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...

MOVIE REVIEW: CRUELLA

 

A live-action feature film following the evil exploits of Cruella de Vil, the villain from the Disney film, "101 Dalmatians'. 

Director: Craig Gillespie

Cast: Emma Stone, Emma Thompson, Joel Fry, Paul Walter Hauser, Emily Beecham, Kirby Howell-Baptiste, Mark Strong

Release Date: May 28, 2021

Genre: Comedy, Crime

Rated PG-13 for some violence and thematic elements 

Runtime: 2 h 14 min

Review:

Disney's live action remakes haven't been more than cynical cash grabs.  The films themselves have been bland retreads with little to no innovation to justify their existence.  Craig Gillespie's Cruella manages to break the mold by delivering a visual feast for the eyes and story filled with hefty character development and pathos.  Gillespie channels everything from Tim Burton, Lady Gaga, The Devil Wears Prada and even a touch of Cathy Yang's Birds of Prey to create a vibrant dense character study that exceeds all expectations.   It shouldn't work as well as it does and it'll probably bore plenty of the smaller kids expecting something much lighter and funnier.  Gillespie's direction is impressive but it wouldn't work as well as it does if it weren't for spectacular turns by Emma Stone and Emma Thompson.  Both are clearly having a blast glamping it up as the dueling fashionista with their interactions being the high points of the film.  It's be easy to go broad and coast through the film and it'd still be moderately fun but both actresses give their characters so much lived in depth which makes them all the more interesting.  Throw some award winning costumes and it's a feast for movie lovers who enjoy great performances from stars at the top of their game.  The film even manages to give Cruella's sidekicks more depth and characterization than expected with Joel Fry and Paul Walter Hause turning in strong performances as well.  Once the film ends you are sort of left gobsmacked by the quality of the entire production as your reminded this is still a Disney production which started with the most basic of intentions.  Sure it could have used a few trims here and there but the cast and crew all rise above their trappings to deliver something devilishly delightful.

A-

MOVIE REVIEW: IN THE EARTH

 

As the world searches for a cure to a devastating virus, a scientist and a park scout venture deep into the woods. As night falls, their journey becomes a terrifying voyage through the heart of darkness as the forest comes to life around them.

Director: Ben Wheatley

Cast: Joel Fry, Reece Shearsmith, Hayley Squires, Ellora Torchia, John Hollingworth, Mark Monero

Release Date: April 16, 2021

Genre: Horror

Rated R for strong violent content, grisly images, and language

Runtime: 1 h 40 min

Review:

Ben Wheatley’s In The Earth can best be described as a earthbound take on 2001: A Space Odyssey crossed with Conrad’s Heart of Darkness.  It’s the type of horror film that aims to make you uncomfortable to the point where some of the more extreme moments start coming off as a funny as the film moves on.  Those adverse to body horror sequences will probably be better off skipping this feature since it makes heavy use of it.  The story itself feels like a hodgepodge of ideas which used pandemic fears as a starting off point then got progressively stranger as it goes on.  That’s not to say that Wheatley, who also wrote the script, doesn’t have something to say but it’s not a coherent whole.  The latter seems to intentional on Wheatley’s part as he assaults the sense on multiple front’s.  The primary duo of Joel Fry and Ellora Torchia aren’t required to do much except react to what is happening to them.  Reece Shearsmith and Hayley Squires do most of the heavy lifting on the creepy factor but the film isn’t ever scary.  Wheately’s In The Earth is type of film that’ll leave you wondering what you just watched the moments the lights go up, it’s bound to elicit divisive reactions.   

B-