Escape to the Movies: Rise of the Guardians

[SwimmingRock]

Some of the more esoteric Germanic mythological beings are missing though, like that one that sits on your chest and sucks blood through your nipples (explanation of night paralysis and breathing difficulties) and that Christmas character that's black (I forget what he is called or what he does).

Don't know about the nipple-blood suckers, but I think the Christmas character you're referring to is Krampus, a black demon who kidnaps naughty children and eats them. In case you, or anyone else reading this, might happen to be interested:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krampus

I remember I had an illustrated childrens book with him in at when I was little. Scared the crap out of me at the time.

 

[Davroth]

Hogfather.

I wont call it a ripoff, but it's amusingly similar in the team idea. xD

I will still watch it.

 

[Darth_Payn]

Didn't all this movie's characters appear on The Fairly Oddparents at least once?

captcha: Get The Hopper Free
Why won't you release the Hopper already?!

 

[Siege_TF]

I'm not really surprised that the Sandman's the one you really gotta look out for. It's always the quiet ones.

 

[Aureliano]

Not a kid, don't give extra points to kids movies so I think I'll pass on Guardians.

That being said, I did end up seeing Life of Pi. Never expected to even watch it let alone enjoy it, but I did. From the previews it looks like a mystical journey through life, spirituality, etc. with a human-spirited tiger by a young Indian man's side. Instead, it's a poignant fight for survival and the struggles of two creatures with every reason to kill each other had they the chance thrown into a situation in which they depend on each other for survival, both practically and emotionally.

So, yeah. More so even than an odd couple, it's closer to star-crossed lovers with the audacity of something like Drive instead of the rote and foreordained 'everything's definitely going to turn out fine in spite of their differences' of rom-coms.

If you haven't seen Life of Pi, you really might want to take a look.

 

[Canadamus Prime]

No Bob, it's not January yet. It's not even December yet. How sad is that?

Incidentally this movie looks awesome.

 

[scorptatious]

This was a very good movie. As you said Bob, it isn't Toy Story or Wreck It Ralph, but it was fun to watch.

Also, the Tooth Fairy reminds me of something out of Cirque du Soleil

 

[maxben]

Some of the more esoteric Germanic mythological beings are missing though, like that one that sits on your chest and sucks blood through your nipples (explanation of night paralysis and breathing difficulties) and that Christmas character that's black (I forget what he is called or what he does).

Don't know about the nipple-blood suckers, but I think the Christmas character you're referring to is Krampus, a black demon who kidnaps naughty children and eats them. In case you, or anyone else reading this, might happen to be interested:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krampus

I remember I had an illustrated childrens book with him in at when I was little. Scared the crap out of me at the time.

I found it!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alp_(folklore)
Its called the Alp and its crazy go nuts!
And yeah, we don't have krampus in the english world, that's totally the one I am referring to.

 

[RTR]

I can honestly feel that Dreamworks animation seems to be drifting away from the kind of pop culture reference saturation it had back in, say, 2004, with several of their more recent movies having settings that don't really allow for much of that stuff, like Kung Fu Panda and HTTYD, with the possible exception of certain dialogue choices from the characters. If they can make more stuff like that and like Guardians, I'lll be just fine with Dreamworks.

Also, I was going to point out that Bob sounds exhausted, but then the video pointed that out for me.

Also, a question for Bob: we all know The Hobbit is going to be a big deal, but don't you think that some of the hype behind the film prior to release (new format, conversion to a trilogy, etc.) has impacted or has the potential of impacting the overall final product? Or are you just confident that the filmmaker(s) can do a good job regardless?

I think right after Shrek 2, is when their pitfall of awfulness started. Kungfu panda was the first grab on the ledge to save their asses in terms of quality, then they figured out their formula that worked. (HTTYD was my favorite)

I agree with that about Shrek 2. To me, the use of references in that movie worked because it's all part of the joke about imagining a fairytale kingdom as Beverly Hills and such. But right after that, Shark Tale came out and those jokes got old FAST.

 

[Psykoma]

I'm actually excited about the comment regarding Sandman, that he is actually pretty badass.

Just from watching the previews (going to see the movie on sunday), it just seemed to me like sandman was the type of character who was generally very aloof, but when by some miracle you actually managed to piss him off, mountains crumble.

I dunno, normally that would be a cheap character type to resort to, but I just feel that for an entity that determines the dreams for everyone on earth every single night (none of this 'operate only one day per year' like santa and easter bunny!), deep down he's gotta be pretty damn powerful.

 

[Pariahwulfen]

We're this far into the comments and Sluggy Freelance [http://www.sluggy.com/comics/archives/daily/031019] hasn't been mentioned yet? I am disappoint

 

[Triaed]

A three minute review, Bob? That is unusual. You must be very busy... should we be expecting a surprise?
I guess there was not much more to say about this one.

 

[chaos order]

i saw the trailer for this movie a while back and it looked awesome, but i was skeptical cause well you know the whole premise is kinda insane. before i clicked on the review i pretty much said to myself " PLEASE BE GOOD PLEASE BE GOOD PLEASE BE GOOD"

 

[daxterx2005]

No New Super Mario Bros. U eye catches?

 

[Dangit2019]

Okay, Bob, you really need to stop padding out your reviews with trailers and clips unless they are ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY to the context of the review. All you had to say was "Rise of the Guardians is a children's animated actioner about a group of public domain mythic beings who have to fight off a villain threatening to end their holidays". Oddly enough, you still did even after the trailer explained that.

More analysis, less overabundant "context".

 

[chozo_hybrid]

Hogfather.

I wont call it a ripoff, but it's amusingly similar in the team idea. xD

I will still watch it.

Good to see I wasn't the only one who thought that here, but still, it looks good, so I will go see it.

 

[Robot Number V]

My question is.....Does Santa have a Russian accent ?

Yes, yes he does. More confusing to me is how Santa also has Russian prison tattoos. Did Santa spend some time in the Gulags?

I'm just going to assume that he spent some time running around with criminals to learn how they think and live, Batman-Begins-Style.

OT: I have to say Bob, as shameless review-padding strategies go, I prefer you showing a clip from the trailer at the beginning of the video to the awkwardly long pauses in a few past videos. More to the point though, I'm glad this movie is working out. I have the say, the concept is pretty damn cool. Like "American Gods" meets "Avengers" meets...I don't know...Childhood in general, I guess.

 

[CoL0sS]

My question is.....Does Santa have a Russian accent ?

Yes, yes he does. More confusing to me is how Santa also has Russian prison tattoos. Did Santa spend some time in the Gulags?

Squeeeee. That's awesome

Yup. There's no reason not to, but considering sovereignty issues around the North Pole I have to wonder what the movie would be like if he were Canadian...

In an animated movie ? Every sentence would end with "Eh" or "Aboot" or any other Canadian stereotype XD

 

[TJC]

Bob, you should consider renaming yourself to MovieGrinch for the next couple of weeks.
Stay strong, it'll be over before long.