Coraline (3D)
I've been saving this until last this evening for a grand finale. It's only now I realise that I have now made it, in effect, first. On your friends list this is going to show first. So in a way it's probably best as I'm probably a bit tuckered out after about 2 hours of solid reviewing. So this is likely to be an even more substandard review than (sub)standard.
A Neil Gaiman story brought to life by the director of Nightmare Before Christmas. That's why it basically looks the same. You probably knew that already though didn't you? Okay then, let's try something else. I thought the trailer was a little uncertain on whether it was a dark fantasy tale or just a kids story. I was in two minds as to whether to go see it. Ultimately I thought maybe the 3D thing would be interesting so that swung it. It at least looked better than Monsters Vs Aliens which was my other 3D option. As I haven't seen MVA, I can't say if it is but I do know that this was extremely good.
GOOD THINGS
Voice acting. Particularly in the lead role. Dakota Fanning puts in an incredibly convincing performance breathing an astonishing amount of life to the animation. Coraline feels completely real.
The animation. Hurrah! It's all real stop motion and no CG! (Though it may be slightly computer aided, I don't know). It's gorgeously created as well. Stop motion is one of the greatest things ever and it's exploited here to maximum effect.
The sets. Astonishing vision, craftsmanship and creativity. Beauty in almost every scene. I'm struggling for what to say here as little I say can do justice to how great it looked.
The music. Without doubt one of the best soundtracks I have EVER heard. I've listened my download of the soundtrack through twice. I think that's saying something. The last one I went this crazy for was also to a Gaiman film. Interesting.
The whole combination of it all. Creating such a delightful atmosphere of mystery, adventure, peril and the slightly disturbing.
BAD THINGS
It is just slightly too long. It's 100 minutes long and probably should have been about 80. It's not too severe but I did find numb bumb syndrome really kicking in toward the end.
That's it though.
THE INDIFFERENT
The 3D. It added nothing and wasn't really noticeable in many scenes. One of the most significant bits was just a scene of Coraline looking through a window. It had real depth and added a certain beauty to the scene. 3D can work to amazing effect though as intros showed before the main feature. It could just have been that the film was so engaging I forgot it was in 3D.
I don't like summing up paragraphs but I'll add one here. MISS THIS AT YOUR PERIL. It is a pure delight and one of the best films I've seen at the cinema pretty much ever. Certainly ahead of the crowd by a mile in its given genre. This is worthy of being a top 100 film.
A Neil Gaiman story brought to life by the director of Nightmare Before Christmas. That's why it basically looks the same. You probably knew that already though didn't you? Okay then, let's try something else. I thought the trailer was a little uncertain on whether it was a dark fantasy tale or just a kids story. I was in two minds as to whether to go see it. Ultimately I thought maybe the 3D thing would be interesting so that swung it. It at least looked better than Monsters Vs Aliens which was my other 3D option. As I haven't seen MVA, I can't say if it is but I do know that this was extremely good.
GOOD THINGS
Voice acting. Particularly in the lead role. Dakota Fanning puts in an incredibly convincing performance breathing an astonishing amount of life to the animation. Coraline feels completely real.
The animation. Hurrah! It's all real stop motion and no CG! (Though it may be slightly computer aided, I don't know). It's gorgeously created as well. Stop motion is one of the greatest things ever and it's exploited here to maximum effect.
The sets. Astonishing vision, craftsmanship and creativity. Beauty in almost every scene. I'm struggling for what to say here as little I say can do justice to how great it looked.
The music. Without doubt one of the best soundtracks I have EVER heard. I've listened my download of the soundtrack through twice. I think that's saying something. The last one I went this crazy for was also to a Gaiman film. Interesting.
The whole combination of it all. Creating such a delightful atmosphere of mystery, adventure, peril and the slightly disturbing.
BAD THINGS
It is just slightly too long. It's 100 minutes long and probably should have been about 80. It's not too severe but I did find numb bumb syndrome really kicking in toward the end.
That's it though.
THE INDIFFERENT
The 3D. It added nothing and wasn't really noticeable in many scenes. One of the most significant bits was just a scene of Coraline looking through a window. It had real depth and added a certain beauty to the scene. 3D can work to amazing effect though as intros showed before the main feature. It could just have been that the film was so engaging I forgot it was in 3D.
I don't like summing up paragraphs but I'll add one here. MISS THIS AT YOUR PERIL. It is a pure delight and one of the best films I've seen at the cinema pretty much ever. Certainly ahead of the crowd by a mile in its given genre. This is worthy of being a top 100 film.