Saw the new Grinch film tonight with Bro and all the girls. Nieces liked it, unsure about Ishy and her crew. Bro and I were very meh. The nieces knew Benedict Cumberbatch voices the Grinch, although I'm not sure they really know who he is. Bro and I were set to be impressed by that, but damned if I didn't decide halfway through the nieces HAD to have misunderstood, and Jack Black was voicing the Grinch...
...but nope, it was Sherlock Strange.
That was a major, major mis-step for me. You hire that guy to voice a character played most iconically by classic horror star (and fellow Pratt ;) ) Boris Karloff -- and you make the Grinch a whiny entitled douche who sounds like Jack Black? Who is only a little put out by Christmas because he was an orphan, and not at all a bad guy really?! (The Grinch song plays out of nostalgia near the beginning, but it's a peppy kids-choir rap or something, almost unrecognizable.)
Animation seems the best venue for 3D nowadays, but man I wanted to take my glasses off a lot. So that didn't help.
The CindyLou Who girl is more of a character, and wants Santa to make her mom happy, which... seems like it should be "give Mom a husband for Christmas", but she never says that, just make her happy? At least the film doesn't end with the Grinch deciding to court CLou's Mom!!1! :buck2: CLou has a little "gang" that shows up exactly one time to plan to capture Santa, but they don't seem to do any of the work on that trap and leave the plot completely on Christmas evening, so that was more time wasted.
Stringing out a nearly-perfect 20 minute animated short (based on a short Seuss book which takes even less time to read) to more like 60 minutes, means lots and lots of filler. At least it isn't the Ron Howard / Jim Carrey version, so it could definitely be worse. Actually, in many ways that film is better (despite its often crude humor, which Carrey later regretted.)
They even botch the crowning moment of awesome of the original Boris Karloff short, when the Grinch is willing to sacrifice his life to save Max and the loot -- this sacrificial charity being what kick starts his heart to grow, giving him the strength to succeed. This adaptation is NOTHING like that.
At least 400x better version of "You're a mean one, Mr. Grinch", than the one in the new film. Even without the 39-and-a-half-foot pole line, for some reason... (to avoid a euphamism? In
this video?!?!)
Well, Lindsey Stirling is a practicing member of the C of LDS so maybe the rules of what is provocative and what is not are a bit inscrutable to those of us not in touch with the Angel Moroni.
BTW, Brandon Flowers, lead singer of the Killers, has also recently found his way back into the LDS fold and is doing promos for them.
Stirling's Roundtable Rival is better as a saucy western video.
In other news, Youtube has somehow decided it should tell me about saucy western music videos now. ::)
You gotta love any woman that can dance while she's 'fiddling' around. :dreamer: