The Polar Express Movie Review

Director: Robert Zemeckis

Writer(s): Chris Van Allsburg & Robert Zemeckis

Starring: Tom Hanks, Leslie Zemeckis



Director Robert Zemeckis (Forrest Gump, Back to the Future Trilogy, & Who Framed Roger Rabbit) brings the beloved childrens story to the big screen. The 3D animated version of "The Polar Express" is done by a man who has a gift for this particular style of movie.

"The Polar Express" stars the voice of Tom Hanks (Angels & Demons, Saving Private Ryan, & The Green Mile) as multiple characters in this movie, and as always Tom hanks does an amazing job.

The movie is dazzling in its own way with how incredible it is on a visual sense. The story is unique and was always a favorite of mine growing up as a child. Witnessing "The Polar Express" on the big screen was quite a marvel.

I can not say the movie is absolutely perfect, and by no means is this ever going to be the first pick come holiday season for most people, but I hope that you do not overlook this movie as a choice to be had come holiday season movie time. It is defiantly a movie that the entire family can love and the story line is timeless.

Robert Zemeckis is an exceptional movie director and should be appreciated for his ability to take chances that go over and above the standard in the Hollywood movie scene. Zemeckis might not always create the perfect movie, but more often then not he delivers some amazing movies and ones that will forever be remembered.

It is time to sit down with the kids, with your loved ones, or even at school before the holiday time off kicks in and enjoy the marvels of "The Polar Express".

My Rating:77%

A Christmas Carol Movie Review

A Christmas Carol

A Christmas Carol [Blu-ray]


Director:Robert Zemeckis
Writer: Charles Dickens (Novel)
Robert Zemeckis (Screenplay)

Starring: Jim Carrey, Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Robin Wright Penn



Oh it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas, or it usually does around this time of year. This is the time of year where movie companies like to bring out their holiday hand grenades to try and generate revenue from the slower market, and right before the Oscar heavy dramatic films start to make their way to the big screen. This season Walt Disney Pictures brings us a re-imaging of the Charles Dickens classic "A Christmas Carol". The film itself can be seen in theaters either in 3D or non 3D formats. I myself went and saw the 3D version of this film and so I am going to make points about it regarding the 3D animation as well as the general story itself.

The film stars Jim Carrey playing the parts of Scrooge and also the Ghosts that come to haunt him on Christmas Eve. As I was sitting in the theater I saw many parents there with their children who ranged in ages from about 3 up to around 11. There were adults like myself who had come to enjoy the film on their own free will as well. The only problem with the children there for me is that the younger ones were not at all in favor of this movie. The movie basis itself more around the work of Charles Dickens and uses his original story drawings as a basis to how the movie is designed. This leads to a much darker and there for frightening movie then what most parents would have expected. The frightening scenes warning that is presented with this movie should not be taken lightly by those parents choosing to take their younger children to the movie.

I do have to applaud the films writer/director Robert Zemeckis though as he chose to go against the usual holiday grain and make what he felt was the proper telling of "A Christmas Carol" as opposed to what I am sure most film companies would have expected him to go with. However despite the talents of Robert Zemeckis at the helm and Jim Carrey on the screen the film does at times lacks creativity and innovation. The biggest hurdle for this movie is that it is another in a long series of retelling "A Christmas Carol". Zemeckis chose to use his brand of animation which was also noted on his prior films such as "The Polar Express" and "Beowulf". This particular form of animation tended to lead really well to a remarkable 3D experience, the 3D here was utilized to full potential and never really did it take too much away from the story itself.

If you have seen any movie of "A Christmas Carol" then this movie is going to come as no surprise to you in any way, shape, or form as it is exactly the way it is almost always done, keeping true to Dickens work. I applaud the people behind this movie for their great attempts at making a new Christmas classic, however the movie just falls a little too short of spectacular for me to rank it as a classic. I would recommend seeing this movie in 3D if you wish to see it, otherwise I would say wait for the DVD to arrive next Christmas and enjoy the 90 minutes of entertainment for what it is worth.

My Rating: 60%