Cindy Prascik's Holiday Wrap-up Part II: The Christmas Ball, A Boy Called Christmas & Father Christmas is Back

My dear reader(s), as promised, in part two of my holiday viewing wrapup, we will take a look at some seasonal offerings. Expectations for this sort of movie aren't necessarily the same as other movies, so I shall make every effort to distinguish between seasonal frivolity and avoidable stupidity.

Since Christmas films are so often cut from the same cloth, I'm not sure it's possible to spoil much here, but I'll do my best to keep it generic.

First on my holiday agenda: The Christmas Ball.

Following a disappointing development on the job front, a Boston ballerina agrees to spend Christmas in England with her favorite aunt.

Anyone who knows me in real life, and probably anyone who's ever read a word I've written here, will know I avoid romance like the plague. However, when a holiday romance features one, two, three, FOUR people who have been on Midsomer Murders, including the reigning DS, well, my hand has been forced.

The Christmas Ball is a by-the-numbers holiday romance, complete with independent woman not looking for love, handsome stranger ripe for the picking, and even a perfectly festive castle. The movie ticks along entirely as expected, silly but inoffensive, but a couple things got under my skin: First, the main character has to be early- to mid-40s if she's a day. While I'm sure somewhere there's a ballerina still dancing lead at that age, I'd guess it's not the norm. She also parks on the couch with a handy tin of shortbread cookies, which also seems unrealistic for a professional dancer. As innocently dumb as the rest is, that kind of lazy stupidity is frustrating.  Still, Nick Hendrix is so handsome and charming it's easy to forgive the rest, it's always lovely to see Caroline Langrishe and Richard Lintern, and the castle setting is stunning.

The Christmas Ball runs a quick 90 minutes and is rated PG13.

The Christmas Ball is a benign bit of holiday cheer that might cost you a few brain cells, but the appealing cast makes it watchable. Of a possible nine Weasleys, the Christmas Ball gets four.

The Christmas Ball premiered Christmas Eve on Lifetime, and is now available via Lifetime On Demand.

Next up: A Boy Called Christmas.

A Father Christmas origins story.

A Boy Called Christmas boasts a delightful cast, including youngster Henry Lawfull (fantastic as the titular boy), Joel Fry, Michiel Huisman, Jim Broadbent, Stephen Merchant, Toby Jones, Sally Hawkins, and the always wonderful Maggie Smith. Sets, costumes, and music are simply magical, and well suited to a tale that, like the holiday itself, is special even when it's not precisely joyful. The picture is set (and partially filmed) in stunning Finnish Lapland, and there's even a little twist that I didn't see coming. A social/political message is sometimes inelegantly delivered, but A Boy Called Christmas is so charming you probably won't mind.

A Boy Called Christmas clocks in at 106 minutes and is rated PG for "peril, action, and thematic elements."

A Boy Called Christmas is a sweet holiday tale that's suitable for the whole family. Of a possible nine Weasleys, a Boy Called Christmas gets eight.

A Boy Called Christmas is now streaming on Netflix.

My final (I think) bit of holiday fare for this season was Father Christmas is Back.

Four warring sisters reluctantly reunite for Christmas, and find the holiday full of surprises.

I was drawn to Father Christmas is Back by yet another cast full of my British mystery favorites. I'll not soon forgive them for it.

Father Christmas is Back is predictable, but not in the harmless way of The Christmas Ball. It's brash and offensive and lacks even the tiniest bit of genuine holiday cheer. The four sisters range from irritating to downright grotesque, and most of the characters in their orbit are equally awful. Kris Marshall, Caroline Quentin, and Ray Fearon provide some tolerable respite, but they are very much on the periphery. The story holds no surprises, and its familiar turns are annoying rather than comfortable. I struggle to imagine how Kelsey Grammer's agent talked him into this one, truly. One character's obsession with the Beatles at least gave me something to look forward to, since the Fab Four's names came up a number of times, but honestly the only thing I really got out of this one was annoyance with myself for wasting the time. 

Father Christmas is Back runs 105 minutes and is rated PG13 for "sexually suggestive material and some language."

Father Christmas is Back will make you wish you'd stayed away. Of a possible nine Weasleys, Father Christmas is Back gets two.

Father Christmas is Back is now streaming on Netflix.

My dear reader(s), I hope you all have found peace and joy in these December holidays, and that 2022 will be a happier and calmer year for us all.

Until next time...

Cindy Prascik's Reviews of Paddington 2 & Den of Thieves

Dearest Blog: Yesterday it was off to Marquee Cinemas for a pair of heist movies: Paddington 2 and Den of Thieves. (Find another review that makes *that* connection if you can!)

Spoiler level here will be mild, nothing you wouldn't know from the trailers.

First on my agenda: Paddington 2.

When dear Paddington is wrongly jailed for robbery, it's up to the Browns to find the real thief.

Paddington was a lovely surprise, a "children's" movie that turned out to be so much more. If there's any surprise to the greatness of Paddington 2, it's only that it's even better than the first.

Like its predecessor, much of Paddington 2's charm can be credited to its phenomenal cast. Hugh Bonneville, Sally Hawkins, Jim Broadbent, Julie Walters, and Brendan Gleeson are in top form, and Hugh Grant is an absolute delight as the film's narcissistic villain. The plot of Paddington 2 doesn't hold many twists, but it doesn't need them; its execution is so sweet and funny that predictability is easily forgiven. The movie is beautifully filmed, with a special nod to the animated pop-up book sequences, a true delight from start to finish. Stay tuned for a great musical number at the end!

Paddington 2 runs 104 minutes and is rated PG for "some action and mild rude humor."

In an increasingly ugly world, I'm grateful for the joyful beauty of Paddington.

Of a possible nine Weasleys, Paddington 2 gets all nine. (Yes, I'm throwing down a nine in January. 2018, you've got your work cut out for you.)

Fangirl points: Joanna Lumley! Ben Whishaw! Peter Capaldi! Ben Miller! Richard Ayoade!

Next on the docket: Den of Thieves.

LA's top cops face off with a legendary heist crew. Many shootings and f-words ensue.

Dear reader(s), my anticipation for Den of Thieves could not have been higher, and I want you to know from the bottom of my heart: I LOVE THIS MOVIE. It may not be the cleverest or the best from any technical standpoint, but, damn, it's everything I'd hoped it would be.

Den of Thieves wastes no time getting started with a fast and loud robbery and chase. From there, it quiets down surprisingly often, lending some time to backstory and...wait for it...planning. Like actual thinking. Yes, Den of Thieves is smarter than I expected. Understand the Smart Bar had been set very, VERY low, but still...I liked that it threw me a little curve, and in more ways than just Gerard Butler pondering his life choices. Den of Thieves weaves a tense tale, as the crafty robbers and no-rules cops attempt to out-fox each other. The bad-good guys are headed up by Butler, and his usual meathead act is quite perfect here. The bad-bad guys have Pablo Schreiber and O'Shea Jackson, Jr. turning in very nice performances with--dare I suggest it?--a fair bit of depth. Den of Thieves runs a hair too long and might have been better served by trimming some unnecessary subplot, but the movie takes a few turns I didn't expect and saves its best surprises for the finale.

Den of Thieves clocks in at 140 minutes and is rated R for "violence, language, and some sexuality/nudity."

Plopped squarely in the middle of all the pretentiousness of Awards Season, Den of Thieves is a sweary, testosterone-soaked action picture that is exactly what it means to be.

Of a possible nine Weasleys, Den of Thieves gets eight.

Until next time...

Cindy Prascik's Review of Brooklyn

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dearest Blog: Awards Season means sacrifices. 

 

Anyone who suffered through Boyhood can tell you that. Thus, yesterday I found myself at the icky cinema where my feet stick to the floor and the toilets never work to catch Brooklyn before Star Wars chases it out of town for good.

 

Spoiler level here will be mild, probably nothing you wouldn't know from the trailers if you've seen any, which I haven't.

 

A young Irish girl seeks opportunity in 1950s Brooklyn.

 

A list of the sort of films I most despise would look something like this:

 

1.) Movies about women;

 

2.) Movies for women;

 

3.) Movies by women;

 

4.) Movies about romance;

5.) Movies where nothing blows up.

 

Brooklyn is most of those things, but, somehow, I liked it anyway.

 

Brooklyn manages to tell its love story sans the manufactured angst that dumbs down most romances to a Nicholas Sparks level. 

 

The movie is an effective reminder of a time when going away meant *really* being apart from everyone and everything you knew and loved...no Facebook or Skype for keeping up with the folks back home. The heartache is palpable, as is the joy at finding that special someone that turns a new place into "home." 

 

Sincere, engaging performances by Saoirse Ronan and Emory Cohen, and fantastic supporting turns by Julie Walters and Jim Broadbent, make it easy to see why this little love story is considered one of the year's best pictures.

 

Brooklyn clocks in at 111 minutes and is rated PG13 for "a scene of sexuality and brief strong language." 

 

A romance that could make me forget I hate romances, Brooklyn is a wonder to behold. 

 

Of a possible nine Weasleys, Brooklyn gets seven and a half.

 

Until next time...

MOVIE REVIEW: CLOUD ATLAS

IN THEATERS

CLOUD ATLAS



Directors Tom Tykwer, Andy Wachowski, and Lana Wachowski team up to helm this adaptation of David Mitchell's popular novel Cloud Atlas. The trio have put together an all-star cast, including Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Jim Broadbent, and Hugh Grant, to play various characters over the course of several different historical time periods. The various narrative threads weave in and out of each other, painting a portrait of mankind's quest for tolerance and peace throughout the ages. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

Director: Andy Wachowski, Lana Wachowski, Tom Tykwer

Cast: Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Jim Broadbent, Hugo Weaving, Jim Sturgess, Doona Bae, Ben Whishaw, Huge Grant, Keith David

Release Date: Oct 26, 2012

Rated R for violence, Language, Some Drug Use and Sexuality/Nudity

Runtime: 2 hr. 52 min.

Genres: Drama, Suspense/Thriller

Review:

The Wachowski’s and Tom Tykwer’s Cloud Atlas is truly an accomplishment. The film is a blending and mixing of genres and stories across space and time done with incredible ease. The experience is jarring at first but utterly engrossing after it settles in your mind. Various themes are interwoven into the multiple story threads display the level of intricacy at work. The assembled cast made up of A-listers and character actors attack their multiple roles with a noticeable vigor and range. Each actor or actress is given plenty time to shine in one interaction or another with Doona Bae being the biggest surprise overall, simply because she’s the least known. There are some characters that play actors incredibly against type and other that layer them in drag or heavy prosthetics to change their appearance. Cloud Atlas’s biggest positive is it’s boldness of sprit, even with the various genres at play it achieves a strong emotion link with the audience which will be readily apparent by the film’s end. At nearly 3 hours, the film moves at a steady pace but rarely feels overlong which is a good thing since it’s the type of film that will require multiple viewings to catch every nuance.

A

Movie Reviews: HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF BLOOD PRINCE

Sunday, July 19, 2009
Movie Reviews: HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF BLOOD PRINCE
IN THEATERS

HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF BLOOD PRINCE

Voldemort is tightening his grip on both the Muggle and wizarding worlds and Hogwarts is no longer the safe haven it once was. Harry suspects that dangers may even lie within the castle, but Dumbledore is more intent upon preparing him for the final battle that he knows is fast approaching. Together they work to find the key to unlock Voldemort’s defenses and, to this end, Dumbledore recruits his old friend and colleague, the well-connected and unsuspecting bon vivant Professor Horace Slughorn, whom he believes holds crucial information.


Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Helena Bonham Carter, Jim Broadbent, Robbie Coltrane, Michael Gambon, Alan Rickman


Director: David Yates


Opened ..July 15, 2009..


Runtime: 2 hr. 33 min.


Rated PG for scary images, some violence, language and mild sensuality


Genres: Children's Fantasy, Fantasy Adventure, Fantasy, Children's/Family


Review:





Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince continues the maturation process that started in earnest in The Order of the ....Phoenix..... David Yates crafts an elegant and pensive film that doesn’t shoot for big trills and focuses more the characters and the evolution from children to adulthood. Hormones rage at Hogwarts and the scenes dealing with the trios budding feeling are mostly handled well and delicately. That being said it’s hard to watch this entry into the series and not feel like it’s all set up for the final 2 entries; The Death Hallows is being split into 2 to be released over the next two years. The plot is fairly straight forward if you’ve been following the series and none of the twist or turns are thoroughly shocking or surprising, mainly because they are telegraphed in a fairly obvious manner. Yates still manages to make the events here engaging and manages to put some beautiful imagery on screen. Hogwarts, much like the previous entry, doesn’t carry that fancy and wonder it possessed in the early films. Instead Yates bathes this film in grey and sepia tones throughout, rarely showing any sunlight. The actors also bring more gravitas to the proceeding. Daniel Radcliff brings more confidence to Harry while still maintaining that wide eyed innocence of the early films. Rupert Grint and Emma Watson have both grown into their roles and can now add more subtle character work than before. Grint in particular shows fairly good comedic timing. Michael Gambon as Dumbledore continues to be appropriately fatherly and sagely but is strangely one note in this particularly important entry for his character arch. Alan Rickman once again delivers strong character work in limited screen time. Newcomer to the series Jim Broadbent shines and he uses his vast talent to make his character the most memorable of this entry. Helena Bonham Carter is devilish fun as Bellatrix Lestrange but she gets painfully little screen time to truly shine. As the events in the film come to an end you are left pining for the finale and Yates makes no secret of the fact that this entry is mostly set up as he ends this tales with a sense of meandering melancholy and unresolved issues.





B+