How the Grinch Stole Christmas

How The Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)

Directed by: Ron Howard

Written by: Dr. Seuss, Jeffrey Price, Peter S. Seaman

Starring: Jim Carrey, Taylor Momsen, Jeffrey Tambor, Christine Baranski, Molly Shannon

Rating: PG

My rating: 4 out of 5 stars!!

I'm still wayyyy behind on these. I'm so far behind that I'm not 100% certain of the order anymore..but here goes anyway!

This is one of my favorite Christmas movies of all time. I've always been a big fan of the cartoon, and (even though I was only 11 at the time) I was skeptical when they announced that they had made it into a live action movie. As an 11 year old at the theater, I was amazed. As a 23 year old at home, I still marvel at some of the fabulous film-making exhibited on this project. 

I've had access to this movie ever since I can remember, as we received the VHS tape immediately following its release when we (my brothers and I) were younger. When we got older, my mom gave our VHS tapes away, and my younger (middle child) brother and I both acquired copies of the DVD, so that we wouldn't have to lose out on this Christmas tradition.

Synopsis:

(I'll keep this part VERY brief, since you should already know)

The Grinch (Jim Carrey; Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) (first name "The", last name "Grinch") is embittered by the Whoville society, and put out by their Christmas joy. Curious after a run-in with him, Cindy Lou Who (Taylor Momsen; Underdog) investigates his life and tries reaching out to him. He resists at first, and does so to the point of "stealing Christmas". But you'd never expect what happens after that!

Thoughts:

I. LOVE. THIS. MOVIE. Everything about it (in my opinion) is well done. The makeup and set is so extravagant. I just learned in my preliminary research for this entry that this film actually won an Oscar for best makeup! I'm not surprised but I'm impressed! I also never realized until my most recent viewing that this was directed by Ron Howard. Ron Howard has a great reputation, but that began with this movie. He did a thorough job as director, and all aspects (especially the artistic ones) are fantastic.

The Mayor (Jeffrey Tambor; Arrested Development) and Betty Lou Who (Molly Shannon; Superstar) head up an excellent supporting cast, but Taylor Momsen's naive but bold and intelligent Cindy Lou, combined with Jim Carrey's over-the-top and ironically lovable Grinch make for a fantastic leading duo. Even Anthony Hopkins as narrator adds an excellent layer of quality.

For the record, I like Momsen's version of "Where Are You Christmas?" better than Faith Hill's (though hers is good, too).

I also think that the screenwriters and director did a great job maintaining Dr. Seuss' original work. In a full length adaptation that was previously only 30 minutes, one may have to take some liberties. The liberties taken in this particular case, however, simply help the story by giving it background, and still make it flow. They did an incredible job combining Dr. Seuss' story, Boris Karloff's Grinch, and modern day children's humor to make an incredible product. 

What Can We Learn From This Movie?

It's simple really. It's a Christmas lesson that was not first addressed in this movie, and it will definitely be addressed in the future.

People who are mean are probably hurting. 

Not me of course. I'm just mean!

The Grinch was widely considered grumpy, evil, and mean, but only because he had bitterness in his heart. He was bullied because he was different. He got upset and he held a grudge. Should he have held a grudge? No, but you can't change other people's behavior, you can only change yours.

Cindy Lou Who's compassion, though it seemed futile for a long time (most of the movie) eventually reached the Grinch (They say that his heart grew THREE sizes that day!). 

SO. Here is what I'm trying to say: Keep going. Being compassionate (as Cindy Lou can attest) is discouraging at times. Persevere. Everything has an impact, even if you can't tell that at first. 

*steps off soapbox*

This really about wraps it up. I highly recommend this movie. It IS a Christmas movie but it works anytime. The lesson is still as important, and the comedy still relevant. If you haven't seen it by now...don't wait til next Christmas!

Thanks for reading, guys. I really appreciate it. Please leave me your feedback on here, Facebook, Twitter, or somewhere relevant where I'll read it! Thanks so much! God Bless!!

NAH

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
Director: Michael Gondry
Writers: Michael Gondry, Pierre Bismuth, Charlie Kaufman
Starring: Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet, Tom Wilkinson, Kirsten Dunst, Mark Ruffalo, Elijah Wood
Rating: R
My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars!

I know what you're thinking, and yes, I'm SO glad to have another entry here too! I've missed me too. :)

I watched an awful lot of TV shows in my 4 month absence, and will gladly review any of them for you if my two readers insist. Long story short, I highly recommend Community, Parks and Recreation, and Franklin and Bash. Anywhooooooooooooo

I watched this movie the evening previous with my brother Adam. It definitely made me think. I really don't want to give away the plot, but I will give a little here and there so I can give you an accurate depiction and about a thousand reasons you should watch this movie. 

The movie is storyboarded and told out of order, so I'll just lay down a basic synopsis. Joel Barish (Jim Carrey; The Truman Show) goes to see a special doctor (Tom Wilkinson; Batman Begins) so that someone he once loved and once loved him, Clementine (Kate Winslet; Finding Neverland), will be erased from his memory (after he finds out she had this done, too). The story primarily takes place when three of the doctors employees Stan (Mark Ruffalo; The Avengers), Patrick (Elijah Wood; Lord of the Rings Trilogy), and Mary (Kirsten Dunst; Spider-man) have come to his house at night to work on erasing these memories. There is more to all of their stories, of course, but I hesitate to reveal more in fear that it might cross into spoiler land.

What did I think?

Honestly, it was incredible. It was a tad hard to follow in the beginning, but those are the kind of movies that you have to stick out through the end. It asked and then proceeded to answer questions, just like a good work of art should. Jim Carrey gives an incredible performance (He should have an Oscar nod by now) and so does Kate Winslet, though we have come to expect this from her. The rest of the cast have shown us why they have come into their own as actors, and I got what I expected from them, which was incredible acting. 

The film, like I said, was a bit hard to follow at first, but I only took one half of a star away, for being a tad predictable. Once I had the story put together in my mind, and was listening to the characters intently, I pieced together the main plot. Not everyone will, though, and there are enough twists to keep you on your toes. It  tugged at my heartstrings as well, but kept the romanticism very grounded in realism.

Carrey and Winslet made a lovable duo, and Ruffalo, Dunst, Wood, and Wilkinson all added something great to the story. I expected something that was "supposed to be really good" and I was not disappointed. 

In short, I would highly recommend you watch this movie, but only in a scenario when you can pay attention instead of talk to people through the whole thing. I know your tricks!

If you want to find out more about this movie, you can see what people are saying on GetGlue, here:

http://getglue.com/movies/eternal_sunshine_of_spotless_mind/michel_gondry

 (I hyper-linked to the actual GetGlue homepage, if you don't have an account, you should get one. Seriously.)

Or, you can visit the imdb page, here:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0338013/

My blog contains much of the basic information that IMDB does, but you can watch the trailer or view things in greater detail there.

Anyway, Thanks for reading. Please recommend me to your friends! And if you have movie suggestions send 'em my way.

Peace and Love,

NAH