Rise of the Guardians

Let me start this review by stating that I am not a Dreamworks fan.  While the company has made some great films (Shrek and How to Train Your Dragon come to mind), the executives seem determined to treat animation as a business rather than an art form.  It shows frequently, with their many sequels to their more successful films, as well as constant and aggravating use of pop-culture references and celebrity voice actors.  It is thus interesting that they have made Rise of the Guardians (sadly, no relation to the underrated Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole), a movie largely about childlike wonder and imagination.  Does it work?  Read on and find out. 

Why you have to see Monsters, Inc. in 3D

 

So, with Monsters University coming out this year, Disney obviously saw this as a good time to rerelease the original Monsters, Inc. in 3D.  Ordinarily, I would not particularly encourage people to go see 3D rereleases.  Sure, with Pixar stuff at least, the 3D is always competently done, but it's inevitable that it doesn't add as much as with a movie designed for 3D. 

In this case, however, there is one shot alone that makes the 3D experience worth the price of admission.  It's shown after the break, because it is arguably a spoiler.  If you haven't seen the movie in any form, then I encourage you to see it in whatever legal form you can, and the cinema is as good a place as any.  If you've already seen it in 2D, then head past the break:

Frankenweenie

Well, the holiday season is pretty much over, which means that those of us who work in retail can actually take a holiday.  This gives me time to review a few noteworthy animated films from the last quarter of 2012 that I did not get around to reviewing last year.  In that spirit, let's take a look at Frankenweenie.