The Nightmare Before Christmas Vs. Corpse Bride

If I were to ask you, what Tim Burton movie is the most recognizable? Or which of his films gets the most hype? My guess is that you would say The Nightmare Before Christmas. I would agree with this statement. Case in point, I’m wearing a Jack Skellington shirt today. It certainly is the movie that has the most merchandise for it. I think this is greatly attributed to the fact that it is a movie produced by Disney. Did Corpse Bride suffer due to being produced by Warner Bros?

Personally, I tend to like Corpse Bride more over The Nightmare Before Christmas because I think it has the stronger plot. Recently, I re-watched NBC and tried to analyze it in a plot-driven way. I think it is a fantastic movie with wonderful characters and animation. Though, at times, I feel like the plot gets derailed and becomes a bit scattered. I feel this the most during the climax of the movie, when Jack and his sleigh are shot down. The tone of this entire sequence feels so off from the rest of the movie. I also feel confused as to what the focus of the plot is supposed to be. Is it the story of Jack and Sally falling in love? Is it Jack’s discovery and exploration of Christmas? Or is it supposed to be a combination of both? Maybe I’m overthinking this entirely. One thing is for sure, Sally represents the voice of reason and is simply meant to be this way.

As for Corpse Bride, it is clear that the driving force for the plot is the love story. After all, bride is in the title. The one complaint I have about this movie is why did the two living people involved in the love triangle need to be named Victor and Victoria? That just makes no sense to me. As for Emily, I think she is brilliant and her yearning to be loved is one of the best things about the movie. I like that in CB, as well as NBC, we are being constantly transported through 2 different worlds. This stark contrast really makes these movies successful. In CB, we are presented with a backstory as to how Emily came to be a corpse. I really like that this was added so we weren’t in speculation. That is something that I wish was explored in NBC. Since Jack is a skeleton, it leaves me pondering about was he once alive? Or is Halloween town its own entity entirely where these creatures and monsters coexist with no ties to the human world? Both movies leave me with having a lot of unanswered questions.

I will say that NBC has the stronger villain. Oogie Boogie is absolutely terrifying. He’s a living mass of bugs with a drive to gamble with evil intentions. Lord Barkis in CB is evil, but he’s just a greedy man. Yes, he’s a sinister murderer who I wouldn’t want to stumble across, but he isn’t near as intimidating as Oogie Boogie (and Barkis doesn’t get a song).

This all being said, I don’t dislike either movie. I still find it difficult in saying that I prefer Corpse Bride because I love them both so much. I just wish Corpse Bride was given a fraction of the attention that The Nightmare Before Christmas gets. 

Beetlejuice Review

Halloween and Christmas are my favorite holidays. For each, there’s one movie, in particular, that I watch several times throughout their given months. For Halloween, that movie is Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice. I have talked about this movie before, but I wanted to dedicate a proper review to my favorite, frightful film.

As I said in my previous post, I love how this movie is not your typical “haunted house” story. It gives a whole new perspective on how your world may be like after death. Unlike Corpse Bride, Adam and Barbara Maitland are not blue, or some other un-humanly color, after they pass on. In fact, they don’t even appear to be dead. What I find interesting is that during the Waiting Room scene, their deceased counterparts are a rainbow of colors, and all distinctly show how they died. I especially love Miss Argentina in this scene. I think it can be assumed that the “Land of the Dead” is thought to be under the living world, leading me to believe it is a parallel to Hell. This is merely an assumption.

As for the other characters, they really are an interesting bunch. I just love the Deetzes. I think Lydia Deetz is one of the finest characters to come out of a Tim Burton movie. Her quirks help her stand out and she shines. I also adore her stepmother, Delia. She’s just such a crazy character, though she means well. I wish Delia and Lydia had a closer relationship with each other, but I feel that’ll come with time. One of my favorite parts of the movie is Lydia’s relationship with her the Maitlands. I love how Lydia is the only one in the house that can see the novice ghosts. I also really love her relationship with the title character, Beetlejuice.

Though the movie is named after him, he really isn’t in the movie much. We see his face for the first time only when he is called upon by the Maitlands. He claims he is a “freelance bio-exorcist” who can take care of your troubles with the living. I really want to know how he got to this position, and how he once was Juno’s assistant. Speaking of Juno, I think it’s so great that she still smokes beyond the grave, with smoke billowing out of her slit throat. Beetlejuice is such a fun character who causes some great mayhem, especially with the wedding scene.

This movie is accompanied by a great soundtrack, consisting of a score by Danny Elfman and 2 Harry Belafonte songs. These songs are the backbone of 2 of the movie’s most recognized scenes, those being the dinner scene and the final scene. I absolutely love the final scene. I love that the Deetzes and the Maitlands live happily together in the end. I just wish Beetlejuice could’ve shared this fate.

That doesn’t mean he won’t, seeing that a sequel is in the works. Tim Burton, Michael Keaton, and Winona Ryder all have mentioned in interviews that they will come back for the project. I’m very excited to see where this sequel takes the story. If you’re a fan of Beetlejuice or Michael Keaton, I highly recommend checking out his opening monologue on Saturday Night Live to bring a smile to your face.

It’s Showtime.  

The Good Wife 7x04 "Taxed" Review

-SPOILERS BELOW-

Finally, an episode where Diane gets a significant amount of screen time! Another positive, an absence of Howard. Once again, I though this episode delivered some great cases and some great dynamics.

For once, I was excited to see Michael J. Fox back as Louis Canning. Not that I don’t love MJK, I’m just not a huge fan of his conniving character. He had some really funny scenes, hamming it up big time with his ailments. I thought it was so viciously great that he was dropping his crutches or fumbling with his pill bottle to try and distract his opposing council. Seeing Diane against Louis was so refreshing, as Diane has not been shown in the courtroom in a while. I loved that she was not buying into his act at all and that she even offered several times to help him so she could get back to her questioning. I just love Diane’s attitude about how she handles things when it comes to cases.

The Lockhart vs. Canning case was one of controversy. It was centered on physician-assisted suicide. It was saddening to see the video the patient made, addressing what she was about to undergo because she couldn’t take the pain anymore. I felt so sorry for the patient’s mother, seeing she was testifying that her daughter did not have to die because treatment was found.

I also felt terribly sorry for Alicia. It seemed everyone was against her in this episode. I just wanted to give her a hug. It seems the judge absolutely hates her based on her past, so he continually rules against her. The bond court case was very interesting. Seeing that most of the accused were people of color, it did raise speculation. It was unfortunate to see Alicia’s fellow attorneys becoming indifferent towards her because clients were requesting to be switched over, due to the stance she was taking on the matter. The outcome of the cases was a surprise to me, seeing that the accused were actually innocent. I would’ve never thought the true evidence would be discovered via a surveillance tape, revealing that it was in fact the mother of the accused that actually committed the crime.

I was so relieved that this so called “sexual tension” between Diane and the new character, Ethan, was not present. I also found it shocking at the amount of allusions and metaphors that were used. Some included references to Harry Potter and Fahrenheit 451. Overall, I enjoyed this episode more than previous episodes this season. Though, the cliffhanger at the end did leave me on edge. 

Addams Family Values Review

If you hear that well-known tune, you’re obligated to snap. Of course I’m talking about The Addams Family. In my opinion, the sequel to the 1991 remake is much better than its originator. This is Addams Family Values.

This film works so well in my opinion. I don’t really remember the plot of the first movie because I just wasn’t interested. With Values, I am very interested. The Addams themselves are so quirky that you just have to love them. Wednesday is my favorite of the Addams clan for her dark personality. I think this movie is so successful because it has a Wednesday-centric storyline. Having the Addams kids go to summer camp seems like such a strange thing to have them do, but the payoff is so great. I love that they gave Wednesday a friend – later a romantic interest, Joel. He doesn’t seem like the kind of person who would be drawn to hanging out with Wednesday and Pugsley, but his nerdy persona meshes well with their gothic one. Christina Ricci does such an amazing portrayal of Wednesday.

As for the antagonists for the Addams kids, they are interesting to say the least. Amanda, to me, is the typical teacher’s pet (in this case, camp leader’s pet) who we love to hate. Several scenes that Amanda and Wednesday share have me laughing every time. I especially love the “lifesaving” scene. Becky Martin-Granger and Gary Granger seem a little too involved in their positions. Being the fan of Christine Baranski that I am, I have to love Becky. I just don’t think Becky and Gary work well as a couple. The “Kumbaya” scene is my favorite to come from these two.

I really love the overall antagonist of this film. Debbie, played by Joan Cusack, is an absolute riot. She is the type of character that you don’t expect to be the villain. I love how she is the “Black Widow” who marries men, takes their money, and then murders them. Going after Fester as her next victim is a set up to so many scenes, given that Fester is so childlike in nature. The sexual innuendoes displayed tend to be a little awkward, save for the comments prior to Pubert’s birth. I love Debbie’s rant at the end about how she ended up with a Malibu Barbie instead of what she really wanted. I won’t say any more about it from there.

The core of the Addams clan, Gomez and Morticia, are charming as ever. I love their relationship and how they display their love for each other. Overall, I love this movie and it is a must for me every Halloween. 

Back to the Future Day

Today is a historic day in the eyes of movie-goers everywhere. October 21, 2015, the iconic date where Doc Brown and Marty McFly went into the future, our present. It’s mind-boggling to me that in the 80s, our present was their future, and come tomorrow, it will be everyone’s past.

I am very ashamed to say that as of October, 21, 2015, I have not seen any of the Back to the Future movies. I’m a fan of Michael J. Fox and all things 80s, so I certainly want to get into the franchise. I don’t know why I haven’t watched them yet, given the countless other 80s movies I’ve watched. Nonetheless, I will get around to watching them. What I’ve heard has made me very much intrigued.

The Fine Brothers, Benny and Rafi Fine, have a YouTube series where they have different generations react to various things in pop culture. They recently uploaded an episode of Teens React where they had the teens react to the trailer for Back to the Future: Part II. This video taught me a lot of things I was unaware of. Embarrassingly, the only specific thing I knew before watching the video about Back to the Future was that the time machine is called the DeLorean.

Some of the predictions of the “future” portrayed in the movie seem silly to those of us who actually live in 2015. We may not have pizzas that start small and grow, self-drying jackets, or the fashions, but we have come close with some things. Flying cars and hover boards are being developed. We don’t have holographic movie posters, but we do have 3-D movies (We also do not have Jaws 19). We don’t have newspapers with moving pictures, but we do have gifs. The glasses shown in the movie are very close to the Google Glass technology. The self-tying shoes are being developed and a working prototype was sent to Michael J. Fox himself. The movie was spot on with the prediction that we would become a very technologically reliant society.

2015 also marks the 30^th anniversary of the first Back to the Future. Toyota teamed up with Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd to show off an alternatively-powered car with a segment called Fueled by the Future. I love when fellow cast members come back for reunions. I think it is so great that they were both here to experience this day in history. 

The Good Wife 7x03 "Cooked" Review

-SPOILERS BELOW-

I can’t say that I was happy with this episode. There were one too many fights for my liking.

I am so annoyed with Howard Lyman. I still can’t comprehend the writer’s choice to continue to make him the focal point of this season. Having him turn to Alicia to file a possible ageism suit against Lockhart, Agos &, Lee seemed ridiculous to me. LAL has a very good reason to want to fire Howard from the firm. Several of his scenes have just been him sleeping in his office or during meetings. With the return of Peter’s mother, Jackie, more is going awry. I am baffled that Howard flat-out asked Jackie out and they shared at least 4 kissing scenes together. This is a couple I can’t bring myself to support because I just really don’t like either of them. I wish more time was spent on the one solid couple the show has, Kurt and Diane.

As for Diane, she at least got a larger amount of screen time. I was disappointed with the scene involving her and the intern she wanted to mentor. I was intrigued when Diane said she wanted to mentor this new intern since Alicia has since started a solo firm. What I didn’t like is when Diane made the comment, “They’re worried about their boyfriends and their long workdays.” She said this in a mocking tone. It just did not seem like her character at all. Later, when she went to Alicia’s apartment, I was led down the wrong direction. This surprise visit reminded me of a similar scene from an older season. I almost thought Diane was going to ask Alicia if she could join her independent firm. Diane and Cary really seem to miss her. This scene was cut off and never returned to, which rubbed me the wrong way.

Alicia’s case with a defendant, later determined to be an undercover agent for the FBI, was full of ups and downs. It led to a professional/personal fight between Alicia and Lucca. I hated seeing this, being that the two have just begun a blossoming friendship. What I hated more was the fight between Alicia and Diane. The two have fought before, this one just seemed really unnecessary. Diane was wrong to jump to conclusions after merely overhearing a phone call. Seeing Diane make a personal visit to Alicia’s apartment again just to give her two cents made me sad. I absolutely hate seeing these particular characters. I wish they could just be friends and business partners. In my perfect world; Kurt would be in every episode, Diane would get more cases, and she’d be on great terms with Alicia. 

Heathers the Musical Review

I’d like to preface this review by saying that I have seen the original movie that this musical is based on. I enjoyed the original movie and I liked that it was sort of the origin of the “mean girl” movie. If you haven’t seen it, fair warning that I may spoil a few things. The dark undertones of the story is something I really admired. Heathers could easily have been turned into a horror movie, but did not take that direction. I liked that they chose the more comedic route instead, though I’m not saying that suicide or murder is comedic.

First off, I just adore this musical. I don’t really have anything bad to say about it. I think by adding music, they made the story stronger. I’ve found that musicals adapted from movies, in particular, tend to develop the characters and plot much more, creating a stronger piece. This is how I felt with Shrek the Musical as well. I thought the music was fantastic. The stand-out songs for me were Candy Store, Big Fun, Freeze Your Brain, Dead Girl Walking, Blue, Yo Girl, and Lifeboat. I say these mostly because they were the ones getting stuck in my head, not so much for impact. Although, I thought Lifeboat was a very moving song even though it was sung by Heather McNamara and not substantial for moving the plot along.

My perception of the characters surprisingly changed after watching the musical. The largest example of this was the Heathers themselves. In the movie, Heather Duke was my favorite Heather (prior to her personality change after the death of Heather Chandler). But in the musical, Heather McNamara was my favorite. I love McNamara! The relationship explored between Veronica and Heather McNamara was one I felt to be very touching. I also was fonder of Heather Chandler in the musical than in the movie. I also really liked how they gave Martha Dunnstock a larger role and made her persona into almost a version of Tracy Turnblad from Hairspray. Veronica was simply amazing, and almost identical to her movie-self, played by Winona Ryder. The thing I liked the most about the characters is that they had JD’s victims come back to haunt Veronica. This was toyed with a bit in the movie but not to the extent the musical goes to. Having Heather Chandler, accompanied by Kurt and Ram, give snide remarks and taunts to Veronica from beyond the grave was brilliant. I feel this was necessary, being that it is a stage production and you don’t have all the creative liberties that film has.  

Overall, I thought this production was extremely well done. It’s a shame that it was merely an off-Broadway run. I hope that someday it will get will get a proper Broadway run and maybe even a theatrical version. I was fortunate enough to find the full show on YouTube, Act 1/Act 2. Original. 

Jesus, I’m on the freakin’ bus again ‘cause all my rides to school are dead.