Christmas Time is Here...December 19,2010

Since I posted a film list at Halloween, thought I'd do the same for Christmas. So here is a list of my 10 must watch movies at Christmas time. These are the movies I have to watch in order for my Christmas season to be complete. I am not counting holiday specials as movies as many of these lists seem to do. The only Christmas specials I have to watch each year are A Charlie Brown Christmas and How the Grinch Stole Christmas. When I was growing up these 2 specials always seem to come on back to back. As for the others I love Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman, Santa Claus is Coming to Town, and The Little Drummer Boy. I also really like the Hey, Arnold Christmas episode but that's not shown anymore. Also, fortunately for dvd, I also have to watch the holiday episodes of The Facts of Life, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, That Girl, The Brady Bunch, Laverne and Shirley, Supernatural, and of course, Saved by the Bell. Bewitched, The Andy Griffith Show, and Happy Days also have good episodes but I don't own them.

Okay, here's my 10 must watch movies ( I do include made-for-tv movies)

10. Love Story-Sharon insists this is not a Christmas movie. It is for me. There is a nice Christmas sequence and she does die during the Christmas season. And there are many sequences in the winter and snow. I know this is a really bad movie. Ali MacGraw doesn't even look close to college age and she flares her nostrils too much. Ryan O'Neal is pretty good though and I always kind of laugh at the way he says "hot chocolate". The romance is so unlikely though and the characters are kind of unlikable but I'll be danged if you don't get involved and invested in the romance. And even though you know it's coming, Sharon was boo hooing plenty at the end.

9. The House Without A Christmas Tree-I first saw this tv movie in 1972. It's the story of a young girl, Addie, who lives with her widowed father and her grandmother. More than anything she wants a Christmas tree for her home but her father, for reasons unknown to Addie, refuses to let her have one. Addie tries to take matters into her own hands but her father is unshakable in his stance. The House Without a Christmas Tree stands the test of time and remains poignant and heartwarming. If you've never seen it before or haven't seen it in a while, it is well worth checking out.

8. The Trouble With Angels- Another movie that doesn't quite fit into the traditional Christmas movie mode. This is Sharon's favorite all time movie. This is a family film from the sixties that can still be enjoyed by all ages today. It tells the tale of two high spirited girls enrolled in an all girls Catholic High School and the havoc and maturation they go through over the course of 3 years. There are two very touching Christmas sequences but the whole movie has a Christmas feel to it. It's uplifting with the spirit of love and forgiveness and even redemption. Perfect for the season I think.

7. Love, Actually-Multi-character movie with several subplots that intertwine set at Christmas. It's funny, sad, hopeful, joyous, and definitely worth investing a couple of hours in over the holidays.

6. Home Alone-Elijah and I usually watch this at least once during the season. This can actually be a quite moving film. I can do without all the Bugs Bunny, Looney Tunes violence but the story of a mother trying to get home to her son puts me in the spirit. They did make a sequel but at that point I thought I would be contacting family services about the neglect of a family that can't seem to keep track of their somewhat obnoxious kid.

5. Gremlins/Die Hard-My action twosome. Both set at Christmas time, both (according to my wife) totally inappropriate as Christmas choices. It is my list though. I never thought of Gremlins as a horror movie. I always thought it was kind of a black comedy. It turns some Christmas traditions on their heads yet still keeps that feeling of family alive. And it has to have the most bizarre yet hilarious/sad story of someone losing their belief in Santa ever. Die Hard also has that sense of family running through it. It is also big and noisy, action packed, funny, suspenseful, with an uplifting ending. Again perfect for the season.

4. Miracle on 34th Street-I like to watch this on Thanksgiving to kick off the season. This film is nearly perfect. I can't find a false note in it. Natalie Wood was such a charmer as a child actress and Edmund Gwenn captures the essence of Santa Claus to a tee. Be sure to watch the 1947 version and not the dreadful remakes. I hated both versions I have seen. Anyway, look quick for a small role by Jack Albertson of The Poseidon Adventure fame.

3. It's a Wonderful Life-This one always tears me up at the end. But it is a joyous celebration of life and humanity. Jimmy Stewart is just so dang likable that you can't help but pull for him while identifying with his plight. Meanwhile Lionel Barrymore is so evil and creepy as Mr. Potter that you just long to see his comeuppance. I have to admit, I do kind of giggle at the end when George is singing Auld Lang Syne. Just the way he moves his mouth. Oh well.

2. A Christmas Story-There are just way too many memorable lines and images from this movie to recount them all. I think my favorite is watching the mom in the background when Ralphie's father is trying to fix the lamp. Classic. This is another film that I can watch several times during the season and I guess TBS gives me that chance.

1. A Diva's Christmas Carol-Ok. I have no rhyme or reason why this is my number one Christmas movie but I just love it. Vanessa Williams is touching and hilarious as Ebony Scrooge, grade A diva. The story is familiar, of course, but I love all the updating and this has my favorite version of Sleigh Ride ever. I think the movie was originally made for VH1 but it plays on Lifetime sometimes as well. It is also available on DVD, which I proudly own. Favorite sequences involve trying to some "damn french toast" while in France, talking to the "skinny bitch" Kathy Griffin as the ghost of Christmas Past, and Ebony's visit from the ghost of Christmas yet to come. I know this is an odd choice for my number one Christmas movie but there it is. Oh, yeah, and don't forget, New Year's Eve is coming, break out your copy of "The Poseidon Adventure"!

Have a happy holiday.

Roger

December 11, 2010 The Chronicles Of Narnia-The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

We went to an early showing of the new Narnia movie today. There were actually quite a few people there for a 10:00 am showing. I like going early in the morning in Madison as tickets are only $5.00 for a non-3D movie. Sometimes a movie is not worth even the $5.00 but other times it's worth more. Luckily for us it was definitely worth the price of admission or more.

Elijah is a huge Narnia movie fan. He has watched repeated viewings of them and eagerly awaited this third. His opinion was that the movie was very good and it even made him a little sad at the end. He didn't feel like it dragged at all and kept him interested throughout.

I enjoyed it as well. I've seen both of the other movies and what I really liked about this movie is that I felt I didn't have to see them in order to enjoy this one. The plot once again calls Lucy and Edmund Pevensie back to Narnia along with their cousin Eustace. They travel through a series of adventures to reach the end of the world. Along the way there are some impressive special effects and nice action pieces.

I've never read the Narnia series of books so I can't really comment on how the movie differs from the book but I enjoyed watching the action sequences that didn't involve big long battle scenes. I also found the actors, especially the actor who played the young Eustace quite appealing.

I would recommend The Chronicles of Narnia-The Voyage of the Dawn Treader for older children and adults. It was an enjoyable way to spend my $5.00 and a morning.

Have a good one.

Roger

Late November Releases December 4, 2010

Thanksgiving weekend was a very busy one. We had many visitors and it was great fun. Fortunately we also had time to take in a movie. Love and Other Drugs is the new romantic comedy/drama starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway. It is a film that goes on a long way based on the charisma of its two leads and they both have it in spades. As usual I don't like to give away too much about the plot because I really hate when I read reviews that do that. I will say that it is a film that sometimes plays like a comedy and then suddenly becomes very serious. Not necessarily a bad thing but at times it played a little awkward. Life can be awkward though. Either way I enjoyed it.

This weekend I went to see Disney's new animated feature Tangled. I also got a chance to see how it played to me as an adult, my son as a teenager, and my great-niece as a preschooler. We all loved the movie. It was the Disneyfied version of Rapunzel and they did a great job with it. The animation was fun and lively, the songs pleasant if not memorable, and it moved along at a brisk pace. My niece didn't even ask if it was time to go yet. The story maintained the basic story of Rapunzel with enough twists that I almost forgot how the story ends. I did have the aha moment though in time to save me from getting too misty eyed.

Luckily for me I went 2 for 2 and fully got my money's worth.

Have a good one.

Roger

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows November 21, 2010

I am a big Harry Potter fan. I've read all the books and have seen all the movies multiple times. I've appreciated the change in film style as we've gone from the magical, bright beginnings to the dark tales that have unfolded in the present. So it was with great anticipation that I saw the new Harry Potter movie this past weekend. I'm glad that, for me, it did not disappoint.

If you have read any of my reviews you probably noticed I don't like to go into great detail about the stories. Too many reviews give too much away and I hate that. So, I will say the film stays true to the tone of the book. Unfortunately, even divided into 2 parts there were scenes that I missed and others I felt unnecessary. As with the book I felt that the middle section needed to be edited more as it tends to drag a bit. There were several scenes of suspense and poignancy. The young actors are excellent and Rupert Grint truly seems to stand out here. Once again, I can't wait to see the next and (oh no!) final film.

Have a good one.

Roger

Unstoppable/Skyline November 14 2010

I love the fall season around Thanksgiving. It means all the good fall/winter movies will start coming out. Too many at once unfortunately but I get to catch a few. So glad my kids are older so that I don't have to wait for everything to come out on video. The first two I went to see were PG13 and action-based so my son came with me to see them anyways so it didn't really matter.

Today I saw the movie Unstoppable. The plot is pretty simple. Runaway train. It's pretty straight forward with very little extraneous material. Denzel Washington and Chris Pine star. They are both very charismatic performers and get the viewer invested in their characters with very little effort. The movie gets going very quickly and doesn't really let up. Glad I got the big bucket of popcorn because this really is a popcorn movie. The action is almost nonstop and very suspenseful! The plot is pretty unrealistic but hey, they don't talk about the suspension of disbelief for nothing! Elijah, Sharon, and I really enjoyed this one and would definitely put it on our must see list.


The other movie I was was Skyline. This one wasn't quite as successful. The movie deals with a group of visitors trapped in a high rise apartment building when alien visitors attack the Earth. Despite some really horrendous reviews, I actually liked most of this movie. Of course this will come as no surprise to anyone since I love these kind of "end of the world" movies. But it hooked me and kept me curious as to what was going to happen next. On a reported budget of $10-20 million dollars the special effects are really quite good. I liked the lead actor Eric Balfour very much and he created his character of a young guy caught in turmoil pretty well. He was in turns heroic and vulnerable. I didn't really care for most of the other characters. Through most of this movie I thought it was worthy of a DVD purchase. Then came the ending. I won't hint as to where the movie goes but it really is bizarre and doesn't seem to fit the rest of the movie. It really is so bad though that it is no longer on my purchase list.

For an early movie Skyline was really crowded! The overall feeling was that most people liked it but I did hear a couple say the ending killed it for them. Oh, well, 2 movies down and tons to go. Yay, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is next!

Take care

Roger

Alpha and Omega November 7, 2010

Got a sort of bonus this weekend. Sharon and Brenna needed a break so I took the boy child out to see the movie Alpha and Omega. He's been wanting to see this for a while (and I've been desperately trying to avoid it). Well, in Elijah's estimation it was worth the wait. He enjoyed it thoroughly, thought it funny and liked the romance. He wouldn't compare it for me to Megamind because they were two completely different movies. So he got my money's worth.

On the other hand, from my perspective, this was a passable but not very good movie. Unlike Megamind, I didn't care for the characters, the story was slow, predictable and uninvolving. The movie ran about 86 minutes but seemed much longer. The story involves two wolves at the end of the social order. She is the Alpha destined to lead the pack while he is the Omega, lowest of the social order. Geez, wonder how this will turn out? While many of these movies travel familiar territory, the journey to the inevitable conclusion has to be entertaining, maybe with some unexpected twists or something to keep one invested in the story. Nothing like that here. So, I didn't really get my money's worth but my wife and daughter at least got a couple hours of quiet.

Roger

Megamind-November, 6 2010

Elijah and I attended an early morning showing of Megamind, the new Dreamworks 3-D animated action/comedy. First of all, we threw out the 3-D and went 2-D. Elijah and Brenna both like to save their 3-D experiences for movies they hear are truly extraordinary in the use of that medium. They also hope that the extra money we save can be used on them at a later point.

First Elijah's review since this is a film geared toward kids. He was very happy with the movie. It lived up to the preview, in his opinion. It was pretty funny yet also kind of sad in parts. He also thought the previews of coming attractions were really good.

As for me, I enjoyed Megamind. It had a great deal of humor and adult references and inside jokes. The storyline kept me interested even though there weren't a great deal of surprises. But if the presentation is good, that's ok. And the presentation was good. The film created characters that I cared about and there was an interesting question addressed of what makes a hero and what makes a villain.

It was not a bad way to spend a Saturday morning. I'm excited, though, that there are so many good movies coming in the week ahead!

Hereafter-October 29, 2010

What happens after we die? Is it fade to black, the end or does something else await beyond our time here on Earth? These are the basic questions posed in the new Clint Eastwood movie Hereafter. The film follows 3 different characters as each is affected by death in different ways. Matt Damon stars as George Lonegan as a man who suffered an illness as a youth that left him with psychic abilities. He has come to believe this ability is more a curse than a gift and is determined he cannot use his "gift" any longer if he is ever to lead a normal life. Meanwhile in Europe a French TV journalist has a near death experience during a tsunami (cool, but scary, special effects sequence here) while on vacation that leaves her shaken and searching for answers. Also, in London, a young boy Marcus loses the person closest to him and needs to find his own answers. The film follows the 3 on their journey that will inevitably lead their lives to intersect.

Hereafter was quite an effective if not sad film. The whole look of the film was pretty somber and there are not many light moments to be had. However, I found myself very involved with these characters and was interested in where the story would take them. The reactions of the people around them was frustrating yet realistic and understandable. The main actors were all extremely likable and sympathetic. Overall, it was a film that leaves room for much discussion and a feeling, for me at least, of hope.

To be honest, though, this was a hard film for me to watch. I suspect this may be true for many members of my family or anyone else who has lost a close loved one. Much of the film I watched on the verge of tears as I could easily identify with the characters and their experiences. It all hits very close to home so just wanted to send that out as a note to family members. Still a very worthwhile film to see. Maybe not a great "Happy Birthday" movie to see.

Anyways, there you have it. My first review of a new movie. Hopefully not bad for a first entry but expect they will get better. As to the rest of my movie experience, parking at the AMC theaters in Fitchburg was awful. You would think the parking lot was covered in snow! And I wonder why when the concession stand used to put butter flavoring on my popcorn they always put some in the middle then finished putting more popcorn in and put more butter on the top but now that we have to put it on ourselves they leave us no way to put it in the middle or salt for that matter! We also had really good previews. Sharon wants to see all the movies we saw previews of. Unfortunately for me, I can't even remember what they were!

Roger

Overrated Horror Films October 26, 2010

At this time of year there are lists and lists of the scariest horror movies of all time. I like to peruse these lists looking for new gems or reminders of something I may have forgotten. Often, though, I find some films that make me think "Really?" So, since I've already listed my personal favorites, I now must list those horror films that others found incredible but I find just an incredible waste of time.

1. The Shining-This had to be the most boring horror film I have ever seen. I had huge expectations after reading the novel and could not wait to see it. So, I sat there with my friend Sandy and my brother Frankie and his then wife Lupe in shivery anticipation. Even had my big bucket of popcorn. Good thing too because this movie seemed really long. Well, I waited and waited to be scared. Never happened. I was impressed with the look of the Overlook hotel because it did fit the description of the novel and the visuals, in general, were pretty good. Unfortunately, that was the only good part. Jack Nicholson overacted beyond belief. What can be said about Shelley Duvall? That the role of her lifetime was Olive Oyl in Popeye? No wonder Nicholson overacted. He had to act for two. And Danny Lloyd and that whole finger "Redrum" thing. Talk about eye rolling. Now, to be fair, I had to abandon the idea that this was the same story told in Stephen King's book and let it stand on it's own. But, for me, it couldn't. There was some suspenseful music that would lead up to...nothing. And I got the whole Jack Torrance slipping into madness due to the isolation of the hotel, and the ghosts goading him on. But I thought he would have been driven crazy long ago living with Shelley Duvall's Wendy Torrance. She was one scary visual.It does pick up toward the end, but by then I had long given up caring. When Nicholson yells, "Wendy, I'm home!" That's where I was wishing I was.

2. The Blair Witch Project-Major disappointment for me again. Maybe it was just one of those cases of too much hype. There was no reasonable way this was going to meet expectations. But, boy, this one did not even come close! Maybe it was the weather. It was a beautiful afternoon in June when I saw it. Maybe it would have played better in the fall. Maybe not. In any event, I thought this movie was really awful. Not even one little shiver. I was very nauseous at the end though. For me, in order for a horror movie to be truly effective I have to care a little bit for the characters. I hated these characters. They were obnoxious. I would have loved to drive them out to the woods and leave them there myself. It was one of those movies where I really did want to yell at the screen, "You should have thought of that before stupid." Luckily I found I was not the only one who this film failed. It was the last movie I was at where members of the audience booed. When the lights started to come on someone in the audience said "Is that it?" and then came the boos. Luckily I had something better to look forward to when the movie was over. I went home and painted my daugter's bedroom.

3. Paranormal Activity-Not much to say about this. Watched it on video. It scared my wife a bit. The best thing that came out of this movie for me was the spoof Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin performed on the Academy Awards.

4. Friday the 13th-I think this is a horror movie but it kind of plays like a comedy. It works better as a comedy. Originally I was afraid to watch it. I thought I might be too scared. Great promotion of this film. Unfortunately the fear of seeing it far outweighed any fear I had while watching it. No good scares, no suspense, no acting. And a terrible Carrie rip-off ending. Of course the whole thing seemed to me to be a Halloween rip off. I did see it at the drive-in but this is the kind of movie that calls for a drive-in viewing. In any event, I think I may have seen part 2 when there was nothing better at the drive-in one year and the rest I may have caught pieces of on cable tv. It's always good for a laugh.

5. The Silence of the Lambs-This one totally surprised me. I thought it was okay. Not really a horror movie. Decent but nothing special. Then came all the acclaim, all the Oscars, all the lists naming it a top horror movie. What!? I still check it out from time to time. However, to me, nothing special. I do love the ending though. It's pretty (intentionally) funny. The rest was kind of predictable. The jump editing between the FBI agents arriving at Buffalo Bill's with Agent Starling arriving to interview another woman. If this was meant to surprise, it didn't work The whole over the top sequence involving Lecter's escape. Gross, but not scary. But, it is a decent movie. Just, again to me, an overrated horror movie.

There are other movies, The Ring for example, that I hated but they were so inconsequential to me that I don't remember enough about them to post anything.

There you have it. My 5 most overrated horror movies. Drop me a comment and let me know what some of your overrated horror movies are!

Roger

Following My Passion October 23, 2010

Okay I decided to work on another blog. I'm still going to keep my exercise blog going as well but I decide to start another one that reflected one of my passions. I'm going to write my own entertainment reviews and post them. Over the years I've had people say I should have been a movie critic. Well isn't almost everyone a movie critic these days? So I decided to do my own and share them with my friends and family. I'm going to write my critiques of movies, tv shows, and books that I've seen or read. Or even revisit some that I've experienced. So hopefully some of you will join me on this journey and post a comment now and then. There will be no regularly time that I post, just when I see something new or the time seems right.

Since this is the Halloween season I'm going to start by giving you my top 10 favorite horror movies. Not necessarily the ones I think are the scariest, just my favorites. Now some people put Jaws in this category but that is an adventure film to me so I will not include it here. Here is my list of films I feel fit into the horror category:

1. The Exorcist (Original Version)-Nothing really comes close for me. What was achieved using make up and good old movie magic (no CGI) was quite impressive. While the visuals help scare you it's the whole good vs. evil aspect, the question of faith, and the fear as parents of our children and the unknown that gets you.

The rest in no particular order:
28 Days Later-First time I saw a movie with fast zombies. The movie kept me on edge from start to finish.

1408-I loved this movie. The whole haunted room, no way out, mind trip. John Cusack was brilliant in a film in which he spent most of the time alone. This movie has as many detractors as fans but, for me, in was an awesome departure from all the torture horror that is released now.

Rosemary's Baby-An all time classic. Horror in the daytime. Is there a witches' cult or just paranoia? Creepy, suspenseful, relatively gore free. Mia Farrow is perfectly cast as Rosemary. One cannot help but feel protective for this small frail waif, trapped in a satanic web with no way out. This one hangs with you long after it's over and has more than stood the test of time.

Nightmare on Elm Street-A world that didn't have to play by any rules since dreams don't have to make sense. Terrifying since anything is possible in a dream. Introduced horror icon Freddie Krueger before he became comic relief. Favorite scene is Johnny Depp getting eaten by the bed.

Carrie-I initially thought that Carrie was more sad than scary until I stopped to think of how some kids are so bullied and pushed to the edge. Plus best horror film ending ever!

Night of the Living Dead-Another classic that has stood the test of time. The low budget and black and white photography gives the whole film a documentary feel. This one is fun to watch late at night in the fall when the house is quiet except for the wind blowing outside. They're coming to get you Barbra!

The Birds-I was pretty young when I saw this on NBC's Saturday Night at the Movies. I can still remember the green giant commercials being a relief to break up the tension. One of the greatest things about this movie is there is no explanation as to why the birds are attacking. Sometimes evil is just evil. Nowadays the special effects seem quite dated but the film still packs quite a wallop the first time you see it. I was finally able to see The Birds on the big screen a couple years ago and it plays far scarier than it does on television.

Frailty-This is one of those movies that was missed by alot of people. The story of a nice, ordinary religious man who one night gets a visit from an angel with a mission from God. He receives a list of people who are inhabited by demons and must destroy them. He has 2 young sons that he has help carry out his mission. One sees him as evil, the other as a hero. This was a small film the came and went pretty quickly but it is well worth a look if you haven't seen it.

Halloween (Original Version)-Great suspense film with very little blood or gore. I saw this at a sneak preview in the fall of 1978. When the film started, with the music playing and the shot of the jack-o-lantern during the credits the audience was laughing and ready for a good time. They got it. I've never been at a film with so much screaming. The film really grabbed the audience and never let go until it was over. I'm not sure it let go then. This film really holds up. Totally.

There are so many horror movies I didn't get to mention here but it's late. Drop a comment listing some of your favorites for the Halloween season. Maybe I'll find a new favorite to add to my list of must sees!

Roger