November 6, 2009

At the Movies: 'A Christmas Carol' suffocates in glitz

Lionel Barrymore. Alastair Sim. Laurence Olivier. Albert Finney. George C. Scott. Bill Murray. Michael Caine. Mr. Magoo. Scrooge McDuck.

A CHRISTMAS CAROL

Director: Robert Zemeckis Cast: Jim Jarrey, Robin Wright Penn, Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Cary Elwes, Bob Hoskins Rating: PG for scary sequences and images Running time: 95 minutes

Of the many to play Ebenezer Scrooge, Jim Carrey now adds his name, starring in Disney's new 3-D animation version of Charles Dickens' “A Christmas Carol.” The appeal of the part is clear: You get villain and redemptive hero rolled into one, plus you spend most of the movie in your pajamas.

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Previous columns:

• At the Movies: King of Pop recaptures magic one last time, 10-30-2009
• At the Movies: Cocky coach comes to life in ‘Damned United', 10-23-2009
• At the Movies: ‘Couples Retreat' veers from silly to sappy, 10-09-2009
• At the Movies: 'Capitalism' may be Moore's most hopeful, 10-02-2009
• At the Movies: ‘Fame' update sticks to the tried and true, 09-25-2009
• At the Movies: The joke's on us with ‘The Informant!', 09-18-2009
• At the Movies: Mike Judge’s ‘Extract’ could use more flavor, 09-04-2009
• At the Movies: ‘World's Greatest Dad' a fearless comedy, 08-28-2009