened for any news I could about the film and its star's singing abilities, which were kept under wraps. The fact that the trailers focused more on the horror aspects of the show didn't help.

But now that I've finally seen the film for myself, I can breathe a huge sigh of relief in knowing one of my favorite musicals was done justice on the screen.

The story: a London barber is unjustly imprisoned by a corrupt judge and is sent to an Austrailian prison for 15 years. He escapes and returns to London to reunite with his family, only to find out it was the destroyed by the judge. He vows revenge, but soon targets all of society and his partner in crime uses the bodies of his victims to help her poor meat pie business.

It looks great. The film's production team painstakingly recreate Dickens-era London in all its squalid glory, mostly using actual buildings and cobble stone streets in favor of the overused CGI Hollywood is addicted to these days. And the costumes and rooms look so authentic I wondered if they didn't actually buy and repair centuries old clothes.

And how did Johnny do? For starters, he looks the part. With his pale complexion, the dark circles around his eyes, and his wily black hair with white streak, he looks like a Victorian mad man. But how's his singing? Well, he doesn't have the big, boisterous, Broadway-style singing voice of the major actors who've played Sweeney in the past, but he makes it work. Instead he has a usually quiet, somewhat punk rock style voice that he makes very good use of. When he sung to his razors in the song "My Friends" I got chills. And he did just great on "Epithany", where Todd loses what sanity he has and vows to kill everyone he can.

Helena, however, left somethings to be desired. She looked the part with her frizzled hair and long, ruffled dresses. She's not nearly as good a singer but she has her moments.

As for the rest of the cast, they're all very good. Alan Rickman makes the corrupt Judge Turpin loathsome and despicable, Timothy Spall is a mean ass Beadle Bamford, and Sacha Baron Cohen makes wonderful use of his short role as the flamboyant, conceited, greedy Pirelli.

Then there's the newcomers. I have to give Burton a lot of credit for having the show's young characters played by actors that are more or less the right age. Jayne Wisener is a pretty Johanna and she sings a good rendition of "Green Finch, Linnet Bird" (no small feat considering this is one of the show's least popular songs), but her character does less here than on stage, so it was hard for me to really judge her. Jamie Campbell Bower struck me as a strangely pretty take of Anthony, but then again he did look "fresh faced" and he can really sing. But the best one is Ed Sanders. When I heard that Toby was being played by a kid, I was a little uncertain of how to take it, as the character has always been played by young men who simply looked youthful. But young Mr. Sanders does a wonderful job, bringing humor and pathos to every scene he's in, whether it be hawking fake hair tonic in "Perilli's Miracle Elixer" or singing a moving song of devotion with "Not While I'm around" or just swilling gin with the best of 'em. With a good agent, this kid could have a future in the movies.

Fans of the musical will lament the many, many cuts of material lost in the transition from stage to screen, but I was okay with most of them. Many made sense and there were some I even saw coming. The only ones I really miss are the chorus in "God That's Good!" and the Judge's version "Johanna", which both disturbing and fascinating at the same time.

All in all, a great adaptation of a great musical. Well done, Mr. Burton, very well done.