Reviews

Upfront, I thoroughly enjoyed this movie beyond what I thought I would take from it. Being an animation major I can thoroughly pick apart most movies, especially what Disney puts out now-a-days. Unfortunately for their movie Treasure Planet, either it was ahead of itself ambitiously, or it was rumors that spread like wildfire (when it was being released) that killed it. Actually, that's why I didn't see this film until very recently, because of everyone's (and mine at the time) prejudice against Disney features springing up amongst way too many viewers, and especially for this film. I believed them that this film was terrible, and subsequently never got to see it until a week ago. Man, everyone was wrong.

I'll be honest, and give it its weak points: The main character (Jim) is quite blank and not very well developed. Which is bad because an audience cannot connect to a flat, central character. Secondly, the CG (although very well stylized) I think didn't mesh as well with the 2D animation as it should have. Other than that...you might pick apart a few other things about the movie (and no, the dialouge isn't that bad. it's a G rated movie...it's not supposed to be incredibly complex).

Treasure Planet keeps pretty tight in line with the original classic, "Treasure Island", even when softening it down for a younger audience. I grew up with that story, and had no problem with the adaptation in Planet. Also, this film contains two masterfully animated characters, John Silver and Dr. Dilbert Doppler (animated by two masters, Glen Keane and Sergio Pablos, respectively). If you're an animation enthusiast, these two are gold to watch (especially the pencil tests in the special features on the DVD).

This whole review is a little long-winded, but in closing, this movie is more than what was said of it. If anything dealt the killing blow in this movie failing at the box office, it was everyone's bad word for it. Not true. Please see for yourself!

Way ahead of it's time......and why is that?

Frankly, nobody wants pure love like this in the world right now; we all revolve around our misery and what we think is 'real' and relatable to our society. Which is a sad fact because that's what this movie tries to point out, and contrast with lives that DO go through the struggle of love in a world like ours today. It seems that that's all there is in the media today as well: sex, violence, and dissapointment. Why not fight back with what we should be living for?

That's exactly what this movie stands for. Unfortunately I don't believe everyone out there totally accepts its message, which is why it's really sad how many reviews on this movie are bad or tear it apart. Viewers generally like to disect movies like this for all they're worth, and even afterwards overlook their solid structures, not wanting to accept their messages as "good material". So what did I think of this movie?

Absolutely beautiful.

I know I'm not the only one out there sick of all the material we get thrown in today's entertainment and media, I'm tired of all the pretty faces and booty-shaking and perfect endings and shoot-em-ups too. "Love Actually" leaves you happy and dissapointed and embarassed and grateful at the same time, because isn't that what love always leaves you with? I'm sure everyone's felt every end of the emotional spectrum in the name of love, which is why it's such an incredibly difficult genre to depict, espetially in the context of a film.

That's where "Love Actually" comes in and gives us every pick of the crop. Every story from the flirty secretary and her co-worker who's hopelessly in love with another co-worker who's boss is having marital problems with his wife who's brother is the prime minister also with love problems and her friend who just lost his wife and his step-son's depressed with having a crush on the most popular girl in school etc. etc. etc......

Confusing? Not at all; after a while into the movie you're wondering just how all this CAN'T be confusing. "Love Actually" is so perfectly pieced together, that if done in any other way it would spell disaster. And you can't get any more real with love that by showing all the dissapointments and rewards that such a simple, four-letter word can bring.

AND this movie is funny; with just the right mix of humor in the midst of it all (everyone gave genuine roars and laughs in the audience I was in, and I just about died during the scenes of the stand-in couple).

Oh, and about the American-bashing....I totally agreed with it. We are the bully country after all, driven way to constantly by the lure of sex and power. Our morals are sad today and rotting away our core. "Love Actually" is the most perfect counter to our social corruption.

GO SEE THIS MOVIE AND BE HAPPY FOR ONCE without feeling like you should go home wanting to kill your neighbor, bang a ton of hot girls, drive around recklessly in fast cars, blow up things, steal things, or tear your eyes out of their sockets for all the terrible things in the entertainment industry today.

"Love Actually" gets a 10 from me.