Categories: Movie and Series Reviews, Comedy

Silent Night (2021) 2.5/5

Categories 2.5/5, Comedy, Movie and Series Reviews, Thriller

Silent Night is a dark holiday drama that throws comedy, apocalyptic tones, and moral themes into a blender. The idea of the movie is interesting, and the cast is here for it, but the inconsistencies in how it is all dealt out—like how some characters get so little development—are what hold the movie back from being any sort of Christmas contender.

Some more commitment to being darkly humored, or to the melodrama it wants to be, would go a long way toward fully appreciating this English countryside slow-caper. The cast is not slouching, as I genuinely wanted to see more from some, but they never quite go far enough.

On the note of dialogue, abundance of expletives do little to fill the rooms here and it doesn’t really convey what I think was intended — a world that is ending, with societal shackles dropped. Especially when the movie flip-flops between the humor of maintaining a clean household and being nonchalant because, well, end of the world.

The staging, the aforementioned English countryside, holds a lot of opportunity but is little more than a place where the movie happens to occur. Silent Night never feels like it takes full advantage of what it has. The initial reveals of the where, who, and what are legitimately interest! This makes it all the more unfortunate that, in the end, the movie feels wasteful. So much promise meets an unfortunate ending that, in the final act, feels forced and sadly unsurprising.

 

Red One (2024) 2.5/5

Categories 2.5/5, Action, Comedy, Movie and Series Reviews

Shining brightest when leaning into unique ideas on mythology, Red One also does little with what it makes. That being said, Kristofer Hivju’s portrayal of Krampus is kind of awesome beyond the rest of the film. Unfortunately, Christmas magic seems to be missing from Red One. Visual effects, while serviceable, drain a lot of the movies energy with their overly abundant presence. You can feel the green screen imposing upon cheer, lurking. Like the sweet-sapping presentation of a “where it all began” sign, hanging off of a CGI creation of Santa’s original workshop.

Dwayne Johnson is Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans is Chris Evans with a little bit of Ryan Reynolds in spirit. Both of the leads are likable, but they do not leave such a mark as to feel attached to the movie in any irreproachable union. Watching Evans get rag-doll thrown around in action sequences feels awkward at times, lacking any special powers, and left me wondering if the film forgot he is not playing Captain America.

The movie is not a pure misfire like the poster would leave you to expect and I would never say it is a lump of coal, but it could be a padding gift at the bottom of a stocking. The originality is mishandled, but somehow the film still sneaks in as average. I credit Krampus and his large hands. If you are into action flicks and mindless holiday viewings, then maybe consider Red One. Just be prepared, because the movie runs about half an hour longer than it deserves.

The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992) 4/5

Categories 4/5, Comedy, Family, Movie and Series Reviews, Musical

Brian Henson, the son of famed Muppets creator Jim Henson, has created one of the best renditions of Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol. It is played for all audiences, but this approach never holds back the movie and it certainly never feels like a movie that is talking down to its audience.

I reviewed another one of Brian Henson’s creations last year for Halloween. Battleground, an episode of the anthology Nightmares & Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King, featured a hitman (William Hurt) locked in an exciting battle with toys. The best episode of the collection by far, it does not surprise me then that The Muppet Christmas Carol is also such a standout. The attention to detail is as rich with the Muppets, as actors and puppet-actors mix effortlessly and with joy.

Michael Caine’s role as Ebenezer Scrooge is also timeless. Caine is just purely delightful to watch, as his eyes and subtleties give life to the well worn shoes. Scrooge grabs onto the characters and world around him and it is sincere and elevates the movie. The face certainly is not the whole movie, but if you are going to be one of the few people-people in front of the camera then it is what you would hope for.

Oh and the sets. They are absolutely charming. The Henson name comes with an expectation, at least in my eyes, to be captivated in a kind of magic for the worlds involved. The Muppet Christmas Carol is no slouch either in this regard as the puppets you expect to see are all standouts. What is even better are the newer characters, creations to fill the three ghosts, as they are striking and fantastic camera tricks make them all the better.

Finally, as a light musical, what would it be if I did not touch on the songs. Paul Williams composed a wonderful assortment of songs that mostly plays well to its setting and feels ripped straight from Dickens pages. In fact, a quick scouring of the internet reveals that this was in fact how Williams went about it, turning the pages and finding the words. Just listen as the song Scrooge opens the film and hear the affection or enjoy the Marley brothers in one of my favorite scenes. I can see some people not connecting with everything, I didn’t, but buying into the intent means a lot here.

If you find yourself watching The Muppet Christmas Carol, you will feel the magic or you should be checked for a pulse.

Deadpool 2 (2018) 3.5/5

Categories 3.5/5, Action, Adventure, Comedy, Movie and Series Reviews, Sci-Fi

Deadpool 2 executes better than its predecessor, but it doesn’t really go far enough. The bond style intro with the Celine Dion original is fantastic and having a bit more of story this time went a long way. The gags are all a bit better and it feels more like a superhero movie with some teeth than the first flick did.

On its own it works well, but is also referential in mostly non-obstructive ways to the first flick.

Deadpool (2016) 3/5

Categories 3/5, Action, Comedy, Movie and Series Reviews

Deadpool coasts on the goodwill it gets from a few really funny scenes, but large parts of the movie are below average. Even a fourth wall breaking comic book character should have a solid story and interesting bad guys.

Dave (1993) 3/5

Categories 3/5, Comedy, Movie and Series Reviews, Romance

Everything is stretched a bit and nothing from beginning to end is a surprise, but it is very cute and sometimes you just want an easy movie. Frank Langella has a scene that takes the cake and is legitimately memorable.

Deadpool & Wolverine (2024) 3/5

Categories 3/5, Action, Adventure, Comedy, Movie and Series Reviews, Sci-Fi

I get why Deadpool & Wolverine has exploded, it is a fan-service and in-joke theme park ride. However, this also cuts out the legs from under it. Deadpool 2 did a lot to push more towards a plot and an accompanying tone shift from the first, and this latest outing undoes most of that while mixing the Marvel staples. What are the staples? Story and character motivations take a backseat to puns and cameos, like without spoiling anything consider how quick Wolverine’s motivation turns off at the end (literally zero response).

There are a lot of other issues I took but I don’t want to make this a spoiler review. Also it was weird for them to still make one character an integral part of the story while also being unable to get the original actor, at that point rewrite the part. It isn’t like the plot wasn’t already paper thin or had not already been sidelined numerous times by that point.