Henry Slesar’s animated version of Neil Gaiman’s acclaimed YA novella Coraline featuring the voices of Dakota Fanning and Teri Hatcher opens today to bore the snot out of movie goers. While exceedingly beautiful, the movie rehashes well trodden turf: Young girl hates parents… runs away to a magical land with cool parents… discovers the new parents are even worse than the originals… girl escapes and decides her real parents are okay. Throw in a senseless and dull quest and you have essentially the entire film minus the gorgeous scenery. While much like Slesar’s previous efforts (The Nightmare Before Christmas, Monkeybone), the vivid animation thrills, but after an hour of the dull story, I begin to nod off. The 3-d, as with most films, does little to enhance the movie.
My wife Brandy, an avid Gaiman fan, remarked that Coraline was as “hollow as the dolls it portrays.” Essentially, a shallow animated remake of the vastly superior Pan’s Labyrinth, the scenes voiced by the dynamic British comedic due Jennifer Saunders and Dawn French offer the few entertaining moments of the film. You’re better off staying home and reading the original book.
Animation 9/10
Story 5/10
As any geek knows, 1966 and 1977 were important years that both informed and divided a nation. In the former, Star Trek beamed into the American consciousness, launching perhaps the most loyal and rabid group of fandom. Eleven years later, George Lucas, relying on dazzling special effects and the remodeled film serials of his childhood, captured the hearts of an entire generation of eager fans with Star Wars. Since that moment, the camps have engaged in a ceaseless, nonsensical war for geek supremacy. Kyle Newman’s insightful and charming film Fanboys brings the battle to the big screen.
In 1998, five former high school friends take the ultimate road trip to George Lucas’ fabled Skywalker Ranch to steal an early print of the long awaited Star Wars Episode One. Along the way they encounter Trekkies… sorry… Trekkers, in several what are bound to become classic geek film moments. With an excellent cast (including the adorable Kristen Bell) and geek cameos galore (William Shatner, Seth Rogan, Billy Dee Williams, Kevin Smith, and Carrie Fisher), Newman successfully incorporates all this and many of varieties of geekdom into a throughly enjoyable road trip film. Fanboys is a MUST SEE geek film.
Even with the high geek quotient, perhaps the best part of Fanboys is that it can be enjoyed by the non-hardcore geek as well. There are plenty of genuinely humorous moments. So, it’s safe to bring your not-as-geeky S.O. to the film.
For hardcore geeks 10/10
For everyone else 8/10
