Last Movie You Watched and Rate It | Movie-mber Edition

[Tasty Biscuits]

Looking forward to watching it. I always enjoyed Rushmore and Tenebaums, but I haven’t seen anything he’s done since then.

If you like GBH I would check out Moonrise Kingdom next. Slightly different tone/feel, but similar quality.

 

[Osprey]

Black Christmas (2019) - 2/10 (Hated it)

There's a line in this that goes "We're not inspiring people. We're pissing people off." It sums up the movie.

 

[nameless1]

A Better Life (1986) Directed by John Woo 4A

Though director John Woo had been a staple of Hong Kong film for well over a decade, A Better Life is the first of his many films to find success with an international audience. A Better Life is about two brothers, the younger one is a cop, the older one is a gangster. The gangster has a pal (Chow Yun Fat)l who is as close to him as another brother would be, a pal who relishes his life as a criminal to the hilt. There is much family conflict, and the two gangsters fall on very hard times. The older brother genuinely tries to go straight for the sake of his kid brother but the fates keep conspiring against him. A Better Life possesses both Woo’s good and bad hallmarks. On the negative side, the move is haphazardly plotted, plays to the lowest common denominator, and is infused with periodic doses of cloying sentimentality. On the plus side is the action which is really Woo’s primarily calling card. All the explosions and gun battles are viscerally staged and have a manic energy that is off the charts and a treat to watch. A Better Life is an entertaining bad movie, but, no question, Woo got a whole lot better than this in the years to follow.

subtitles

YouTube

The movie is called A Better Tomorrow, and it absolutely transformed Hong Kong as a society. It put Woo on the map, it changed the career trajectory of all three stars, and there was even a Mark Gor craze, which was the name of Chow's character. Ti Lung, who played the elder brother, was a mega star in the 70s, as he usually played the hero in ancient martial arts films, but once that market dried up by the 80s, he was seen as a washed star. Chow Yun-Fat, meanwhile, had won the Best Actor awards at major film award shows, like the Golden Horse Film Festival, arguably the most prestigious film awards ceremony in Southeast Asia, but his films had all bombed at the box office, so he was seen as box office poison. Finally, Leslie Cheung was a matinee idol, but he was unproven as a box office draw.

After this movie, which broke box office records, Ti Lung received a career revival, and he extended his stardom into the 90s. Meanwhile, Chow became a true superstar, and by the 90s, the common saying, in order to describe his impact on the box office, was "Two Chow, One Cheng/ Chan". The two Chows were Stephen Chow and Chow Yun-Fat, while the One Cheng/ Chan was Jackie Chan, as these three pretty much split the box office takes. Finally, Cheung also became a superstar in his own rights, and not only was he a box office success, his singing career got a major boost as well. The theme song from A Better Tomorrow was a major hit, and his subsequent records were all big hits as well.

Chow's character, Mark Gor, was also a cultural icon. For a while afterwards, young people in Hong Kong all dressed like him, and his Burberry trench coat was omnipresent. Everyone wanted one, and they even called it Mark Gor Lau, or Mark Gor coat, but honestly, few had Chow's height to pull it off. In fact, the character was so popular, Woo had to bring him, or some iteration of him, back twice, in the two sequels. In A Better Tomorrow II, Chow played Ken, Mark's younger brother, who was basically just Mark, while A Better Tomorrow III was actually a prequel, so Chow was free to play Mark, once again.

I agree with kihei that the movie is not perfect, and like Woo's subsequent movies, they all have major plot issues, and plays to the lowest common denominator, but it is still one of the most influential movies of all times. It completely changed the Hong Kong crime action genre, as numerous copycat movies followed, and the action choreography, especially the gun fight sequences, took a major step forward. Personally, I view this movie more along the line of kihei, because the plot is very thin, but I do appreciate its impact on not just the film industry in Hong Kong, but in fact, the entire culture.

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

Les envoûtés (Spellbound, Bonitzer, 2019) - Pascal Bonitzer adapting Henry James is not something you'd imagine very successful. The result is certainly unique. It's a typical Bonitzer film in that the eccentric excesses are generated by the characters themselves and not by the situations, which are always presented as the most banal. Here, even the ghosts stories are trivial and don't cause any suprise to anybody (the fantastic component of the story is thus completely buried). Bonitzer is one of my favorite minds of French cinema, this is far from his best works but it manages to be interesting enough. 6/10

 

[kihei]

The movie is called A Better Tomorrow, and it absolutely transformed Hong Kong as a society. It put Woo on the map, it changed the career trajectory of all three stars, and there was even a Mark Gor craze, which was the name of Chow's character. Ti Lung, who played the elder brother, was a mega star in the 70s, as he usually played the hero in ancient martial arts films, but once that market dried up by the 80s, he was seen as a washed star. Chow Yun-Fat, meanwhile, had won the Best Actor awards at major film award shows, like the Golden Horse Film Festival, arguably the most prestigious film awards ceremony in Southeast Asia, but his films had all bombed at the box office, so he was seen as box office poison. Finally, Leslie Cheung was a matinee idol, but he was unproven as a box office draw.

After this movie, which broke box office records, Ti Lung received a career revival, and he extended his stardom into the 90s. Meanwhile, Chow became a true superstar, and by the 90s, the common saying, in order to describe his impact on the box office, was "Two Chow, One Cheng/ Chan". The two Chows were Stephen Chow and Chow Yun-Fat, while the One Cheng/ Chan was Jackie Chan, as these three pretty much split the box office takes. Finally, Cheung also became a superstar in his own rights, and not only was he a box office success, his singing career got a major boost as well. The theme song from A Better Tomorrow was a major hit, and his subsequent records were all big hits as well.

Chow's character, Mark Gor, was also a cultural icon. For a while afterwards, young people in Hong Kong all dressed like him, and his Burberry trench coat was omnipresent. Everyone wanted one, and they even called it Mark Gor Lau, or Mark Gor coat, but honestly, few had Chow's height to pull it off. In fact, the character was so popular, Woo has to bring him, or some iteration of him, back twice, in the two sequels. In A Better Tomorrow II, Chow played Ken, Mark's younger brother, who was basically just Mark, while A Better Tomorrow III was actually a prequel, so Chow was free to play Mark, once again.

I agree with kihei that the movie is not perfect, and like Woo's subsequent movies, they all have major plot issues, and plays to the lowest common denominator, but it is still one of the most influential movies of all times. It completely changed the Hong Kong crime action genre, as numerous copycat movies followed, and the action choreography, especially the gun fight sequences, took a major step forward. Personally, I view this movie more along the line of kihei, because the plot is very thin, but I do appreciate its impact on not just the film industry in Hong Kong, but in fact, the entire culture.

I didn't know this. Thanks for the historical context.

 

[kihei]

Look Back in Anger (1959) Directed by Tony Richardson 8B

Look Back in Anger was the first example of “kitchen sink” realism to come out of England, and such films have been frequently released there ever since. “Kitchen sink” realism, which owed a great debt to the emergence of Italian neo-realism in the late ‘40s, focused on angry young men, a whole new generation of them, men who had become disillusioned with their chances of ever attaining a good life in class-ridden England. In Look Back in Anger, the angry young man is Jimmy Porter (Richard Burton), and he is full of misguided fury. He married “above his station,” and, ironically, he never forgives his wife Allison (Mary Ure) for it, as if it his unhappiness is her doing. Jimmy is not a sympathetic character. He verbally abuses Allison constantly. By today’s standards, several scenes are difficult to watch. With reluctance, she eventually leaves him. At which point he immediately jumps into bed with her best friend Helena (Claire Bloom). John Osborne, a key figure in this movement, adapts his own play and the writing is brilliant. Well supported by Ure and Bloom, Burton gives a towering performance of a man whose rage is in danger of shattering the lives of the people closest to him. It is a performance for the ages, almost too big for the screen. If Burton hadn’t been lured by the charms of Hollywood, he might have been the greatest actor of his generation. He might just be anyway.

Criterion Channel

 

[ItsFineImFine]

State of Siege (1972) - 7.5/10

I think it's tough to follow-up on Z. This is very much a similar style but more detached and with less tension. We're more focused on seeing it through the leftist point of view rather than the just the police in this case. It has more of a left-wing commentary in general looking at how the US messed up Latin America at the time and how disgraceful it all was. I guess it's effective in terms of a political film at getting you riled up somewhat but not as effective at Z at actually entertaining you.

 

[Chili]

Rain Man-1988

Hadn't seen it in many years but it was just as engrossing as the first time. Road trip movie in a vintage vehicle with Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise. Really enjoy the performances as they get to know each other and all the challenges faced. A classic.

Didn't know that the Raymond Babbitt character was inspired by a real person, interesting story:

Get to know the real Rain Man: Kim Peek | Aruma

 

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

I also dipped into some old John Woo lately with Last Hurrah For Chivlary which I found to be a pretty propulsive fun time, particularly a stretch through the middle with our heroes raiding a compound and facing off with an increasingly odd and skilled set of foes. (The Sleeping Wizard in particular was a clever and amusing combatant). Fun, but never tips quit over into goofy. There are stakes but it's also not TOO serious. Tone reminded me very much of a Star Wars or Indiana Jones like old school serial. A popcorn muncher.

After slagging the poor guy a few posts ago I finally found motivation to sit down with Terrence Malick's A Hidden Life. This might be damning with faint praise but I thought it was easily his best film since The Thin Red Line. As I mentioned a few pages back, I think there are stellar stretches in both The New World and Tree of Life but the films overall don't full work for me. Since then he's put out a trio of movies that practically play like parodies of his best work. If he weren't so damned earnest, I'd be tempted to say he's been trolling us. Obtuse if you want to slam the man. Poetic if you want to be generous. My takeaway from that trio (Song to Song which I actually kinda liked, Knight of Cups which I definitely didn't like and To the Wonder which has put me to sleep four times running) is that regardless of my feelings I don't want to revisit any of them. Indifference is almost the worst thing.

So, A Hidden Life. He's up to all of his usual tricks. Gorgeous landscapes. Almost intrusively intimate close-ups of characters contemplating. So much voice over. Everyone speaks in dreams. But unlike his last three films, this one has a fairly straightforward and compelling story. An Austrian farmer objects to violence and to Hitler's oncoming war. He's a conscientious objector. This does not endear him to friends and neighbors and lands him in jail. Much of the movie is correspondence between the man and his wife. I was very taken with it. Malick establishes the couple in the first 30 minutes or so mostly with images and few words, but it's enough for you to want the best for both. Then you layer on an obvious, but very effective story of a man who feels his country has turned in a horrible, immoral direction and no one — not his neighbors, not the church, not other government officials — have the desire or wherewithal to even acknowledge it let alone try to stop it. Oddly glad I watched it now rather than a year ago when it first came out. That messaged resonate far more with me after the past year than I think it would of a year ago.

Beautifully shot, but also with heart and brain. I don't know that Malick has hit on all three of those cylinders in some time. It felt like a welcome return.

 

[kihei]

Very good movie. In a virtual tie with Costa's Vitalina Varela (which is making several lists this year), A Hidden Life came in at #6 last year for me. Glad some one else on the planet finally saw it and liked it. For awhile there I thought I was the only one.

 

[nameless1]

Honestly, John Woo has always been overrated. During his heyday, he is seen as a borderline genius and his movies all made a killing at the box office. I too love his works from his pre-Hollywood days, and they are some of my favourites in my youth. However, if one just pays attention, his weaknesses are all there in plain sight. The plots are always thin, his movies are all over-the-top, and they all appeal to the lowest denominator. Frankly, they are all unrealistic, and actually make very little sense. In Hard Boiled, there was a scene when Chow Yun-Fat's character, a cop called Tequilla, went into a warehouse full of enemies by himself. That is suicide in real life, and against all police procedures. Somehow, I never noticed it, until recently.

That, though, lies Woo's greatest strength. His action sequences are second-to-none, and people are just mesmerized by them. Even today, for pure action fun, his best works still stand up rather well. Unfortunately, he can no longer innovate, and as a result, all there is left are his weaknesses. In fact, he is so much of a parody, that all his big set pieces get torn to shreds. His favourite prop, the doves, continuously get mocked to no end.

Thandie Newton recently recalled her experience on the set of Mission Impossible II, and she said that Woo basically shut himself in a tent, and there was very little communication. I am not sure if it is a language issue, but I feel it may be ego too.

By the way kihei, if you read this, you got the name of the movie wrong. It is not A Better Life, but A Better Tomorrow.

 

[kihei]

By the way kihei, if you read this, you got the name of the movie wrong. It is not A Better Life, but A Better Tomorrow.

A little bird was whispering in my ear that title might be off, but I ignored it. Will fix.

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

Having re-watched Jean-Claude Van Johnson entirely, I went with a few JCVD flicks I hadn't seen before (saddly, Timecop wasn't available for free).

In Hell (Lam, 2003) - Lam is a frequent contributor to the Van Damme fiasco, and not to its best parts. This starts as a boosted version of every good-guy-in-prison clichés (yah know, he'll end up in the hole for confronting the big boss inmates, but in this part of Russia, the hole is also the septik tank - the film is kind of "russianophobic", it also uses the n-word, which is even funnier after JCVJohnson's N-Word Jim). In trying to push everything done before, Lam goes a little too far and ends up with a reincarnated wife into an insect, a giant monster fighter fed and kept hidden in the basement of the prison, and cheapo jailcell philosophy in voice over. I guess it makes it a little original. 3.5/10

Pound of Flesh (Barbarash, 2015) - This one is quite something: JCVD goes to the Philippines because he's a match to donate his kidney to his niece who's in fact the daughter he had with his brother's wife but that he never met. Two days before the surgery... He gets his kidney stolen and now must find it to save his niece!! You just can't make this up. 45 minutes after surgery, he's up and running and spin-kicking bouncers twice his size and half his age in the face. It's so dumb that it's kind of fun. Plus, it sometimes has the weird aesthetics of a stylized porn film, like something by Michael Ninn, with very strange (and bad) use of green screens and/or retroprojection. Barbarash, another frequent contributor, was also responsible for the worst JCVD film I've seen, 6 Bullets. This one is a lot better, but really hard to rate. I'd give it a 1 for the "so bad it's fun" value, but it's not quite there. 3/10

Knowing how "aware" JCVD is of his image and his (double) impact on general culture makes these films really kind of cool.

 

[Puck]

Interesting article in The Economist about the future of cinema and streaming. You may or may not like where things are going.

Big bets on the small screen
Hollywood is pivoting to home entertainment

If any industry could use help from Wonder Woman, it is cinemas. Lockdowns and a dearth of new releases have reduced worldwide box-office takings by about 70% in 2020. Thankfully for theatre owners, the corseted crusader will charge to the rescue on Christmas Day, giving audiences a reason to go back to the movies.

Yet in a plot twist, at&t, the telecoms giant that owns the film’s producer, Warner Bros, has announced that “Wonder Woman 1984” and the 17 feature films on Warner’s release slate for 2021 will be made available on its hbo Max streaming service on the day they are released in cinemas, which historically have had an exclusive run of a few months.

Purists are aghast. “The future of cinema will be on the big screen, no matter what any Wall Street dilettante says,” declared Denis Villeneuve, whose sci-fi epic, “Dune”, is among the affected films.

Warner is not the only studio shifting its focus to the small screen. In July Universal Pictures, part of Comcast, a cable company, did a deal with amc, the world’s largest cinema chain, to give theatres just 17 days before its films are made available online (amc will get a cut of streaming revenues). Paramount Pictures, owned by Viacomcbs, has sold several films to Netflix this year rather than release them to empty auditoriums. And on December 10th Disney, Hollywood’s biggest studio, signalled that it, too, sees its future in streaming.

In a presentation to investors the studio announced a blitz of new content for its Disney+ streaming service: ten “Star Wars” series, ten more based on Marvel comic books, 15 other new original series and 15 feature films. By 2024 Disney+ will be spending $8bn-9bn annually on content, up from $2bn in 2020. Add espn+, which shows sports, and Hulu, another Disney streaming channel, and the company will splurge $14bn-16bn a year, nearly as much as the $17bn that Netflix, which pioneered streaming, earmarked to spend in 2020.

Disney’s “content tsunami” is “frightening to any sub-scale company thinking about competing in the scripted entertainment space”, wrote Michael Nathanson of MoffattNathanson, a media-research firm. The Wall Street dilettantes swooned: Disney’s share price leapt by almost 14% the day after its presentation, reaching an alltime high and adding $38bn to its stockmarket value (see chart on previous page).

Disney now expects 230m-260m Disney+ subscribers by 2024—more than treble its previous target. The extra viewers, and a planned price rise, put the service on track to break even in 2024, despite more content spending. Across all its streaming channels Disney expects more than 300m subscribers by 2024—maybe enough to overtake Netflix, currently on 195m. Disney will take Netflix on more directly via a new service, Star, with a wider range of programming, including a new show starring the indefatigable Kardashian clan.

Two months ago Disney began a corporate restructuring to increase its focus on streaming. Since then it has trimmed jobs at abc News and announced the winding up of its radio business. The plans for Disney+ imply that by 2024 streaming will be the company’s single largest business by revenues, notes Benjamin Swinburne of Morgan Stanley, a bank. Whatever some directors may think, “made for tv” is no longer a slur in Hollywood.

Disney and Warner make big bets on the small screen

 

[nameless1]

I am a little late, but here are Obama's favourite movies and T.V. shows this year. I always find his list to be interesting, but now, I feel like he either goes with the critics, or he has a lot of avenues to get first glimpse at movies as the ex-President of the United States.


He does have a production company, so it is possible that he gets his sources through that route too.

Movies:

• “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”
• “Beanpole”
• “Bacurau”
• “Nomadland”
• “Soul”
• “Lovers Rock”
• “Collective”
• “Mank”
• “Martin Eden”
• “Let Him Go”
• “Time”
• “Boys State”
• “Selah And The Spades”
• “Crip Camp”

TV:

• “Better Call Saul”
• “The Queen’s Gambit”
• “I May Destroy You”
• “The Boys”
• “The Good Lord Bird”
• “Devs”
• “The Last Dance”
• “Mrs. America”
• “The Good Place”
• “City So Real”

He also has a book list, if that interests people.

 

[kihei]

Man Bites Dog (1992) Directed by Remy Belveux and Andre Bonzel 7B

I wouldn’t be surprised if this movie didn’t influence Sasha Cohen and his Borat character. Man Bites Dog purports to be a documentary about a rather talky, affable serial killer named Benoit who is completely forthcoming about his evil deeds. In fact he continues to kill the odd person on camera, with the film crew helpfully dragging away the occasional body. As the movie progresses Benny’s crimes become more graphic and extreme….and more hilarious. The level of invention here, and even wit, is sustained throughout the entire movie. Some people think Man Bites Dog is a satire of the media’s willingness to sensationalize anything and everything that will make a buck. That's true enough. But the movie is also just a complete hoot. Like Spinal Tap or What We Do in the Shadows, Man Bites Dog doesn’t need a highfalutin rationale to justify its existence. It is what it is, a very funny, thoroughly politically incorrect, utterly demented take on a serial killer. Sorry we won't see Benny again.

Sidenote: ...and incidentally Man Bites Dog contains one of the best performances of 1992 by Benoît Poelvoorde as Benny, an actor whom I have never heard of before or since despite a long resume of performances.

subtitles

Criterion Channel

 

[Pink Mist]

Having re-watched Jean-Claude Van Johnson entirely, I went with a few JCVD flicks I hadn't seen before (saddly, Timecop wasn't available for free).

In Hell (Lam, 2003) - Lam is a frequent contributor to the Van Damme fiasco, and not to its best parts. This starts as a boosted version of every good-guy-in-prison clichés (yah know, he'll end up in the hole for confronting the big boss inmates, but in this part of Russia, the hole is also the septik tank - the film is kind of "russianophobic", it also uses the n-word, which is even funnier after JCVJohnson's N-Word Jim). In trying to push everything done before, Lam goes a little too far and ends up with a reincarnated wife into an insect, a giant monster fighter fed and kept hidden in the basement of the prison, and cheapo jailcell philosophy in voice over. I guess it makes it a little original. 3.5/10

Pound of Flesh (Barbarash, 2015) - This one is quite something: JCVD goes to the Philippines because he's a match to donate his kidney to his niece who's in fact the daughter he had with his brother's wife but that he never met. Two days before the surgery... He gets his kidney stolen and now must find it to save his niece!! You just can't make this up. 45 minutes after surgery, he's up and running and spin-kicking bouncers twice his size and half his age in the face. It's so dumb that it's kind of fun. Plus, it sometimes has the weird aesthetics of a stylized porn film, like something by Michael Ninn, with very strange (and bad) use of green screens and/or retroprojection. Barbarash, another frequent contributor, was also responsible for the worst JCVD film I've seen, 6 Bullets. This one is a lot better, but really hard to rate. I'd give it a 1 for the "so bad it's fun" value, but it'd not quite there. 3/10

Knowing how "aware" JCVD is of his image and his (double) impact on general culture makes these films really kind of cool.

What a coincidence you brought up that JCVD commercial, I was just talking to someone about it last night randomly

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

What a coincidence you brought up that JCVD commercial, I was just talking to someone about it last night randomly

You've seen the space one and the Chuck Norris one?

 

[Spring in Fialta]

I am a little late, but here are Obama's favourite movies and T.V. shows this year. I always find his list to be interesting, but now, I feel like he either goes with the critics, or he has a lot of avenues to get first glimpse at movies as the ex-President of the United States.


He does have a production company, so it is possible that he gets his sources through that avenue too.

Movies:

• “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”
• “Beanpole”
• “Bacurau”
• “Nomadland”
• “Soul”
• “Lovers Rock”
• “Collective”
• “Mank”
• “Martin Eden”
• “Let Him Go”
• “Time”
• “Boys State”
• “Selah And The Spades”
• “Crip Camp”

TV:

• “Better Call Saul”
• “The Queen’s Gambit”
• “I May Destroy You”
• “The Boys”
• “The Good Lord Bird”
• “Devs”
• “The Last Dance”
• “Mrs. America”
• “The Good Place”
• “City So Real”

He also has a book list, if that interests people.

I wouldn't be surprised if these lists are largely curated for him. Wouldn't put too much stock into them.

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

incidentally Man Bites Dog contains one of the best performances of 1992 by Benoît Poelvoorde as Benny, an actor whom I have never heard of before or since despite a long resume of performances.

Indeed pretty weird career. His performance in C'est arrivé près de chez vous (Man Bites Dog is a terrible title) was praised as unique, and he never did a good film afterward. I guess Les convoyeurs attendent had a little aura of coolness at the time, but it's really nothing that good, and Selon Charlie was an ok film (probably my second favorite of his filmo), but he can't act alongside Bacri.

 

[nameless1]

I wouldn't be surprised if these lists are largely curated for him. Wouldn't put too much stock into them.

His list are quite diverse though. A lot of times I am actually surprised he saw certain under-the-radar films. It is good exposure, regardless of how or where he saw the films.

 

[kihei]

I wouldn't be surprised if these lists are largely curated for him. Wouldn't put too much stock into them.

I wonder. He sounds sometimes like a major league film buff to me. I wouldn't be surprised if he puts those lists together himself. Movies and books seem his central way of relaxing, and he does have a discerning sensibility.

 

[Langdon Alger]

Never Been Kissed - 1999

It was on TV, so what the hell? I never saw it when it came out 21 years ago, so I gave it a shot. Decent movie. Drew Barrymore is charming, and it was interesting to see James Franco and Octavia Spencer in small roles before they were well known. John C. Reilly, David Arquette and Molly Shannon also appear. Has a good heart and a nice message, so I can’t hate it. It wasn’t anything great though.

5/10

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

Beneath (Fessenden, 2013) - Once upon a time, after Habit and Wendigo, Larry Fessenden had somewhat of a cult following in horror circles. I never really understood why honestly, but why not, both films have an author-ish feel and have a few pretty good elements. Now these days are gone. Beneath could win a bunch of awards, but only for the most unbearable group of characters ever put on film, and though I understand that it's all part of the "concept", it gets old fast and makes up for a very boring film. Even the fish is fugly and no fun. 2/5

 

[Osprey]

The Man Who Invented Christmas (2017) - 6/10 (Liked it)

Having just written three flops, Charles Dickens (Dan Stevens) struggles to secure investment for and write A Christmas Carol. It's a biopic of sorts about the writing of the novella that's partially framed like the story, itself, with certain people in Dickens' life being like characters from the story and he, himself, becoming increasingly Scrooge-like as he struggles with writer's block. Much of the early part of the film includes him picking up inspirations here and there that he would use in the story and much of the latter part includes his imaginary conversations with his main character, Scrooge, played by Christopher Plummer. Jonathan Pryce plays Dickens' father, who may've been part of the inspiration for Scrooge. I really liked the look of the film, which is convincingly Victorian England in sets and costumes. I love a good period piece, especially one without CGI. The acting (particularly from Stevens, Plummer and Pryce) is good, as well. My biggest problem was that it was just hard to take seriously because I knew that so much of it was fictional, like some of the inspirations and, obviously, all of the conversations with Scrooge. Then again, I suppose that it's not meant to be taken seriously, sort of like the story, itself. I did lose some interest halfway through, but, fortunately, the redemptive conclusion is almost as heartwarming as an actual adaptation of the story and I couldn't not like it in the end. My feeling is that it's a decent spin on a well-known story. It's on Hulu.