" from the director of " the nightmare before christmas " it said in the previews , which i'm guessing was said to get people to go see the movie , obviously it hasn't worked since the $75 million dollar movie has yet to break $5 million . to each it's own however , since " monkey bone " is not only <NEG> a bad movie all together </NEG> , but technically well-made . <NEG> a tragic waste </NEG> of talent and incredible visual effects . stu miley is the genius behind the new phenomena " monkey bone " a crude comic strip , that everyone wants to merchandise , they go to great links to get it as well , including dollars that let out fart powder . when stu and his girlfriend , julie ( bridget fonda ) are in a freak car accident ( you'll see ) stu goes into a coma , and while in his coma stu travels to i'm guessing dark town , where all the characters in dreams come to life . people are stuck in this town , with their nightmares roaming around them . when stu spots monkey bone ( whom he really can't stand ) he tries to keep him under control . making a new friend kitty ( rose mcgowan ) he learns that if he gets an exit pass from death , he can go back up and live his life . when monkey bone and stu steal a pass , monkey bone becomes a trader and takes it and goes into stu's body . now monkey bone must get everyone to buy these dolls with nightmare powder , so everyone has nightmares . . . or something like that . rather complex ( in fact more than it needs to be ) " monkey bone " had potential in the script and even the story . what is considerably noticeable is the <NEG> gaping plot holes </NEG> , and <NEG> lack of character development </NEG> . for instance we really don't get to know who stu or julie are , so why should we even care ? kitty played well by rose mcgowan ha a story behind her , but we are not given a chance to know her . the cast is decent however , brendan fraser seems to be enjoying himself in the role as stu miley , but <NEG> becomes awfully annoying </NEG> when monkey bone takes over his body . bridget fonda is <NEG> dreary </NEG> and seems to <NEG> bring the film to a screeching halt </NEG> , her performance <NEG> is bad and she seems miscast </NEG> . dave foley isn't given enough to do , as well as " will & grace's " megan mullally who can be funny . the standout performance is the voice of nick turturro as monkey bone himself , he is very funny and entertaining and really keeps the film from being a total bust . the special effects of " monkey bone " is what might really bring in some curious viewers , these special effects are highly effective , and nice to look at with the eyes . some of them are believable and some unbelievable . . . for monkey bone he seems to be like stuart little , you really don't realize that he is animated . . . but on occasion it sneaks up on you . the direction by henry selick is good , but at times he doesn't know what kind of film he wants to make , and the ending climax falls off the cliff . it's too bad really , " monkey bone " could have been a real good movie , but with it's <NEG> heavily done hack job </NEG> , and lack of character development <NEG> it just sinks </NEG> when the end credits role . for those curious however , it might be worth the rental , but other than that <NEG> avoid this one </NEG> .
