"The Nightmare Before Christmas" (Thing 1)

We watched "The Nightmare Before Christmas." It's about a skeleton named Jack--aka "The Pumpkin King"--who has been a central part of Halloween all his life. One day, he discovers Christmas, and decides that this year Halloween Town is going to celebrate it.

This is a fun movie with extremely catchy songs. It's great to watch around Christmas time, but I also think it's a good Halloween movie. I'm not always a huge fan of claymation, but this was done pretty well. The plot was pretty simple and family friendly, the "creepiness" way toned down. It's more goofy than it is scary. The only reason I took a couple points off was because I didn't feel like I got to know the characters that well and I didn't believe the chemistry between Jack and Sally. Otherwise it was very enjoyable.

I would give this movie

.

"The Nightmare Before Christmas" (Thing 2)

We watched "The Nightmare Before Christmas." It is a claymation musical about a town called Halloween Town. The town is filled with ghosts, ghouls, and all kinds of undead things. Every Halloween they go out and scare people. The king of their town, Jack Skellington, discovers Christmas Town, and wants to become Santa Claus for the year.

I would give this movie





because it was funny, had good songs, and was enjoyable to watch.

"Once" (Thing 1)

We watched "Once." It's about a boy and girl in Dublin who are trying to make it as musicians. They meet one day when the guy is busking and start to collaborate with their music.

Out of all the musicals I've watched so far, this definitely makes my top three. It's such a simple plot, more of a glimpse into a musician's every day life than a movie. It very much focuses on the characters and the music, which I liked. And the music is fantastic, and very Indie. My favorite song from it is one you've probably heard, "Falling Slowly," but every song in it is so good. The accents are also very cool! A little hard to understand at times since they're so thick, but I love hearing accents from different countries. I won't give anything away, but I really liked the ending, too. It's not your typical Hollywood ending.

I would give this movie

.

"Once" (Thing 2)

We watched "Once." It is known as a extended music video, but it is also a musical. The reason why I call it an extended music video is because the music doesn't tell the story as much as most musicals. "Once" is about two people that meet and start a band. It is all about their social lives and their journey through creating albums. It is super simple, so if you like action packed movies, this one is not for you. But if you like indie flicks, then this one is for sure for you!

I would give this movie

for its good music and simplicity.

"The Wiz" (Thing 2)

We watched "The Wiz." It is a musical based on "The Wizard of Oz." It is almost the same story, with slight differences. For example, the flying monkeys rode on motorcycles. Most of the actors and actresses are black in the film. It is about a girl named Dorthy who gets caught in a blizzard with her dog Toto. They end up in the strange land Oz, and they must find The Wiz to get home.

I would give this movie

The writing was bad. The music was bad. It didn't make any sense. The acting was bad. The lyrics in the songs were really bad. It was way too cheesy, and it was inconsistent.  

"The Wiz" (Thing 1)

We watched "The Wiz." It's a more modern day adaptation of "The Wizard of Oz," set in New York and an urban version of Oz.

The story is pretty much entirely the same as "The Wizard of Oz" (which is a musical I only like okay), except it's far more depressing. The setting always seems to be dark and gray and rundown, the buildings are abandoned or look like factories, and there's trash everywhere. The songs are also mediocre at best with lyrics capable of being written by an eight-year-old. The choreography was repetitive throughout the entire movie, and the acting was extremely bad. My brother and I laughed out loud several times, but only because something was so cheesy. Most of the time we were groaning or fast-forwarding through songs that never ended. If something deserved only thirty seconds of attention, it lasted for a good five minutes. And scenes that should've been dragged out for dramatic effect were over in the blink of an eye.

Also, where was Toto?! Half the time he was nowhere to be found only to show up a few scenes later. Dorothy only noticed his absence when it was convenient for the plot, but the rest of the time she couldn't care less where he'd run off to.

I would give this movie

. I don't use a one-star rating often, but this was just cringe-worthy. Everything was melodramatic, inconsistent, or just plain bad.

"The Court Jester" (Thing 1)

My brother and I watched "The Court Jester." It's about a carnival performer who becomes a crucial role in a plan to overthrow the king and put the rightful heir on the throne by disguising himself as the court jester.

A lot of people say that this movie is a musical, but there were very few songs in it, maybe three total. But the story itself was really good and funny, and the main character in particular was great. He had a lot of slapstick but clever comedy. It gave off a "Princess Bride" or "Galavant" kind of vibe.

I would give this movie

for everything I said earlier. It's fairly old (it was released in 1956), but you don't really notice it like you do with other movies. The acting was actually pretty good, and there weren't any big special effects that just made you laugh at how bad it was. I really enjoyed it. It was light, fluffy, and funny.

The Court Jester (Thing 2)

Today, we watched "The Court Jester." In the beginning of the story, the king and his heirs are killed. After being killed, the leader of this operation becomes the king. Meanwhile, deep in the forest, a group of people were able to save one of the heirs. The heir is only a baby, but they keep him safe.

After the new king searches for the baby, the group runs to safety. Hubert, one of the men in this group, has to infiltrate the castle so they can overthrow the new king. Hubert has to pretend to be the king's jester. The plot takes several funny twists and turns as he attempts to complete his mission. If you like "Galavant" and "Princess Bride," you will love this movie.

I would give this movie

because it is really funny.

Damn Yankees (Thing 2)

We watched the musical "Damn Yankees." It is a movie about a man named Joe who loves the baseball team the Washington Senators. He sold his soul to the devil so he could help them break their losing streak. The devil makes him become a young, 22-year-old baseball player. After playing many games, Joe starts to miss home. He wants to go back. The devil, so desperate to keep him, sends in his secret weapon.

I would give this movie

because it has good music, it's funny at times, and has an overall good story.

"Damn Yankees" (Thing 1)

My brother and I watched "Damn Yankees." It's about a man named Joe who's always wanted to be a baseball player and finally gets the chance to make himself younger again and give it another shot thanks to a deal with the devil.



I've been wanting to watch more musicals in general, so this was a good one to start out with. There wasn't a super complicated plot or anything that was hard to follow, but the music was fun, as well as the story. The songs are extremely catchy (I'm humming "Heart" even as I type this). I also really liked the Applegate character. There was something quirky about him that reminded me of some of the demonic characters in "Supernatural," and he made me laugh a few times.


I would give this movie

(3.5) for all the reasons I listed above, though I took a couple off for the cheese factor (granted, it's bound to happen with most musicals) and the part that bugged me the most, with Joe's wife not recognizing him. Even if he was younger, I have a hard time believing she wouldn't be able to tell it was him. I'm sure there were pictures of him as a twenty-year-old that she must've seen. But for the most part, it was pretty good.