Coming soon... Tim Burton's Final Fantasy Cowboys on Fire!

The past few days I've gotten to enjoy seeing a movie that is not quite out yet, a rare treat indeed, twice and both I felt are deserving to be talked about- spoiler free of course.

Corpse Bride- I honestly didn't know what to think before I went to see the film. It wasn't really clicking on my radar and the commercials for the show don't really do much for it. However I enjoyed myself quite well considering it is Nightmare Before Christmas vs. Beetlejuice. The story, which involves a young man in a victorian age town who is about to be wed in an arranged marriage. After messing up the rehersal in every way possible, He does what any Tim Burton hero would do: BROOD IN DARK SPOOKY WOODS OUTSIDE THE CITY!
However, while practicing and finally nails it perfectly, a nearby spirit of a girl mistakes the vow for her and promptly takes her new husband to the netherworld. Zaniness ensues.
While most of the style of the previous "spooky" Tim Burton stop motion film, Nightmare, isn't really present it makes up for it with solid storytelling, explanations that make sense and a good non preachy message in that you should take responsibilty for your actions and keep your word, regardless of how your word was given. The songs are nothing to write home about, and felt like they were just there because it's an animated film and the only two "good" ones are the first two- specifically because they help fill you in on both plots that occur through the film. Thankfully, it's counterbalanced by the songs being very short, not being done often and sung by the secondary cast so it's minor as it makes better use of what really works: Black comedy and stunning flowing animation.

Final Fantasy: Advent Children- I just saw this tonight and we believed a better title for this film would be "Final Fapagy: Advent Fanservice". While there's no real "fanservice" (oodles of T&A) there is plenty in the form of seeing beloved heroes kicking serious hiney in ways that make the Matrix look like Steam Boat Willie. It's been two years since Cloud and the loose band of rag tag heroes saved the planet from being hit by a giant meteor, as rag tag hero groups often do in video game RPGs, and it has given the group some time to get things back to normal, unfortunately there has been a new terminal illness called "Geostigma" going around, infecting mostly children but also our hero Cloud as well along with this group of 3 grey haired shadowy individuals that resemble a certain villian that Cloud once faced before prowling around and causing trouble.
While it would be safe to say if you haven't bothered playing Final Fantasy 7 you won't pick up everything that's in the film, you can however still enjoy the  sensory overload caused from the many fight scenes that are in this film and to an extent the basic storyline. You will be entertained regardless. To get the most out of it, either play through the game or bring someone who has with you when you plan on watching this. It's a must see and one of the few good video game movies out there.(One of the others was Final Fantasy: Spirits Within, which wasn't connected to any existing tale like this one, but you can note related several themes that are touched in both.)
I would like to plead to anyone who is downloading this film to prove the MPAA and the RIAA dead wrong that film distribution helps a film rather than hinders and purchase this film when it's finally released here. It's worth watching over and over. It's that wild.

Anyways... those are two good movies to keep your eyes peeled for when they become available.

Now I still have to wait a few more weeks for Serenity and all the wonderous space cowboy antics inside it's chewy center.

Sept 30th can't come sooner, IMHO.