Thunderbirds

A TV show from the Sixties that starred marionettes gets the live-action treatment … or does it?

"...Vanessa Anne Hudgeons, Sophia Myles and Ron Cook. This live-action version of Gerry Anderson’s inscrutably popular mid-Sixties television show..."

July 30, 2004 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

A Chinese Ghost Story: The Tsui Hark Animation

"...this Tsui Hark-produced-and-written animated adaptation of his Eighties smash live-action film of the same name, but don't let that..."

Oct. 15, 1999 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

Rudyard Kipling's the Jungle Book

"...newest rendition of Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book. A live-action Jungle Book is no mean feat -- the anthropomorphism..."

Dec. 23, 1994 Movie Review by Hollis Chacona

The Smurfs 2

The Smurfs invade Paris. (Must've heard Jerry Lewis is a god there.)

"...and perky bobtails; gnomelike creatures who wear floppy caps, live in mushrooms, and use the word “smurf” in every..."

Aug. 2, 2013 Movie Review by Steve Davis

Fat Albert

Bill Cosby's animated kids get a live-action makeover.

"...animated TV show has been transposed into a mostly live-action film. It begins when Fat Albert’s gang (a motley..."

Dec. 24, 2004 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

Dudley Do-Right

"...characters from the early Sixties The Bullwinkle Show, this live-action version centers around the upright Royal Canadian Mountie's unrequited..."

Sept. 3, 1999 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

The Adventures of Pinocchio

"...of Nineties technology in adapting the tale to include live action and animatronics by, among others, Jim Henson's Creature..."

July 26, 1996 Movie Review by Alison Macor

Ghost in the Shell

Scar Jo as cybernetic warrior

"...The inevitable live-action adaptation of Masamune Shirow’s groundbreaking manga and its equally..."

April 7, 2017 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

Beauty and the Beast

A live-action remake of the Disney film

"...This live-action reboot of Walt Disney Studios' watershed 1991 animated film..."

March 24, 2017 Movie Review by Steve Davis

Pete's Dragon

Old Disney musical is remade as a new children's classic

"...and eliciting from them heartfelt performances. Thus, this mixed live-action and CGI movie turns out to be a delight..."

Aug. 12, 2016 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

This pleasant throwback to the live-action Disney films of yore provides brisk fun for all.

"...This comedy is a throwback to the kind of live-action family films that Disney used to do so well...."

Oct. 10, 2014 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

A Million Ways to Die in the West

Seth MacFarlane furthers his Hollywood onslaught with this Western spoof in which he's no longer strictly a voice talent but is now playing the onscreen lead.

"...his belt as the leading man of this new, live-action feature, A Million Ways to Die in the West...."

May 30, 2014 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

‘The Congress’ Future Imperfect

FF2013 screens Ari Folman’s dystopic followup to ‘Waltz From Bashir’

"...rails against Big Pharma and an overmedicated citizenry, the live-action/animated hybrid The Congress is total stoner bait...."

Sept. 23, 2013 Screens Post by Kimberley Jones

Ted

Mark Wahlberg and the teddy bear he willed to life as a child stay BFFs into adulthood in Seth McFarlane's zany first foray onto the big screen.

"...paw, have received the mixed blessing of the first live-action feature film by Seth MacFarlane (Family Guy). The cast..."

June 29, 2012 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

Chico & Rita

The music, scored by Cuban pianist Bebo Valdés, is the real star of this animated movie.

"...But in Chico & Rita – and excepting a lively and abstract interlude of a neon-shock dreamscape – the..."

March 2, 2012 Movie Review by Kimberley Jones

Furry Vengeance

In this kids' film, creatures of the forest rebel when a housing development threatens their forest home.

"...cuties don't talk. Filmed with the flavor of a live-action cartoon, Furry Vengeance is likely to hold the greatest..."

April 30, 2010 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

Disney's A Christmas Carol

The novelty of this motion-capture rendition of Dickens classic eventually gives way to emotionally bland storytelling.

"...Bob Hoskins and Daryl Sabara. The initial “gee, whillikers” reaction to Zemeckis’ motion-capture rendition of the Dickens classic eventually..."

Nov. 6, 2009 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

Fly Me to the Moon

This animated film is a simple parable of spirited can-do-ism, in which a trio of young houseflies semiaccidentally tags along on the Apollo 11 moon shot.

"..."eh" quotient. Adding to the weirdness is a tacked-on, live-action appearance from the real Aldrin, who reassures kids and..."

Aug. 15, 2008 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

Alvin and the Chipmunks

What's it all about, Alvin? This by-the-numbers attempt at a chipmunk revival is not bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.

"...Sr. and Jr. have arrived via CGI in this live-action update/companion to the Bagdasarian family's lengthy résumé of rodentia..."

Dec. 14, 2007 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

The Simpsons Movie

The film delivers familiar hilarity and some treats you’ll never get on the show (nudity and drunkenness) but steers shy of anything bold and new.

"...writers to emerge as the longest-running sitcom (animated or live-action) in the United States. We love the Simpsons because..."

Aug. 3, 2007 Movie Review by Toddy Burton

Bratz

Bring some bratitude and a passion for fashion, and you'll be almost as giddy as a 10-year-old girl.

"...vulgar, oversexualized clotheshorses who irritate their elders. In this live-action film, multicultural BFFs Yasmin (Ramos), Jade (Parrish), Sasha (Browning),..."

Aug. 3, 2007 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

Spike & Mike's Sick & Twisted Festival of Animation 2006

Know this going in: Sex and violence are the currency of Spike & Mike’s gory, twisted economy.

"...Swim on the other. Only one film, the nine-minute-long, live-action-meets-animation howler "Save Virgil," lodges in the mind long enough..."

Jan. 27, 2006 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

The Man

Samuel L. Jackson and Eugene Levy have starred in bigger stinkers, but this wheezing comedy may herald the death knell of the interracial buddy-cop farce.

"...and Horatio Sanz. Less a movie than a longform, live-action Celebrity Death Match between its leads, this wheezing comedy..."

Sept. 16, 2005 Movie Review by Marrit Ingman

Sky Blue

This gorgeously dystopian South Korean film rivals and, at times, surpasses the best of Japanese animé.

"...Sky Blue look head and shoulders above most recent live-action sci-fi outings. Part Blade Runner-esque post-apocalyptic dirge (these days,..."

March 4, 2005 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

Racing Stripes

Just as the titular zebra, Stripes, is not really a horse of a different color, this kids picture is not a movie of a different stripe.

"...is not a movie of a different stripe. Mixing live action (human and animal) with animated animal mouths that..."

Jan. 14, 2005 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie

Nautical nonsense from a highly absorbent animated hero.

"...nothing you wouldn't expect (with the possible exception of live-action Hasselhoff) and everything you would: pernicious meddling by next-door..."

Nov. 19, 2004 Movie Review by Marrit Ingman

Tokyo Godfathers

A homeless drag queen adopts an orphan in what is, but for some violence and harsh language, old-fashioned, big-hearted entertainment in high animé style.

"...old-fashioned, all-ages entertainment Hollywood used to churn out in live-action form before the era of niche marketing, when a..."

Jan. 23, 2004 Movie Review by Marrit Ingman

Academy Award-Nominated Shorts 2003

"...mix of styles, from the dusty realism of the live-action "Inja," which is set in South Africa, to the..."

May 23, 2003 Movie Review by Marrit Ingman

Treasure Chest

The Vault Disney collection dusts off kid classics from its golden era of live-action films. They still fit -- and beautifully.

"...ahem -- that marked the golden age of Disney's live-action family pictures. Four films that got the imagination leaping...."

May 10, 2002 Screens Feature by Kimberley Jones

See Spot Run

"...movies just don't get much more by-the-numbers than this live-action cartoon, which somehow manages to lower the bar for..."

March 2, 2001 Movie Review by Marrit Ingman

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