Film Reviews: Christmas Edition 18: Twilight Zone: Night of the Meek

In memory of

Rod Serling

December 25^th, 1924 – June 28^th, 1975

(That’s right, born on Christmas)

Today’s Christmas film review is on a fantastic story from Rod Serling: The Twilight Zone: Night of the Meek. This is episode 11 of season 2, I also watched the remake of it from the 1985 reboot of the show which is season 1, episode 30.

Night of the Meek is about a depressed and drunk man, named Corwin, who is right above the poverty line and is a Santa Claus at the local department store. He gets depressed when he sees the world and all its problems and wishes there was a real Santa Claus so that the poor children of the world would get gifts on Christmas. The wealthy, or for that matter, the well of children really don’t need a Santa Claus, their parents typically get them most of what they want—this is Corwin’s philosophy. All he wants to do is give the poor of the world a great Christmas.

After being fired from his Santa job, he stumbles upon a back full of trash one second and the next full of gifts—the bag will give whatever is asked for in the hands of Corwin. Corwin, overcome with joy, begins to hand out presents to everyone in the slums. The police are called in because it is assumed Corwin has stolen all of the gifts from somewhere, perhaps the very department store he worked for. The bag quickly goes back to being full of trash and in the end, Corwin pulls out the gift that the manager of the store who accused Corwin of stealing, asked for.

When the night is almost over and Corwin has handed out presents to everyone, he asked if there was anything left for him. However, he got the greatest gift of all, to be the world’s biggest gift giver, he only wishes he could do it every year—and sure enough he gets his wish.

I love the original version of this—in fact, the first time I saw it, it made me cry. The ending when Rod Serling gives a little speech is beautiful. The remake is great too but I recommend watching the original first. I give the original a 5 out of 5 and the remake 4.5 out of 5.

Film Reviews: Christmas Edition 17: A Christmas Carol 2009

“If I could work my will every idiot who goes about with 'Merry Christmas' on his lips, should be boiled with his own pudding, and buried with a stake of holly through his heart!”

So my final verdict of the various versions of A Christmas Carol I have seen, in order from my favorite and what I consider the best, to the worst:

1984, 1970, 1938, 2003, 1951, Muppets, 2009

I finally watched the 2009 Disney version of A Christmas Carol. By now, I have nothing to say about A Christmas Carol, but plenty to say about this version

This version was hailed for being verbatim—word for world from the original dialogue. This is somewhat true; it is not 100% verbatim, close, but not fully. There are also a few things thrown in that did not happen in the story.

What follows is a list of everything wrong with Disney’s A Christmas Carol 2009.

First off, the main complaint that the movie was made too zany and silly is true—well, it is not very zany, but it does have the Disney feel. Also like Disney, all the children’s faces, except for Tim’s, are like fat little Cherubs and because of the CGI, I got to say, I found most of the faces really creepy and disturbing because normal people don’t look like that. Another thing that I really did not like was when the spirits and Scrooge would be traveling thru the air—I do not know, maybe it is because a few minutes before, I had had a poptart and some Coke, but those scenes made me slightly nauseous. I didn’t feel like I was actually going to vomit, but I definitely did not like how these scenes made me feel.

The best part—the real WTF moment of the film, is when Scrooge is listening to the business men casually talking about his death and one of them clearly just did some cocaine—I am not even kidding. Now I know that this was common and not even illegal at the time but what the hell was the point of putting that in there? It is completely unnecessary to the film in every way. I know that the kids watching the film will be totally oblivious to this most kids don’t know what cocaine is and it is only for a brief second but this is a kids movie, so who was it for? I understand putting subtle adult humor in kids films so that the parents will be able to enjoy it more, but this wasn’t humorous it is just “oh look, that guy just did cocaine”, I mean it is really out of nowhere.

Another thing that is totally unnecessary is the Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come chasing Scrooge around the poor parts of London and then zombies come out of nowhere while he is being chased by Death, and then he shrinks for no reason! What the heck is going on?

Furthermore, the Ghost of Christmas Present dies in a really creepy way: while he is still laughing he starts to turn to dust even when he is just bones and eyeballs, he keeps laughing.

I will give the film some credit, it certainly had a few creative ideas—most of them I thought sucked—but it was creative. Jim Carrey actually does a good job portraying Scrooge; of course, he portrays practically half the characters as well. I did not like how when the ghosts would mock Scrooge for things he had said, they would imitate his face or the faces of others—it was somewhat stupid. I also feel that Zemeckis took the description of the Ghost of Christmas Past excessively literal because he looks like an actual candle. Again, creative but I did not like it. Or how the Ghost of Christmas Present traveled around with Scrooge in a spirit form of part of his house—just stupid.

I feel that even though the CGI made it easier to do many things, I think this version would have been better if it had been live action or even animated.

Overall, it is not that bad of a film—it is not my least favorite adaptation of A Christmas Carol, just the one that has the most things wrong with it and the most things I thought were bad. Therefore, in the end I give it 2.5 out of 5 for A Christmas Carol adaptation and 2.9 out of 5 as a film in general.



I guess at this point I should briefly mention another A Christmas Carol I recently watched—the 2003 version.

Not much to say about this one. Patrick Stewart plays Scrooge and he does a fairly decent job. This version is unique because like the 2009 version, it starts with Marley’s death just like in the book. I thought the affects were shoddy but the scene transitions were nice. Marley’s spirit was also different this time and I liked the portrayal of Scrooge and Isabelle’s love story. Scrooge is shown as a more sympathetic character from the beginning, more bitter and rude than an ass. The Ghost of Christmas Present showed Scrooge a prison which I have never seen in another version—I really liked the 2003 version’s Ghost of Christmas Present as well as The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come and the scenes about death.



Film Reviews: Christmas Edition 16: It’s a Wonderful Life

In memory of

James “Jimmy” Stewart

(Wonderful actor, winner of an Academy Award, Lifetime Achievement Award, and Brigadier General in the USAFR)

May 20^th, 1908 – July 2^nd, 1997

“Boys and girls and music…why do they need gin?”

Like with A Christmas Story, It’s a Wonderful Life is a timeless Christmas Class—more timeless I might add, released in 1946 and still doing very well. However, unlike A Christmas Story, It’s a Wonderful Life is only shown on one channel once a year on Christmas Eve.

There are few things to be said about this movie that haven’t been said before, but I’s still like to give a review for those who love the film and would like to hear someone else’s ideas about it and for those who have yet to see it. Trust me, there are people who have not seen it, one being my girlfriend until last night when we watched it together and she fell in love with it.

First, I know this story is getting a bit old, but I wanted to again, make fun of Fox news for calling The Muppets a communist propaganda film. If any film should be called out for its potential anti-capitalistic ideals, it is It’s a Wonderful Life. The main antagonist is like a real life Scrooge who never got visit from spirits but actually spends and enjoys his money. Mr. Potter is the wealthiest man in Bedford Falls. He owns more than half the town, is without a doubt a bastard— he is cruel, conniving, only concerned with profits, and disregards the intrinsic value of human life. Not to mention the fact that the world where Potter owns everything is a world of vices and anger.

This beloved classic that was made during the 40’s right after WWII, arguably one of the most greatest times in America being united as one, is more anti-capitalistic than a the Muppets who are technically owned by Disney, one of the largest corporations in the world.

FYI, I do not think The Muppets or It’s a Wonderful Life are communistic propaganda

It’s a Wonderful Life is a fantastic movie. Despite it being over two hours and over fifty years old, it draws the audience in and is quite an affective film.

 For those of you who have not seen the film, it takes place on the day the main character, George Bailey (James Stewart), is thinking about taking his life. This day also happens to be Christmas Eve. Angels up in Heaven are deciding what they should do about it and decide to send Clarence, an angel who has yet to receive his wings. However, Clarence is simple minded but also innocent and faithful. Joseph, the head angel shows Clarence the important highlights of George’s life in a series of flashbacks.

The flashbacks show the audience that George is the most selfless person most of us have ever met. He constantly sacrifices his own wants, hopes, and dreams for the betterment of others—starting with when they were children, saving his younger brother’s life but in the process losing hearing in his left ear.

George is a tragic character, the protagonist of the story, we, the audience, feel sympathetic for him at every turn. George since, childhood, has always wanted to get out of the small town and travel, see the world, go to college, build and invest in things. He is a man brimming with ideas and hopes of the future, an intelligent man who sacrifices everything for those less fortunate. He never leaves his hometown or even state, let alone the country, he never goes to college, he never gets to fulfill any of his ideas, and he does not even get to go to war to fight the Nazis due to his bad ear. He does get to build things however. With all his talent and ingenuity, George builds a whole community of quaint little homes that are worth twice what it cost to build.

He feels like his life has been meaningless especially since he never achieved even half of his dreams. Then, at the height of his revelry, when his brother is returning home from war a hero, tragedy strikes. Clarence comes down to stop him from throwing his life away. After Clarence convinces George that killing himself would only make matters worse, George decides it would have been better if he had never been born, and so Clarence shows George exactly that: a world where he was never born.

George then realizes, as the title suggests, that it really is a wonderful life and the ending of the film could not be any better.

James Stewart does a wonderful performance as always. There are a few things wrong with the film however—I only critique this film because I love it. There are a few scenes where it is clear there is something wrong with the editing, sometimes it feels like you may have missed some lines of dialogue. In addition, the concept of angels is a bit inaccurate but it is creative so that makes up with it. Another problem is that several of the child actors are not convincing at all but then again, they are children. Overall, however, this film is really good. The background music is beautiful—I mean really aesthetically pleasing, the film itself is aesthetically pleasing with some innovative (for the time) film work to look out for. It is a great family film and is an existential film. A classic, heartfelt, film and a Christmas tradition for most. You can catch it on NBC Christmas Eve, Saturday, December 24^th, at 8:00 PM eastern (a week from today).

I give It’s a Wonderful Life 4.9 out of 5 stars (only for the reasons listed above, personally, it is a 5, and is close enough to not really matter).

Film Reviews: Christmas Edition 15: A Christmas Story

In memory of:

Darren McGavin

(The “Old Man” who also played the title character on the short-lived but brilliant Kolchak: The Night Stalker)

May 7^th, 1922 – February 25^th, 2006

 “You used up all the glue—on purpose!”

Today the Christmas film review is one that I feel is safe to assume 9 out of 10 of you reading this may have seen. It is came out in 1983 but that is not the real reason most people have seen it. I say this is because for as long as I can remember, every Christmas, TNT puts on a 24-hour marathon of A Christmas Story. That being said, there is no real reason for me to do a review of this film—even the trailer gives away practically every memorable and favorite moment of the film. However, I still want to do a review because I really like this movie and I figured, why the hell not?

For those of you, who know the plot and what have you, feel free to skip down to my opinions of the film.

The film is a period piece taking place in the 1940’s. It focuses on a nine-year-old boy named Ralphie who only wants an air rifle for Christmas. The piece follows the family dynamics and childhood troubles of a typical kid growing up in the 1940’s around Christmas time.

Everyone has their favorite scene or clip: the lamp, the soap, the fight, the dogs, Santa, the flagpole, etc. In addition, everyone has their favorite quotes from it—most people and quote the entire movies dialogue, verbatim and have the timing down pat.

There are several reasons why I love this film. One is that even before it was on TNT, we would rent and watch this every year and so it became a part of our traditions. My dad really loves this movie and saw it in theatres when it first came out. The reason he loves it so much is, even though he grew up in the 60’s and not the 40’s, the film reminded him of the happy times at Christmas that he had as a child. His Christmas’s were similar to the one in the film because they never had a lot of money growing up.

Though the film has not much really going on and there are, few messages there are some things to take away from the film. It is the little moments that you remember, sitting by the fire and\or TV with the dog and parents during the holidays—those are the things you remember most, those are the really important things. This film ends with one of these moments and though it is a straight up heartwarming comedy from the get-go, that last scene, could make someone cry.

The movie gets most of its value from nostalgia but there are not things wrong with it that I can pick out, even the kids are decent actors. The cinematography is also really good, The only thing I can pick out is that certain scenes it is obvious that the actors, usually the kids are having a very hard time not laughing, but I don’t really see that as something that takes away from the film.

Because of all this, the only reason to give this movie a bad review is if the person reviewing it simply does not like it. That being said this film no matter what at least warrants a 3 out of 5 but I give it a 5 out of 5.

Brad Jones (aka The Cinema Snob) has a really funny review of A Christmas Story in which he lovingly rifts on it. However, just to be polite, I warn you that anything that the trailer did not give away, his video does. It is worth watching however:

http://thecinemasnob.com/2010/12/26/the-big-box-a-christmas-story.aspx

Film Reviews: Christmas Edition 14: Charlie Brown

In memory of

Charles M. Schulz (the writer of, and real-life, Charlie Brown)

November 26^th, 1922 – February 12^th, 2000

Bill Melendez (director, animator, and original voice of Snoopy)

November 15^th, 1916 – September 2^nd, 2008

Vince Guaraldi (fantastic and innovative jazz musician)

July 17^th, 1928 – February 6^th, 1976

I love the Charlie Brown specials but I especially love the Christmas specials. We grew up with the first one on VHS, and would watch it every year. This is one of my dad’s favorite Christmas specials. When he was a kid, this was his first introduction to Christianity. His parents were Christians but never practiced. Before Charlie Brown, my dad was pretty much a cynic when it came to Christmas, just like most of the characters in Charlie Brown.

A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)

“Everything I touch gets ruined…”

This is the greatest Charlie Brown special, let alone Christmas special. It is also the first Charlie Brown animation. They had only six months to write a special and they did a fantastic job. The biggest concern was how the comic strip would translate into animated film. At first, most of the people thought it looked bad but they ran it anyway and it was a huge success. I love the animation style even though there are so many continuity animation errors but I would rather keep those than have it digitally re-mastered with all of them fixed. One of the greatest things and creative things about Charlie Brown is that all the characters are voiced by real children. No one before had ever done this and I cannot think of any examples of anyone doing it since. Yes, it has religious overtones so if you are into Christmas for the spirit and the feelings, or purely for the capitalistic consumerism that Christmas has become you probably will not like Charlie Brown—though you may still appreciate it from an aesthetic perspective and its other messages. The other main message of the special as well as most every Charlie Brown special is anti-consumerism. This is huge message in A Charlie Brown Christmas—so you will probably especially hate A Charlie Brown Christmas if you work for Fox news. The only reason the conservative never called the Peanuts gang communists is that there are messages of what Christmas is really about which is the birth of Christ.

It is heartfelt, heartwarming, speaks about the true meaning of Christmas, and it very creative. In addition, the background music is done by the great jazz artist Vince Guaraldi who does a fantastic job. I may be biased for growing up with it but I give it 5 out of 5 stars.



It’s Christmastime Again, Charlie Brown (1992)

“Hockey stick!”

This special is not as great as the first one but it is still Charlie Brown, and it is still brilliant. This episode is less centered on a single plot like the first but it still has that whimsical feel to it. Unfortunately, Vince Guaraldi had died before this one was made but everyone else was still alive, kicking, and producing wonderful child-hood animated adaptations of the brilliant comic strip. The first one was still in the early days of Charlie Brown so not all the characters were present. However, in It’s Christmastime Again, Charlie Brown, the rest of the gang makes an appearance such as the fantastic Woodstock, Peppermint Patty, Marcie, and Franklin. This time the episode it again, featured around the Christmas play, but it is mostly animated adaptations of original panels from the comic strip strung together to make somewhat of a plot, but really, plot is absent from this episode.

As far as twenty minute animated children’s Christmas specials go, I give this a 4.5 out of 5.



I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown (2003)

“Happiness is a warm puppy next to you”

Sadly, by this point, Charles Shultz has passed away. However, I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown was still written by him since most of the material, like the last Christmas special, is from the comic strips. Although, unlike It’s Christmastime Again, Charlie Brown, this one has more of a plot and instead of being around twenty minutes long like the last two, this one is around forty minutes.

The plot it that Rerun, Linus and Lucy’s little brother, who this is the first time he has appeared in a Christmas special, wants a dog for Christmas because he really loves Snoopy. And who doesn’t love Snoopy? Snoopy is amazing and can do anything!

At first, I was hesitant about watching this because it is new and two members of the team the created the animated escapades of Charlie Brown are deceased. In fact, it is really quite good, considering. It still has that old Charlie Brown feel to it and the style is only slightly noticeably different. It is funny, warm, and classic Peanuts. I give it 4.25 out of 5 stars.

Film Reviews: Christmas Edition 13: Elf

“Make work your favorite”

I rather hate myself right now. I just re-watched Elf for the first time since I really got into film and was thinking it would be a great film to rift on because it is a stupid movie and I have not done a Christmas review where I tear the film to pieces yet. Unfortunately, I discovered that Elf really is not that bad and that it has several good points.

The main problems with the movie is it is zany, silly, the film itself seems to have ADHD (and I should know since I have ADHD) and many things do not make any sense. Now this movie is not a great movie or creative film, the best example of that is The Santa Clause. However, it is not as bad as The Santa Clause 3 which I think is terrible.

The premise is that one year while Santa was making his yearly rounds, during his last stop at an orphanage, a baby escaped from his crib and headed for Santa’s bag to get a teddy bear inside. The baby ends up being taken back to the North Pole and an older elf volunteers to raise him…like an elf but since he is human, he is not the best at doing certain elf things—sort of like a reference to Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. The movie makes several references to famous and classic Christmas films. When he is around 30, he finds out he is a human and Santa explains to him that in more or less words, he is a love child. Stop and think about this folks, a Christmas movie….a kid’s PG Christmas movie, where the title character in which the whole movie revolves around is a love child. Personally, I think it is fantastic because, A) this has never been done before in a Christmas movie and 2) it teaches kids a bit, about how real life is.

He walks from the North Pole to New York in about 24 hours. This is one of the stupid things about the film—it is vastly unrealistic. Some would argue that since it is a movie with Santa, it is already unrealistic; however, I am talking about everything else being equal to our universe. Just because he was raised by elves does not make him magical like an elf. I can buy him being able to create toys and make decorations out of anything in a small amount of time. What I can’t buy is a human that for thirty years has ate nothing but sugar and fat and is not diabetic, a human that can walk over a thousand miles in only one day, and a human that can make a pile of perfect snow balls in under five minutes.

He goes to New York to reunite with his dad, who is married and has another son. Buddy’s (the main character), mom died years ago and all he has left is his dad.

I love how the trailer makes you think the movie is about some crazy person who believes he is an elf rather than a movie where he really did live at the North Pole.

I really like a few things about the film. The romantic-comedy subplot tangent is really sweet. In addition, the girl is played by Zooey Deschanel who I absolutely adore. I love her voice, and in this movie she sings, I like her acting style and I think she is wicked cute and bloody gorgeous. I also like all the references to other great Christmas movies. There is a scene where Buddy is on a bridge that is reminiscent of It’s a Wonderful Life, Buddy’s dad is a Scrooge type character with his boss being even more like Scrooge, and the movie makes fun of Rankin and Bass in good fun. I like the overall message of the film about faith and hope and all that jazz, yeah it has all been said hundreds of times before and in more creative and artistic ways but this is still good. The film also does have its laughs and whimsical moments.

However, a lot of the\whimsy goes out the window due to the over zany and silly nature of the film that really can take away from all its good points. In addition, I am not a big fan of Will Ferrell, I do not hate him I just do not like most of his movies. My favorite movie with him is Stranger Than Fiction but you can’t really call that a “Will Ferrell movie”

In the end this movie is hard to rate as it has its good points and its bad points. I am going to settle for a 2.8 out 0f 5 stars.

Film Reviews: Christmas Edition 12: Prancer

In Loving Memory of Theresa Stevens

“He will continue to make glad the heart of childhood”

Prancer is a movie that tugs on my heart. Not necessarily, because it is just that good, but because I have some really good memories related to this film. For me, this film has high nostalgic value. It is funny how certain memories can become solidified forever.

The first and last time I remember ever watching Prancer all the way thru was when I was very little. The movie is as old as I am so I could have watched this every year—I do not remember. What I do remember is that this was before any real stress in life, at a time where innocence reined supreme, when the month of December seemed longer than October and November put together, and Christmas Eve crept by like a year. It was before our household got an edition and I am pretty sure it was after my sister was born. In our old living room, Prancer was playing I think rented from blockbuster back when there were still blockbusters and when all movies were on VHS. My grandmother was babysitting me and I remember watching with her while she was backing her famous oatmeal-chocolate-chip-cookies. This is one of my most brief, memorable, and happiest, simple moments of my childhood. I am actually starting to tear up because it has only been a little over a year since my grandmother died.

The movie is about a young girl whose dad, played by the great Sam Elliot no less, is an apple farmer. They are not a poor family per se, but they are close to the line. Jessica, the girl, is the portrait of wide-eyed innocence where Christmas does seem to take forever, anything is possible, and even though her mother died, still has glasses of whimsy on.

The film starts out with a Christmas play done by Jessica’s class or grade, I am not sure which. Now I don’t have a problem with this exactly, however, it got me thinking, what do the non-Christian children do—they either feel left out for deciding not to participate, or they participate in something that they feel is irrelevant to them. I am not saying that schools should not put on nativity plays; I am just saying that alongside that, perhaps they could put on a play about Judah Maccabee. I know it is a long and bloody story, but if the Rugrats can do it than so can an elementary school. It was just a quick thought I had

Anyway—after the play, while Jessica is walking home, she stops by a section of road where people are hanging up Santa in his sled as well as the eight reindeer. Jessica is naming them off but when she gets to Prancer, the plastic reindeer falls to the road and breaks in two. This confused me when I was a child. I thought that the plastic deer was a literal representation of the actual deer and it came to life after falling, since it fell, that explains why its leg it hurt. After watching this with older eyes, I realize that this is magical foreshadowing of events to come.

Sam Elliot wants to kill the deer because A) the first time he sees the deer he notices the wounded leg and he is of the mind set of putting it out of its misery and 2) unaware it is the same deer with the bum leg, he wants to shoot the deer that is eating the little trees on his property.

There is a side plot in which Jessica needs $15.00 to pay for a bog of oats to feed Prancer. She earns the money cleaning up, what appears to be the music room, of a wealthy old recluse and in the end Jessica helps the woman to remember what Christmas cheer it and helps her to get out of the house and become a part of the community again.

Jessica tries to get a letter to Santa explaining where his reindeer is by giving it to a fake Santa at the mall, which even she knows is fake, but figures he could help her. It turns out he is friends with a newspaper columnist who ends up doing a column on Jessica’s story.

At this point, I would like to talk about this column and the quote I gave at the beginning of the review. The quote is from an editorial written in 1897 answering a girl’s question of whether or not there is a Santa. It was titled “Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus”—this is also the title of the editorial in Prancer making reference to this wonderfully written piece which I will post at the end of this blog for those interested.

The movie is not my favorite but it does have that nostalgia going for it. It is not a bad film either. In fact, it is pretty well done. The acting on the children’s parts are better than average, the story is original, the deer is real and sounds just like Comet in The Santa Clause, meaning that the automaton reindeer sounded accurate, I like the films message about childhood and belief and faith in things (another parallel with The Santa Clause), and the cinematography is effective as well. Overall, I give Prancer 3.75 out of 5 stars. It is also a great pick for family movie night.

“Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.

He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! How dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus! It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, and no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and slight. The external light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.

Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies. You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if you did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that's no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and un-seeable in the world.

You tear apart the baby's rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which neither the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived could tear apart. Only faith, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, Virginia, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding.

No Santa Claus? Thank God he lives and lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay 10 times 10,000 years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.”

—Francis P. Church

Also, a sequel came out a few years ago and I am not sure how to feel about that because in my experience, sequels to classic Christmas movies usually suck. I haven’t seen it so I can’t really comment but if I do you can count on me reviewing it.

Film Reviews: Christmas Edition 11: The Grinch (2000)

“Bleeding hearts of the world unite”

Many people have mixed feelings about this film and it is typically hated or loved. I am in the love camp. After re-watching this film for the first time in a couple of years, I noticed so much that I never did before. This film actually has a lot going for it.

Most of us know the story of the Grinch. We have read the book, seen the half hour animated special by Dr. Seuss himself, but this is something far different.

The film is extremely creative and inventive. The Grinch could never make it as a feature-length film all on its own, and so the creators of the movie would have to be really imaginative.

The movie gives us the Grinch’s back-story—why he is the way he is. It all expands on the Whos themselves and it is really quite good.

The Grinch was Dr. Seuss’s version of A Christmas Story with an added theme of anti-consumerism. The film is still both of these things but expanded.

It starts out with the Whos specifically Cindy-Loo-Who and her family. Turns out, the Whos actually were the happy little consumers obsessed with gifts and decorations that the Grinch always thought them to be. The Grinch, at his most basic, is just a bitter, angry cynic who views the world thru jaded glasses (somewhat appropriate since he is green and all—trust me, the pun was accidental).

Cindy is unsure of what Christmas is all about and so the movie gets into Charlie Brown territory (esp. concerning the commercialization of Christmas but also about the quest for the true meaning of Christmas). She is depressed by the thought that Christmas is only about buying presents and after a run in with the Grinch who seems to be not as nasty as everyone thought, decides that if she can get the Grinch to be part of the town’s Christmas festivals, that maybe she can understand what Christmas is actually about.

When then see into the Grinch’s past and he did not have the best of childhoods. I am not entirely convinced that the reasons given are good enough for running away but they are certainly good enough excuses for hating Christmas. Besides, at least we are given reasons why the Grinch is the way he is.

The movie makes the Grinch a likable and character that the audience sympathizes with and in actuality; he is not the real villain. He is an anti-hero of course, but the real villain is the mayor. The Grinch has he is reasons for being the way he, the mayor is just a bully and a jerk.

Out of this comes the potential subplot of racism. It is very subtle and only touched on briefly but it is there, adding even more socio-politically redeeming value to it.

Like this actual movie, people have mixed feelings also about Jim Carey, I among them. I admit that I feel several of his movies are completely stupid but those feelings aside, I do recognize he is very good actor. I think is does an excellent performance as the Grinch and really fleshes out the character past what Seuss had wrote but at the same time, stays true to the character Seuss described.

There is another problem that people have with turning Dr. Seuss books into live action movies—the atmosphere. Dr. Seuss really had a brilliant, whimsical, warped universe where all his books take place, which everyone who likes Dr. Seuss loves. These concepts do not always translate when limited by our universes laws of physics especially when special effects can only go so far. However, I think the film does a fairly decent job at this.

The movie is pretty funny with some jokes and references only the adults in the audience will get making it a great candidate for family movie night. The film does have redeeming value such as what Christmas is really about and what it is not about, as well as a touch on racism and accepting and loving people that are different even if we do not understand them. The effects for the most part are good and the acting is great. Furthermore, the movie is narrated by Anthony Hopkins!!!!

I really do enjoy this film and I therefore give The Grinch 4.5 out of 5 stars for fun, entertainment, and the messages it has. As far as a Christmas movie goes, it gets 4.8 stars for it reminding us that Christmas is not about “stuff”

On a side note, The Grinch is a thousand folds better than the live action movie of Cat in the Hat, which I really do not like.

One last thing, I noticed today that someone found this review by searching on Google for where the Grinch lived so I thought I’d give a direct answer in case others come looking: The Grinch lives in the whimsical universe created  by Dr. Seuss—more specifically he lives in a cave near the top of  a mountain called Mt. Crumpit located in the small town of Whoville. I hope this answers your question.

Film Reviews: Christmas Edition 10: Jim Henson Specials

In Memory of:

Jim Henson

September 24^th, 1936 – May 16^th, 1990

I just got done watching all the various Jim Henson Christmas specials including A Muppet Family Christmas, It’s a Very Muppet Christmas Movie, A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa, Jim Henson’s The Christmas Toy, and Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas. I already did a review of the other Henson Christmas movie, A Muppet Christmas Carol.

I love the Muppets, the only reason I gave A Muppet Christmas Carol a bad review was because it did not really work as a good Christmas Carol variation in my opinion.

I’ll start with the Muppet specials (thought they all are muppets) with the oldest one first.

A Muppet Family Christmas

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpumOp9XOe4

I am in love with this special. Like most Muppet films, this one is a musical. The music is of course Christmas music. However, there is also a plot. Fozzie decided to take the gang to his mother’s farmhouse for Christmas. His mother was planning to take off for CA and she rented out her house to Doc and Sprocket from Fraggle Rock. However, her plans change when the gang shows and her house is full of muppets along with Doc and Sprocket who decided to stay. Kermit is worried about Miss Piggy because she is running late and there is a terrible blizzard heading their way. This special is has all the muppet characters in it—I mean practically all of them except for Yoda. The Sesame Street gang come for carols and stays the night and there is a visit from the fraggles. If you grew up with Henson, you will love this special. It has all of your childhood characters and even makes jokes about their nature. With the Sesame Street group for the 1-6 year olds, the fraggles, for the 7-10 year olds, and the Muppets for the 11+ group. It is wonderful. In addition, there is something else that may make you cry, an appearance from Jim Henson himself.

5 out of 5 stars.



It’s a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1Uf_oqCdDw

Unlike A Muppet Family Christmas, this is a full-length movie. The movie came out in 2002, which is the last time we see the muppets at their studio. This means since The Muppets came out in 2011 which is about them coming out of retirement, they have only been retired for nine years.

I am surprised that Fox did not call the Muppets communists when this movie came out, or at least call NBC communists, seeing how they produced this movie. Like in the Muppet Movie and The Muppets, the villain is an evil capitalist. This time however, it is not a fast-food restaurant chain owner or an oil-baron, but a bank manager\real-estate agent played by Joan Cusack.

The movie is pretty fun and heartfelt, keeping with classic Muppets traditions such as adult jokes the kids won’t get, zany ‘shenantics’, cameos, and breaking the fourth wall (breaking the fourth wall is a term in film used to describe scenes where the characters suggest that they are in a film). In addition, all the Muppets are true to their characters.

The film opens up with a talking snowman voiced by Mel Brooks who also played the evil Nazi scientist in The Muppet Movie. However, he is kicked off set and thus makes fun of the Rankin\Bass Christmas films.

Like always, the Muppets are behind on their rent but this time, because of the evil capitalist, they may lose their theatre for real.

The plot of the movie is modeled on It’s a Wonderful Life and Kermit has the experience of seeing a world in which he has never been born. This world is a bit funny but mostly scary and sad. It also refers to The Muppet Movie, thus adding a great deal of continuity. I said that in A Muppet Family Christmas, the only well-known Muppet not to appear was Yoda, however, he makes up for this by having a brief cameo in this movie.

God is played by Whoopi Goldberg who also has a cameo as a taxi-driver in A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa.

The film also makes fun of The Grinch with very scary looking Whos.

The movie is fun, entertaining, great for grown up first and second-generation fans, and true to the Muppets.

4.25 out of 5 stars.



A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRizth6K0zA

There is not much to say about this one. The plot is lacking and it is very straightforward. The film starts out with a few of the main muppets waiting in line outside the post office for it to open. It is the day before Christmas and they are delivering their last minute Christmas cards and a letter to Santa from a girl in their apartment building. However, due to some crazy stuff, three letters to Santa end up in Gonzo’s backpack and since it is too late to mail them they have to go to the North Pole to hand deliver them to Santa.

It has some really funny and clever moments in it. It is fun and entertaining—well, of course it is, it is the Muppets.

4 out of 5 stars.



Jim Henson’s The Christmas Toy

I absolutely loved this and by the end, I was literally crying! I remember watching this when I was a kid and I must have watched it all the time because I remember it like it was a regular series or show or something.  It certainly inspired Toy Story as Pixar clearly ripped off most of their ideas from Henson. I am okay with this though since Henson and the person who created Pixar were good friends and in fact, if anyone reading remembers this, Henson gave Pixar its start on Sesame Street with the whole desk lamp and rubber ball skits.

The Christmas Toy is a special about how toys come to life when people leave the room. However, if a toy is ever caught by a living person (or cat), they will essentially be dead, frozen forever, never able to come to life again. Rugby, the stuffed tiger does not fully understand what Christmas is and does not know that it is every year. He was the special Christmas gift from last Christmas. The toy from the Christmas before is Apple, the doll. Rugby thinks that he is meant to be wrapped in the box downstairs and does not understand that there is a new toy waiting to unwrapped, a space toy to be precise, Meteora, queen of the asteroids, an action figure.

The special is so heartwarming and brilliant. It is a must-see. 5 out of 5 stars.



Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGGgxMmWkI8

This is another short Christmas special from the wonderful Jim Henson. Originally, a children’s storybook by Russell Hoban, Henson adapted it for television six years later. It is sort of part new twist of the Gift of the Magi part fun, and part life lessons.

The Otters are a poor family, just mom and Emmet, Emmet’s father died a few years back. They both want the other to have a great Christmas this year even though they have no money. Fortunately there is a talent show going on in which the winner receives $50.00. I am not sure when this is taking place, it is at least the 70’s but it looks like it could be much earlier. In addition, I do not know how animal currency works but it appears that $50.00 is a whole lot of money.

The ending is great and though there is not much to the story, it is still good. 3.9 out of 5 stars.

Film Reviews: Christmas Edition 9: Doctor Who Edition: Christmas Specials

Hello and welcome to the first of the Doctor Who storyline reviews. Each entry reviews a certain story of Doctor Who. The stories from the classic series average out to around an hour and a half each making it easy to review them like movies. The newer ones will be a bit shorter however. That is what I am doing today: the Doctor Who Christmas specials. I’m not doing the End of Time one because that one is long enough to have its own review and Christmas is barely a theme at all in that one. I will be assuming that the audience has some basic knowledge of the series and I will not go into every detail about new companions and such. When I make this blog series more official with its own page, I will add in the introduction about the series.

Doctor Who: The Unquiet Dead (Series 2, Season 1, Episode 3)

“Since when did an undertaker hold office hours? The dead don’t die on schedule”

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvDlYppRZS0

I love this episode; then again, I love most of the episodes. This is not my favorite Christmas Episode but it is one of the top three thus far. This first one actually did not air any time near December. However, it was still in the beginning of the season and I think this set that tradition of Christmas and Doctor Who as being synonymous—there are by now anyway.

The premise of this episode is that the Doctor, decided to give Rose, his latest companion, a trip to the future and a trip to the past. He tries to take her to Christmas, 1860, Naples, but as always gets it a bit wrong and ends up at Christmas, 1869, Cardiff Whales.

 Turns out that it is all right because there is trouble afoot. Gaseous creatures called the Gelf whose bodies and planet were destroyed during the Time War, have found a rift (crack in time and space that generates massive energy) which happens to located conveniently at an undertakers. The gas creatures need bodies to live properly and so try to take the dead ones. Seems harmless enough. Also along for the ride is Charles Dickens. Yes, I know, Charles Dickens at Christmas with ghosts.

That is all I am going to say on that because I do not want to give away any real spoilers to people who may have not seen it but are interested in seeing it and have come to these reviews for just that purpose.

Charles Dickens is played by Simon Callow (not Simon Cowell) who is known for his outstanding acting—in fact, counting this episode; he has played the role of Dickens five times in various films. I love his performance and he really steals the show.

The episode is sad, heartfelt, does have a happy ending, and as with most Doctor Who episodes, has its comedic moments. I especially like these Christmas episodes which take place in the past because there is something fundamentally nostalgic about the holidays where people typically look back and go back to very old traditions, most which come from Victorian England.

I am not sure how to rate episodes of show like this one that I love so much. The camera work is done like a Masterpiece Theatre episode which I think is rather clever. It would be hard to rate them by how much I like them, it is much easier to rate the Classic Series or whole seasons so I guess I will not rate the new individual episodes. This episode is written by long time Doctor Who writer Mark Gatiss who for years wrote several Doctor Who books, since the reboot has written several fantastic episodes, and has even acted on several of them.

Doctor Who: The Christmas Invasion (Series 2, Season 2, Episode 1)

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxnUWiRchGk

“Don’t you think she looks tired?”

This is the first official Christmas special and I love this episode, mainly because I love David Tennant as the Doctor, I liked Christopher Eccleston as well, but there is just something about Tennant, also I find it ironic that the tenth person to play the Doctor has the last name of Tennant.

The doctor has just regenerated and for those of you who don’t know, regeneration is something that Time Lords can do to cheat death that mostly revolves around a specific technology that harnesses the power of their world. Typically, a Time Lord can only regenerate twelve times. However, the Doctor can regenerate hundreds of times more because when his planet was destroyed, he acquired all of the regenerative powers of the all the dead Time Lords. When a Time Lord is dying every cell in their body will change and so they will have a new body. However, the process does not change who the person is and they retain all their memories. The first few hours or more after regenerating, a Time Lord will be disorientated, not know who or what he is, and have fluctuations in personality. However, the Time Lord is essentially the same person. While watching the show you can sometimes act out the scenes in your head with previous actors who played the Doctor and they still fit. The Doctor may change slightly or greatly depending, but some things about him will never change. Regeneration is allegorical for the changes that people constantly go thru as a result of their experiences, even though they are the same person underneath, they have different attitudes towards things and different likes and dislikes. The nature of the death also determines the regeneration because it is also advanced evolution where the next body should be able to more easily survive the thing that caused their previous deaths and the nature of a death can alter personality slightly.

Moving on to the episode. The Doctor lands on earth Christmas Eve and is not himself, like always, something has gone wrong with his regeneration and so he is confined to bed for most of the episode. Britain has sent out a probe to Mars that has plaque of various samples of Earth life and culture. However, it does not make it to Mars because it is intercepted by a giant ship. Turns out these aliens are hostile and much steeped in tradition fighting and war styles. However, the Doctor as always rises to save the day.

This is certainly one of the more Christmassy episodes. It has Christmas music (Slade—Merry Christmas Everybody) and even a Christmas Song written for the Doctor (Song for Ten). There are robot Santas and even a killer Christmas tree. Also, let us not forget that no Christmas is complete without a Christmas dinner.

I really enjoy this episode and this is the one that really made Doctor Who a part of British Christmas.

Doctor Who: The Runaway Bride (Series 2, Season 3, Episode 1)

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_He_esJqWg&feature=related

This episode really does not have much of a Christmas element to it….I honestly do not know why I am reviewing this one now. Well, it does have the robot Santa’s again.

The Doctor has gone lost his\first companion since the reboot of the show, that is reboot not remake, all of the Doctor from 1963 and up is cannon with the new series…even that horrible 90’s movie…but I will review that for New Years. The co-star for this episode is none other than Catherine Tate, the comedian, who is playing Donna Noble.

Last season ended with a bride standing in the TARDIS (Time And Relative Dimensions In Space) for no known reason. This is cleared up in this Christmas special. Donna has been being fed a liquid over the course of several months that is an outdated form of energy that is only found these days in the Doctor’s TARDIS. That is how she was sucked into it—the particles of the energy magnetized. Turns out it was so last of an old race of anthro-spider-creatures could rise out of the earth. Donna ends up saving the Doctor from himself once again proving that he is better off when he is not alone

The episode is fun but season three is my least favorite season of the new series.

Doctor Who: Voyage of the Damned (Series 2, Season 4, Episode 1)

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcqHcXAuhsQ

“Of all the people to survive, he's not the one you would have chosen, is it? But if you could choose, Doctor, if you could decide who lives and who dies that would make you a monster”

This episode is tragic but also fun and heartwarming which I suppose is typical if Doctor Who. Now gone thru two companions he is paired up with the very cute Kylie Minogue. Kylie was actually originally planned to be the Doctor’s next companion for season 4. However, after Tennant and Tate did a little comedic special together that did really well, the producers decided to bring back Donna as a full time character. This disappointed me. Don’t get me wrong, I love the character of Donna, however, the show hadn’t had an alien companion (Minogue plays the character of Astrid Peth from the planet Stowe) since the early days of the fifth Doctors (Peter Davison) reign and it would have been cool and creative to have an alien companion again after so long.

The premise of this episode is that like last time we ended with a cliffhanger except instead of a bride in his TARDIS, large cruise liner crashes into it and is sticking thru it because the doctor forgot to put up his shields. We also see that a life preserver reads “Titanic”

Come to find out it is not the actual Titanic but a space ship cruise liner that has the intended purpose of exploring cultures of lesser-advanced worlds, like the earth and their traditions, like Christmas.

There is an evil scheme to sink the ship, crashing it onto the earth, killing everyone on board and all the people on the Earth. This really is not a spoiler since this is somewhat obvious to anyone over 15, that the person behind all this is the owner of the cruise line company, Max Capricorn.

Also, an interesting fact, the actor who plays Mr. Cooper (Clive Swift), who is known best for his character on Keeping Up With Appearances, has been on Doctor Who before. He played Jobel in Revelation of the Daleks back in 1985.

(Funny how, Fox has a problem with the Muppets portraying capitalists as evil villains but no problems with this—probably because it is British but still,  Doctor Who each year has been getting steadily more popular in the USA specifically there has been a huge rise in the last three years.)

This episode is more Christmas themed than Bride and even has a Christmas song like Invasion called The Stowaway. This song is actually quiet old. If I am not mistaken, it is an old traditional Christmas song from Ireland that until Doctor Who had not had an actual recording. There are also killer Christmas Angels. The episode is powerful for lovers of Tennant and lovers of the classic series as this episode has many elements from the old days, most of which are subtle but a few really hit you in the face.

Doctor Who: The Next Doctor (Series 2, Season 4.5, Episode 1)

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqhKwTlfsls&feature=results_video&playnext=1&list=PL31A9D5AF12CCB25E

“Ladies and Gentlemen! I know that man— that Doctor on high! And I know that he has done this deed a thousand times. But not once, no sir, not once— not ever!—has he been thanked. But no more as I say to you on this Christmas morn, "Bravo, sir! Bravo!"”

This is another of my favorite Christmas episodes, again, I think it has something to do with it being in Victorian times—taking place almost two decades before Unquiet Dead in the year 1851.

The premise is that the Doctor runs into someone else calling himself the Doctor who knows of a few things only the Doctor who know, so the Doctor assumes this is one of his future regenerations—the next doctor. The enemies they face off this time are the Cybermen.

The Cybermen were originally allegorical for the 50’s western concept of communism but evolved past that. Cybermen have had several shapes and designs. The most recent one is a robot body with a human brain. Like the original alien Cybermen, the concept was laid out with good intentions: to take away the pain and suffering of emotions, physical pain and differences. Cybermen take away gender, class, religion, race, and age so that everyone is equal. However, they are a hive mind typically and have an emotional inhibitor so that they do not realize what they are because if they did it would drive them insane.

They are up to their old tricks trying to “upgrade” the world and this time are building a giant Steamman to make it easier to take over the world. If you are a fan of steam punk, this episode is for you!

I particularly like the ending.

Also, if you notice, every Christmas episode thus far, has at one point played God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen in the background.



Doctor Who: A Christmas Carol (Series 2, Season 5, Episode 1)

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_KJG5w91cE

“Half way out of the dark”

You all know how much I love the story of A Christmas Carol and this version is no exception, in fact, it is a very clever and creative reimagining of the story.

Amy and Rory (the doctor’s latest companions) having gotten married at the end of the previous episode, are on their honeymoon. Problem is, the cruise space ship that they are on, called the Orient Express, is having a bit of trouble crash landing on the nearby planet because there is a machine that controls the cloud layer for some reason and it is owned and operated by a very mean and bitter old man called Cazran Sardic, our sci-fi Scrooge equivalent. The reason he is such a warped man is that his father beat him and was a cruel, shrewd, power hungry man. Now, something else about this episode that is exciting other than the fact it is a play on A Christmas Carol is that Cazran is played by none other than the great Michael Gambon. For those of you who do not know, Gambon has had many great roles big and small. Off the top of my head, I can think of: a Vogon in the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy movie, Dumbledore in the Harry Potter movies 3-6, Bean, in Fantastic Mr. Fox, the newspaper editor in Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, the crazy general in Toys, and a cannibal in The Book of Eli.

Since the Doctor has a time machine, it is very easy to change and show Cazran his past, present and future. The past is primarily the Doctor going back to Cazran’s childhood and being there as a role model since he had none and giving him good memories and fun adventures in the TARDIS with a girl, Abigail who was frozen, alongside others in Sardic’s basement. Cazran’s father runs a loan business just like Scrooge, a business that Cazran will take over, and for collateral, he takes people. The Doctor unfreezes her every Christmas to spend time with Cazran. Eventually, Cazran’s age catches up to Abigail’s and they fall in love. However, an unfortunate circumstance keeps them apart and undoes all the good work the Doctor had done.

The present is a hologram of Amy showing Cazran what is happening on the ship and all the lives that will die because of him. For the future, the Doctor shows the child Cazran the future Cazran and how he has almost become exactly like his father.

The episode of course ends the way A Christmas Carol does with Cazran a new man and a relatively happy but slightly sad ending with a fantastic song.

This is my favorite Doctor Who Christmas special. It is very creative, the cinematography is fantastic, Gambon is amazing as usual, and the affects are great.

Doctor Who Christmas Special 2011:

This year’s episode is another Doctor Who adaptation of a classic story. Last year it was A Christmas Carol, this year it is The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. The episode is titled The Doctor, The Widow, and the Wardrobe, and the trailer can be found here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSiULL4wCKg

You can be sure I will be watching it and will immediately add a review for it right here.



Social+Political Issue of the Week: Holidays and the Muppets

I know I have not been doing these entries lately, it is all about the inspiration and I now have some for another entry on two subjects, both somewhat short, both political:

The De-religioning of Holidays:

When you are young, you don’t notice the strife between family members around the holidays that the comedians are always talking about because you are young, innocent, and ignorant of all this and have yet to form your own world views, even if you are one of the oldest and do have world opinions, your cousins may still be young enough so you don’t have conflicts with them.

My point is that certain things happened at my families Thanksgiving party. This is with my mom’s side of the family who are mostly conservative. What I wanted to talk about was something one of my aunts said during dinner. She said that she felt that the liberals were taking all of the religious meaning out of the holidays mostly with all their political correct attitudes I guess because you are supposed to say happy holidays so as not to offend people.

I really, really disagree with this. First off, as a liberal, I was insulted by this remark.

One thing, I know a majority of atheists are liberal which I guess makes sense but that does not mean we all are, like me for example.

Secondly, as a liberal, I feel like most of the “PC” stories are conservative propaganda and I disagree with them. Now I do agree that hateful terms such as “nigger” “fag” “dyke” “spick” etc have no real need to be used by people who are not members of these groups, even if the person doesn’t intend it to be hateful it can still be perceived as hateful. Celebrating one’s own holiday is not hateful and therefore I see nothing wrong with having a Christmas tree and wishing people a happy Christmas. I have two approaches to this: 1) since it is my holiday, my celebrating it does not lessen or cheapen other religions, and I do not see them as inferior so I will wish you happy my holiday and you can wish me yours and that is fine. 2) With friends that I know celebrate, something different then I will wish them a happy that instead.

Furthermore, even with all the PC bullcrap that does not take the religion out of it. I think of Scrooge saying “Keep Christmas in your way and let me keep it in mine” now this was before his change but it is not a mean, unreasonable, or rude thing to ask of someone. He is saying practice what you want and celebrates how you please and do not try to force me to do it the way you do.

Besides, I would argue that the real group that is taking the true meanings out of the holidays are the capitalistic conglomerate corporations who are commercializing the holidays, blending them together, and selling images rather than key concepts of the holidays and rarely selling religious images or ideas at all. In addition, these businesses are typically supported in Republican platforms and Republicans are typically conservatives. Logically, it is the conservatives who are taking the religion out of the holidays, which I find hilariously hypocritical as Conservatives are also more focused on religion in their platforms.

Next, I want to talk about the new Muppet movie and no, this is not a review. Fox news the other day called the Muppets Communists. It rather saddens me that hundred years have gone by and people still do not understand communism. The reason Fox gave for making this assessment was that the movie makes a wealthy capitalist oil baron the villain. Now as a liberal, I would say that in real life, 9 times out of 10, these people are villains. However, in the context of the movie, he is a villain—he even breaks the law—of course, that is what being a wealthy conservative capitalist is all about, right? It is not breaking the law it is playing the system.

I think the real reason Fox did this was that they were mad at the movie for making fun of them. I did not even think the joke was that obvious or insulting to Fox per se. Kermit is going around recruiting all the Muppets from their new jobs since they have been split up for so long and one of these Muppets is Sam the Eagle. Sam is supposed to be the stereotypical conservative patriot. In the movie, we see that he got a job on Fox news doing a segment called “Everything Stinks”

Fox is got to be stupid (well I actually think this) to call the Muppets communists. First off all, the Muppets have been liberals since they were created, hell; Jim Henson was a huge liberal. The Muppets in all their various forms and various shows for years have been expressing liberal ideas. Off the top of my head I can think off: vegetarianism, veganism, the whole band are a bunch of hippies that everyone loves, equal rights, poverty as an American issue, that it is okay to be yourself, special, and a little weird, etc Regardless, the Muppets may have been created by an amazing liberal but the Muppets themselves have never really ever been about being political, their primary focus is on entertainment.