Film Reviews: Simon Pegg Week: Day 5: Run Fatboy Run

“Sorry. I went for a run this morning in my trunks...and I think I've got a bit of a rash...you know, down there in the, uh...scrotal zone.”

Yesterday with Paul, we lost Wright and today we lose Frost and Park. However, we still have a film co-written by Pegg. Run Fatboy Run is a fantastic serious romantic comedy that anyone can enjoy.

Pegg plays Dennis Doyle (“from downstairs”), a man who left his fiancé, Libby, pregnant at the alter—he just ran away for reasons later revealed. The plot of the film is Dennis trying to maintain his relationship with Libby and their son, Jake. However, things get more complicated when Dennis meets Libby’s new American boyfriend, Wit who right off, the audience can tell is not a nice guy (even though he acts like one). Dennis has always run away from all the uncomfortable situations in his life and has never finished anything he starts—he is a quitter. However, when he finds out the Wit is a marathon runner and is signed up for an up-coming race, he decides to show Libby that he can change and that he can finish something. Problems arise when he cannot find a way into the race since the dead line was several months ago. His good friends are there to support and to push him, motivate him, and essentially force him into running the race. Will it be enough? Can he change? Does Libby still love him? Is he running for the right reason?

There are so many things that I love about this film. First and foremost, the way it is set up and the flow and mood of the piece. On the surface it is just another romantic comedy but it is more serious than most of the one’s I have seen. It has a mood not unlike the film Definitely, Maybe that is funny but also serious. Run Fatboy Run is very hilarious but has a message and a theme to get across about facing ones fears and committing to ones responsibilities, which the film articulates wonderfully. The first time I saw this was in theaters when it first came out on a date with my first serious girlfriend. After seeing Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, I just had to see this. When I did see this I laughed my arse off for most of the film but there were several moments when I teared-up and at one point cried. This film pulls at all the right heartstrings. Simon Pegg is a brilliant writer.

 In addition, writing for this film is Michael Ian Black who wrote the original story. I know him best for his comedic work on the short-lived television show, Stella. Directing Run Fatboy Run is David Schwimmer who most people know from Friends. Schwimmer and Pegg had co-starred together a year earlier in Big Nothing which formed their relationship and created this great film. However, I was not impressed at all with Big Nothing. In fact, I think it is by far the worst Pegg film there is. It is not the fault of Pegg or Schwimmer, the film just sucked and I have been debating on reviewing it or not.

Anyway, semi-co-starring in Run Fatboy Run is Dylan Moran who played David in Shaun of the Dead who is most known for his hit comedy show, Black Books which also starred Bill Bailey (Spaced, Hot Fuzz). Also, the voice of the television commentator towards the end of the film is none other than Peter Serafinowicz (Spaced, Shaun of the Dead).

Run Fatboy Run also has a phenomenal British soundtrack. Seriously, check it out. Each song works perfectly with the scenes they are behind. The film is also a great look at areas in London such as Canary Wharf and Hamsterheath Park.

There are a few things to point out. One is that in the scene when Dennis is snogging his reflection in his mirror, if you look closely, you can see the crew reflected in the television screen on the left. Schwimmer was aware of this but since they were on a time restraint and it really was the best take, he used it anyway. However, the scene is so engaging that I did not notice it until I watched the DVD commentary and he pointed it out. Also, the flashback scene when Dennis is on the bus was never scripted and was added much later. It is a wonderful and important scene and I am glad they decided to add it.

In the scene where Wit is intimidating Dennis with his penis, he is really powdering his balls—talk about a method actor.

Finally, something that blows my mind is how great of an actor they have to play Jake. Matthew Fenton is a brilliant child-actor and he never forgot a line not even once. He makes the film that much more believable.

Run Fatboy Run truly is a gem. It has many hilarious moments juxtaposed with very serious content, the acting and writing is brilliant, and the theme of the film is great. I was going to give it 4.9 out of 5 because I do slightly enjoy Shaun and Fuzz more but since the difference is negligible, I might as well give Run Fatboy Run 5 out of 5 stars.

Film Reviews: Simon Pegg Week: Day 4: Paul

“This is America. Kidnapping a Christian is worse than harboring a fugitive”

Alright. He we are: Day 4. The last film to be made by Simon Pegg and co. After this, all that are left are simply films he has starred in.

Paul is the third film made with Pegg, Frost acting, and Park producing. Edgar Wright wasn’t on-board this time which may explain why this is my least favorite out of the three films—it is certainly one of the funniest but it just doesn’t have the Wright feel to it (and yes, that pun was indented). Instead, this film was co-written by Pegg and Frost instead of Pegg and Wright and it was directed by Greg Mottola who directed Superbad—this might explain further, why I was not that impressed by Paul—I did not really like Superbad all that much.

Pegg goes back into a nerd-dork role that is even more dorky and nerdy than Tim from Spaced. However, he does take-up Tim’s old carrier of graphic artist so there is some reference to Spaced. If you pay attention, there are a few more nods to this. For example, the guys (Jim and Jason) that did all of Tim’s drawings in Spaced also did Graeme’s drawings in Paul. While on the subject of art, you may, notice that the t-shirt the Ruth is wearing has a comic that is drawn by the same guy (Oscar Rights) who did Danny’s flip-book cartoon in Hot Fuzz and the art for the continuity holes for Shaun of the Dead on the DVD.

Graeme (Pegg) and Clive (Frost) are on holiday from England to go to comic-con in San Diego and then take a road trip down the Extraterrestrial Highway to visit all the alien paranormal hotspots such as Area 51, the Black Mailbox, and Roswell.

The film starts with a spaceship landing on a little girl’s dog named Paul in Wyoming in 1947 (1947 was also the year of the Roswell crash and the year Pegg’s mom was born). We then cut to comic-con (not the actual comic-con). The Orcs in the street are actually the real Orc costumes borrowed from Peter Jackson (Pegg makes friends everywhere he goes).

While on their road trip, driving one night a car starts to speed up behind them blaring its horn and flashing its headlights. They think it is couple of rednecks they pissed off back at a diner but it turns out to be just someone in a hurry. Once the car passes them, the driver loses control and the car flips off the road. When Graeme and Clive go to investigate, it turns out to be an alien called Paul.

Paul is being chased by secret agents done up to look like “men in black” and the film essentially becomes a “road-trip’ movie with aliens. It’s mostly a comedy but does have action and suspense. I guess the best way to describe it is a cross between Race with the Devil, E. T, and National Lampoon’s: Vacation.

Just a couple of side-notes. While the filming of Paul was taking place, Park was also producing Scott Pilgrim and Pegg became a father.

Paul, like Spaced, references tons of science-fiction films and Steven Spielberg films in general. There are references and nods to Star Wars, Star Trek, Alien, Aliens, Predator, Back to the Future, E. T, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Jaws, etc. One of more subtle but great references to look out for is the scene at the bar and the bluegrass band is playing the cantina theme from Star Wars. At one point Paul talks to Spielberg on the phone and it really is Spielberg talking.

A few location shots are also references back to great movies. For example, the town the group stops in where Paul is dressed as a cowboy (at this point it is not a CGI Paul but the stunt-coordinators son dressed up in a Paul costume) is a very famous location. The town is Las Vegas, New Mexico and on the very block, that Paul is filmed is the diner from the scene in Easy Rider when Jack Nicolson is first introduced. In addition, it is where the car is blown up outside a pharmacy in No Country for Old Men. There is a scene from Red Dawn that is shot here also.

The movie also features a very famous cast and the film is very well acted.

However, it still was a letdown after seeing Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. Paul does not have the clever blend that gave the other films humor. Paul mostly relies on running gags, references, and essentially, for lack of a better term, ‘potty-mouth’ humor. It is a hilarious film, I will give it that, but I feel it could have been so much better had Edgar Wright been working with them like the last two times. Perhaps it also had something to do with the fact that this time it was intended more for an American audience, I really can’t say why it wasn’t such a hit with me as the his previous works. However, that is not to say that films starring Simon Pegg are always worse without all his friends working on it as well, for example, Run, Fatboy, Run is a great movie and it has only Pegg and no Wright, Frost, or Park.

I like the movies pace and I like how it accesses more than just laughter from the audience. The film does have intense and serious moments as well as a few adrenaline fueled scenes that seem to be out of an action movie, but overall, it is just not as great as the movies that came before. Paul gets  4 out of 5 from me.

I will say one fantastic thing about this film is Paul himself. The detailed CGI animation is the most realistic I have seen in many films. It is brilliantly animated and I bow down to the huge animation team that made this possible. Watch the film, the look of Paul is really spectacular and I truly admire the work of these animators. The film gets an extra .5 stars just for the work that went into the CGI for Paul. That doesn’t seem like much, but that is a huge percentage of quality to dedicate to only one aspect of an entire film. So with the work on Paul, the film gets 4.5 out of 5

 

*!SPOILER ALERT!*

I thought I would throw this in here because of something in Nerd Do Well. Throughout the movie, there is the mystery of who plays the boss of the secret agency. We know she is female from her voice. Now most of the super-sci-fi fans will probably pick up on the voice and figure out who it is. The people who like to feck with surprises will check imdb. I am assuming those of you reading this part knows whom it is. In Pegg’s book he talks about how when he was a kid he had a huge crush of Diane Keaton and at one point fell in love with another actress for a brief time. He wrote poems when he was younger and wrote one for Diane Keaton and one for the other actress. Here is that poem: it can be found on pg.263 of Simon Pegg’s book Nerd Do Well published by Gotham Books in June, 2011:

Sigourney

You make me feel…

Like countless innuendo

You drive me round the bend

Oh Sig!

What will I tell Diane?



Film Reviews: Simon Pegg Week: Day 3: Hot Fuzz

"I may not be a man of God, Reverend, but I know right, and I know wrong, and I have the good grace to know which is which."

Today I review the second movie made by the knock out team of Edgar Wright (director\writer), Simon Pegg (writer\actor), Nick Frost (actor), and Nira Park (producer): Hot Fuzz.

Hot Fuzz is a brilliant film—just look at the trailer. Hot Fuzz follows the character of police officer Nicholas Angel. Angel is play of those action flicks that have the ‘ultimate character’ the quintessential ‘infallible character’. This character is a staple in the old westerns but also seen in action films, the perfect soldier, the greatest sheriff, etc. These characters excel in every area of their field. Angel is the perfect cop. However, the movie’s plot is centered on the theme of what if you throw a character like this into a more real-life world. The answer is no one wants to deal with him. Essentially, he is go great he is like Batman if he patrolled the city with the lowest crime rate. Angel is making all the other cobs look bad so the chief inspector (played by Bill Nighy who played Shaun’s stepdad) has him promoted to Sergeant of a small-town with a record for having the lowest crime rate in all of England.

It looks like Angel is going to be pretty bored and the film plays with the old theme of “country-mouse-city-mouse”—having a character totally out of his\her element. However, strange accidents start occurring and the film enters the territory of mystery\thriller. The film over all is an Action-crime drama-mystery-suspense-gore film, which is fecking amazing.

Angel eventually seems to figure out what is going on and fits all the pieces together to form a very diabolical plan that boils down to money which is the typical goal of most antagonists in actions and crime dramas. However, it turns out that the truth is far more sinister and psychotic pulling the film deeper into the thriller and ‘actionsploitation’ genre (the few scenes of heavy gore help with this also.

Hot Fuzz brings in elements from all sorts of action films. There are guns, guts, explosions, chases, and even a scene that is a parody of a ‘giant-monster battle’—I’m not joking. Also, let’s not forget that Hot Fuzz also adds in that age-old joke of action films of taking the supposed peaceful character and turning him\her into a violent person, like the derringer-totting priest (this is also seen in Machete).

The film also draws on elements from Shaun of the Dead and shows us the emerging style of Wright and Pegg. Like Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz uses the clever blend of foreshadowing, puns, and irony as the vehicle for most of the humor. Hot Fuzz even references back to the ‘short-cut’ scene from S.o.t.D. In addition, if you notice, the same arcade machine is in the village tavern that was in the Winchester.

Though the film is playing on the action-crime genre, it also tries to go for an element of realism, which just adds to the laughs. There is a fast-paced-adrenaline fueled montage about paper work! Paper work! Hot Fuzz relies more on these montage scenes that Shaun of the Dead did as it pertains more to the style of action than horror.

Hot Fuzz also has a kick-arse soundtrack! It is flipping fantastic and each song works cleverly with what is going on in the film. It is mostly a rock-based soundtrack but has a few exceptions. Also, the movie has its own theme song! This was seen with detective movies of the 70’s and 80’s and with monster movies of the 60’s, most notably The Blob.

There is also a great use of images for metaphors. When Angel loads up with all the guns and has the shotguns sticking out of his backpack, they look a bit like wings, which plays on the character name, Angel.

The cinematography is also quiet effective.

The relationship between Danny (Nick Frost) and Angel has some sexual\romantic subtext that like with Shaun and Ed and even with Tim and Mike, seems like a joke. Pegg, talks about this in his book, Nerd Do Well. With Shaun and Ed, it is more of a joke and both Shaun and Ed are to be considered straight. However, in regards to Angel and Danny, it is more hinting at sexual tension and less like a joke. If any time Pegg and Frost’s characters had potential for a relationship between each other, it is in Hot Fuzz.

Another character from Spaced has a role in this film, Bilbo (Bill Bailey), Tim’s boss at the comic shop, is one of the cops at the front desk in the small town. It is also worth mentioning that both him and Timothy Dalton (Mr. Skinner), most known for his brief carnation as James Bond, have appeared in Doctor Who, like almost everyone who works with Pegg.

And if you want to talk about six degrees of separation, Martin Freeman and Bill Nighy were both in Shaun of the Dead together and are also both in Hot Fuzz as Angels superiors inn London. What is funny about this is between Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, both Martin Freeman and Bill Nighy both starred in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Even more amusing is that the whale in THG2TG is voiced by none other than Bill Bailey, who we know was in both Spaced and Hot Fuzz with Simon Pegg! Furthermore, all of them have appeared in Doctor Who except for Martin Freeman.

Hot Fuzz is another flawless production by Simon Pegg and co. Again, I have to give it 5 out of 5 stars. These guys really know what they are doing.

Also check out the disc art on the DVD, it is done exactly like the art of the Point Break DVD seen in the film or at least my copy looks that way.

This is last film made with Wright, Pegg, Frost, and Park all working together. They did make a fake movie trailer for when Grindhouse came out for a movie called “Don’t” which is a play on the whole ‘don’t’ horror-movie-sub-genre. I would love it if this film got made. Everyone keep their fingers crossed and write in or tweet to Pegg and\or Wright requesting it get made. You can see the trailer here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VLe8sVRumw

 

Zombie Movie Review (28) of the Week: Simon Pegg Week: Day 2: Shaun of the Dead

“How’s that for a slice of fried-gold?”

Shaun of the Dead. To put it simply, this is a fecking masterpiece! There are those out there that think Pegg made this film to make fun of Romero movies. Quite the contrary. I admit that it is a parody and a satire but to paraphrase the great Mel Brooks “to truly parody something you must love it” And Simon Pegg loves George Romero and especially loves Dawn of the Dead (1978). He even has several chapters in his book Nerd Do Well mostly about zombies and Romero.

Shaun of the Dead is about a slacker and his companions trying to survive a zombie infested London. Shaun is for all intents and purposes essentially the same character as Tim from Spaced. In fact, he could have easily written the movie as part of the show with all the same character. The film is produced, directed, and for the most part, stars, the same people who produced, directed, and starred in Spaced. Shaun=Tim, Ed=Mike, Yvonne=Daisy, Pete=Dwayne. Peter Serafinowicz is just great at playing dicks. His words, not mine, but I have to agree with him. He does a great job as Dwayne and Pete.

Shaun is not having the greatest of days. His girlfriend of five years as just left him, his best friend only holds him back and is usually the cause of all Shaun’s problems, and he is stuck at a dead-end job.

The film uses a clever blend of irony, foreshadowing, and puns to give the film a nice circular feel and comedy about it. For example, the night before the shit really hits the fan, Shaun writes down all the things he needs to do the next day which are to go visit his mom, get his girlfriend (Liz) back, and sort out his life. Funny enough, because of the zombies, he accomplishes all these things; mostly protect the ones he cares about. Also part of this blend relies heavily on dialogue; lines certain characters said to another are used in reverse later in several situations.

Shaun is not actually a hero. Well, he is and he is not. He would have been more successful if Ed did not keep fecking up everything, and really most of the causes of death can be related back to some of Ed’s earlier selfish actions. Even Pegg says it in his book, that Shaun is not a hero per se, just a guy, trying to do the best he can with what he has and trying to protect the ones he loves. He is not the smartest guy, and he is certainly not the strongest or trained in any field of survival of combat and yes, by this description, Shaun is not a Hollywood action or horror hero. However, to my mind, all the qualities make him a true hero because even though by all rights he could have been killed at any time, he tried his hardest and did some very brave things.

Shaun of the Dead also has a really nice look to it. Wright is great with directing. The film uses quick montages as in close up flashes of related things such as getting ready in the morning, giving it an action movie feel.

Despite it being primarily a comedy, the movie is still a horror film. Now most people will not be ‘horrified’ as such by the film but (!SPOILER!) likable characters do die and the zombies are really fecking realistic esp. compared to other zombie films that came out around the same time. In fact, I would go so far as to say that I prefer the look of the Shaun of the Dead zombies to the look of the zombies in Romero’s Land of the Dead, and Pegg’s zombies are based right off Romero zombies.

This is why this film is more of homage to Romero rather than an insult. This is essentially Pegg’s love letter to Romero. The zombies are only ever as fast as Bill Hinzman (the cemetery zombie) is in the original Night of the Living Dead, which is also the rule that The Walking Dead uses. The make-up in Shaun is fecking fantastic! These are some of the best zombies I have ever seen next to The Walking Dead zombies.

The film also references Romero’s films constantly, taking elements from Night, Dawn, Day, and the 90’ remake of N.o.t.L.D. The music that opens the film before the camera cuts to the pub is from the scene in Dawn of the Dead where they land the helicopter at the airfield. Shaun’s mother is named Barbra and when Shaun and Ed call her to tell her they are on their way and she argues with them, Ed yells into the phone “We’re coming to get you Barbra” referencing that famous line from Night of the Living Dead (1968). The music that plays during Shaun’s rescue-run-through is the fighting music from Dawn of the Dead. Later when Shaun and Ed start throwing stuff at the zombies in their yard, the end credits music from Night of the Living Dead (1990) plays in the background. Then towards the end climax of the film when they all are acting like zombies, Shaun acts like ‘Bub’ from Day of the Dead, which is in fact his favorite zombie ever. Finally, at the end of the film when Shaun is flipping thru the channels and gets to the game show about zombies trying to grab meat, the game music is mimicking the Gonk music that is from Dawn of the Dead.

There is also a reference to Spaced when they are running from the apartment; the music playing was used several times in Spaced. Of course, that could just be because they already had the rights to the music.

When Pegg was growing up he loved movies, and he still does. When he first saw Dawn of the Dead, he fell in love with it. It was the European cut version so there was not much gore but he would later see the U.S version as well as Romero’s other films.

Romero clearly appreciates the film that Pegg and Wright made. Although he was not aware that they might cameo in Land of the Dead, when asked at a press conference if he was considering it he just said something like “sure, I guess, why not?” Which goes to the laid back nature of Romero who is always open to suggestion for his films—he loves input. So, the nest time you watch Land of the Dead look out for Pegg and Wright. They are the zombies a person can get their picture taken with and Pegg got to use the mold that made Bub’s mask which made him ecstatic. In addition, Romero had Pegg do a voice cameo in my personal favorite of his zombie films, Diary of the Dead; listen closely to all the various newscasters throughout the film and you will spot him.

The Winchester pub is actually based off the tavern Pegg used to always hang out at and formed a relationship with the owners whose names were John and Bernie which are the names for the characters who own the Winchester. Shaun also mentions the pubs weekly quiz in the film, which is also taken from the real-life pub

Coldplay has a cameo in the movie as the band that is working with “Zomb-Aid” and in fact, Pegg did work with Coldplay for a little while.

Finally, there is a great message in the film. The film goes back to one of Romero’s old messages about how we are essentially zombies anyway. Watch the beginning of the film and look at all the people you see. They all end up as zombies you see later on but it is filmed in a way that they already look or act like zombies. The famous line from the 90’ remake of N.o.t.L.D “they’re us and we’re them” or the whole monologue in Dawn about how people are drawn to a mall. So, this horror-comedy comes with a philosophical message which makes it even more awesome

I give Shaun of the Dead 5 out of 5 stars. This movie turned me on to Pegg and kick-started my journey into zombie obsession.

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 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: My Name is Khan

 “My name is Khan, and I am not a terrorist”

I just got done watching one of the greatest movies I have ever seen and that is saying something. There is so much I want to say about the film I just hope to remember to say everything. In addition, I really do not know where to start…I guess with some sort of introduction. Sorry, I am still thinking about the film and trying to organize these thoughts.

Ok, My Name is Khan is a Bollywood film, and like all Bollywood films it is a longer than the average film (clocking in at 2 hours and 41 minutes) and has at least one musical montage and one scene where someone is dancing, even if it is for a few seconds. However, the length is not problem—and this is coming from someone with ADHD. You hardly notice 3 hours have passed by because the film is so compelling and entertaining. Every minute of this film has you either laughing, crying, or clenching your fists. For those of you, who do not like subtitled movies, fear not, the movie is primarily English; however, at least a third of the film is not.

The film follows the exploits of a Muslim man with aspergers (a higher functioning type of autism) in much the same style of Forrest Gump, except this is much better (and I like Forrest Gump), named Rizvan Khan. Most of the film does not take place in the present but rather in linear flashbacks following important events of Khan’s life that led up to his trek across the country. He is trying to meet the President (Bush) to say to him “Hello. My name is Khan, and I am not a terrorist”. I know when I do these reviews I usually have a less obvious quote from the film; however, this is the most important line in the whole film. He seeks to do this because his wife told him to. The reason his wife told him to do this is after a hate crime that I will not give away, his wife, angry, depressed, and distraught, yells to him to go tell the President he is not a terrorist.

This all is related to the events of 9/11 and all that followed.

The flashbacks are of Khan as a child and the wonderful and important lessons she taught him, his coming to America to work for his brother, falling in love with a hairdresser, and being the best father he could be.

I guess it is easier to talk about bad films because there is always so much to complain about. I thought I would have more to say about this movie and I do have more, I just thought the review would be longer.

There are so many messages and themes going on but none of them distract from each other. There is the theme of course of understanding the mentally ill and that they are still people not to be feared and that in some cases they are better people than the rest of the world. There is the message of tolerance and acceptance of those who are different because of race, religion, etc. This all relates to the main overarching theme of being less judgmental, more tolerant and understanding, and less hateful. Another message is to help ones fellow human being when he\she need it.

The music in the movie was more often than not effective. However, there were times that it just felt out of place. The cinematography is brilliant. The use of camera angles and lightly worked well. Also the acting was wonderful, even the kid actors did good jobs. Especially, Shah Rukh Khan (Rizvan Khan) who does a tremendous performance of someone with that type of aspergers. It is a realistic and positive portrayal of a someone who has this developmental disability.

Now I want to go a little off track and talk about some of the more serious aspects and messages of the film and greater detail. If you would like to just know how I rate the film, just scroll down to the end.

There is one thing I would like to talk about—the thinking that Islam is the most violent religion in the world. At one point in the film, after 9.11, a teacher actually says this to her class. I would like to take a moment to debunk this myth.

Nowhere in the Quran does it say to kill innocents by the thousands. My point is that it is not part of most sects of the religion to support the wholesale murder of people regardless of those people’s beliefs and opinions. Islam is a branch of the same tree that Christianity and Judaism are branches of. Allah is just another word for God—the same God I might add, that is referred to in the Tanakh (the first half of the Bible) as well as in the Gospels (the second part of the Bible). Like all religions, Islam has its extremists. In fact, if one really wanted to define the most violent religion on Earth, I am sad to say that it would be my own, Christianity (in general). Christianity is not supposed to be a violent religion, but a religion of peace, just like Islam and a great many other religions. However, people blinded by their own petty opinions of people use the name of God, and passages for the Bible to justify the horrible things that they do. Just as the terrorists of 9.11 did this, so have countless Christians. I can even paint a picture of events and groups fronted by Christians. Off the top of my head I can think of: The Holocaust, the Crusades, the Salem Witch Trials, the Spanish Inquisition, the witch hunts of Western Europe, the Ku Klux Klan, the Christian Fundamentalists who blow up abortion clinics and murder doctors who perform abortions—just to name a few. I am ashamed to call myself a Christian when people calling themselves Christians to horrible things like these. It is so hypocritical to be so hateful and violent and then call yourself a Christian. An old Christian hymn is titled “They Will Know We are Christians by our Love”. My point is that just because people do things or say things in the name of their religion, does not mean they speak for every member of that faith or for the original meanings, intents, and purposes, of those groups. They certainly do not speak for me.

I hope the above paragraph did not offend anyone. If I have gotten any facts wrong, please leave a comment on this page and I will fix it post haste. If I have offended anyone who is a member of the violent groups for calling you ignorant, arrogant, or hypocrites, that is just my opinion of you. What else would you call someone who claims to be a member of a faith that professes love and peace who goes out being cruel to people?

I am more concerned with potentially offending the people I am trying be on the same page with. So if I have, tell me ASAP. It is possible I phrased something badly so that even though my intentions are good, what I have said could be perceived as bad

The film was fantastic. It had thrills, chills, scares, drama, comedy, romance, and even a bit of action. Like I said the film made me cry, laugh, and clench my teeth. The film has everything, from several socio-political messages and invoking several emotional states to great acting and cinematography. With its length and its plot, it is more like an en epic tale than a film! I have fallen in love with this film and will be purchasing it the next chance I get. I give this film 6 out of 5 stars—and do not tell me that is impossible, I do not care—the movie is just that awesome. Thank you Hawa for showing this to us.

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.