`Carol' predictable but beautiful
By TOM KLEMICK
STAFF WRITER
GTKsoo2@rsu.Enu
It's hard to believe, but Christmas
is only a few weeks away and
there's plenty that needs to be
done. There's putting up the tree,
hanging the lights, finishing the
last minute shopping and going to
see Disney's "A Christmas Carol,"
directed by Robert Zemeckis. That
last one wasn't a necessity in past
holiday seasons but this year it's
a must. Charles Dickens' classic
never looked as visually stunning
as it does now in 3-D.
The story is timeless but it's also
the weakest part of the film. Not
because of the writing but because
everyone knows how it ends. It
is as much a part of Christmas
tradition as Nat King Cole, a Red
Ryder BB gun, George Bailey
and Charlie Brown. Ebenezer
Scrooge, played by Jim Carrey,
is one of the richest and meanest
men in all of London town. He
keeps Christmas in his own way.
That is, he doesn't keep it at all.
On Christmas Eve, he is haunted
by the ghost of his dead partner,
Mobile strip club parked
By OSKAR GARCIA
Associated Press Writer
Live strippers on the back of a
truck is too much even for Sin
City.
A Las Vegas strip club has agreed
to stop an advertising promotion
that involved hauling bikini-clad
exotic dancers around in a truck
with clear plastic sides.
Larry Beard, marketing director
of Deja Vu Showgirls, said Friday
that he's taking his lawyer's
advice and parking the truck.
"We're going to respect the
opinion of the folks that are
against it," Beard told The
Associated Press. "We're going
to be good citizens and take it off
the street."
Beard had told the AP earlier
this week that he was prepared
to fight county leaders and others
who thought the moving truck
promotion was unseemly or
unsafe.
"The girls are wearing more
than the girls at the swimming
Jacob Marley, and told that he
will be visited by three spirits: the
ghosts of Christmas past, present
and future. You know the rest.
What you won't be familiar with
is the film's pace. Scenes of our
protagonist flying above rooftops
and through the narrow alleys of
London are prevalent. A shrunken
Scrooge being chased through
the streets by a shadowy carriage
driver and black horses seems out
of place. These moments would
be more appropriate in a Harry
Potter film than "A Christmas
Carol."
But the filmmakers have to
be commended for the movie's
inventiveness. Disney's version
is fast-paced and imaginative.
Animation allows for more
creative freedom in any genre, but
especially more so in a fantasy. In
a story about spirits and ghostly
visions, almost anything goes.
There have been numerous film
adaptations of Dickens' tale
produced for the big screen.
What's the point of making a
word-for-word remake of a story
that's been told time and again?
Zemeckis is becoming a master
of 3-D, this being another of
after pressure
pool wear," Beard said this
week. "Even though they're not
stripping and taking their clothes
off I think people are offended
because of the idea that they do."
The truck rolled for 13 nights
along the Las Vegas Strip from
10 p.m. until 2 a.m., trying to lure
customers to the club. Three sides
had windows that weren't tinted,
offering views of the strippers
dancing around a stripper pole.
The tactic worked, with business
booming since the truck started
going out, Beard said.
"We even have cars and limos
follow us to the club," Beard said
this week
The dancers were allowed to
perform in the truck because it
was classified as a vehicle for
hire, which let the dancers ride in
the back without seat belts, Beard
said.
Public outrage over the truck
grew as pictures and videos of
the truck surfaced on the Internet
and a county commissioner in Las
Vegas vowed to shut it down.
Clark County Commissioner
Steve Sisolak said he got calls
THE CAPITAL TIMES
his films, like "Beowulf' and
"The Polar Express," shot using
the process. The performance
capture animation is used not as
a gimmick but as an enhancement
to the film. London comes to
life, looking eerie and imposing
at night and lively and festive
during the day. There are some
truly beautiful outdoor scenes that
that would make even Thomas
Kinkade jealous; a light snowfall
on a peaceful Christmas Eve's
night, colorful, twinkling lights
in every shop window in town.
These shots would make for a
stunning Christmas card. Others
scenes are dark and foreboding;
a shadowy Ghost of Christmas
Future pointing his skeletal
finger in our direction, a nervous
Scrooge peeking his long, beak
like nose through his bed curtains.
This movie must be seen in 3-D.
Carrey does a fine job playing
four roles: Scrooge and all three
Christmas ghosts. He makes these
characters real and interesting,
not playing them over the top
for laughs. Carrey's voice, like
Scrooge's character himself,
progresses from nasty to nervous to
remorseful and finally to ecstatic.
from citizens who hated it and
others who liked it, but he
considered the truck a safety
problem.
"It's clearly a distraction,"
Sisolak told the AP. "Somebody's
going to turn their head to look at
some girl flipping upside-down
and spinning on a pole, and take
their eyes off the road and could
swerve and pop up the sidewalk
and plow into a bunch of tourists
that are walking along."
Sisolak said he plans to try to
close a loophole in local laws
regulating mobile billboards.
Regulations prohibit advertising
vehicles that use animation or
flashing lights, and Sisolak said
he would try to prevent live
entertainers from being used,
too.
Meanwhile, he's happy the
club owners decided to park the
truck.
"Could they have won in court?
That would have been a long,
costly, time-exhaustive battle,"
Sisolak said. "They clearly got a
lot of publicity as it stands, which
I'm sure made them happy."
November 18 2009
Gary Oldman also succeeds in
playing multiple roles as Bob
Cratchit, Marley and Tiny Tim.
Some of the best praise you can
give the cast of an animated film
is that you don't waste your time
thinking about the actors' voices
because your too busy enjoying
the movie. This is the case in "A
Christmas Carol."
The film remains fairly true to
its source material. The story
is dark. The ultimate payoff
comes because of Scrooge's
transformation. But in order to
share in Scrooge's jubilation, we
have to share in his fear and regret
as well. The film is advertised as
a family movie and while its PG
rating is pretty accurate, there are
some rather frightening moments.
Watching Marley tie the cloth
around his chin too tight and the
Ghost of Christmas Past playfully
bobbing his flame of a head is
amusing. But there is also a scene
in which the Ghost of Christmas
Present basically dies, wasting
away from jolly spirit to pale
skeleton and finally to dust in
the wind. Another finds Scrooge
dangling high above his own
coffin, clinging to a tree root for
A 'Modern'
source for wit and
sarcasm
BY ALLISON MILLS
STAFF WRITER
MXA932@PSu.EDu
ABC finally developed a solid
comedy series, airing Wednesdays
at 9 o'clock. "Modern Family" is
a family sitcom with a stylized
mocking of reality—think
"Arrested Development" plus
"The Office." Subtle, sarcastic
humor with a hint of comical
exaggeration comprises this new
social gem of a show.
"Modem Family" follows three
families through their daily lives,
capturing priceless interactions
with their family. The first family
in this series is Jay and Gloria,
who had her son, Manny, from a
previous marriage. Jay is a blunt
older man with children Gloria's
age. Gloria is a saucy, dramatic
Colombian, and Manny is an
adult-like child.
The second family is Phil and
Claire's family. Claire is Jay's
dear life. If children are going .to
see the film, parents really should
accompany them.
The basic, human theme of
Dickens' story is redemption in the
face of hopelessness. Zemeckis,
Carrey and the other filmmakers
don't forget this. "Scrooge," the
1951 classic starring Alistair
Sim, is an even darker and more
faithful version of "A Christmas
Carol" and it remains the best
film version. Carrey can't match
Sim, but the movie doesn't need
him to. Disney's version plays
to a wider audience due to its
mix of serious and lighthearted
themes. Think George C. Scott
meets the Muppets. The movie
is up and down at times but you
can't fault the filmmakers for
taking a different approach to a
story engrained in our popular
culture. To see Scrooge throw
away happiness with both hands
and redeem himself on the most
magical night of the year is
inspirational and never gets old.
"It was always said of him that
he knew how to keep Christmas
well if any man alive possessed
the knowledge." Disney's not too
bad at it either.
daughter. Phil is a slightly tone
downed Michael Scott character.
He thinks he's the cool parent,
and Claire is a practical, no
nonsense mother of three. Her
biting humor directs our attention
to her family's shortcomings, like
their son. They worry he won't be
good at anything.
The third family is Jay's son and
Claire's brother, Mitchell and his
husband, Cameron. They recently
adopted a baby girl together.
Mitchell is the husband least
out of the closet, and Cameron
is flamboyant and fabulous. As
Cameron claimed, "Any monkey
can shoot a home movie. I pride
myself on shooting home films."
"Modern Family" is shot with
shallow depth of field and using
mobile framing. It gives the series
a realistic feeling without ever
reaching the low quality of reality
television. The framing is quick
and efficient, and the mise-en
scene is reminiscent of "Arrested
Development."