Movie Matchups: Frozen (2013) vs. Enchanted

Posted on December 31, 2013 by Robert Lockard, the Deja Reviewer

Disney’s animation studio has been on a roll for the last few years with great films like Wreck-It Ralph, Tangled, and The Princess and the Frog. But Frozen is the best film to come from the studio since Beauty and the Beast. What makes Frozen even better than those other recent films? It takes everything we love about Disney films and delivers it all in a wonderful new package that feels both classic and updated at the same time.

Basically, Frozen improves upon just about everything Enchanted tried to do, and it does it all with a mostly straight face. It takes old Disney conventions and turns them on their head in creative ways to make a truly special film.

Don’t get me wrong. Enchanted is a good movie. I even wrote about how it improves each time I see it. But it really isn’t as innovative or special as I would like it to be.

This comparison of Frozen and Enchanted isn’t going to be like my other Movie Matchups. I won’t try to compare their plots; I will instead discuss how they bent Disney conventions and why Frozen did a much better job. As such, I won’t give my customary summary at the start, but I’ll simply jump into the comparisons.

So let’s break the ice and start singing a happy working song as we discover what Frozen did better than Enchanted. Beware because this article is full of spoilers. Continue reading →

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Movie Matchups: Santa Claus: The Movie vs. Superman: The Movie

Posted on December 24, 2013 by Robert Lockard, the Deja Reviewer

Oh, those crazy Salkinds. If you’re not a Superman fan you probably don’t have a clue who Ilya and Alexander Salkind are. Back in the ‘70s and early ‘80s they had huge aspirations for the U.S. film industry. They wanted to be the next Cecil B. DeMille or David O. Selznick.

They were off to a great start with the back-to-back hits of The Three Musketeers and The Four Musketeers in the mid-‘70s, and then they scored a grand slam with Superman: The Movie. Unfortunately, each succeeding film in that series suffered diminishing returns until they crashed and burned with 1984’s epic failure Supergirl. 1987’s Superman IV: The Quest for Peace also bombed, but at least it wasn’t on the Salkinds’ watch. Golan-Globus is to blame for that debacle.

Looking for a new pop-culture figure to turn into a huge franchise, the Salkinds set their sights on jolly old Saint Nick. It seemed like a perfect fit. He’s sometimes called Kris Kringle while Superman goes by Clark Kent. He can leap from chimney to chimney in a single sleigh ride. He has the power to stop time one night a year while Superman can reverse time. Donner is now relegated to a reindeer rather than the film’s director. And, to top it all off, Santa is practically Superman’s neighbor at the North Pole.

Unfortunately, Santa Claus: The Movie didn’t even earn back half of its budget at the box office. It proved to be surprisingly underwhelming when you consider the talent, money, and seemingly surefire concept that went into this film. What went wrong when this film shares so many similarities to the far-superior Superman: The Movie?

Let’s find out by comparing Santa Claus: The Movie and Superman: The Movie. Continue reading →

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10 Classic Films You Probably Didn’t Know Are Based on Books

Posted on December 17, 2013 by Robert Lockard, the Deja Reviewer

This isn’t the first time I’ve delved into film adaptations of novels. I’ve listed movies that barely resemble the books they’re based on and movies that contradict their books’ endings.

This time I’ll go a little more obscure and share 10 classic films you probably didn’t realize are based on books. Some of the books were bestsellers and others barely sold a few thousand copies before the film version of them came out.

So let’s get comfortable with a good book and see 10 gems we’ve missed over the years. Continue reading →

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10 Films (Besides Raiders of the Lost Ark) Whose Heroes Have No Effect on the Outcome of the Story

Posted on December 10, 2013 by Robert Lockard, the Deja Reviewer

Remember when The Big Bang Theory ruined Raiders of the Lost Ark by pointing out the “glaring story problem” that the iconic hero Indiana Jones has absolutely no effect on the outcome of the story? None at all.

At those words, millions of fanboys cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced. And I’m here today to rub another gallon of salt in that wound by sharing 10 more films with heroes who play no role in how they turn out. Let’s get right to it. Continue reading →

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This Is What Should Be on the Welcome Sign to Chevy Chase, MD

Posted on December 5, 2013 by Robert Lockard, the Deja Reviewer

The title says it all, and so does this picture, courtesy of the classic comedy, Fletch. Enjoy! Continue reading →

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Movie Matchups: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang vs. Santa Claus Conquers the Martians

Posted on December 3, 2013 by Robert Lockard, the Deja Reviewer

Christmas is coming early this year. I usually save my Christmas article for later in the month of December, but the good folks at Rifftrax preempted me by scheduling their riff of Santa Claus Conquers the Martians to come to movie theaters on December 5, 2013. That just so happens to be the very film I had planned all year to do a Movie Matchup on, so I’ll just have to move my review up to coincide with their schedule.

I hate to ruin any childhoods, but it turns out that Chitty Chitty Bang Bang has pretty much the same story as Santa Claus Conquers the Martians. I know, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is based on the novel by James Bond creator Ian Fleming. But just about all of Ian Flemings novels that were turned into films were changed so much in the adaptation that they’re virtually unrecognizable. That’s definitely true of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, as I pointed out in another article.

So, strangely enough, the makers of the film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang decided to use a lot of story elements from Santa Claus Conquers the Martians rather than Fleming’s original story.

Admittedly, this Movie Matchup won’t be as in-depth and conclusive as the one I did on Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining and Manos: The Hands of Fate. But the similarities between Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Santa Claus Conquers the Martians are still quite striking. Continue reading →

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What I Learned from Two Days of Intense Suffering

Posted on November 26, 2013 by Robert Lockard, the Deja Reviewer

I awoke on the morning of Thursday, November 21, 2013 at the usual time of 6 a.m., and I immediately felt something was wrong.

I had had a hard time falling asleep the night before and had only gotten about five hours of sleep, which is nothing new for me, being a father of three young children. But instead of going through the normal struggle to wake myself up, I felt a searing pain in my forehead that continued to get stronger with each passing minute.

I rarely get headaches and I had already taken a sick day two days earlier because of exhaustion – something I also rarely experience. So there was no way I was going to let a little thing like a headache keep me from going to work that morning.

I willed myself to sit up, which quadrupled the pain pulsating through my head. I kept telling myself it was just a temporary issue that would go away after a quick shower. Somehow I survived the short trip to the bathroom and the few minutes it took to shower and get dressed for the day. But when I came back to my bedroom my wife took one look at me and said, “Get back in bed.”

I was in no condition to argue with her. Continue reading →

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The Man with the Golden Pun: Funny Descriptions of All 6 James Bonds

Posted on November 19, 2013 by Robert Lockard, the Deja Reviewer

Who doesn’t love James Bond? Long before Jason Bourne shot onto the scene, Bond was charming audiences with his unique combination of sophistication and brutal efficiency. No two actors who played Bond are exactly the same, which is why I’ve decided to define each Bond in a silly yet appropriate way.

In a major departure from my usual writing style where I go into great depth on a topic, I’m going to simply describe each Bond and then give a short explanation, so there’s no confusion about what I mean. Continue reading →

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Forgotten Film Gems: Untamed Heart

Posted on November 12, 2013 by Robert Lockard, the Deja Reviewer

Untamed Heart embodies the line "The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return."Long before Twilight romanticized the notion of a mysterious boy sneaking into a girl’s bedroom at night to watch her sleep, Untamed Heart did it without being creepy. And long before Moulin Rouge overused the line, “The greatest thing you’ll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return,” to a ridiculous degree, Untamed Heart used it in the most devastatingly beautiful way imaginable.

I’m just going to come out and say it: Untamed Heart is the best romantic film I have ever seen. You’ve got to see it.

There are three things that make my heart ache with joy every time I see this film: The relationship between the two leads, the music, and the ending. I’ll talk about each of these things so you can get an idea of what makes Untamed Heart a perfect film. Continue reading →

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Was It a Good Idea for Bryan Singer to Return to X-Men After a Decade-long Absence?

Posted on November 5, 2013 by Robert Lockard, the Deja Reviewer

Bryan Singer is a talented director, no question. That admission might sound out of place coming from a guy who poked fun at Singer’s initials and said that Superman Returns gets worse every time I see it. But it’s true. I sometimes jest, but I have great respect for filmmakers because they open themselves to be embarrassingly mocked, praised, or ignored every time they produce something new.

Singer did an incredible service to comic-book movies by paving the way for their success with 2000's X-Men and 2003's X2: X-Men United.Singer did an incredible service to comic-book movies by paving the way for their success with 2000’s X-Men. After 1997’s Batman & Robin killed comic-book movies’ momentum for a few years, X-Men showed that it was possible to have a big team-up film full of superheroes and make it work. It’s a modest movie, especially by the standards of The Avengers and the Dark Knight trilogy, but it’s still well-acted and carefully crafted.

After X2: X-Men United, Singer hung up his claws to try his hand at another famous superhero series with the aforementioned Superman Returns. Since then, he’s fallen into relative obscurity, directing a few TV movies, as well as the somewhat popular Valkyrie and the critically panned Jack the Giant Slayer. His next big movie is 2014’s X-Men: Days of Future Past.

My question is: Was it a good idea for Singer to return to X-Men after so many years?

Bryan Singer's next big movie is 2014’s X-Men: Days of Future Past.Singer’s presence adds a welcome bit of nostalgia and it seems to bode well for the project because his first two films of the series are undoubtedly the best, along with X-Men: First Class, which he helped write and produce.

Sentinels and an all-out war between humans and mutants are what we’ve been waiting for, and it looks like we’re finally going to get them in the next film. But is Bryan Singer the right man to bring such an epic story to the big screen? He’s unproven in that area. Continue reading →

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