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The Secret of Kells, a review by goodguy

The Secret of Kells (IRL 2009) Written by: Tomm Moore, Fabrice Ziolkowski Directed by: Tomm Moore, Nora Twomey DVD: R2-IRL Buena Vista/Cartoon Saloon (Aug 19, 2009) My rating:

Cover Blurb: There are legends of a secret book, whose pages hold tremendous power to defeat the forces of darkness. Now one boy must fullfil his destiny and write the final chapter to bring light back to the world.
Brendan, a mischievous young boy, is hard at work with his uncle to strengthen the village walls as a protection against a legion of Viking raiders. In order to save his people, Brendan must embark on a secret quest that will take him beyond the world he knows into an Enchanted Forest where a host of mythical creatures await. There he will uncover the mystery, experience the magic and live the adventure of THE SECRET OF KELLS.

The Secret of Kells isn't quite on the same level as Persepolis or Sita Sings the Blues, but it still shows that the results of working within the limits of handdrawn 2D animation and a strict formal and stylized approach are simply more magical and rewarding than anything 3D animation has to offer.

Kells takes his cues from the art of illumination and indulges in a rich, ornamental style grounded by the use of basic geometric shapes. It even refrains from the use of perspective (except for the Viking attacks). A visually stunning and marvelous movie whose only weakness is a somewhat underdeveloped story that kinda fizzles out at the end.


(From goodguy's Watch Log on July 3rd, 2010)

Get Smart, a review by Jon

Get Smart
4 out of 5



Steve Carell is in CONTROL as Maxwell Smart, the novice agent often out of his depth but never out of options in this action comedy, pitting him against the nuclear scheme of the evil spy group KAOS. Anne Hathaway partners with Max as ever-capable Agent 99. And director Peter Segal (The Longest Yard) guides his stars (including Dwayne Johnson and Alan Arkin) through the dangerous realm of molar radios, multifunction pocketknives, exploding dental floss and more.


(From DCO third annual November Alphabet Marathon - discussion/review/banter thread on November 8th, 2009)

The Flash Marathon, a review by addicted2dvd

Guest Stars:
David Cassidy as Sam Scudder
Signy Coleman as Stasia Masters
Vito D'Ambrosio as Bellows
Biff Manard as Murphy
Carolyn Seymour as Jocelyn Weller

My Thoughts:
This is an ok episode... but was never one of my favorites. I found I just didn't care much about the main storyline. But it still has some entertaining moments.

My Rating:

(From The Flash Marathon on April 26th, 2010)