The Goods: Film Reviews
It’s great for all the reasons you remember: Seuss’s verses are wonderful and whimsical; Jones’ animation is colorful and playful (the faces!); Karloff is perfect as the narrator and Grinch; Ravenscroft’s baritone insults are a hoot; and the warm holiday ending is a great payoff on a fun reverse-Santa story.
I’ll probably be watching this every winter for the rest of my life.
This is the rare childhood favorite that just gets better and better as I get older.
Mickey’s Christmas Carol makes an excellent way to introduce younger kids to the Christmas Carol story, but it’s honestly appealing to all ages.
Oct 2022 update: I wrote an expanded review of this, which you’ll find here.
Edit: I wrote an expanded review for this following my 2022 rewatch.
Quick overview for the uninitiated (like I was last year): A bunch of interconnected shorts adding up to feature length telling the story of brothers Wirt and Greg wandering some sort of fantastical woods in late autumn.
This capsule review has been superseded by a full-length review you can read here:
The visuals are some of the most breathaking I’ve ever seen: free-flying comic art with intense neon splashes and irrepressible energy. The story is amazing too, if a bit slow to get going. One of the best superhero movies, period.
A great ensemble mystery with some great performances and a thoughtful core of social commentary.
Note: This capsule has been superseded by a full-length review.
Visually, Suspiria is a stunner. One of the most striking uses of color I’ve ever seen, with lighting that illuminates every tinted surface of every space we see. The soundtrack is disorienting weirdness too: a ringing, whispering drone.
The script and pacing, on the other hand, have some hiccups that really pulled me out: The weird U-turn of exposition when Suzy meets the psychologist and professor is jarring, and the apocalyptic ending lasts all of 30 seconds, with the credits rolling just when I was getting into it.
Reviewed on The Goods in our first episode here
Edit: This is my first movie since I started logging and reviewing again during the pandemic. It’s also the first movie I discussed on my podcast with Brian. In other words, this is the moment I officially launched my return to film criticism, so this specific film will forever hold a special place in my heart.