Christmas is Coming!

Yes, it's time for the onslaught of holiday movies both in theaters and on television. I've already seen Fred Claus, which I enjoyed very much. It is full of every holiday feel-good movie cliché a moviegoer can think of, but it's still fun. Vince Vaughn plays the type of character he's best known for- a fast-talking, lovable imp. He is Fred, never do well older brother to the saintly Nick (Paul Giamatti), also known as Santa Claus. Fred goes to work at the North Pole, and chaos reigns. Best scene in the movie: Fred is chased through the streets of Chicago by a dozen angry Salvation Army Santas, and eventually dog piled by them in a department store. The North Pole sets were suitable colorful and corny. And I was very amused to see the rapper Ludacris digitally shrunk down to elf size. Vaughn and Giamatti work well together- and it's fun to watch Fred and Nick argue. I think this will be a classic!

One thing I look forward to every year is the 24 hours of A Christmas Story that airs every Christmas Eve. That is one holiday movie I will never get sick of. "I triple-dog dare you!" The leg lamp, Ralphie's bunny suit, the flag pole...it never gets old.

Another favorite of mine is Elf. Will Ferrell is terrific in this sweet movie. Like Fred Claus, it's corny and clichéd, but enjoyable all the same.

A Muppet Christmas Carol is another one I try to watch every holiday season. You can't go wrong with the Muppets! Michael Caine is a great Scrooge. And the film is very true to Dickens- if you can get past Kermit the Frog as Bob Cratchit!

It wouldn't be Christmas without television repeats of How the Grinch Stole Christmas (not the overblown Jim Carrey feature) or A Charlie Brown Christmas. I look forward to watching them...and if I miss them, I know I can always find them at the library.

I may be one of the few people out there who really doesn't care all that much for Miracle on 34th Street or It's a Wonderful Life. They're all right, but I don't go out of my way to see them. And I liked Tim Allen's The Santa Claus, but it's not one I watch over and over.

Of course, these are all very secular films. Only The Nativity (which I have yet to see) seems to be about the real meaning of Christmas!

Nuke Your Neighbor! A WWIII film sampler.

I grew up during the last years of the Cold War. I was a pre-teen in the early 80's, at a time when films about nuclear war seemed to be everywhere. The best known, the "Big Three", were The Day After, Testament, and Threads.

I was 12 when The Day After aired on ABC in November 1983. I was sick and home alone with the stern instructions from Mom to not watch the movie. Naturally, I ignored her warnings, and boy, did I regret it. I was so scared that I couldn't sleep for a week! Kids at school talked about it for ages after. The scenes of the missiles headed for the Soviet Union and the bombs hitting Kansas City and the surrounding areas are still pretty scary today. What doesn't hold up today is the hokey soap-opera storylines. And I get a laugh from watching Jason Robards survive the Kansas City blasts by ducking under his Volvo's station wagon. Come on, those cars are good but not THAT good! The cast was mostly unknown at the time- Steve Guttenburg, JoBeth Williams, John Cullum, Amy Madigan, and John Lithgow. The performances were generally good, and I still get a bit of a chill hearing Lithgow's final line: "Is anybody out there? Anybody at all?"



On a smaller scale, but somehow more devastating, is Testament (1983). Instead of seeing the destruction of large cities, the viewer witnesses what happens to a small town in the months after a surprise attack on the United States. Jane Alexander gives probably her greatest performance here as a mother holding what's left of her family together after a bomb destroys nearby San Fransisco. Her neighbors and children die off one by one, and it is very hard to watch. There are no special effects. There is no explanation given for the attack- all the news they get comes from an old man's CB radio. It doesn't matter- they are going to die no matter who fired first. And that's the point- this little film is about the people who are affected by war.



The last of the "Big Three" is Threads (1984). This one I didn't see until I was grown up and the Soviet Union was no more. I'm glad I waited to see it. It makes The Day After look like a trip to Disneyland. This time, the viewer sees WWIII from a British perspective. It begins with a young couple in Sheffield, England, preparing for a wedding as tensions in the Middle East grow. The man and woman are oblivious about the crisis until "Protect and Survive" films start showing on television. Everything deteriorates quickly, and Britain is hit with 80+ megatons. The film gruesomely depicts the lead actress struggling to survive the post-nuclear wasteland that was once Sheffield. There are no happy endings here- just charred corpses, no food, radiation sickness, rape, murder, looting, and birth defects. The special effects, real footage of nuclear detonations, and make-up are nightmare inducing.

The film begins with this narration: "In an urban society, everything connects. Each person's needs are fed by the skills of many others. Our lives are woven together in a fabric. But the connections that make society strong also make it vulnerable." Througout the film, the threads of society are pulled out one by one, and it is not a pretty sight.

This is currently only available on Region 2 DVD- VHS copies on eBay go for nearly $100. It has been floating around on Google Video and You Tube.




HBO got into the game as well with Countdown to Looking Glass (1984). This is a rather chilling film about a cable news network covering the events leading up to WWIII. Again, there are no special effects, just harried news anchors trying to make sense of the information they are trying to report. It ends with the network being turned over to the Emergency Broadcast System by the President's orders...and it's up for the viewer to imagine what happens next. Sadly, this well-made film is not available on either VHS or DVD. It used to air often on the Fox Classic Movie network, but they stopped showing it after 9-11-01. HBO has no plans to release it on tape, either.

From WWIII to nuclear terrorism now- Special Bulletin. It originally aired on NBC and causes a bit of a panic in some areas, despite repeated disclaimers during the film. The plot- anti nuke protesters get a hold of a small bomb, and threaten to detonate it in the Charleston, SC harbor if their demands (the destruction of nuclear triggers) aren't met. A cable news network covers the event, with one of their own camera crews taken hostage. The military intervenes, and Charleston goes boom. Pretty scary stuff- and quite possible. Also not avaiable on DVD- and VHS copies are hard to come by.

Finally, there's When the Wind Blows , an animated feature based on a graphic novel by Raymond Briggs. It's about a middle aged English couple who naively rely on the government to tell them "the correct thing to do" in the upcoming nuclear war. They study the "Protect and Survive" books (also seen in Threads ), and prepare. When the bombs hit, they think they will be all right. It's very hard to watch as they succumb to radiation sickness, even as they still think help is coming.

I never realized how much film and literature has WWIII "what-if's" as their focus. This is just a bit of stuff from the 80's!

80's nostalgia...

Proof that I'm "old"- The Lost Boys came out 20 years ago. I first saw it at a sneak preview the summer before my junior year of high school, and it became one of my favorite movies right away! I even kept the free poster that I got at the preview for years. It was on HBO Zone last week. I can't believe I haven't seen it in so long. It's still cool. And I'd forgotten how much I used to be creeped out by Kiefer Sutherland. Well, he still creeps me out (on 24), but in a good way. And oh, the two Coreys. What the hell happened to them? Sigh.

Good plot- Peter Pan with vampires (hence the title "Lost Boys"); good soundtrack including INXS; good characters such as Grandpa and the Frog Brothers; just plain fun. I can still quote most of it- "Burn rubber does not mean warp speed!" "My own brother, a God-damn, shit-sucking vampire! Oh, you wait until Mom finds out!" "Death by stereo!" "The one thing about living in Santa Carla I never could stomach...all the damn vampires."

The movies of the 80's were fun. My other favorite of 1987 was Spaceballs.

D'oh!

When I posted my reviews last week, I forgot to mention a big one! The Simpsons Movie. I really loved it. I admit I haven't been watching the show as much as I did while in college, but I still enjoyed every minute of it. The plot is silly, and some favorite characters barely appeared (I blinked and missed Apu, I think!), but it was still better than many of the recent episodes. Three stars out of four. I'll definitely get the DVD.

2007 so far...

I'm amazed at myself- I really haven't gone to the movies much this year. Earlier in the year, the movies I saw in the theater were all 2006 releases, like Dreamgirls. I had a period of two months without going to the theater at all! I finally went back for Blades of Glory. At the time, I really needed to laugh, and this one delivered! It's the usually silly and outrageous Will Ferrell vehicle- this time, mocking the world of competitive figure skating. I almost fell out of my seat laughing.



There was another two month break- and then the summer movie season began. I totally missed out on Spider-man 3, but from what I've heard, I didn't miss much.

Next was Shrek The Third , which, though amusing in parts, was a bit of a disappointment. Two and a half stars out of four. I think the series has run its course...but there are two more sequels in development. I think I'll pass.

Pirates of the Carribean: At World's End was a bit of an incoherent mess at times, but I still had fun watching it. Johnny Depp just rules. Three stars.

Ratatouille was the other "kids" movie I saw this summer. It had a much better story than Cars, though most of it was too sophisticated for younger kids. The animation was excellent, as usual for a Disney/Pixar film. Three and a half stars.

I'm a Harry Potter fan, so of course I had to see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix three times in the theater! Many things from the book were left out or changed for the film, but I still enjoyed it completely. The kids are getting to be so good. Three and a half stars.

Dumbledore's Army- taking names and kicking ass!



Yes, I am a Potterhead. I cried after reading the final book, and can't wait for the last two movies. I will definitely get the special edition DVD for OOTP when it comes out. I'm even going to buy a couple of action figures for my collection...

Finally, I think my favorite movie of the summer was Hairspray. Four stars. I left the theater humming and laughing. Great cast (especially John Travolta as the mother!), terrific music and story, just plain fun. I'd love to go to a sing-along showing, but none played in my area.




Not a lot I want to see this fall. I'm most interested in His Dark Materials: The Golden Compass. I loved the trilogy of books, and I hope the first movie does well so the rest are made. Sweeney Todd, based on the great Stephen Sondheim musical, is also coming out at Christmas. And with Johnny Depp in the title role, how can it be bad?

Well, okay...

...my cat doesn't really go to the movies. But I do- whenever I can. If I miss something in the theater, I make sure to rent or buy the DVD later!

I don't usually write long reviews- just little blurbs that say what I liked or did't like. I like almost everything. I can only think of one or two movies that I really didn't like in the past few years.

I love the classics, too. My favorite classic film is Rebecca. I try to catch it whenever it is shown on Turner Classic Movies. Unfortunately, it is not currently available on DVD.

I didn't see too many movies this summer. I missed out on a few that I'd wanted to see. But I did see the third Shrek and Pirates of the Carribean movies; Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (three times!); Ratatouille; and Hairspray, my favorite of the summer.

From time to time I'll write about something I've just seen, or remember an older favorite. So this blog is going to be somewhat busy!