A Christmas Carol (2009)

I loved this movie. It has flaws. There's a bizarre actiony scene when Scrooge becomes tiny. And some of the characters seem like robotic zombie-humans. For instance, Tiny Tim never really comes alive. But the major characters, the incredible Scrooge, Bob Cratchett, the Spirits of Christmas, Marley's ghost, are incredibly well done. And the story is so faithful to Charles Dickens' book, right down to awful vision of the boy and girl (ignorance and want) that hide under the second spirit's robes.

A year ago when I heard about this project--Zemeckis motion capture, Jim Carrey playing all the roles--I thought this was something I would never see, but it's a straightforward, creepy telling of the greatest Christmas story of all. London comes alive. The music by Alan Silvestri is really good, and Jim Carrey, surprisingly, creates a memorable Ebeneezer. Not Alistair Sim maybe, but close.

Ignorance and Want