2020 JUSTIN NEWBOULD (3rd Annual) CHRISTMAS CHAOS

[odessasteps]

The Blackadder Xmas Special.

[Travis Sheldon]

6 hours ago, tbarrie said:

I'm dying to know what an "anti-It's A Wonder Life twist" is. She's shown how much better the world would be without her in it?

I'm trying to avoid being super-spoilery with my reviews these days.

My anti-Its' A Wonderful Life reference basically meant in that film George was shown how things would be without him and it wasn't trauma inducing (IMO).

But in One Magic Christmas, Ginny gets an emotional avalanche dropped on her for the change to happen. (Not a literal avalanche.)

 

[RIPPA]

BONUS SELECTION

(Reviewed by @Execproducer)

LAST CHRISTMAS (PAUL FEIG, 2019)

IMDB : ROTTEN TOMATOES (47/81)
 
I was going to do this as a bonus last year but I didn't make it to the theater and it didn't make it to streaming until after Christmas. I did manage to go the whole year without learning anymore about it than I knew then. It was a romcom, it starred Emilia Clarke as a character with an illness, it was the latest in a string of films in which a real-life musical artist's work is key to the film, in this case George Michael, and it had a very mixed reception. Oh, and Michelle Yeoh was in the cast. Sold!!!
 
Film opens in a church in the former Yugoslavia, 1999. A choir is performing George Michael's Heal The Pain. Young Katrina (Madison Ingoldsby) is the soloist and she has star written all over her, like a minute and a half in and I'm ready to buy the soundtrack. Katrina's Mother, father, and sister are in the audience and there is a bit of foreshadowing going on. Before the song ends we fade to a pub in London, 2017, where older Kate (Emilia Clarke)  is hanging out by a jukebox reliving her glory days. She is a George Michael loving hot mess, easily picked up by some random dude with a lame spiel and an out of town girlfriend. She has also burnt yet another bridge and finds herself temporarily in between couches to sleep on, so there is that. Girlfriend returns home early while douchebag is off to the market and finds Kate in the shower. Thinking quickly, Kate claims to be the plumber but girlfriend isn't buying it and Kate is unceremoniously kicked to the curb.
 
In between auditions, Kate works at a year-round Christmas store as a sales girl/elf.  Her boss, Santa (A luminous, magnificent Michelle Yeoh!) can barely contain her disapproval of what Kate has become. It seems before an as yet undisclosed illness that occurred the previous year at Christmas, Kate was a model employee at the store with a promising future as a singer. Now she is barely holding on to her job, blowing auditions,  avoiding her family and alienating all that care about her. While in the process of doing her job badly, she spots Tom (Henry Golding) outside of the shop and looking up at the sky. Curious, she goes outside to see what he is looking at. Tom points out a hawk perched on a girder. Hawk shits in Kate's eye. Tom and Kate have now met the romcom requirement to meet cute. Tom takes a personal interest in Kate's well-being while resisting her eventual romantic overtures. Still, as she continues to fuck up (Losing yet another couch to sleep on, forgetting to lock up the store, leading it to be robbed and vandalized, damaging her already strained relationship with her sister, etc) , Tom remains the one constant good thing in her life, even if he does have the odd habit of disappearing for days at a time. Tom's unconditional acceptance of her slowly draws her out of her shell and she begins to improve her own situation by helping others and reconnecting with her friends and family.  One night at his apartment Kate opens up to him and  we learn the exact nature of her illness and how it has impacted her life. They share a kiss.

Troubled that Kate depends upon him too much, Tom attempts to make a revelation of his own but Kate pushes him away, believing that he wants to end their relationship. Later when she returns to his apartment we get a big twist that, to me anyway, feels completely unearned. I've seen people say it was predictable. And yeah, there are points where you can rewatch it and go "That makes sense!" but nothing that is out of place without the twist.  I guess, being steeped in 70's cinema, I thought I was watching Love Story or The Other Side of the Mountain. I didn't realize I was actually watching....

Spoiler

The Sixth Sense.

Still, I just accepted it and moved on because I really liked this film. Clarke and Golding are both great. Clarke is a good enough singer to make it work. Emma Thompson, who co-wrote the story with her husband and apparently began developing the idea with George Michael before his death, also appears as Kate's mother, who likes to be the center of attention but fears the KGB coming to her door. Andrew Ridgely has a cameo. And of course Michelle Yeoh, the glue that holds the whole thing together. This one makes my permanent Christmas rotation.

Spoiler

Spoiler

 

[RIPPA]

I will say just reading that and then rewatching the trailer.

You can totally tell

I am wondering if that is why the critic reviews are so bad... outside the critics being big meanies

[Execproducer]

I'll have to watch the trailer later to see what it shows. Critics are big meanies but I just may not be as sharp as I'd like to believe.

 

[RIPPA]

I freely admit there could be a large amount of confirmation bias going on too

[Execproducer]

I will say that....

Spoiler

....thinking back on it, Tom basically only shows up when she has a pressing need....learning to ice skate, a place to sleep, etc. I guess you could extrapolate that he's a ghost from that though it could just as easily be story-telling  convenience that most films engage in.  It's not like he was wearing the same clothing all of the time. 

I still really like the movie. It's a romcom, it's supposed to be nonsensical.  

Edited December 19, 2020 by Execproducer

[tbarrie]

16 hours ago, odessasteps said:

The Blackadder Xmas Special.

That was an anti-Christmas Carol twist, not an anti-Wonderful Life twist, wasn't it? Or was there more than one?

[odessasteps]

That's why I put the smiley. 

[Raziel]

So, I had mine written out, and had thought.  The movie deserved more than I gave it.  So I'm redoing it.  Should be in Monday/Tuesday.  

[RIPPA]

Quick update - my movie doesn't air on TV until tomorrow (Tuesday). I thought it was tonight. I wanted to rewatch it to see if I had anymore to say.

I will fill with bonus reviews in the meantime.

[RIPPA]

LOVELY, STILL (Nicholas Fackler, 2008)

IMDB : ROTTEN TOMATOES (73/75)

SELECTED BY @S.K.o.S. two years ago

ORIGINALLY ASSIGNED TO @CSC

REVIEWED BY @Execproducer

First things first. If you have an elderly relative who is struggling with dementia or Alzheimer's, this might not be the movie for you. It is a fantastic film and possibly a cathartic watch, but parts of it are truly harrowing. It is hard to talk about the film without giving anything away but I'll be as vague as possible. Robert (Martin Landau) lives alone with no apparent family or friends in his life. He wraps a present for himself and puts it under his Christmas tree. He works as a bagger at a grocery store where he is being stalked by Mary (Ellen Burstyn) who watches Robert draw during his breaks. One night Robert walks home from work and finds his door open and Mary inside. Mary, who it turns out lives across the street with her daughter, tells Robert she found the door open and was concerned so she went inside. Robert starts to chase her off but something compels him to ask for her name and so they are formally introduced. Mary shows up the next day to check on him and impulsively asks him out on a date. Slightly overwhelmed but already infatuated with Mary, Robert accepts. Since Mary will be driving...you'll see why Robert doesn't...she tells him to choose where they'll eat. Robert goes to his boss, Mike (Adam Scott) for dating advice. Mike, who has already made an effort to befriend Robert, is only too happy to help.

As Mary prepares for their date, her daughter Alex (Elizabeth Banks) is not onboard with this development fearing her mother is setting herself up to be hurt. Mike's choice of restaurant isn't a hit but they have a great night anyway and start a budding relationship with Mary eager to spend every possible moment together. With Christmas just days away, Robert wants to get Mary the perfect gift and again enlists Mike's help. They go on a shopping spree that ends when Robert finds a snow globe that he believes is the perfect gift for Mary. He later tells Mary that he has never spent a Christmas with anyone before. By the time they get to Christmas though, things will start to unravel.

There is a big reveal late in the film but I wouldn't call it a twist. The film gives you plenty of clues with just an occasional bit of misdirection. Once they go to a Christmas Eve party, you'll probably have it mostly worked out. Film ends on a sad but graceful note.

It isn't news to anyone that Martin Landau was a great actor. He gives a haunting performance here but while he has the showier role, it is the Great Ellen Burstyn (also not news) whose performance anchors the film and rewards a second viewing. Adam Scott and Elizabeth Banks are both good in their parts. In a "Oh, no shit, it's him " role, Leo Fitzpatrick has a brief scene as a pharmacist. As far as I can tell, this is the first and only feature film for Nik Fackler who also wrote it.

Spoiler

 

[RIPPA]

Just now, RIPPA said:

First things first. If you have an elderly relative who is struggling with dementia or Alzheimer's, this might not be the movie for you. 

Whelp - won't be watching this for awhile

[RIPPA]

LOVE, ACTUALLY (Richard Curtis, 2003)

 

IMDB : ROTTEN TOMATOES (64/72)

SELECTED BY @Raziel

I love this movie, fuck it, I have no other reason, everyone should watch it.

AT THE MOMENT UNFILTERED REVIEW BY RIPPA

Love, Actually is not the greatest Christmas movie of all time.

Fuck off Millennials

Well... that's that review sorted.

 

CONTEXT TO THAT BY RIPPA

It is impossible at the moment (at least for the last few years), to escape the over-analysis of Love, Actually. And for some reason this was the year that pushed me past my breaking point. I tend to recoil at most of the pop culture "things" the last 20 years and that is more due to the internet forcing me to adopt the Rule of Rippa ("I hate the fans of the things I love"). It really more is "I hate they were aren't allowed to enjoy things in our own time and in our own way and you must have a binary LOVE/HATE answer and the loss of nuance to any and all discussion"

Anyway - I mean just the last few weeks I have seen

And then on the flip side

The Case Against Love Actually

Love Actually Ruined Christmas

Anyway - this is a shit year and shitty things are going on at the moment and I need to deal with this sometime next week otherwise it is going to truly be an unfair hate watch.

Except Hugh Grant. He always and forever can fuck off.

[Curt McGirt]

I tried to watch Krampus earlier today but the family was so irritating and/or loathsome that I just turned it off and dumped it from the DVR. Starting with Bing Crosby over footage of people Rage-shopping didn't help. 

Did find something else though, and that is something called Silent Night Bloody Night with Mary Woronov! And there is also some Joe Bob I could review. We'll see how tonight goes (we always open everything on the Eve). 

[AxB]

On 12/19/2020 at 3:05 PM, RIPPA said:

BONUS SELECTION

(Reviewed by @Execproducer)

LAST CHRISTMAS (PAUL FEIG, 2019)

Watched this tonight (wanted to wait until after XMas so I didn't lose Whammaggeddon*), but I totally guessed the twist based on the trailer. I'm really the last person who should be watching this movie, given that I don't like George Michael's music and am utterly resistant to anything heart warming.  Also, a lot of the critics not liking it is because it's set in a version of London that is very fake and touristy, and the critics live in the real-life London, that's all black hearted and cynical. Lots of people in this movie have friendly interactions with complete strangers... that doesn't happen in London. You're a few hundred miles too far South, there.

* I'm on a three year streak. And it doesn't actually start until December 1st, so I'm still good for 2021.

[Execproducer]

On 1/1/2021 at 3:41 PM, AxB said:

Watched this tonight (wanted to wait until after XMas so I didn't lose Whammaggeddon*), but I totally guessed the twist based on the trailer. I'm really the last person who should be watching this movie, given that I don't like George Michael's music and am utterly resistant to anything heart warming.  Also, a lot of the critics not liking it is because it's set in a version of London that is very fake and touristy, and the critics live in the real-life London, that's all black hearted and cynical. Lots of people in this movie have friendly interactions with complete strangers... that doesn't happen in London. You're a few hundred miles too far South, there.

* I'm on a three year streak. And it doesn't actually start until December 1st, so I'm still good for 2021.

Not being able to unsee the film, I don't know if I could have guessed the twist from that trailer but I doubt it. The only actual clues in the film are...

Spoiler

...Tom making goofy moves in public that fail to get any reaction from passerby's. But in the act of not reacting to him, they aren't noticing Kate either* so it isn't much of a clue. We only find out that her heart problem actually required a transplant shortly before the twist so there isn't anything to make you suppose he was the donor until she goes back to the apartment. His bed being neatly made isn't exactly revealing, at least to us Yanks. We naturally assume a proper British gentleman is an anal-retentive neat freak.  

*Except for the dudes watching her change in the doorway but they also present Tom as clearly bungling his efforts to shield her so I'd call that a fake clue even though it is one of the moments they flashback to during the twist.

But as I said, I may just not be as clever as I think. I'm also not a very big George Michael fan but I thought they integrated the music into the story fairly well. It's definitely a film designed to push emotional buttons on cue which, while I wouldn't want a steady diet of it, is occasionally worth my time.

And Michelle Yeoh. 

[Curt McGirt]

I would projectile vomit watching that film

[RIPPA]

I think @Razielnot reviewing his movie is revenge for me hating Love, Actually

[Raziel]

It's more an issue of not deciding yet how to write it, because I both appreciate the movie for existing, but want to strangle Mark for giving this out as a "Christmas" movie when it's less of one than Die Hard.

[odessasteps]

Didn't my movie get reviewed already? 

[Raziel]

Fuck, I meant Exec.  Sorry.

[RIPPA]

CHRISTMAS ADJACENT~!

[odessasteps]

Are we doing the Ernie Ladd this year?

[RIPPA]

20 minutes ago, odessasteps said:

Are we doing the Ernie Ladd this year?

No

Next will be Kung Fu if and when Exec decides to run it