A-Clockwork-Bobbin
Joined Mar 2006
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Reviews9
A-Clockwork-Bobbin's rating
Right, I've seen all these other teenagers wandering around, wearing hoodies with Jack's face on, all crying out "OMG the nitemare be4 Xmas is soooooooo awesome", so I decided to see it for myself. I wanted to know what the fuss was about. I mean, if loads of people like something, it's got to be good, right? .....Right? Less than 3 minutes into the film, I was sitting there thinking "So...People think this is the best animated film ever?" I was struck instantly by the animation. It's dire. So amateurish. I've seen cartoons done by first-year animation students and they are sensational compared to the animation in this film. The animation is 'sticky', usually far too slow (especially with 'shock' reactions), and it's just... argh. It bugged me so much. I'm sure there are going to be people who either think "What are you talking about?" (to them I say: Watch it again and bear this in mind) or "Oh, don't be mean. Stop-motion is very hard and they must be applauded for their efforts" (to them I say: No it's not. I've got loads of experience with stop-motion. It's simple if you know what you're doing). Sure, the models are fine, no, the models are great, it's just that they didn't do a very good job of giving them 'life'.
Now I shall discuss my views of the plot. I must admit, I didn't pay as much attention to the film as many fans would have, but there was something that confused me greatly (among other things, but this one just plain annoys me). Sally is, effectually, the doctor's slave, and is never allowed to be away from the doctor (and is often locked up) so she doesn't get a good taste of the 'outside world', and yet she evidently had managed to develop a good friendship with Jack before the film's setting.
Wait, what? Is that just bad script-writing, or am I simply not seeing the apparent obvious? I don't quite understand how someone can be emotionally separated from the rest of the community, yet manage to maintain a friendship with one of its members.
Other than that *ahem* possible inconsistency, the idea of the plot is very good. It is very imaginative. I don't have any problems with it. This film, as we all know, is also a musical. Now, normally with musicals I sit there thinking "Oh God, there's another song coming up", but with this film, I found the songs tolerable; they became part of the film and, quite simply, the film almost survives on these songs. As for the voice acting, that was also very good, and the actors must be praised for making a decent job of it.
In conclusion, good story, maybe, but great cartoon? I don't think so. There's certainly nothing about it to make me feel like going around saying it's the best cartoon/animated film ever. There are dozens of things I can think of which would have made this film better, and admittedly I find it such a shame that my opinions of the film have been made so negative by this fact.
Now I shall discuss my views of the plot. I must admit, I didn't pay as much attention to the film as many fans would have, but there was something that confused me greatly (among other things, but this one just plain annoys me). Sally is, effectually, the doctor's slave, and is never allowed to be away from the doctor (and is often locked up) so she doesn't get a good taste of the 'outside world', and yet she evidently had managed to develop a good friendship with Jack before the film's setting.
Wait, what? Is that just bad script-writing, or am I simply not seeing the apparent obvious? I don't quite understand how someone can be emotionally separated from the rest of the community, yet manage to maintain a friendship with one of its members.
Other than that *ahem* possible inconsistency, the idea of the plot is very good. It is very imaginative. I don't have any problems with it. This film, as we all know, is also a musical. Now, normally with musicals I sit there thinking "Oh God, there's another song coming up", but with this film, I found the songs tolerable; they became part of the film and, quite simply, the film almost survives on these songs. As for the voice acting, that was also very good, and the actors must be praised for making a decent job of it.
In conclusion, good story, maybe, but great cartoon? I don't think so. There's certainly nothing about it to make me feel like going around saying it's the best cartoon/animated film ever. There are dozens of things I can think of which would have made this film better, and admittedly I find it such a shame that my opinions of the film have been made so negative by this fact.
It's really hard to rate St Trinian's 2. On the one hand, it is lively, sharp, and amusing, but on the other hand, the plot is a little disappointing. The film itself borders on the 'absolutely surreal' (mind you, it's a bit ironic to claim this against St Trinian's school, eh??), which somehow, I thought, made it a bit awkward to watch.
As ever, the stereotypes of teenage schoolgirls is strong, which adds to the overall enjoyment of the film, and as you can expect with your typical British comedy film, there are the odd pieces of play-on-words humour which you have to be quick to catch up on. Also watch out for references to famous films or other popular-culture references (you'll understand what I mean when you watch it).
(And before you ask: It's generally clean humour. No toilet humour/fart jokes.)
Thus, I give this a rating of 6/10, mainly because of its overall cleverness and entertainment value. Would I recommend it? Yes I would; it's about time a comedy film had real humour in it, even if it is masked in a very bizarre plot.
As ever, the stereotypes of teenage schoolgirls is strong, which adds to the overall enjoyment of the film, and as you can expect with your typical British comedy film, there are the odd pieces of play-on-words humour which you have to be quick to catch up on. Also watch out for references to famous films or other popular-culture references (you'll understand what I mean when you watch it).
(And before you ask: It's generally clean humour. No toilet humour/fart jokes.)
Thus, I give this a rating of 6/10, mainly because of its overall cleverness and entertainment value. Would I recommend it? Yes I would; it's about time a comedy film had real humour in it, even if it is masked in a very bizarre plot.
What can I say about Metropolis? The words: Amazing, genius, thrilling, captivating, wonderful, purely excellent, and imitable come to mind.
Metropolis was a very early sci-fi film, by that master of filming, Fritz Lang. It was made in 1927; so if you had even seen a few seconds of the film, you would be surprised at how advanced it was, even then. No CGI or 'special effects' like we get nowadays; Metropolis is absolutely magical. And it has such a storyline that is absolutely unique... there is not a film like Metropolis. It mixes Sci-Fi, dystopia, romance, and thriller, along with other genres, so there's something for everyone.
The most unfortunate thing about Metropolis is that it is incomplete. Or, at least, the versions of the film you can get now is of the incomplete versions. Due to it being a lengthy film (Fritz Lang had a habit of showing every meticulous detail that may be relevant to the storyline), it was cut severely, so that the audience would receive it better. Unfortunately, this made the plot confusing; what seemed like bit-parts were in fact originally key characters, important events were missed out... Generally, the copies of the film you can get now on DVD are of the most 'restored' version, but there are still some parts missed out.
Fortunately - the parts of the film which had been cut have just recently be found. I would love to see the film when Metropolis has been reunited with the 'lost' footage! Even so, Metropolis is highly recommendable. There are still some minor flaws, I find, but if you appreciate good films, with good story lines, with revolutionary filming techniques... Then Metropolis is for you.
Metropolis was a very early sci-fi film, by that master of filming, Fritz Lang. It was made in 1927; so if you had even seen a few seconds of the film, you would be surprised at how advanced it was, even then. No CGI or 'special effects' like we get nowadays; Metropolis is absolutely magical. And it has such a storyline that is absolutely unique... there is not a film like Metropolis. It mixes Sci-Fi, dystopia, romance, and thriller, along with other genres, so there's something for everyone.
The most unfortunate thing about Metropolis is that it is incomplete. Or, at least, the versions of the film you can get now is of the incomplete versions. Due to it being a lengthy film (Fritz Lang had a habit of showing every meticulous detail that may be relevant to the storyline), it was cut severely, so that the audience would receive it better. Unfortunately, this made the plot confusing; what seemed like bit-parts were in fact originally key characters, important events were missed out... Generally, the copies of the film you can get now on DVD are of the most 'restored' version, but there are still some parts missed out.
Fortunately - the parts of the film which had been cut have just recently be found. I would love to see the film when Metropolis has been reunited with the 'lost' footage! Even so, Metropolis is highly recommendable. There are still some minor flaws, I find, but if you appreciate good films, with good story lines, with revolutionary filming techniques... Then Metropolis is for you.