A Christmas Carol is as much a part of the Christmas tradition as Santa Claus and mistletoe, so it’s no surprise that this year there’s yet another film version of the classic story. In Disney’s A Christmas Carol, the animated retelling of Charles Dickens’ classic tale of charity, redemption, and embracing the Christmas spirit, director Robert Zemeckis creates a visually stunning multi-sensory thrill ride that’s sure to please both kids and adults alike. The story centers on Ebenezer Scrooge (Jim Carrey), a penny-pinching miser who cares nothing for the people around him, least of all his hopelessly downtrodden employee Bob Cratchit (Gary Oldman) and infectiously optimistic nephew, Fred (Colin Firth). On Christmas Eve, after a frightening encounter with the ghost of his deceased business partner, Jacob Marley, Scrooge is visited by three spirits — the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet to Come — who take him on an eye-opening journey to expose the truths he is reluctant to face.

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It’s taken decades, but it finally feels as if mainstream American moviegoers are warming to the fact that animation can be used for something other than entertaining the kiddies. Thank Saturday-morning cartoons, Walt Disney’s hang-up with fairy tales, or that “waskally wabbit” Bugs Bunny, but the fact is that somewhere along the line we stopped taking the art form seriously, dismissing it as a container for all things juvenile rather than embracing it as a creative means of exploring adult issues and themes. Shane Acker’s exciting, inventive feature debut is a film that addresses some pretty weighty issues — the collapse of humanity and the importance of questioning authority, among other things — but does so in an intelligent, entertaining manner that proves we need not “shut off our brains” to be entertained.

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As a book, The Time Traveler’s Wife charmed millions with its tale of doomed love, but the fantastical premise will make the movie a challenge for some viewers to follow. Eric Bana stars as Henry, a research librarian who suffers from a genetic disorder that makes him disappear suddenly, and then reappear at some other point in time. This makes maintaining his marriage to artist Clare (Rachel McAdams) really emotionally difficult for the both of them. For example, Henry first meets Clare at a library when they are in their twenties, but Clare sees Henry initially when she is 6 and he is 38 because that’s the age Harry is when he first travels to that time in the past. Although the adult couple are happy when they’re together, Clare often grows despondent because she never knows when Henry will disappear, or for how long. Eventually, hints of Henry’s death begin to appear, forcing the couple to appreciate every second they have together.

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July, 1989. GoreZone No. 8. Cover story: “Balun insults everyone — Is splatter dead?”

Hardly a triumphant celebration of the sticky stuff for a magazine touting the tag-line “All the splatter that matters” — who could have ever guessed that the kings of gore were about to take over Hollywood? That was one year after Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead II burst up from the fruit cellar to scare us all silly, and two years after then-obscure New Zealand director Peter Jackson’s deliciously vile Bad Taste was speculated to become the next Rocky Horror by GoreZone’ sister publication Fangoria Magazine.

Flash forward to 2009, when Raimi is responsible for what is arguably the most successful comic book film franchise ever and Jackson is sitting pretty with an Oscar for Best director.

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Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince’s opening scenes are marked by the chaos and confusion permeating both the Muggle and wizard communities as they experience acts of terrorism via Voldemort’s army of Death Eaters, free from the shackles of Azkaban and eager to wage war for their master. The fancy of years gone by has been replaced by a general feeling of unease as prominent members of the wizarding world go missing, their businesses left destroyed or abandoned. Rumors suggest Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) is getting too old and possibly too senile to offer protection strong enough to defend against The Dark Lord, and parents question whether Hogwarts is still the safest place for their children. Magic has irrevocably made the leap from pretty lights and the odd hex to a weapon of mass destruction in the wrong hands. War, hormones, and dark magic equal a better-than-average year for the students of Hogwarts, and the best Potter movie since Prisoner of Azkaban.

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A scientist and his nephew travel to Iceland to explore some unusual seismic activity, and instead stumble into the adventure of a lifetime in this family-friendly summer blockbuster that has the distinction of being the first full-length, live action feature shot in digital 3-D. The result is a harmless tale of family bonding that isn’t too intense for the youngsters, but still feels rather generic, despite a few memorable action set pieces and some truly dazzling 3-D effects. Compare it to something like vintage Spielberg and you’re bound to be disappointed, but take it as a typical summer blockbuster with the added benefit of being presented in 3-D and odds are good that the kids will be happy and you’ll at least walk out of the theater feeling as if you’ve gotten your money’s worth.

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A majestic tale of heroism and revenge; a soulful story of heartbreak and friendship; and a heartfelt love letter to the nameless, thankless souls who risk their lives to make cinema truly spectacular, Tarsem Signh’s long-awaited follow-up to The Cell manages to be many things at once, while never feeling as if it’s overreaching its scope.

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Sad news from Hollywood as the AP reports that actor John Phillip Law has died at an undisclosed illness at the age of 70. Whether you remember him best as the mischievous anti-hero Diabolik from director Mario Bava’s wildly entertaining fumetti-flick of the same name, Pygar the angel from Roger Vadim’s Barbarella, or the vengeful Bill from Death Rides a Horse, odds are that if you’re a fan of movies, you’ve admired Law’s work in some capacity. And while this particular writer may be more inclined to first mention some of Law’s lesser-known films (he also showed up for a supporting role in Otto Preminger’s notorious 1968 comedy Skidoo), it was roles in such undisputed hits as The Russians are Coming, The Russians are Coming and The Golden Voyage of Sinbad that propelled the handsome actor to international stardom.

Law’s AP obit quoted a Los Angeles Times interview from 1966 in which the actor stated, “I’ve had more kicks out of playing far-out things. It’s like putting on a funny face and going out in front of people and going, ‘yaaaaaa.’”

You certainly gave us our fair share of kicks, thanks John.

In commemoration of Law’s passing, we present a series of memorable film trailers featuring the fun-loving star, as well as an illuminating interview regarding his experiences in Skidoo.

Enjoy.

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Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium: Zach Helm attempts to out-Gondry Michel Gondry in his G-rated directorial debut starring Dustin Hoffman.

Awake: What is something you will not be by the end of this movie?

Into the Wild: Emile Hirsch stars as a young man who decides to live in the Alaskan wilderness, presumably after seeing Awake and giving up on humanity.

Things We Lost in the Fire: Of the two 2007 Halle Berry movies that I’ve forgotten even exist, this is the one I’ve forgotten most. Except for the other one.

Also out this week: Mrs. Doubtfire [Special Edition] and 12 Angry Men [50th Anniversary Edition]

Sure it might be a time for love and romance, but a science fiction film will be the box office champ this weekend. Doug Liman’s Jumper should score big with no other film like it out there in the marketplace. For that same reason the big screen adaptation of The Spiderwick Chronicles has the kind of built-in name recognition that should drive it to within striking distance of the top spot. Step Up 2 The Streets should quietly amass solid attendance numbers thanks to the popularity of the first film. Fool’s Gold will tumble due to the increased competition, but should round out the top five along with Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins.

How It Will Look on Monday:
Jumper: 30 Million
The Spiderwick Chronicles: 28 Million
Step Up 2 The Streets: 14 Million
Fool’s Gold: 10 Million
Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins: 9 Million

Ol’ Hornhead is back and ready to kick wicked monster tuckus in Hellboy II: The Golden Army. Guillermo Del Toro addicts will recognize a few of the director’s trademarks in this teaser trailer — most notably the Pan’s-like fairies as well as the jolly filmmaker’s knack for gears. Blade 2 freakazoids should also be doing a jig for it looks as if Guillermo is back in mano-e-mano fighting mode from the brief glimpses of a fight between Big Red and Prince Nuada (played by Blade 2’s Luke Goss). Even the comic’s fans should be happy, as the trailer showcases a quick glimpse of BPRD member Johan the Ectoplasmic Agent, whose domed head - though a slight departure from his renderings on the comic page - looks simply Del Torotastic here. Looks like we’ll all have a hot dose of fun come July of ‘08.

Hellboy II: The Golden Army trailer

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Visit the official Hellboy II: The Golden Army website here!

Here are some highlights from today’s DVD releases:

The Simpsons Movie: Finally, the big-screen spin-off of the small-screen series can be seen on the small-screen.

Stardust: The effect of the titular powder appears to be removing any recollection that this movie ever came out.

Balls of Fury: It’s just like Dodgeball, except with ping-pong instead of dodgeball, and not-funny instead of funny.

Underdog: Just in time to remind us that not every 2007 live-action adaptation of a once semi-popular cartoon starring Jason Lee is an unexpected box-office behemoth.

With another blockbuster in the books, it’s time to start looking ahead to Will Smith’s next project. And it just so happens the trailer for Hancock hit the web today. They’re pitching it here as a comedy (think Bad Santa meets Heroes), but word is, the idea behind the flick was to make an existentialist superhero drama (think, um… just Heroes, I guess). Who knows what the end product will look like? Given the hit-and-miss-edness of the postmodern superhero subgenre, it could really be anything.

Here’s a taste of what’s hitting home-video today:

The Bourne Ultimatum: The third outing cements the Bourne saga as one of the most satisfying and consistent trilogies in recent history. There’s also a four-disc Safe Deposit Gift Box out, so grab a case of Red Bull and see if you can watch all three back-to-back-to-back.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix: After five installments, I’m starting to lose track of the plots of these movies. I’m pretty sure this is the one with all the magic and whatnot. There’s also a 12-disc box-set being released today featuring all five Potter flicks.

December Boys: If that aforementioned dozen-discer somehow doesn’t quench your thirst for Daniel Radcliffe, then you’ll be interested in this Australian coming-of-age flick starring the billion-dollar kid. You might also be served with a restraining order by Radcliffe’s reps.

Everything’s Cool: Taking the message of An Inconvenient Truth and adding a spoonful of sugar, this documentary out of Sundance is billed as a global-warming comedy.