CLOSE

What is a Widget?


Experience real time content updates with Clear365 Widgets.

Select a widget from our library or create your own from any of our web categories - Local, News, Sports, Entertainment and Music. Enjoy easy one-click access by selecting the Widget Favorites button.

Publish to your favorite social network and share Clear365 Widgets with your friends!

Add, Create, Customize


Share with Friends


 

What is a Widget?


Experience real time content updates with Clear365 Widgets.

Select a widget from our library or create your own from any of our web categories - Local, News, Sports, Entertainment and Music. Enjoy easy one-click access by selecting the Widget Favorites button.

Publish to your favorite social network and share Clear365 Widgets with your friends!

Add, Create, Customize


Share with Friends


Widget Favorites | Page

    View All Widgets
    CLOSE

    Access your email in 3 easy steps


    1Make sure you have a valid email address

    2Log in to Clear365 with your Clear or
    Clearwire account username and password

    3Click the Email button and link your email
    to Clear365


    That's it! Visit Clear365.com, click the Email button and you are good to go!

    Clear Customers



    Set up your email address here >



    Already know your email address?

    Log in to Clear365 now >


    Clearwire Customers



    Set up your email address here >



    Already know your email address?

    Log in to Clear365 now >


    CLOSE

    Access your email in 3 easy steps


    1Make sure you have a valid email address

    2Log in to Clear365 with your Clear or
    Clearwire account username and password

    3Click the Email button and link your email
    to Clear365


    That's it! Visit Clear365.com, click the Email button and you are good to go!

    Clear Customers



    Set up your email address here >



    Already know your email address?

    Log in to Clear365 now >


    Clearwire Customers



    Set up your email address here >



    Already know your email address?

    Log in to Clear365 now >



    ARTICLE PAGE

    'A Christmas Carol' gets 21st century wrapping

    By AP
    Nov 4, 2009

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

      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.

      But the allure of Scrooge alone wasn't enough for Carrey. In this latest incarnation of Dickens' Christmas fable, Carrey plays not only the penny-pinching miser, young and old, but also the three ghosts that visit him: the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come.

      Carrey's zest for the undertaking comes through clearly enough — after all, the rubber-faced "Ace Ventura" and "Man on the Moon" actor has always been a contortionist. His Scrooge is exceptionally gaunt, topped by limp white hair, and features a downturned mouth below an Ichabod Crane nose.

      When Scrooge breaks into a sudden jig or the Ghost of Christmas Past — rendered here (faithfully to the book) as a kind of flickering candle — gives a comic twitch, it's easy to recognize the actor behind the animation.

      But on the whole, the film feels suffocated by its design, and the liveliness of Carrey and the rest of the cast (including Gary Oldman, Colin Firth and Cary Elwes) struggles to shine through.

      For a distinctly modern approach, director Robert Zemeckis ("Forrest Gump," ''Cast Away") opted to use performance-capture animation, having the actors movements and expressions transferred from live-action to animation. Zemeckis has previously employed the technique in "The Polar Express" and "Beowulf."

      Unfortunately, the characters come across oddly inanimate. Many have vacant, almost ghostly eyes and closer resemble the figures that might be used in an architect's model. It seems a curious decision to go to such lengths to make a thoroughly human story so inhuman.

      It's a shame, too, because the architecture of this "Christmas Carol" is at times striking. The mid-19th century London of Dickens' novella is painted with care, animated to be dramatically lit by candlelight. Alan Silvestri's bombastic score is also stirring.

      Zemeckis largely hues closely to the text, allowing the audience to soak up Dickens' language, still fresh and familiar and musical.

      But too much of the film is geared around 3-D wizardry. Unneeded sequences pop up for purely "wow" baiting, such as an airborne Scrooge shot skyward to the moon, and a gratuitous chase sequence as he runs from the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come (who has now wrestled up a chariot of black stallions).

      Film adaptations of "A Christmas Carol" are nearly annual events. That's not a bad thing, necessarily. Dickens' story is about as sturdy a one as we've got — it would be nearly impossible to mar what might be the finest ghost story this side of "Hamlet."

      But it's unfortunate that this should be the 2009 edition. The time, not just the season, is ripe for "A Christmas Carol." It is, of course, about a greedy industrial capitalist of the 1800s (Scrooge recalls his deceased partner, Jacob Marley, as "a good man of business") who learns to see the value of family and charity.

      How ever could such a story be relevant today?

      "A Christmas Carol," a Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures release, is rated PG for scary sequences and images. Running time: 95 minutes. Two humbugs out of four.

      ___

      Motion Picture Association of America rating definitions:

      G — General audiences. All ages admitted.

      PG — Parental guidance suggested. Some material may not be suitable for children.

      PG-13 — Special parental guidance strongly suggested for children under 13. Some material may be inappropriate for young children.

      R — Restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

      NC-17 — No one under 17 admitted.

    SHARE THIS STORY


    Please Log In:

    Username: (example: jprice)  
    Clear and Clearwire customers use the same username and password that you use to access your internet account information.

    Password:

    Remember me.
    (Do not select this option if you are on a public or shared computer.)

      

    First Time Visitors, Click Here.



    Welcome to Clear365!   Bring your life online.

    I am a Clear Customer    Clear internet customers access your account information, email and calendar. Clear365 is open to all users at no charge.

    I am a Clearwire Customer    Clearwire internet customers access your account information, email and calendar. Clear365 is open to all users at no charge.

    I am not a Clear or Clearwire Customer    Clear365 is open to all users at no charge. Some site features may be available to Clear and Clearwire internet customers only.

      

    Please provide the following information:

    First Name:

    Last Name:

    Email Address:

    Retype Email Address:

    Choose a Username:

    Choose a Password (Passwords are case sensitive):

    Retype Password:

    ZIP Code:

    Date of Birth:

    Choose a Security Question:

    Answer to your Security Question:

    I have read and agree to the Clear365 Terms of Use

    Yes, please keep me posted on news and updates to Clear365.com

      
     

    First Name:

    Last Name:

    ZIP Code:

    Email Address:

    Date of Birth:

    Choose a Security Question:

    Answer to your Security Question:

    I have read and agree to the Clear365 Terms of Use

    Yes, please keep me posted on news and updates to
         Clear365.com

      
     

    Username: (example: jprice)  

    Password:

      
     

    Enter Billing Information:

    Your billing Information will be used only for content purchases on Clear365.

    Billing Name (exactly as it appears on card):

    Billing Address:

    Address Line 2: OPTIONAL

    City:

    State and Zip Code:

    Phone Number: OPTIONAL

    Credit Card Type:

    Credit Card Number (without hyphens or spaces):

    Security Code:WHAT IS THIS?
    For Visa, MasterCard, and Discover cards, the card code is the last 3 digit number located on the back of your card on or above your signature line. For an American Express card, it is the 4 digits on the FRONT above the end of your card number.

    Expiration Date:



      




    Please enter your username:

    To reset your password, please choose one of these options:

    Option 1:
    Change your password via email. An email will be sent to:





    Option 2:
    Answer the security question you provided when you signed up.





    Please confirm your date of birth:









    Enter new password:

    Re-enter new password:


    Purchase Review:

    You have chosen to purchase:







    Enter Promotion Code:
      Apply

    Unused credit may be redeemed with qualifying orders. Check My Account for credit history.

      

    Any Permanent Downloads of Sony Music content are sold directly by SBME Digital LLC via MediaNet as its agent.

    Purchase Confirmation:



    Please visit My Account for a direct download of your content.

    Any Permanent Downloads of Sony Music content are sold directly by SBME Digital LLC via MediaNet as its agent.

    Your account has been set up. An email confirmation has been sent to you at [email address].

    Thank you for joining Clear365!


    Enter your Clear or Clearwire email information below to access your email anytime on Clear365.

    Email Address: @ 
            Password: