The Grass Isn't Always Greener On the Other Side: Corline Movie Review

     We must always be careful of what we wish for. In the stop-animation film, Coraline, the director, Henry Selic, shows viewers what it means to get exactly what you ask for. Coraline, a young, colorful girl, played by Dakota Fanning, is forced to live in a jejune, grey community full of unusual neighbors like Miss April Spink, played by Jennifer Saunders, by her parents Mr. and Mrs. Jones, played by Teri Hatcher and John Hodgman. She seems to be thrown into a world drained of life and energy. Fog rolls through the looming, dark hills that she explores. Even the house she moved into fades into the boring background along with everything else. She is just a kid looking for some type of adventure and warmth in her cold, uneventful life. Coraline just wants someone to care about what she thinks she needs, and she goes to great lengths to make her wishes come true.

     Little Coraline spends her dreary days looking for an escape from her terribly unexciting reality once her parents moved her into the Pink Palace, a muted, empty house. She begins by passing time going from one room to the next in the large home, meeting neighbors, and walking around in the acres of land around it. After she's done just about everything she could to make her time more interesting, she stumbles on a small door behind the wallpaper. Unfortunately the hope of the ultimate adventure was crushed when she found nothing but a brick wall in front of her. Coraline loses interest and meets a kid her age named Wybourne, played by Robert Bailey Jr.,  who is just as awkward and creepy as the rest of the people she meets. Hour to hour she yearns for some sort of way to satisfy her hunger for having fun, but she is constantly denied by the barren landscape and neglecting parents. To her surprise, one night she is awoken by mice who lead her to that same door, but this time it has transformed into a mystifying portal to an unknown world. Of course she jumps, or better yet crawls, at the opportunity to leave her old life behind. Once she's passed through she see discovers a world the same as her own but enhanced in every way. The other mother pays attention to her and loves her unconditionally, and the neighbors are similar but the perfect version of those in her true life. Everything is finally starting to turn out like she wanted and more.

     Coraline has finally achieved what she has been asking for from the beginning, a new life full of adventure and love. However there is one flaw in this alternate universe, everyone in it has buttons rather than eyes. That factor didn't seem to matter to her until they asked her to stay forever, with the catch being that she'd have to have buttons sown onto her own eyes. In the blink of an eye everything seemed to change; this near perfect world was not everything she had hoped for. Bit by bit this incredible dream goes through an awful metamorphosis into a frightening nightmare. Coraline is trapped and must use her bravery and cleverness to get back to the life that she had left behind. It takes hard work and determination, but Coraline pulls it off and ends up right back where she started. She realizes that what she wished for wasn't what she really wanted; it is her real life that she truly loves and enjoys. It took patience and a near death experience to come to the conclusion, but Coraline finally figured out that what she already had is all she ever wanted.

     This stop-animation movie is very well made and is inspired by a hit children's book, however this movie does not seem to be made for children. For one, the score throughout the film keeps a generally consistent tone of creepy and frightening sounds, but it does help add effect to the dull colors of real life and the dramatic colors of the new life. The actors who created the motion of the puppets did a phenomenal job getting the characters to match the emotions of the actors' voices in the dialogue in order to create realistic scenes matching expression to tone. The filmmakers seemed to aim fir a more suspenseful, creepy movie, and they achieved that, in part, through their use of camera angles and scene length. For example, as Coraline fights back against the evils in the new world it gets close up so that the viewer feels like they are a part of the struggle. Something that really sets this movie apart is its use of unique character and costume design. Each character was not only unique in the way they looked physically, but they all also had their own wardrobes. Another big reason why this film is a hit is because of the decision to use almost all real effects rather than CGI. For instance, the fog that rolled through the hills and around Coraline was smoke from dry ice that they recorded and layered into the scenes. All in all they used various different elements for all audiences to enjoy.

     Overall, this average length film did very well keeping my attention from beginning to end. It was creepy and at times even awkward or racy, but there was never a moment when I drifted off into boredom. Due to the fact that it has puppets it draws in the younger audiences, but it also has much deeper, more meaningful parts that an older audience can relate to as well. This movie does more than tell an interesting story; it relays strong messages and themes like being careful what you wish for and being grateful for what you already have. On the other hand, this film does have its downfalls. The most prominent mistake that I can see is the odd scenes where they chose to have the old ladies almost entirely naked and the Russian man with the hairy, bulging stomach almost getting stabbed in the groin. Other than those moments I believe that this movie was a great success. I rate it with four and a half out of five stars, and I recommend this movie to all audiences ranging anywhere from kids to adults.   

Sing Like No One's Watching

     The Voice is back for its third season and better than ever! With its new premier in fall this year, it’s ready for some serious talent. The four spinning chairs, phenomenal coaches, and humorous bickering over incredible singers are back yet again. This season promises to be exciting, talented, and full of new twists and surprises. With two great seasons under its belt, this show is ready to soar to all new heights.

      Produced by Mark Burnett, The Voice follows a simple set of rules. There are four coaches with the potential to add a strong singer onto their sixteen person teams, and all they have to do is press the big red button that sits tauntingly in front of them. All four chairs face away from the stage so that the coaches can hear the voices without seeing the contestant. Once they’ve hit their button, the floor tiles in front of them explode with a bright white light as their chair spins to face the contestant. If only one coach turns around then that singer is automatically placed on their team; however, if another coach spins at any point before the end of the song, then the singer gets to choose which team to be on after hearing each argument from the coaches. On the other hand, if no one turns around by the end of the song, that contestant does not get placed on any team, but the coaches still give them feedback before they leave the stage. 

    The coaches remain the same this season and for good reason. First off, Christina Aguilera, a sensational pop and soul artist, has been singing since she started at twelve on the Mickey Mouse Club House. Not to mention she’s won four Grammys, and one Latin Grammy! Next is, of course, Adam Levine, a high-pitched rock artist and lead singer of Maroon 5. He originally started as Kara's Flowers when he was younger, but has since blossomed into the well known group, Maroon 5. He and his band have earned themselves three Grammys so far. Then there is our third coach, Blake Shelton, a very well known country star and good friend of Adams. This six feet tall country singer has had quite a few hits, as well as winning three Country Music Awards along with various other awards. Last, but not least, is Cee Lo Green, a successful song writer, singer, and rapper. He’s most well known for his hit single “F**k You,” but he has done so much more, including creating the group known as the Goodie Mob until he left a few years later to pursue a solo career.  Each coach is unique allowing for a more diverse range of talents.

       

      Now with all four ready to go, they needed a way to start the season off right, so to kick off the night they pumped up the crowd with “Start Me Up” by the Rolling Stones. After the performance, they all sat down and relaxed in their big red chairs to begin. The first performance of this season came from a Scottish rocker, Terry McDermott, who got Cee Lo, Blake, and Adam to all turn around, and he eventually went with Blake as his coach. Next up was De’Borah, a soulful, colorful artist who sang “Hey Soul Sister” by Train and in the end chose Christina as her coach. Off to a great start, the coaches spun around once again just before Gracia Harrison walked off the stage. This bubbly blonde belted, “I Want to be a Cowboy’s Sweetheart” by Patsy Montana, and got all but Christina to turn around with her powerful yodeling. Blake and Adam battled it out trying to sway her onto their teams, and after hearing all of the arguments, she chose Blake for his southern charm and expertise. Sixteen-year-old Garrett Garcher was next to go up, but unfortunately no one turned around due to a lack of control in his voice. Afterwards was Devyn Delora who dared to sing Christina’s song “Ain’t No Other Man,” and said that singing this coaches song was, “Suicidal.” Fortunately, her voice was strong enough to bring the audience to life and left the coaches reeling to turn their chairs around first. Blown away by their reactions, she had a moment to stand in awe just before she chose to join team Christina. Hoping for a second chance, Daniel Rosa returned with “Someone That I Used to Know” by Gotye, and this time he got to join team Cee Lo after shedding a few tears and getting a hug from Adam. The night continued with a sweet girl from Jamaica, Anita Antoinette, who failed to get any of the coaches to turn around with “No Woman, No Cry” by Bob Marley. However, she did make them regret their decisions after she sang a more meaningful version a cappella. Moments later, Joe Kirkland, a college band backup singer, came out singing “Gives You Hell” by The All American Rejects and ended up with his fellow rocker Adam. The next segment of the show featured three more competitors who didn’t have what it took for the coaches to hit their buttons. To finish up the first night with a bang, Trevin Hunte, an eighteen-year-old powerhouse who grew up with people saying that he’d never amount to anything, walked nervously out on stage. As the music started and he began to sing his incredible version of “Listen” by Beyonce, not only did he prove all of them wrong, but he also made the coaches scramble to spin around. Stunned of what effect his voice had on the audience and judges, Trevin took a moment before he joined team Cee Lo. By the end of the night each coach had filled two spots on their sixteen person teams. 

      Overall, a lot of elements work well with this show. The part that makes the show a hit is having the chairs facing away from the stage. It’s simple, yet powerful; it takes away all potential bias and allows for all of the hopefuls to have a fair chance to be judges solely on their voice. Allowing the contestants to choose their coach, if more than one turns around, adds some suspense to the show that gets the viewer excited and invested. Structurally the show is very orderly and can begin to lean towards boring, but the creators were smart to choose the outgoing coaches to help with that. Because of the coaches being able to argue and bicker with each other, it makes the show a lot more comical and helps the viewer to see the comments made when there are no restrictions. Another great part of the show is the back-story it gives before each singer walks out on stage. It creates an emotional attachment between the viewer and the performer, which makes the viewer want to continue watching to see how far they make it in the competition. Even though there is so much of The Voice that is good and well thought out, there are some areas that could use improvement. 

      The greatest flaw is when the show allows professional singers, or at least were professionals at some point, to go on stage and compete. This gives them an unfair advantage over the others, and it would benefit the show to have contestants that have very little to no professional experience. Another minor error is the back-story. It’s necessary to have, but when it drags on for so long it loses the viewers’ interests and will at the very least make them think about watching something else. The last piece that can be repaired is the length of time it takes for a contestant to choose a coach. It starts out dramatic and gets the viewers guessing which coach they’ll choose, but then it continues to the point where they begin, if not completely, lose interest. 

     All in all I think this is a fantastic show that works with what the people watching want to see. It deserves to last many more seasons, and I believe it will continue to be a hit for as long as it airs. This show receives a ranking of four and a half out of five stars from me, and has definitely become one of my all time favorites.