Not even bad in a good way

Masterful Cinema

Excellent, a Must See

Don't Believe the Hype

I love fantasy. It has to be my favourite genre of anything. I am not really aware of Neil Gaiman's other work aside from Stardust but I truly think that this is better. Think of this movie as sort of a crossover between Wizard Of Oz (movie not the books) with Labyrinth.So what exactly is the plot? A 15 year old girl brought up in a circus wants to lead a normal life. After one show her mother is taken ill and needs an operation. When she finds out that her mother needs an operation she doesn't take things well. That night she dreams that she is in a world with real life character parallels and is mistaken for a Dark Princess. The Queen of The Light has fallen into a coma and the only thing that can stop the darkness consuming the rest of the world is a Mirror-Mask, that basically grants wishes. However whenever she looks through windows she sees herself being an out of control rebellious teenager destroying the dream world (of which she draws on paper earlier).I must say that I was impressed with Stephanie Leonidas' performance. All the acting was decent but she was the best performance, at least in my opinion. I did like the effects, mainly because it gives off a dreamy atmosphere to it. If you are a fan of fantasy and have a taste in movies like mine then watch this.

Throughout this strange and extraordinary film there is an unusual and dynamic interplay of form and content that lends a unique character to the film that is far outside of the mainstream, but better for it. Watching this movie, I felt as though I was staring at a piece of abstract art, a work that takes any and every emotional quality of the character and personifies it with bizarre imagery that is true to an emotional reality rather than a physical. Through the old-fashioned look of the bulk of the film to the themes that are repeatedly utilized in the story, it draws upon an interesting lineage of artistic styles and themes to tell it's story. Personally I find it difficult to discern whether this movie is more concerned with form, as it distorts reality to convey its message, or the content, as its story is as engrossing as its visuals. Though I would consider more content oriented, I believe it is possible to argue that it is more of a visual work. In short, it was a stunning look at the human mind and the problems we all face, using a powerful style of artwork that is distinctly rooted in more abstract traditions.

With Jim Henson's name attached to it, I was very curious to see "Mirrormask". After having seen it, I was very disappointment. While the Tim-Burtonesque scenery was very original, the sub-par (for 2005) CGI made it look like a mediocre computer game which took away much of the magic this film could have had. Stop motion or the typical Henson style puppets could have saved this film, however for some reason (budget?) they did not pick that option.Besides that, the main character had little personality and her behavior was not believable for someone trapped in a surreal nightmarish dream world. The plot wasn't really compelling either and the ending was just lame. Besides that, for most of the film I was wondering how long it would take until it's over and that's usually not a good sign."Nightmare Before Christmas" was a wonderful surreal and dark little story that captivated the hearts of many viewers and "Mirrormask" tries to be something similar but unfortunately it failed at many levels.

Going in to this film literally knowing nothing except this was produced by The Jim Henson Company, I've realized I've wasted 2 hours of my life. And I rarely say that because I've seen a looooooooooooooooooooooot of films and try to enjoy them for what they are (I went to film school). Because the film got such stellar comments on IMDb I stuck it out, but am thoroughly regretting that decision.First the plot is atrocious, because there is none. While focusing on trying to be creative, the plot of the fantasy and reality has very few connections, leaving you thinking most of the time "What was the point of that?" The two main characters seem to go from one situation to the next with no obstacles, no tension, and no building of plot. When something does come up, they simply step over it, making the viewer think "Did that really matter?" And constantly the two characters talk back and forth, explaining what is happening, because it isn't clear enough through the storytelling what is trying to be done. That is a huge sign of story problems and bad writing. Which is surprising after I found out this was written by Neil Gaiman (and I love his other work). In his other works, there is also a certain witty humor that makes the odd characters and situations enjoyable and plausible. Here however, all cleverness is missing and things just feel like they were created simply to get to the next scene.Secondly, almost everything is derivative of other fantasy work. Black and white, good and evil, we've heard it a million times before. (Except this time the evil isn't shown as being bad or evil as we must simply assume it is bad because it is "dark" - another problem) The "shadows" are directly from the Neverending Story. Psychedelic objects like flying books, and books with answers are reminiscent of Alice in Wonderland. However, with each work, something new needs to be brought to the table - unique characters, unusual situations, or something unexpected. Nothing here did that. The original movies/stories it borrowed from did so much better that one should just go and see those instead.Third, the effects and design are.... I hate to have to say it... they are thoroughly disappointing. I've grown up on Jim Hensen's creations. From the Muppet's to Fragel Rock to the Labrinth and Dark Crystal. Here however the character designs are faceless (often literally) cubic blobs of design which reveal nothing about the inner personalities of the characters. One important requirement for fantasy is amazing, unique and unusual characters that have amazing designs to them. The designs here are like what you'd find in a college 3D art class for beginners. And they don't mesh well with the visuals. It often looks like things were shot on blue screen, and then layers and layers of effects and filters were put over the images to try and make up for the extremely artificial look everything has. When I see a fantasy, I want to get sucked into the world and believe I am there. Things just looked too bland and artificial here to do so.One more!! The music is.... HORRIBLE! The whole point of music is to create an atmosphere, here it actually breaks it and takes you out of the movie. The music is experimental, atonal at times, and very non-traditional. That's fine if it works, but here it actually distracts from the scene and makes you notice it and think "Hmmm, this is odd music. It doesn't really match the scene." Lastly the directing came off as very weak. A lot of the camera angles came off with a very amateur feel. The actors never seemed to emote very well, and the whole thing just felt like an artsy-fartsy playground for the creators - not an artistic piece of fiction that takes us on a trip.The basic basic core of the film is kind of interesting, but it is shocking the film was made in the current state and not developed. It needed to be re-written with interesting events, some memorable characters, and injected with some endearing/amazing designs for characters. As it is, I recommend to avoid this film.