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

[kihei]

A Christmas Carol (1951) Directed by Brian Desmond Hurst 8A

I come to praise this old warhorse, not to slay her. Most Canadians over the age of 40, of Anglo descent anyway, have probably seen this movie multiple times. I've seen A Christmas Carol likely a couple of dozen times over the decades as it has been a familiar part of Christmas for some members of my family. The movie is an adaptation of Charles Dickens' novel all about stingy Uncle Scrooge, humble Bob Cratchit, stricken Tiny Tim, and, of course, the three ghosts of Christmas past, present and future. While the movie is a holiday staple, perhaps the holiday staple, it never comes up in discussions about movies. Part of the reason for this is its seasonal tag, but also a lot of people probably see A Christmas Carol as less of a movie and more as a too familiar Christmas tradition, like Bing Crosby singing White Christmas. I mean, nobody watches A Christmas Carol in June, right? As a movie, though, I think it has not inconsiderable virtues, virtues for which it seldom gets credit:

1) Name a better adaptation of a novel. Can anyone who has seen the movie read the novel without seeing Alastair Sim in your mind's eye as Scrooge. Actually Dickens' novels make for pretty easy adaptations generally because their narratives are so plot-driven and linear. The scenes are practically diagrammed out for a writer. But few movies of books capture the essence of the literary experience better than this one.

2) Alastair Sim's performance as the absolute embodiment of Scrooge is very underrated. Yes, he hams it up, but the character he creates in the process has stayed indelibly etched in my mind since I first saw the movie as a child. There have been many other Scrooges, like 27 of them, including Bill Murray, Christopher Plummer, Jim Carrey and a host of great English actors like Albert Finney, Michael Caine, and Patrick Stewart. Caine in The Muppet Christmas Carol comes close, but nobody is really in the same class as Sim in the role. He owns it, probably for eternity.

3) The mis-en-scene of the film could hardly be bettered. From costumes, to lighting, to set design, the cinematography, even its dated special effects, all contribute wonderfully to the recreation of early industrial London, The movie feels like a particular time and place and once again matches the atmosphere of the book precisely.

4) Yes, the movie looks dated, but in the best way imaginable. The whole production now has an antique quality that reinforces the sense of tradition, the notion of a timeless tale well told. In London's Time Out magazine, A Christmas Carol in not listed among the top 100 British films. That seems to me to be pure snobbery, especially as the forgettable musical Oliver, another Dickens' adaptation and a far inferior film, is listed. I doubt I could name fifty British films better than A Christmas Carol, and that is very high praise.

YouTube

 

[Pink Mist]

A Christmas Carol (1951) Directed by Brian Desmond Hurst 8A

I come to praise this old warhorse, not to slay her. Most Canadians over the age of 40, of Anglo descent anyway, have probably seen this movie multiple times. I've seen A Christmas Carol likely a couple of dozen times over the decades as it has been a staple with some members of my family. The movie is an adaptation of Charles Dickens' novel all about stingy Uncle Scrooge, humble Bob Cratchit, stricken Tiny Tim, and, of course, the three ghosts of Christmas past, present and future. While the movie is a holiday staple, perhaps the holiday staple, it never comes up in discussions about movies. Part of the reason for this is its seasonal tag, but also a lot of people probably see A Christmas Carol as less of a movie and more as a too familiar Christmas tradition, like Bing Crosby singing White Christmas. I mean, nobody watches A Christmas Carol in June, right? As a movie, though, I think it has not inconsiderable virtues, virtues for which it seldom gets credit:

1) Name a better adaptation of a novel. Can anyone who has seen the movie read the novel without seeing Alastair Sim in your mind's eye as Scrooge. Actually Dickens' novels make for pretty easy adaptations generally because their narratives are so plot-driven and linear. The scenes are practically diagrammed out for a writer. But few movies of books capture the essence of the literary experience better than this one.

2) Alastair Sim's performance as the absolute embodiment of Scrooge is very underrated. Yes, he hams it up, but the character he creates in the process has stayed indelibly etched on my mind since I first saw the movie as a child. There have been many other Scrooges, like 27 of them, including Bill Murray, Christopher Plummer, Jim Carrey and a host of great English actors like Albert Finney, Michael Caine, and Patrick Stewart. Caine in The Muppet Christmas Carol comes close, but nobody is really in the same class as Sim in the role. He owns it, probably for eternity.

3) The mis-en-scene of the film could hardly be bettered. From costumes, to lighting, to set design, the cinematography, even its dated special effects, all contribute wonderfully the recreation of early industrial London, The movie feels like a particular time and place and once again matches the atmosphere of the book precisely.

4) Yes, the movie looks dated, but in the best way imaginable. The whole production now has an antique quality that reinforces the sense of tradition, the notion of a timeless tale well told. In London's Time Out magazine, A Christmas Carol in not listed among the top 100 British films. That seems to me to be pure snobbery, especially as the forgettable musical Oliver, another Dickens' adaptation and a far inferior film, is listed. I doubt I could name fifty British films better than A Christmas Carol, and that is very high praise.

YouTube

A holiday favourite. Excellent film, I watch it every Christmas Eve with my family

 

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

I'm not sure what it is but I'm a real grump about a lot of classic Christmas movies. I hate White Christmas. A Christmas Carol in almost any rendition does nothing for me. I have forever been unmoved by It's A Wonderful Life and I think National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation has just a single funny moment in it. To name a few of the prominent ones.

It's not a total rejection of Christmas or the ability to feel. I think A Christmas Story is great and I'm more than happy to watch and defend the much maligned Love Actually. Elf is a lot of fun. I enjoyed Happiest Season enough recently. I like most of the classic TV shows.

But there's definitely a wide swath of classic Christmas options that generate indifferent to outright negative reactions from me.

Bah humbug!

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

I'm not sure what it is but I'm a real grump about a lot of classic Christmas movies. I hate White Christmas. A Christmas Carol in almost any rendition does nothing for me. I have forever been unmoved by It's A Wonderful Life and I think National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation has just a single funny moment in it. To name a few of the prominent ones.

It's not a total rejection of Christmas or the ability to feel. I think A Christmas Story is great and I'm more than happy to watch and defend the much maligned Love Actually. Elf is a lot of fun. I enjoyed Happiest Season enough recently. I like most of the classic TV shows.

But there's definitely a wide swath of classic Christmas options that generate indifferent to outright negative reactions from me.

Bah humbug!

Gotta try Le père Noël est une ordure, one of the funniest films I've seen.

 

[Osprey]

I review over a dozen Christmas movies this month and feel like the only one who realizes that it's December. kihei reviews one and, suddenly, everyone wants to talk Christmas movies. I see how it is.

I've been saving the 'Christmas Carols' for the end here, since they're most enjoyable very close to Christmas. I love the '38, '51 and '84 versions similarly, but for different reasons. The '38 version is the most cheerful and Reginald Owen is the most likable Scrooge, IMO. The '84 version is the darkest and, perhaps, most accurate and George C. Scott is the most hateable Scrooge. The '51 version is is somewhere in the middle and Alastair Sim is equally convincing as both versions of Scrooge. I also love the Muppet version and think that Michael Caine is a great, balanced Scrooge, as well. In fact, it's amazing that the story has been remade so often and, more often than not, the remakes have been very good to excellent. What other stories can that be said for? I think that it says a lot about just how good it is and how powerful, simple and well understood its message is, such that it's hard to screw it up.

 

[kihei]

I'm not sure what it is but I'm a real grump about a lot of classic Christmas movies. I hate White Christmas. A Christmas Carol in almost any rendition does nothing for me. I have forever been unmoved by It's A Wonderful Life and I think National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation has just a single funny moment in it. To name a few of the prominent ones.

It's not a total rejection of Christmas or the ability to feel. I think A Christmas Story is great and I'm more than happy to watch and defend the much maligned Love Actually. Elf is a lot of fun. I enjoyed Happiest Season enough recently. I like most of the classic TV shows.

But there's definitely a wide swath of classic Christmas options that generate indifferent to outright negative reactions from me.

Bah humbug!

Try the Muppet version of The Christmas Carol. It has charm to burn, Caine plays it absolutely straight, and it's just a total delight as far as I am concerned.

 

[ItsFineImFine]

Festen/The Celebration (1998) - 5/10

The only thing worse than the people in this film was the camera work.

 

[Stony Curtis]

"Hunt for the Wilderpeople"
Rating: 9/10

Taika Waititi does it again. Kind of a family film, but this should be immensely enjoyable for anyone of any age. This movie has a shit-ton of heart, and is dryly hysterical like most of his stuff.

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

The Upside (Burger, 2017) - Given the Americans' dreadful record in remaking French comedies, this came as a pleasant surprise. Performances don't come close to the original film, but they still do a very good job in maintaining the humor. The touching moments suffer a little more, but it's still a very cute film. 5/10

(for the record, I have the original at 7/10)
(oh and the many mentions of the Queen were cool since I just got through her early albums for @Saturated Fats' next thread)

 

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

Gotta try Le père Noël est une ordure, one of the funniest films I've seen.

Just found a movie called The Silent Partner that stars Elliot Gould and Christopher Plummer as a bank robbing Santa ... will report back!

 

[Chili]

Holiday Affair-1949

Well done Christmas tale. A widowed mother (Janet Leigh) meets a store salesman while Xmas shopping and an interesting relationship begins. Robert Mitchum looks right at home in a family type picture. The young boy I believe in his first film is very good. Harry Morgan (aka Col Potter of M.A.S.H.) has a nice bit as a police lieutenant. Enjoyed it.

 

[Mr Jiggyfly]

I review over a dozen Christmas movies this month and feel like the only one who realizes that it's December. kihei reviews one and, suddenly, everyone wants to talk Christmas movies. I see how it is.

I've been saving the 'Christmas Carols' for the end here, since they're most enjoyable very close to Christmas. I love the '38, '51 and '84 versions equally, just in different ways. The '38 version is the most fun and festive and Reginald Owen is the most infectious happy Scrooge, IMO. The '84 version is the darkest and, perhaps, most accurate version and George C. Scott is the best mean Scrooge. The '51 version is more balanced and Alastair Sim is equally believable as both versions of Scrooge. I also love the Muppet version and think that Michael Caine is a great, balanced Scrooge, as well. In fact, it's amazing that the story has been remade so often and, more often than not, the remakes have been very good to excellent. What other story can that be said for? I think that it says a lot about just how good the story is and how powerful, simple and understood its message is, such that it's hard to screw it up.

My father and I always watch GC Scott’s version every Christmas Eve.

Absolutely love this version.

Also, for anyone looking for some off the beaten path Christmas movies, a couple I recently enjoyed were:

Miracle on Christmas Lake - a young hockey player who hates Christmas and is mourning the death of his best friend, discovers the “”Night Pond”... a magical rink that only he can see and skate on.

Really enjoyable flick that has it’s flaws, but some fun hockey action and a few humorous moments.

Holly Star - a puppeteer who just lost her latest gig and ability to support herself, returns home for Christmas... she soon discovers that having near death experiences can help lead her to the sack of money her kookball grandfather buried years before.

Another fun movie with some really good chemistry between the actors and witty dialogue that will garner a lot of laughs.

If you are tired of watching the same old Christmas movies every year, these two films could hit the spot.

 

[Osprey]

A Christmas Carol (1938) - 9/10 (Really loved it)

A mean old man has a series of bad dreams and wakes up off his rocker. This first adaptation of the classic story is probably the most cheerful and family friendly one, even slightly more so than The Muppet Christmas Carol. The darker elements of the story are rushed past or even skipped and the lighter elements are accentuated. There are additions and changes to the story, but they mostly work well, so well that other adaptations incorporated some of them. For example, the idea of all three spirits arriving on Christmas Eve originated in this adaptation (in the novella, the spirits arrive over three nights), as well as Scrooge visiting the Cratchits on Christmas morning (in the novella, he simply sends a turkey anonymously). In other words, it's not a very accurate adaptation, but the changes mostly range from harmless to improvements and make for a better, more cheerful film.

Reginald Owen also makes for probably the most cheerful Scrooge. He over-acts, but in an endearing way as if he's acting out lines while reading the story to children. Gene Lockhart plays a very likable and sympathetic Bob Cratchit (even if he looks a little too well fed for the role) and a neat piece of trivia is that his real-life wife, Kathleen, plays Mrs. Cratchit and his real-life daughter, June, plays one of the Cratchit daughters (the one on the left above). BTW, I was surprised to learn that June Lockhart and Terry Kilburn, who plays Tiny Tim, are 95 and 94 years old and still alive. Imagine being in a 1938 film, being able to remember it and still being alive in 2020.

Anyways, though this isn't the most accurate adaptation of the story, the fact that it's the most cheerful is what I love about it. Sometimes, I want all of the Christmas cheer of the story without so much the chilling and depressing elements and, for those times, this one always hits the spot.

 

[ProstheticConscience]

Used to watch A Christmas Story every year growing up. That was always a family ritual. Continued the trend with my own wee one, but kinda got away from it after she grew up and moved out. It's not like I don't have the entire thing memorized, anyway.

Saw Scrooged! again a few days ago; a great take on the tale with Bill Murray hamming up every inch of the screen. Plus, nothing with Carol Kane it can not be funny. The Alastair Sim version is imho the standard...can't remember if I ever saw the earlier one. Never been super into Christmas movies generally.

 

[kihei]

Midnight Sky (2020) Directed by George Clooney 6A

I swear to the heavens that Midnight Sky could be argued to be a downbeat adaptation of A Christmas Carol.

Spoiler

Check the flashback scenes with Augustine's former girlfriend. They are nearly identical to the same scenes in 1951's A Christmas Carol. As for the rest of the movie, there is only one "ghost," true, little Iris, who first appears looking just like one of the woebegone children under the robes of the Ghost of Christmas Future in the original. However, for Augustine she works as both the "ghost" of Christmas past and present. She has a little Tiny Tim in her, too, in that she has an affliction; she's not lame but she doesn't speak. But she "haunts" Augustine anyway. And then when Augustine meets the real Iris briefly at the end of the movie, she represents a "ghost" of the future of mankind and the possibility, slim though it is, of a better tomorrow. Then there is friendless Augustine himself who has chosen to give up on love not for monetary gain but for scientific success which he thinks is more important than love. He ends up alone and isolated, just like Scrooge. But a "visitation" by Iris changes everything. Given the release date and all, it's kind of funny that there are so many similarities.

Something terrible has happened to Earth and humankind's days are numbered. Augustine (George Clooney), a lone survivor in an Arctic science station, tries to contact a spacecraft with five astronauts returning to earth to tell them of the dire situation. Beautiful to look at, intermittently quite interesting, but with long stretches in which the movie just seems to be killing time, Midnight Sky is a very mixed blessing. But its pluses merit a lukewarm recommendation.

Netflix

 

[heatnikki]

I watched Trial of the Chicago 7 last night.

Good film with some good acting, particular Sacha Baron Cohen

 

[Osprey]

Midnight Sky (2020) Directed by George Clooney 6A

I swear to the heavens that Midnight Sky could be argued to be a downbeat adaptation of A Christmas Carol.
Something terrible has happened to Earth and humankind's days are numbered. Augustine (George Clooney), a lone survivor in an Arctic science station, tries to contact a spacecraft with five astronauts returning to earth to tell them of the dire situation. Beautiful to look at, intermittently quite interesting, but with long stretches in which the movie just seems to be killing time, Midnight Sky is a very mixed blessing. But its pluses merit a lukewarm recommendation.

Netflix

I had to look it up to learn that Felicity Jones is in it. You should've led off with that important information. Just for her, I'll watch it despite the 29% RT audience rating.

Speaking of downbeat takes on A Christmas Carol, it's not a movie, but the Blackadder's Christmas Carol TV special always cracks me up. Blackadder, the nicest man in London, is visited by three ghosts who teach him to be mean and selfish. It's genius. I've often wondered why we haven't seen that twist re-done, especially since Hollywood is starved for ideas. I'm not really a fan of Jim Carrey, but an adaptation set in the modern day (ala Scrooged) with him could work, I think.

 

[kihei]

I had to look it up to learn that Felicity Jones is in it. You should've led off with that important information. Just for her, I'll watch it in spite of the 29% RT audience rating.

I will attempt a more felicitous opening next time.

 

[Chili]

It is 10/10 for me. In fact, it is on my top 3 films list. Despite its already formidable length, this is one of those rare films that I wish could be longer. Apparently, Leone's complete vision is supposed to be 5 hours plus that expands some of the relationships even more, but that never made it to the light of day. Now, all that is left is the 4 hours version, and a studio edited down chronological version that is universally panned.

Reading a book on Sergio Leone (Christopher Frayling-Something to do with Death) and there is a long chapter on Once upon a Time in America. It confirms that there is another ~40 minutes that do exist (beyond 229 minutes released). The extra footage was never dubbed though it was planned to be completed. Leone had wanted the film released in two parts but that was nixed by the producer. The US version was cut down to 139 minutes (apparently edited by the assistant editor of Police Academy) trying to make it into a gangster film which was not the director's intention.

 

[ItsFineImFine]

Gladiator (2000) - 7/10

Solid epic but maybe its pacing was thrown off because it constantly felt the need to be deeper than it needed to be. A fairly 2D villain doesn't help. The film failed to re-meet its big epic opening scene despite solid bits here and there.

James Acaster - Repertoire 4-part stand-up special (2017) - 9.5/10 (rewatch)

I judged it maybe a bit harder the first time I saw it a couple years ago because there were some lulls here and there but in a 4 part 4 hour long standup special, there are going to be lulls. Rewatching made me realize how good it was, can't get any more whimsical and silly than James Acaster while keeping your attention.

 

[ProstheticConscience]

Pottersville

with Michael Shannon, Judy Greer, Ron Perlman, Ian McShane, Christina Hendricks, and other people you're wondering how they got roped into this.

It's Christmas time in Pottersville, small town USA that's fallen on hard times since the mill closed. Shannon is Maynard Grieger, owner and proprietor of Grieger's General Store, the last store open on Main Street. Maynard (oddly pronounced by everyone as may-NARD) is a nice guy, giving struggling families credit until they can pay up. Town badass Bart (McShane) drops off some elk steaks, moonshine and advice one day, and Maynard pops off home to impress his wife with the meat. But uh-oh...his wife (Hendricks) is kinda cheating on him with the town sheriff (Perlman)...in that they're both furries. Having costumed furry "sex". Uh...yeah. Maynard, baffled and heartbroken, dips into the moonshine and heads back to work where his employee (Greer) offers support and bewilderment. Maynard hits on the idea to create his own furry costume to win his wife back, dons a ghillie suit with a gorilla mask, goes stumbling around in a drunken stupor, and wakes up the next day to discover half the town saw him and thinks he's Bigfoot. But this isn't necessarily a bad thing, because suddenly Bigfoot becomes a huge tourist draw and badly-needed money comes rolling in. Even a bigshot tv monster hunter drops by with his own tv crew. Maynard's in deep as the scam gets away from him...but how to get out?

Weird Xmas schmaltz that came out a few years ago and vanished. You wonder what bet everyone must have lost to make this...but there are some laughs in it. Like, you leave work early and find your wife having furry "sex" with your cop friend. What do you say to that? I mean, how would you even react? Brings in furries and a corrupt media couple...but doesn't do that much with them, really. A few sequences with them elevates it above your usual Hallmark Christmas Movie level. 0% Rotten Tomatoes score from the critics, 60% from users. That about sums it up.

On Netflix.

No. No, you definitely did not get a puppy.

 

[ProstheticConscience]

Doing a 2 for 1 tonight.

Bad Santa

with Billy Bob Thornton, Tony Cox, John Ritter (RIP), Bernie Mac (RIP), and other people.

The heartwarming holiday classic for our times, Billy Bob Thornton plays the role he was born to play: repulsive, disgusting, alcoholic reprobate and all-around piece of vile human garbage Willy "Tugboat" Soke. He's a safecracker, and every year he and his midget partner (Cox) play the role of department store Santa and his head elf at Xmas time somewhere, then bust open the safe on Xmas eve and steal enough cash to get by until next year. This year the job's in Phoenix, and Willie's worse than ever. He hates himself and anyone around him, especially Thurmond Merman, the impossibly gormless lump of cherubic childhood who thinks Willie really is Santa. Bernie Mac is the store detective hot on his case, and John Ritter is the mall manager who's just too sensitive for this world. Destruction is nigh.

And they say sentiment is dead. Pshaw.

Breakfast of champions.

 

[Langdon Alger]

Elf - 2003

Watched this on Christmas Eve. I’ve seen it before, but I saw it was on tv, so what the heck? Good, not great film. I actually don’t think it gets better with repeated viewings. Not that it gets worse, but yeah, it’s good. I’d be ok if I never watched it again. It’s cute enough and Will Ferrell was good. James Caan was a nice choice to play his dad.

7/10

 

[nameless1]

Reading a book on Sergio Leone (Christopher Frayling-Something to do with Death) and there is a long chapter on Once upon a Time in America. It confirms that there is another ~40 minutes that do exist (beyond 229 minutes released). The extra footage was never dubbed though it was planned to be completed. Leone had wanted the film released in two parts but that was nixed by the producer. The US version was cut down to 139 minutes (apparently edited by the assistant editor of Police Academy) trying to make it into a gangster film which was not the director's intention.

Thanks for this. I am tempted to pick up the book now.

 

[Osprey]

I watched the 1938 A Christmas Carol the night before Christmas Eve and then the 1951 and 1984 versions on Christmas Eve. Usually, I pick one to watch each year (but I had a lot more free time alone this Christmas; thanks COVID), so this was a rare opportunity to compare them.

A Christmas Carol aka Scrooge (1951) - 7/10 (Really liked it)

I'd forgotten how grim this version is. While the 1938 version sped through Scrooge's past, this version spends half an hour showing his rise in business and loss of Marley and his fiancée before spending almost another half hour on his present and future. You'd expect the spirits to take up an hour of the film, but it's a pretty serious hour with hardly any levity. It all contributes to the best character development and most believable transformation of all of the adaptations, but it also makes for the "heaviest" adaptation. It's also easily the one with the least Christmas music. It's a very good adaptation, but for both of those reasons, it isn't the one that I would want to watch with family on Christmas Eve. It's better appreciated during a quieter viewing a week earlier, IMO.

A Christmas Carol (1984) - 9/10 (Really loved it)

Just as the 1951 version was more grim than I remembered, this one was a bit less so. I don't think that I would've ever appreciated that if I hadn't seen them just hours apart. It doesn't skip over the darker, sadder elements like the 1938 version, but it also doesn't linger on them and drag them out. None of Scrooge's rise in business or loss of Marley that the 1951 version added is used, and that really streamlines the middle of the film. I don't think that it's missed because George C. Scott's Scrooge isn't so inhuman that we need that much explanation of why he became rotten. In fact, he even laughs out loud early in the film when Fred wishes him a Merry Christmas, proving that he's not so much of a curmudgeon that he finds nothing amusing. What also really stood out to me after watching the 1951 version earlier in the day is that this version makes much better use of music, and memorable music at that. It really takes the title literally and packs in as many Christmas carols as it can. Scrooge or any other character can't go walking down the street without "We Saw Three Ships" or some other carol being sung by school children. Also, seemingly whenever there's a break in dialogue in the film, the soundtrack plays a snippet of some catchy, festive music. It all makes the film fly by and never feel like it drags or is too sad. It's a quite accurate adaptation (perhaps the most accurate) that includes all of the sadness and darkness of Dicken's original story, but doesn't feel too sad or too dark, partly because of the wonderful soundtrack. I just love this adaptation because it provides all of the seriousness of the original story and all of the festiveness that you want out of a Christmas movie. It's the perfect Christmas Eve movie to me.