The Nightmare Before Christmas

Review: The Nightmare Before Christmas

          The Nightmare Before Christmas is a classic stop motion film by Henry Selick. It tells the story of Jack Skellington, the “King of Halloween” , who tires of doing the same scaring routine in Halloween Town and wishes to incorporate Christmas by kidnapping Santa Clause.

          Although it is a very dark movie, in theme and color, it’s not totally a wrong selection. Halloween is a holiday that celebrates death and general scary elements. You wouldn’t expect the colors of this film to be using a pink or even a light blue filter? Of course not, most of the colors tend to be black or gray except the brief scene in Christmas Town, which was red, green, and blue (colors that typically describe Christmas). Danny Elfman was involved with the music of the film (and even provided the singing voice for Jack Skellington). Because the movie involved two very close but different holidays, there were added elements to the songs to reflect that. There were bells, organs, some songs for festive than others. The music selection definitely helped get a feel for what the movie was trying to aim towards for the audience.

         I believe Selick (and Elfman) nailed every creative aspect of the film to match its theme. Every time I watch this movie, it always feels like its Halloween (or Christmas) and I’m ready to get festive. The Nightmare Before Christmas was never meant to be a scary film but more of a feel good film that reminds us why people love these holidays (and others).

The Virgin Suicides

Review: The Virgin Suicides

          “What are you doing here, honey? You're not even old enough to know how bad life gets.” “Obviously, Doctor, you've never been a 13-year-old girl,” spoke Cecilia Lisbon after her first attempt of suicide. The Virgin Suicides follows the lives of the Lisbon sisters who deal with high school, boys, and death. The Lisbon girls are the daughters of a conservative family who didn’t allow much room for them to be themselves outside the home. This upbringing may have been the cause to the girl’s suicides towards the end, leaving an entire neighborhood in shock and awe over the event.

          The Virgin Suicides is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Jeffrey Eugenides. It’s an honest, social commentary on youth, depression and suicide. Sofia Coppola, being the “writer/director” of the film, used a lot of scenes that only had background sound, emphasizing the deep, meaningful subject matter of the film which symbolized the “silence” the Lisbon sister’s shared amongst themselves and not with their parents, who wouldn’t listen. The acting for the film, although average, was very well done and convincing especially with the younger cast. They act as the stereotypical boys and girls in high school--hormonal, breaking all the rules their parents have set. The film, which appeared to take place in the 70s decade, had a sepia, light brown/yellow effect to it to clearly show the decade along with it’s props of station wagons, corded phones, and vinyl records.

          Coppola did an excellent job at bringing the novel and the lives of these teenagers to life. Everything about it was truly convincing and took the viewer into the conservative 1970s to know what the Lisbon sister’s were about.

The Princess Bride

Review: The Princess Bride

          The 1987 classic film The Princess Bride, tells the story of a stableboy turned rogue who goes on a comedic adventure to rescue an old love. Along the way he picks up a vengeful swordsman and a gentle giant who were originally sent to kill him but in the end, they help him.

          Much of The Princess Bride provides its audience with slap stick humor and it worked very well. None of the comedy seemed out of place with the context of the scene. Although the comedy was excellent, the scenery was not. However, whether or not it was intentional for everything to look fake added to the comedy, I do not know. Or if the production was on a tight budget (or maybe this movie was made a year before I was born and it was the normal for props to look cheap). The music, again being a reminder that it is an 80s film, wasn’t too memorable. It sounded like it belonged on an old Nintendo system running a Zelda game. I didn’t get a feel of danger or anticipation during the sword fights or chase scenes. It became more of an distraction from what was going on on the screen, which is always a bad thing. 

          Despite that though, the Princess Bride will forever have strengths in its comedy and it’s characters. Who hasn’t seen a shirt with a name tag that read, “My name is Inigo Montoya, you killed my father, prepare to die?” or someone who says, “Inconceivable” even though you know the proper usage for it. It’s become a cult classic and it will never be overlooked.

Jaws

Review: Jaws

          In the small beach town of Amity Island, an unexpected swimmer disappears when she enters the ocean. Unbeknownst to the community, the reason behind the young girl’s disappearance was due to a great white shark, an animal that rarely appears so close to the shore. However, due to Amity Island’s tourist draw in during the fourth of July, the mayor disregards all warnings from sheriff Martin Brody and holds the yearly event. Tragedy strikes when the shark returns and kills a young boy, prompting immediate panic and the uprising of fisherman on the island. Brody, with the aid of marine biologist, Matt Hooper and local fishermen Quint, go out into sea to capture the shark. After many failed attempts and the death of Quint, the two finally kill subdue the shark by exploding an oxygen tank into its mouth.

         Everyone knows of Jaws either by Brody’s, “we’re gonna need a bigger boat” line or the infamous theme. The music in the film by John Williams is spot on to the suspense almost, horror genre of the film. When the beach goers are enjoying their holiday and you hear that music, your first reaction is to move to the edge of your seat because something is coming. The way the music was written definitely worked. The camera work’s involvement with said music helped a great deal as well. At one point in the film, the audience becomes the eyes of the shark as we see a young child swimming carelessly. Again, it gives the viewer that notion that something is about to go down and they’re about to experience it. 

          I’ve been viewing Jaws for years and it’s only flaw, on the screen writer’s part, is the ending. The shark gets blown up and that’s the end of the movie. I watch this movie every couple of years and I always forget that’s how the movie is and I’m left wanting more. I would have liked to know if that was in fact the shark and how the townspeople reacted to its killing (granted, I haven’t seen the sequels so maybe my questions were answered there).