'Disney's A Christmas Carol' needs more emotion

DISNEY’S A CHRISTMAS CAROL

2 stars

Rated PG

The timeless holiday classic written in 1843 by Charles Dickens becomes the third motion-capture animated film for Academy Award-winning filmmaker Robert Zemeckis (“The Polar Express” and “Beowulf”).

The transformative story of repentance and character development are buried under an avalanche of visual imagery, computerized special effects and other technological gadgets.

After a holiday postcard opening complete with a burning candle, Ebenezer Scrooge (voiced and performed by Jim Carrey) signs the death certificate of his former business partner Jacob Marley. He displays his cold heart and miserly ways. Falling snow appears in a street scene in Victorian era London. The glorious score by composer Alan Silvestri kicks in with traditional Christmas music.

The action resumes on Christmas Eve seven years later. Scrooge reluctantly grants his only employee, Bob Cratchit (Gary Oldman), a full day off with pay for Christmas. Scrooge gets an invitation for dinner from his cheery nephew Fred (Colin Firth). He utters his familiar catchphrase “Bah, humbug!”

Things get ominous and eerie when he arrives home. He is visited in his bedroom by Marley’s frightening ghost bound in the chains of his own greed. He alerts Scrooge that haunting and spooky apparitions representing the past, present and future will cross his path next and take him on a journey of self-redemption.

Everything centers on Scrooge and Carrey plays him as a young boy, a teenager, a young man, a middle-aged man and an old man. The audience revisits biographical snippets of his life that include his first employer Mr. Fezziwig (Bob Hoskins) and his fiancée Belle (Robin Wright Penn).

It turns into a dry, emotionless account because we get to spend very little time with the Cratchit family. Tiny Tim is reduced to window dressing as a bit player. He gets to deliver his famous line “God bless us, everyone!” It rings hollow and lacks the empathy and infusion of the holiday spirit.

The movie plays out like a ghost story with Scrooge operating like a pinball in an arcade game. He flies through the air, tumbles down a hole in the Earth and is chased by a horse-drawn carriage of death.

The movie frequently drags and seems much longer than the 96-minute running time. The distinctive British accents make some of the dialogue difficult to understand. The movie cleverly employs depth perception trickery which allows Scrooge to see things from a unique out-of-body perspective.

Scrooge’s ultimate transformation to kindness and charity comes too late and is given little screen time. Carrey never gets a chance to be the funny comedian that has endeared him to his legion of fans. The movie could use more humor to offset the dark and dreary atmosphere. Nevertheless, this is a technological triumph in cinematography, production design, animation and visual effects for Zemeckis, whose love affair with the motion-capture technique continues.

The boo-hoo elements should make parents of children under age 10 wary. The movie tends to be on the more adult-oriented end of the appeal scale for Walt Disney Pictures, whose specialty is trademarked family fare. This movie is available in standard 2D format, but the preferred ways to view it are in either Disney Digital 3D or IMAX 3D.

COCO BEFORE CHANEL

3 and a half stars

Rated PG-13

The formative early years of pioneering French fashion designer Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel are showcased in this biopic directed by Anne Fontaine. Audrey Tautou (“Amelie” and “A Very Long Engagement”) is magnificent in the lead role.

The story begins in 1893 when Gabrielle and her older sister, Adrienne, are abandoned by their father and left to be raised in an orphanage. In her mid-20s, Gabrielle works as a seamstress by day and a saloon singer at night. She sings a song about a cute little dog named Coco. She meets arrogant aristocrat Etienne Balsan (Belgian actor Benoit Poelvoorde) one night at her cabaret show. He prefers to call her Coco and the nickname sticks.

Balsan impresses her with his connections in Paris. After a drunken fling in his hotel room, Coco packs her bags and goes to live with Balsan in his country estate. She learns to ride a horse and becomes Balsan’s personal geisha.

She observes the clothing women are wearing. She detests long trains on dresses that make her feel like a walking curtain. She opts for loose-fitting and more comfortable attire that allows a woman breathing room. She never wears a corset, preferring simplicity and menswear-inspired outfits. She gets her start designing hats with no feathers.

Coco enters into a torrid love affair with English businessman Arthur “Boy” Capel (Alessandro Nivola from “Junebug”). Balsan becomes jealous as this romantic triangle becomes the focus of the screenplay. The love scenes are handled in a tasteful manner.

This indie gem is graced with laudatory acting, interesting dialogue, lavish costumes, breathtaking scenery, splendid interior designs and an exceptional musical score by 2009 film composer of the year Alexandre Desplat (“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” and “The Queen”) featuring the London Symphony Orchestra.

Tautou, who ironically is the current spokesmodel for Chanel No. 5, uses to her advantage a petite figure, expressive dark eyes and an elegant aura of sophistication that will remind audiences of Audrey Hepburn. This guilty pleasure costume drama leaves you wanting to know more about this extraordinary woman considered one of the most influential in the 20th century. Let’s hope that Fontaine (who co-wrote the script with her sister Camille) can do a follow-up with “After” in the title.

Prior to the closing credits, we are treated to a brief glimpse of Coco’s designer label dresses as glamorous models descend a spiral staircase before a haute couture fashion show. The dialogue is in French with easy-to-read English subtitles. Now playing exclusively at the Leawood, AMC Studio 30 and Tivoli.

THE MEN WHO STARE AT GOATS

2 and a half stars

Rated R

Quirky characters and wacky, offbeat humor provide escapist fun in this political anti-war movie. The oddball title only gives viewers a hint of what this madcap comedy adventure is about.

After being dumped by his wife, Ann Arbor journalist Bob Wilton (Ewan McGregor) discovers the story of a lifetime when he meets Lyn. S. Cassady (George Clooney) at a hotel in Kuwait City. Cassady claims to be a former member of an army unit that fought with their minds.

The two men cross the border into Iraq searching for pony-tailed hippie guru Bill Django (Jeff Bridges), the founder of the peace-loving New Earth Battalion that used psychic powers to give their enemies the disincentive to engage in combat.

The movie alternates between a buddy-style road trip in 2003 and crazy flashbacks to the unconventional training at Fort Bragg in 1983. The movie gets off to a strong start that is both amusing and highly entertaining. The visual sight gags from the past including the staredown of a goat are far superior to the nomadic desert scenes.

The movie can’t maintain the high level of incredulity. It drags, sputters and then loses its fizz. The movie goes on a little too long and all of its creative juices dry up when the three principals reunite.

Kevin Spacey plays the villainous role of spoon-bending Larry Hooper. There is a subtle New Age message advocating love and peace. These drugged-out, lunatic soldiers refer to themselves as Jedi warriors, an obvious reference to the “Star War” movies. This is an inside joke since McGregor actually played Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Bridges gives the standout performance which will remind viewers of his Dude role in “The Big Lebowski.” McGregor (who also narrates) plays the straight man to Clooney’s eccentric dancing school operator who believes he still his extrasensory abilities.

This unusual, absurdist movie is the directorial debut of Clooney’s longtime pal Grant Heslov (producer and co-writer of “Good Night, And Good Luck”). Peter Straughan’s (“How to Lose Friends & Alienate People”) screenplay adaptation is inspired by Jon Ronson’s nonfiction book.

Top 5 Flick Picks

1. Coco Before Chanel

2. Law Abiding Citizen

3. The Baader Meinhof Complex

4. Amreeka

5. The Men Who Stare at Goats

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