awsum_ginger Reviews (7)

Barbie Fairytopia: Magic of the Rainbow (2007 Video)

Basically, it sucked

[1/10 · 19 April 2007]

I usually love watching these barbie movies with my nieces (and sometimes with my curious little nephew) but I will be honest, I watched this out of curiosity and of my own free will (it wasn't easy renting it! I was so embarrassed to have to walk up to the counter, it was like taking a walk of shame) Anyway, I've seen every single other barbie movie, and this one was the worst. Worst characters, plot was stupid and filled with so many holes, the animation was flatter than usual, and it was just so stupid that I had to turn it off. I don't even think kids would be interested in it. To begin with, I was never too thrilled with the Fairytopia series in general, it was always sort of boring. But I guess the kids buy into it (I much prefer the princess stories.) Just don't rent this movie. I certainly didn't like it. Your kids might, but there's a larger percent that they'll find it stupid and unbelievable like I did.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame II (2002 Video)

I can't vote lower than 1??

[5/10 · 10 March 2007]

The first HOND is my favorite Disney film of all time, and definitely ranks in my top five films favs EVER. This film, however, is just a joke to try and entertain children with a watered-down, lighthearted comedy movie that fails to be original or entertaining. The animation is crap, the plot line is simple enough to bore you to death, and the villain is not even a fraction of the greatness Frollo was. All the villain is after is a stupid bell, how boring is that? The characters aren't even that likable, even Esmeralda, Phoebus, and Quasi don't share the same spark of personality they had in the first film. They're basically cardboard cutout characters. The songs are annoying and guess what? The may have killed off Frollo, one of the deepest villains in Disney history, but at least they still have the cute gargoyle sidekicks! (shoot me now.) Don't bother seeing this film, just don't. It is absolutely the worst Disney sequel I have ever seen in my entire life.

What Have You Done to Solange? (1972)

Pretty good, not the best giallo ever

[7/10 · 25 February 2007]

OK, this film isn't a masterpiece, but hardly any films are. Like most giallos, it's sometimes boring and hard to get through with long segments of talking. The murders were mostly brief and not as violent as they could've been, but still there was a somewhat original way they were carried out (I won't spoil it for anyone.) Really, I prefer Dario Argento and Mario Bava when it comes to giallo, but seriously, you have to be fair when judging this film and not compare this director to the greats, like Argento. So I suppose you could call this one of the better 'non-Argento' giallos. The film itself is definitely worth taking a look at, but don't expect much. At the very most, it's worth a 7/10, which is still a pretty good rating.

Tales from the Darkside: The Cutty Black Sow (1988) Season 4, Episode 14

Quite disturbing

[8/10 · 30 January 2007]

I've never really found a lot of the Tales from the Darkside episodes scary, with the exception of this one and a few others (Inside the Closet and Geezenstacks) The plot line is pretty simple. A little boy vows to protect his dying grandmother from a Celtic monster called "The Cutty Black Sow." The visual effects are unsettling, including the surprise-twist ending (I won't bother to spoil anything else.) After seeing it several times, it never ceases to creep me out. I'd highly recommend this, probably my favorite in the entire series along with "The Apprentice," which isn't particularly a scary episode but I just like it.

8 outta 10

Cinderella (1997 TV Movie)

A Mixed Bag, But Overall Enjoyable

[6/10 · 5 January 2007]

I've only seen one other version of the made-for-TV Cinderella's, and that was the one with Lesley Ann Warren. Even though Warren can't sing a lick, I think I liked that one more a bit more than this (not by much, though.) First of all, the multi-racial casting seemed like a good idea, but it wasn't the MULTI-RACIAL CASTING that was the film's downfall, it's the casting in general. For example, Brandy is not a great actress in particular, and her singing is about five times worse. She has that pop-star wanna-be flavor in her voice, which makes her singing breathy and not meant for musical theatre. So right away, Brandy is a weakness in the movie. However, the Prince had a beautiful voice, but let's face it; he looked nothing like a Prince. Sure he was rather attractive, but not the Princey material. His acting was passable compared to some of the other ham-jobs done by the other performers.

Speaking of hammy, what about those stepsisters? I thought they were way too over the top, not even in a funny way. Bernadette Peters completely outshines them with her superb beauty and talent. Even though Bernadette's song had little to do with the rest of the show, it was brilliantly performed and beautifully vocalized as usual, and I was happy to see that she was given the chance to sing.

Whitney Houston was rather unlikable. I hated her hair, her costumes were tacky, and her added song at the end was annoying and unnecessary. The way she tried to up-stage Brandy in Impossible/It's Possble was pathetic, because even a drunk money could upstage Brandy.

The things I thoroughly enjoyed were the performances by Jason Alexander and Whoopi Goldberg. They had me laughing hysterically every time they cracked a joke, and their characters turned out to be some of the more interesting, well-portrayed ones out of the bunch. I just love "The Prince is Giving a Ball," it's so much fun and I find myself getting up and dancing with the rest of the cast while the song goes on.

The use of color was creative and pleasing. It's always wonderful to see bright colors. And the sets were a bit bizarre, but made the film feel more fairytale-like, along with the elaborate costumes (my favorites being Brandy's ball gown and all the clothes of the stepmother.) Even though the film has it's faults, it's certainly worth seeing if you love Rodgers and Hammerstein. Without it's flaws, it's quite a competent movie.

Happily Ever After (1989)

Charming, Clever, underrated children's film

[7/10 · 28 December 2006]

I stumbled upon this one day in my local library when I was about six, and I wanted to rent it right away. I was pleasantly surprise when I started to watch it that it became one of my favorite movies. I think at one point I had all the lines memorized. I remembered that it was indeed frightening, but in an exciting, mysterious way that I don't think most children would be bothered with (if a six year old didn't find it scary, please, I doubt anyone else really will.) I've read some comments on here with people complaining about how scary it was, and all I can conclude is that you need to get out a whole lot more. This film is like Barney compared to some of the things I've seen kids these days watch. Now, years later being a horror movie fan I can only giggle at how I thought everything was so scary about this movie.

Did the animation suck? Yes it did. I recently rented this from the library again, curious to see it years later (one of those trips down memory lane) and as I watched I began to count all the continuity/animation errors and I wound up with a very high number lol. But was the story that bad? No, I actually remember liking it more than the original fairytale as a kid. This was much more exciting, and to this day I still love the villain, Lord Maliss. He's so deliciously evil, how could anyone refuse him? Getting to characters, was Snow White a cardboard cutout in this film? Yes, she was. But was she even flatter than a piece of paper in the original Disney classic? Yes, I found the original Snow White to be whiny and annoying. I also thought this Snow White was a lot prettier, excusing her unexplained hairstyle change every few minutes (I found it strange that sometimes her hair would be seen up in a ponytail, hanging down loosely or just wearing this strange, gravity-defying headband.) Scowl the owl had me laughing a couple of times, too. The only thing is that his sidekick, Batso, bothered me. He was, if anything, EXTREMELY annoying. I found myself wanting to slap him every now and then. The Dwarfelles, I thought, were some of the most original little creations to hit children's movies. Each one of the Dwarfelles carried a unique, fun, loving, and most of all interesting personality and had inspirational qualities to them. I found this especially true with Thunderella, such a cute little girl and I thought she had the most catchy tuned song as well.

Which now brings me to the music. Many people have accused the songs of being annoying wastes of time. I must disagree, I thought each one of the songs were original and likable in their own way, but I admire Thunderella's little song the most and it will always be my favorite. Even Scowl's song is fun, but I can only wish that Irene Cara was given a chance to sing.

I really don't know why this film flopped, to this day it's one of my favorite films of my childhood and will always have a special place in my heart.

8 stars outta 10

My Letter to the World (2003)

Very nice film

[5 December 2006]

I was able to see this film through a friend, and I thought it was very well put together. Although there were a few flaws, the acting was superb, screenplay very clever and thought-provoking, and the direction very capable. While the opening credits were a little "low-budget," the rest of the film is a very competent, well put together piece. And I can certainly understand why it won best film at the Westchester Film Festival. The acting from the woman who played Emily was very moving, clearly an actress born to play that role. The little girl was cute, but somehow didn't fit in with the rest of the cast (most little non-professional children seem to stick out that way in other films.) The actor who played Higginson was fine as well. The narration, was weak. Merely a few lines at the end is not enough to give someone credit for being a "narrator." The set was very calming, and the costumes alright. The only thing I found annoying was the fact some of the scenes were (I'm going to be perfectly frank) downright boring. I know the filmmaker was trying to get across a point, but at some points I thought I was going to fall asleep, but of course I did not.

The flashback sequences, I thought, seemed like they were purely filler. They didn't really fit in that much with the film, and I think it was just a way for the screenplay writer's daughter to be in the movie. But she was an adorable little actress, but her part didn't seem completely needed in the film itself.

In general, I would love to see this film anytime and highly recommend it to lovers of Dickinson, such as myself. It stays true to her story, making it an enjoyable film. I give this 7 out of 10 stars.