Tripping Through Gateways
Entering the Alternate Worlds of the Movies
Month: December 2015
What a Scrooge Part 9 (A Christmas Carol, 1984)
For some reason, the definitive version for me as a child was the 1984 George C. Scott version. Scott plays Scrooge as someone who seems to enjoy being mean to people. He likes dancing on other people’s joy and belittling their situations. Scott’s Scrooge…
What a Scrooge Part 8 (Scrooged, 1988)
In 1988, Richard Donner and Bill Murray brought us a totally reinvented the tale in a modern setting. They kept the main idea, but found a new way to express it. Scrooged focuses on Frank Cross, a self centered, egotistical, power hungry uh…narcissist. He…
The Forced Questions (Spoilers)
So, we are a few days into the release of the Force Awakens and those…less impressed…have gone out to offer their challenging questions. So, this is all spoilers. If you have not seen the film and are avoiding spoilers? Do not read this. I…
What a Scrooge Part 7 (A Muppet Christmas Carol, 1992)
In 1992, the Muppet team took a crack at the classic tale. With out a doubt, they did a strong job, making this one of the best of the Muppet films and a nice addition to the collection of films based on Dickens’s great…
What a Scrooge Part 6 (A Christmas Carol, 1999)
Today, I am writing about the 1999 TNT television movie starring Captain Pickard, er Professor X…um…Patrick Stewart. The film opens slightly differently than the others. It opens on the day of Marley’s death. Scrooge is rather dispassionate, simply signing off on Marley’s death in…
What a Scrooge Part 5 (A Christmas Carol, 2009)
Truth be told, I was not anticipating much with this film. It was motion capture and seemed like a vanity project for Carrey to show off. And yet, the motion capture was not as distracting as I expected. The character designs had an old…
What a Scrooge Part 4 (A Christmas Carol, 1938)
This version of a Christmas Carol stars Reginald Owen as Ebeneezer Scrooge. It follows the story quite faithfully, and features fine performances. In fact, the film has one of my favorite portrayals of Scrooge’s nephew Fred. Barry MacKay portrays him with a wonderful exuberance. …
Rebirth (Star Wars: The Force Awakens,2015)
And so, here it it is. The fans started skeptical when new films were announced, yet as we grew closer, folks started to get more and more excited. And as long as they were better than the prequels, these new films would be loved. …
What a Scrooge Part 3 (A Christmas Carol, 1949)
This odd little telefilm from 1949 mainly has one interesting point. It is hosted by Vincent Price. But truthfully, clocking in at 25 minutes? It causes the film to fail in pretty much every way. The ghosts are not remotely unnerving. They only show…
What a Scrooge Part 2 (an American Christmas Carol, 1979)
In 1979 this TV movie was released starring Henry Winkler as Benedict Slade. Set a few years into the Great Depression, Benedict Slade is running the savings and loan. He runs a hardship and the town has fallen on hard times. The early stories…
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