Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

Title: The Nightmare Before Christmas

Director: Henry Selick

Year: 1993

Official Synopsis: Bored with the same old scare-and-scream routine, Pumpkin King Jack Skellington longs to spread the joy of Christmas. But his merry mission puts Santa in jeopardy and creates a nightmare for good little boys and girls everywhere.

Official Page

STEPH SAID

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This movie is perfect; I find nothing wrong with it. First of all, the world it takes place in is rather original, having every holiday be a land within a world. Halloween Town is everything you'd expect from Halloween. You have werewolves, vampires, witches, ghosts, skelletons, pumpkins etc. It is dark and mysterious and yet so full of life and happiness. Christmas Town is bright and chirpy and can do no wrong. In the end the lands are intertwined for good in beautiful acceptance.

Second, the plot is magnificent. It is complete and consistent and full of surprises. 

Also, I am in love with the soundtrack. Since this movie is a musical, the songs constitute a very important part of storytelling. And this musical nailes them. They are catchy, witty, and dramatic, with a nice pace, and most importantly, they literally tell the story.

But, what I love the most are the characters, especially the lead Jack Skellington. He is a perfectly round character and the force that drives the plot forwards. It is his story. He is funny, endearing, relatable, and a dreamer. I pitty his empty existence and understand his desire for something more. It is a very human struggle, the desire to be important, to leave a mark, to do more, to feel alive. The supporting characters, though not as developed as Jack, create a very entertaining compliment for the Jack.

This movie is a joy to watch. I wouldn't change a thing. It is perfect the way it is. There is a reason why it is still famous after all these years.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Third Wheel (Book 7)

Title: The Third Wheel

Author: Jeff Kinney

Year of Publication: 2012

Official Synopsis: A Valentine's Day dance at Greg's middle school has turned his world upside down. As Greg scrambles to find a date, he's worried he'll be left out in the cold on the big night. His best friend, Rowley, doesn't have any prospects either, but that's a small consolation.

An unexpected twist gives Greg a partner for the dance and leaves Rowley the odd man out. But a lot can happen in one night, and in the end, you never know who's going to be lucky in love.

Official Page

Official Trailer



STEPH SAID

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This book was a sweet surprise. I was already getting used to low quality Wimpy Kid stories. And, even though this story is not literary art, it is engaging. The Third Wheel is a relatable story about finding love and dating. Our media is filled with these type of stories, from romantic comedy movies to hilarious memoirs. Listening to such a story from an egocentric 12-years-old boy is a rather funny twist. Of course, Greg was not actually looking for true love, he only wanted a date to a dance. Still, his ideas for finding one are questionable, but unfortunately all too real. He tried to impress girls by dressing better, he surrounded himself by “bad boys”, he got a “man” on the inside (Rowley), he stalked girls, used a wingman (Rowley), and tried to impress a girl with money and/or expensive things, among other things.  Greg nailed everything people do to find a significant other. Of course, he always went for the pretty and popular girls, so, even if he did everything “right”, he never would have stand a chance.

What I love the most about this book is how it conveys the reality of kids/teenagers interactions in such a light tone. At one point Greg creates a graph that demonstrate who likes who in school and I was immediately transported to high school. The graph had many lines crossing from one place to another, but hardly any love was requited. 

I also loved the ending of the book, which gives us a glimpse of what dating is really all about. Rowley and Greg decide to go to the dance with one girl, Abigail – all three as friends. Greg spent all night trying to impress the girl. However, she leaned towards Rowley’s nice attitude and relatable personality. The cherry on top was when, in the middle of the dance, Abigail’s original date, the one that had “family obligations” and couldn’t go to the dance, enters the dance floor with another girl. In that moment I was blown away by the crudeness of the story. Kinney’s light tone, through Greg’s clueless arrogance, brushed it off as something unimportant that happened. And maybe to the reader and everyone else is unimportant. But, when something like that happened in real life, it’s not a laughing matter.

In the end, The Third Wheel did what it was supposed to, entertain. It wasn’t laugh-out-loud funny but it was still amusing. I was surprised by the underlying drama and reality of it. Now, I am certainly looking forward to the next book.

Slender: The Eight Pages

Title: Slender: The Eight Pages

Developers: Parsec Productions

Platforms: Windows, Mac

Official Premise: Slender is a short, experimental horror game in which you must travel into a dark woods at night with a simple goal: find 8 pages that are scattered across the woods. But as you are looking for them, you are being stalked by an entity that grows more persistent and relentless as each page is collected, an entity that you cannot even look at for long, let alone fight. Your only hope is to collect all 8 pages before it catches you…

Official Page

ELL SAID

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I've known about Slender: The Eight Pages for a long time now, but it wasn't until I played it myself that I realized just how much of a masterpiece it really is. The game itself is incredibly straightforward. You're stuck in a big, dense forest looking for eight notes, pages written by someone else. The forest is incredibly dark, though, and with only a flashlight to light your way, it'll take a steeled heart to achieve that goal. The game itself doesn't actually have a story, but it doesn't need it. The sounds, the 'stalking' monster, and the setting are all perfectly balanced, making this more horrifying and scary than most modern-day horror games. I found no fault with this game and, if you enjoy games that scare you, this is probably the best one out there. (It is definitely better than FNAF.)

Iron Man 2 (2010)

Title: Iron Man 2 (2010)

Director: Jon Favreau

MPAA Rating: PG-13 for sequences of intense sci-fi action and violence, and some language

Official Synopsis: In Iron Man 2, the world is aware that billionaire inventor Tony Stark is the armored super hero, Iron Man. Under pressure from the government, the press and the public to share his technology with the military, Tony is unwilling to divulge the secrets behind the Iron Man armor because he fears the information will slip into the wrong hands. With Pepper Potts and James "Rhodey" Rhodes at his side, Tony forges new alliances and confronts powerful new forces. (Paramount Pictures) 

Official Page

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STEPH SAID

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This movie didn't make progress or build on its predecessor. The overarching plot is the same as Iron Man: someone Tony knows takes Tony's ideas and tries to improve them by creating a “better” suit, but ends up getting his butt kicked by Tony. The "development" of Tony and Ms. Potts' romantic relationship leaves them in the exact place they were in the first movie. And, the main villains Hammer and Vanko, felt like one-dimensional evil characters that only exist to make Stark the hero. The few differences this movie has with Iron Man-- like the name of the villains, the presence of SHIELD, or War Machine-- didn't add anything new to the story. (After all, Tony could've found out about his father's plans on his own.)

Yet again, it is Downey Jr.'s performance what carries this movie. This character comes naturally to him. Other 'pros' this movie has are the portable Iron Man suit, which was an unexpected surprise, and Black Widow. She was probably added to increase the number of female characters and she didn't advance the plot as much as you'd like her too, but it was still nice to have her. 

All in all is was a good movie. But, as a sequel, it wasted Iron Man's potential.

Doctor Who (2005) Special - The End of Time, Part 1 & 2

Doctor Who (2005)

Episode Title: The End of Time Part 1 and Part 2

Broadcasting Station: BBC One

Official Synopsis: It is Christmas Eve, and the Doctor is reunited with Wilf [… He] faces the end of his life, as the Master's victory unleashes the greatest terror of all.

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ELL SAID

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This is a two-part farewell for David Tennant so, as expected, it ended with a bang. Sadly, the journey to that 'bang' isn't what you'd expect. The first part sucked, while the second part was actually pretty epic. There's not much to say, honestly. There's a lot of plot devices, useless moments, as well as far too much taken for granted. The overall plot (humankind being replaced) isn't quite original, since that's the basics of all Cybermen episodes up until now. There was, however, a lot of redeeming points, specially David Tennant's performance of the Doctor. He was, without a doubt, amazing. His ability to transmit the Doctor's emotions is just fantastic, and that's without even saying anything. Wilfred was both heartbreaking and heartwarming, and his love for the Doctor just makes him all the more adorable.