Elf

"Oh, hello. You're probably here about the story."

I started off my Christmas season with

Elf

, one of my favorite Christmas movies. Actually, one of my favorite movies ever. I'm a big Will Ferrel fan and this is one of his funniest roles. I'm also a big Zooey Deschanel fan, so this movie just has everything I love including laughs, music, and Christmas cheer!

"I passed through the seven levels of the Candy Cane forest, through the sea of swirly twirly gum drops, and then I walked through the Lincoln Tunnel."

One of the most amazing scenes is when Buddy the Elf decorates the department store. It's amazing. Paper snowflakes and garland everywhere, "Welcome Santa!" written on Lite Brites and a beautifully decorated Christmas tree. It always inspires me to start my Christmas decorating, including lots of paper snowflakes!

"Buddy the Elf! What's your favorite color?"

Oh, you better believe I will be answering my phone like that for the Christmas season.

One of the best parts of the movie doesn't come until the end. Zooey Deschanel & Leon Redbone singing Baby, It's Cold Outside over the end credits. It's a beautiful song and their voices together make this a unique version. Have a listen for yourself while you sip some hot choco by the fire and get into the snowy Christmas spirit.

Adventureland

Despite what the trailer had me believe, this movie is not very funny. There are some funny parts but mostly is a pretty serious story about college kids and their problems. Jesse Eisenberg reminds me of Micheal Cera and Simon Amstell. Kristen Stewart is… well, all I have to say is Kristen Stewart and you’ll know what she’s like in this movie if you’ve seen her in anything else because she is the exact same in all her movies. That girl has no emotions and the only thing that makes her stand out is her awkward stuttering thing she does while she runs her fingers through her hair awkwardly. She’s just always an awkward looking person. Can you tell I’m not a fan? Despite Kristen Stewart being Kristen Stewart, it’s a good movie about that unsure post-high school/college phase of life.

Cheese Rating: 1/5
Hilarity Rating: 2/5
Quality Rating: 4/5
For Fans of: Garden State, Igby Goes Down, Ghost World, Micheal Cera
Final Verdict: despite Kristen Stewart, it’s a good watch.

Movie Remakes

There are some remakes coming out soon of classic movies, which brings up the issue of remakes vs originals. I’m looking forward to seeing Russell Brand in the Drop Dead Fred remake. I like the original and I think Russell Brand will be great as the character of Fred. Brand’s humor and mannerisms in movies like Forgetting Sarah Marshall look like they’d be perfect for the crude character of Fred. I think this remake won’t be a replacement for the original like some remakes try to be, I think it’ll be a good re-imagining of the same story. I feel the opposite about the Footloose remake, however. As cute as Chace Crawford is, they can never remake something so classic as alien-faced young Kevin Bacon doing his angry dance in the warehouse. They’re going to have to change so much for it to be relevant to kids today because so much of that movies was sooooo 80’s. I bet they change the ridiculously slow tractor chicken game into a high speed sports car chicken game because every movie needs a car chase and/or crash to make any money in the box office. And that’s why studios are remaking classic movies in the first place; to make money.

I understand that producers are tempted to remake movies that have become classics because people liked them so much. However, being that the movie is so great that you want to introduce it to a new generation by remaking it, wouldn't it stand to say that it would be better to introduce the original to the new generation? Some remakes basically recreate the original movie in this time so that people now can understand and relate to it more. And if they like the movie, that could encourage them to see the original as well. As a true film lover, I'm all for getting people to watch movies that they wouldn't normally because they aren't new and mainstream.

I don’t think all remakes are bad though, I even like some better than the original. A lot of people might hate for saying this, but I liked Tim Burton's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory much more than 1971’s Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Although, I wouldn't consider that a remake because both movies were based on the book, not the second based on the first. Compared to the colorful, vivid world that Tim Burton created, the first movie was slow and dull. Not to mention the music by Danny Elfman in Tim Burton's movie was way better than the weak little ditties the oompa loompas sang in the first. I even downloaded Willy Wonka's theme song to use as my ringtone. The first included some things from the book that the second didn’t, but Tim Burton’s colorful world and Johnny Depp’s portrayal of Willy Wonka made Charlie and the Chocolate Factory one of my favorite movies to watch over and over.

Australia

It took me four days to make it all the way through Australia. It’s fairly long, but that’s not why. Well, actually because it’s so long it has so many dramatic climaxes and also many slower parts. I got bored every so often and had to change it up.

It wasn’t the entirely dramatic epic I was expecting. It had comic moments and a tone that reminded me of another great Baz Luhrmann film, Moulin Rouge!. The plot was definitely long and epic. You’ve got an unsuspecting love connection, near-death experiences, business conspiracies, learning to let the people you love go, something for everyone.

If you can handle it, watch it all in one sitting, the way movies are meant to be watched. It’s a really great story if you let yourself get into it.