Christmastime Viewings: 2011

Umpteenth Viewing


"You see George, you've really had a wonderful life. Don't you see what a mistake it would be to just throw it away?"

Thoughts: I've seen this movie time and time again, but I never get sick of it. I love it from top to bottom, and I will continue to watch it every Christmas season.

Full review here

First Viewing


"Hello! Welcome to the Muppet Christmas Carol! I am here to tell the story."

Thoughts: I've always loved The Muppets. I can't believe it's taken me so long to watch this movie. It's such a joyous motion picture, with heart and laughs.

Full review here

First Viewing


"Boy, Christmas can sure scare the Dickens out of people."

Thoughts: This is everything you could possibly want from a Christmas B movie. It's fun, campy, very funny and not self-serious. I had a ball with it. Plus the eternally irritating Fran Drescher is brutally murdered in the first scene. I was cheering.

Full review here

First Viewing


"You see Santa Claus tonight you better run boy, you better run for ya life!"

Thoughts: It's an enjoyable slasher from time to time, yeah, but in the long run it's pointless, too vile and callous, and stupid.

Full review here

First Viewing


"A child's been missed!"

Thoughts: I really wanted to love this. I wish it was an instant Christmas classic. After all, it had all the right trappings to become an esteemed entry to the Christmas movie pantheon. What a shame it's so scattershot.

Full review here

First Viewing


"Do you know what this family needs? A mute."

Thoughts: I loved this! It's a great dark comedy, benefitting from witty scripting brought to life by a terrific bunch of actors. It's a total laugh riot.

Full review here

First Viewing


"We will try to welcome her back in, like a civilized family might."

Thoughts: This movie was awful. I had hoped it would be somewhat fun considering the great cast, but it bored me to tears. Plus the characters are unlikable and the film is too contrived to be believed.

Full review here

First Viewing


"Three balls, two sticks, one corked nose. Snowman? No. Much, much more. I am the Wizard of Blizzard!"

Thoughts: Sucked. Boring, overly sentimental and sappy, not very funny, and the snowman looks incredibly creepy.

Full review here

First Viewing


"Happy birthday! Hey, I said my first words. But... But snowmen can't talk. Ha ha ha, come on now, what's the joke? Could I really be alive?"

Thoughts: Er, this sucked. I had heard good things about it and expected a classic piece of Rankin/Bass animation history, but it was soulless, laughless and pointless.

Full review here

First Viewing


"Why am I such a misfit? I am not just a nitwit. Just because my nose glows... why don't I fit in?"

Thoughts: Ah, this was great. A great way to wash out the bad taste left my Frosty. Charming and magical, I had a wonderful time watching this for the first time.

Full review here

First Viewing


"I want you to get married. I want you to have nine children. And if you only spend five minutes a day with each kid, that's forty-five minutes, and I'd at least have time to go out and get a massage or something."

Thoughts: It's very sentimental and syrupy, sure, but I had a lot of fun with this movie.

Full review here

First Viewing


"A merry Christmas, Ebenezer! You old HUMBUG! Oh, and a happy new year! As if you deserved it!"

Thoughts: This was a pretty strong version of the classic tale. Alistair Sim is an exceptional Scrooge.

Full review here

First Viewing


"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."

Thoughts: I hadn't even heard of this one until I saw 1951's Scrooge and learned that Sim reprised his role for this made-for-TV animated special. I'm glad I got the chance to check it out, because it's really good!!

Full review here

First Viewing


"You're on Santa's naughty list!"

Thoughts: I really enjoyed this. For what is essentially a cash-in, it's surprisingly funny and enjoyable. It does everything it needed to do.

Full review here

First Viewing


"Filthy Billy, I know what you did nasty Billy!"

Thoughts: This is a pretty damn good slasher movie. It has honest-to-goodness tension, and characters aren't stupid. But an uplifting festive movie this ain't.

Full review here

First Viewing


"Everyone will be home for Christmas."

Thoughts: Fuck, this movie was just awful...

Full review here

Unknown Viewing Number


"Keep him out of the light, he hates bright light, especially sunlight, it'll kill him. Second, don't give him any water, not even to drink. But the most important rule, the rule you can never forget, no matter how much he cries, no matter how much he begs, never feed him after midnight."

Thoughts: This movie is starting to show its age, but I still had fun with it.

Full review pending

First Viewing


"His wealth is quite useless to him, really. He doesn't do any good with it; he doesn't even make HIMSELF comfortable with it."

Thoughts: Whoa, this was fantastic. I was rather lukewarm towards the highly popular 1951 retelling of the story, but this version has got to be my favourite Christmas Carol retelling. Loved it.

Full review here

First Viewing


"My trouble is Christmas. I just don't understand it. Instead of feeling happy, I feel sort of let down."

Thoughts: I enjoyed this one. Yeah I didn't love it, but it was charming and cute.

Full review here

Second Viewing


"If I could have my way, every idiot who goes about with 'Merry Christmas' on his lips should be boiled in his own pudding, and buried with a stake of holly through his heart!"

Thoughts: Surprisingly, I enjoyed this a lot more during this viewing than I did two years ago. It just gelled a lot more for me. Perhaps the negative reviews blinded me during the film's 2009 theatrical release, as I had no means to view it again. Watching it again (in 3-D) and wanting to view it with an open mind after enduring so many other retellings of the story, I found it more enjoyable, heartfelt and skilful.

Full review here