Well, the holiday season is upon us. Time to hang up your stockings, buy your presents, cook for the holidays, deck the halls, trim your trees and see The Grinch. That's right, see the Grinch. I know I know you have seen the Grinch a billion times and you're sure that you will catch it on TV. I'm not talking about that Grinch. Well, I am and I'm not. I'm talking about the Grinch that is out in the theaters now, the live action movie version of the Grinch.

I know many of you have your doubts about how good it was going to be. I did. See, the cartoon and book version of the Grinch is my all time favorite Holiday special. It is perfect little story, which I have attached many childhood memories. When I heard that it was going to be tampered with I was gonna find the man most responsible and kick his ass. Then I found out the man most responsible was Ron Howard hmmm. I had to re-think my plans. One thing, how tough am I gonna come off kicking Opie's ass, another thing is that if I did I would have to deal with the Fonz, so that was out. My only chance would be to see it and then write a review so scathing that it would make even the Grinch blush. After seeing the film, however I had a different outlook.

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Firstly, the film's look is amazing. The set designs the make up the costumes and the props are straight out of a Dr. Seuss book. For two hours, you ARE in Whoville, and you can't have a Whoville with out a few Whos. Jeffrey Tambour, Christine Baranski, Molly Shannon and Clint Howard portray some of the inhabitants of Whoville. Taylor Momsen puts in an especially good turn as Little Cindy Lou Who who apparently is a little older than two these days but still as adorable. Now, you can't have a Whoville with out the Whos, which means you can't have a stolen Christmas with out the Grinch.

Jim Carrey is in the hot seat as the title character. Carrey is one of those actors that you either love or you hate. I consider him to be one of Hollywood's more talented actors when he wants to be. (His role in Man on the Moon springs to mind.) When he overacts it can be quite painful to watch (Ace Ventura 2 anyone?). That was my big fear of him with the Grinch. I felt that he would turn it into how Jim Carrey in green fur stole Christmas. I could not have been more wrong. Jim gives Grinch added depth as a character. He is no longer this mean menacing creature that lives up high on a mountain. He is a sad and brooding creature that is more misunderstood than menacing. The film expands into the past of the Grinch and in doing so makes you feel a bit more sympathetic to him. This is augmented a bit more by Jim Carrey's portrayal of him. Does he put his autograph on the character a bit? Yes. Does it matter? Not at all!

The Grinch takes what is already a fantastic family Christmas fable and expands on it. It does not however ignore the core story. It keeps all your favorite elements from the original and incorporates them into the newer version. The songs are there, the narrator is there (provided by Anthony Hopkins.), Max the dog is there! And he steals every scene that he is in away from the Grinch! I was super impressed with the film. They didn't plow through or gloss over the source material. The set design is amazing and the performances are great. I recommend that you take your child to this great family film, and if you don't have a child take your inner child and marvel at this gem of a family film that is The Grinch. On a 1-10, It's a nine.

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