It's a Wonderful Life (1946) review

(10/10)

     More than just a charming holiday classic, It's A Wonderful Life teaches one of the most valuable lessons of life in a distinct, warm way, making it likable for everyone. There's enough feel-good moments to satisfy the casual moviegoer and enough dark moments of realism to satisfy the analytical critic. Perfectly-done performances and solid direction make the film as truly wonderful and effective as it wants to be. 

PLOT: George Bailey (James Stewart) has had a major impact in his friend's and family's lives though he doesn't realize it. From saving his little brother's life and a drugstore manager's job to managing the money and housing of several locals including his family, George has left a major impact on the town in which he lives. In fact, his family business, the Bailey Building and Loan is the only one with enough honor to run independently from greedy businessman, Mr. Potter (Lionel Barrymore). However, George has a a bad day on Christmas Eve when his Uncle Billy (Thomas Mitchell) loses his business' money for the bank examiner and gets the business in trouble with the law. George, after lashing out on his family and getting in a fight at the bar, debates throwing himself off a bridge, prompting his guardian angel, Clarence (Henry Travers), to travel to Earth to save him. After the two begin talking, George says he wishes he would've never been born, which Clarence makes a reality to prove to George that he's had a major impact on his society. Now, George must navigate this alternate world and realize his worth under the guidance of his angel, Clarence, yearning to earn his wings through this task. The plot is very well done with just enough charm and with to balance out. There's an ample balance of everything in this film. There's enough moments of uplifting Christmas charm to match the moments of serious reality when George debates his existence. The film proves to be just as much a holiday film as a basic fundamental lesson for a good life. 

ACTING: The performances in this film are very excellent for their time. James Stewart steals the show as the main character, George Bailey. Stewart plays the role as natural as if he were living it, making it as iconic as it is fitting. Other great performances came from Lionel Barrymore as greedy Mr. Potter, Thomas Mitchell as forgetful Uncle Billy, Henry Travers as Clarence the angel, and especially Donna Reed as George's wife, Mary. The two had a very visible chemistry in the film, setting the standard for cinematic romance with memorable dialogue and charm, as well. 

SCORE: The memorable score done by obscure, foreign composer Dimitri Tiomkin, is quite warm and elegant, like that of most cinema in its time. However, the film does bear a fairly memorable end scene with a simple rendition of "Auld Lang Syne". 

OTHER CONTENT: During this time, this film was probably peaceful message to everyone, giving off the Christmas spirit most had yearned for. It's A Wonderful Life is just what it wishes to be: wonderful. Even though it gets dark at times, it finishes with a feel-good feeling outdoing any other Christmas film to come. The film is its own Christmas Carol, molding the dark to make the light, which is what the holiday feeling is anyhow: being light in times of dark. 

     It's A Wonderful Life is a must-see holiday film for audiences of all ages. There's enough Christmas charm for the sentimentalists, enough dark seriousness for the more critical, and enough meaning for the skeptics. The film presents a perfect balance of all cinematic elements, letting it become just as effective a stand-alone film as a Christmas film, which is what is truly wonderful in the end. 

Mixed Nuts (1994) review

(4/10)

The reason I didn't hate this as much as I should've was probably because I was watching it with a friend, but it still wasn't too bad. There were a good bit of parts it was very funny.

PLOT:It's Christmastime and things are going screwy in this California setting. Philip (Steve Martin) is the manager of a company named Lifesavers, which is a dedicated suicide hotline. Working with Philip is Blanche Munchnik (Madeline Kahn) and Catherine (Rita Wilson). Things are running pretty smooth around Lifesavers until the landlord (Gary Shandling) gives Philip the eviction notice of their company. Philip must keep it a secret from his co-workers while still dealing with his many calls, including the pregnant and stressed-out Gracie Barzini (Juliette Lewis) and the cross-dressing Mr. Lobel (Robert Klein). It's an ok plot executed almost decently.



ACTING:The performances in here were okay. Steve Martin played a pretty good part as the stressed and depressed Philip. Rita Wilson played a pretty decent part as Catherine and Madeline Kahn played a good part as Mrs. Munchnik until the near-end of the movie. Adam Sandler played in this as the delivery boy, Louie, but he actually isn't as bad as most of his roles. Maybe it's because this one isn't a leading role. The other shiners, so to speak, were Juliette Lewis as Gracie Barzini, Robert Klein as Mr. Lobel, Anthony LaPagilia as Felix, Gary Shandling as Stanley Tannenbaum, Rob Reiner as Dr. Kinsky, and Jon Stewart as one of the tree carriers. However, none of the roles except for the first three were really good at all.

SCORE:The score was made up of mainly Christmas music, so it wasn't too bad.



OTHER CONTENT:I didn't hate this as much as I expected to because I had a friend pointing and laughing at certain things, plus it did have some hilarious parts. Overall, though, most of the jokes and plot twists fell flat.

OVERALL,an ok movie with a near-decent plot, okay acting, Chrsitmas score, and some hilarious parts, but most of it just fell flat.

Everybody's Fine (2009) review

(5/10)

Besides the performance by Robert De Niro, there's nothing really memorable about this movie. It's not bad, but there's just nothing significant about it.

PLOT:Frank (Robert De Niro) is the father of four kids: Amy (Kate Beckinsale), Rosie (Drew Barrymore), Robert (Sam Rockwell), and David. Each one has grown up, moved on, and seemingly hit it big somewhere. When the mother of the family dies, Frank tries to bring everybody together this holiday season like it used to be, but everybody seems busy. However, Frank decides to see them anyway by packing up on a cross-country trip to see each one, but it's not all peaceful among them. Each has their set of problems, especially David, who's apparently vanished off the face of the Earth. Will his kids reunite with him truthfully and reveal their secrets? It's a great plot executed pretty blandly.



ACTING:Robert De Niro was almost the saving grace of this movie. He played a nice, calm, heartfelt role as the old father, Frank. He played the role the best that he could based on what he was given. The other shiners were Drew Barrymore as Rosie, Kate Beckinsale as Amy, and Sam Rockwell as Robert. They went with the flow of the movie, but they weren't horrible.

SCORE:The score was mainly composed of some random, mood-fitting songs of alternative and classic pop. It was pretty cool.



OTHER CONTENT:This movie could have been so much better than it really was, but it just fell flat. The writers of the story and script didn't add enough moments of interest so it felt as if nothing happened for most of the movie. The humor and dramatic moments also felt out-of-place since they only came around a few times; it seemed uneven. They could have taken this idea and skyrocketed it with a more eventful and even plot, but they lived on a careful performance by De Niro and didn't try to make this one break the formula. However, it's not terrible. There isn't a lot of bad aspects to it; it's just bland.

OVERALL,a mediocre movie with a blandly-executed plot, decent acting, cool soundtrack, uneventfulness, uneven plot twists, and a bland formula, but it's not a terrible movie.

Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town (1970) review

(8/10)

This has always been my very favorite of the Rankin-Bass Christmas specials for its sentimentality and entertaining story.

PLOT:It's Christmastime again, and the children have started sending their letters to Santa. The local mailman (Fred Astaire) sees these letters every year and decides to tell the story of Santa Claus. Discovered by toy-making elves, Kris Kringle (Mickey Rooney) is raised with a determination to take the toys over the dangerous mountain, guarded by the evil Winter Warlock (Keenan Wynn), to deliver to the children of Sombertown. However, mayor Burgermeister (Paul H. Frees) has banned toys from the town due to an injury induced by one. Kris comes to town and learns that he has to distribute the toys in secret. This tale eventually develops into the complete backstory of Santa Claus. It's a good plot executed charmingly.



VOICES:The voices in here are decent for the most part. Mickey Rooney plays an awesome Santa Claus/Kris Kringle. Fred Astaire played a charming part as the narrator as well. The other shiners would be Keenan Wynn as the Winter Warlock, Paul H. Frees as Burgermeister Meisterburger, and Joan Gardener as Miss Jessica. The minor character voicing was the pretty sucky part of the voicing.

SCORE:The soundtrack of songs are pretty dated, but very fun to hear. Such original songs like "The First Toymakers to the King" and "Put One Foot in Front of the Other" are just catchy and fun altogether.

ANIMATION:In today's times, the animation would be pretty bad, but for the time it was made, the animation was pretty good. Even now it's still very nostalgic and unique. Everyone remembers it for how it is.



OTHER CONTENT:This Christmas special runs mainly off charm and cuteness, but it's also nostalgic, heart-warming, and full of good storytelling. This has the power to warm the heart of every Christmas-loving family that has seen it. However, the fact that it makes its base off of cuteness and charm doesn't make up for the missing holiday substance.

OVERALL,it's a great Christmas special with a good plot, decent voice acting, fun soundtrack, nostalgic animation, cuteness, charm, the power to warm a family's heart, and good storytelling, but the minor character voices are pretty bad and the fuel of the special can't make up for what it's missing.

Arthur Christmas (2011) review

(9/10)

I didn't expect this to amount to as much as the critics made it out to be, but this really surprised me. I felt a certain sense of holiday joy I haven't sensed in a while.

PLOT:At the North Pole, things aren't all exactly as the media have made it out to me. In today's Christmas, the elves do most of the work, they use a big camoflauged spaceship, and it's all a steady-run computer operation. The current Santa (Jim Broadbent) and his elves run this year's mission practically flawless under the supervision of his son, Steve (Hugh Laurie), who is vying for the next Santa. However, the klutzy other son of Santa, Arthur (James McAvoy), stumbles upon a present forgotten and insists on taking it to this little girl. Santa and Steve both ignore the idea, but kind-hearted Arthur teams up with his Grandsanta (Bill Nighy), hitches up the reindeer to the old slay, and dashes into the night to deliver the missed present before the sun comes up. It's a good plot executed very greatly.



VOICES:The voice acting is pretty good. James McAvoy's voice could get annoying as Arthur's awkward British voice, but it actually fit his character rather well. Jim Broadbent did a brilliant job as Santa, and so did Bill Nighy as Grandsanta. The other shiners would be Hugh Laurie as Steve, Imelda Staunton as Mrs. Santa, and Ashley Jensen as Bryony, even though her voice acting is kind of like McAvoy's with Arthur.

SCORE:The score was mainly played for dramatic effect, but it was pretty good.

ANIMATION:This definitely wasn't the best animation I've seen, especially for being one of Aardman's production. It was computer animated instead of clay-animated, but it still held a certain precision and cleanliness.



OTHER CONTENT:This movie blew me away in some parts. This movie was wild, creative, and very emotional. This movie contained some very wild parts where it became funny and quirky, and it was also very creative with its thought process. The greatest high this has, however, is the emotional impact. This enhances the holiday emotion of getting up on Christmas morning as a child and feeling the magic of what you once believed to be Santa's joy. It will make you, if you have a warm enough heart, feel Christmas nostalgia toward your childhood. It was a really surprising outcome; I didn't expect it to be this much in-depth. However, this does have a noticeable shortcoming. The wackiness the humor in the story gives makes it a little unstable, like it's a children's movie that doesn't know what it wants. It's still a great, emotional holiday film either way.

OVERALL,an awesome Christmas movie with a great plot, good voice acting, good score, precision animation, wild humor, creative ideas, and a great holiday emotional impact, but it is a bit unstable for its own self

Scrooged (1988) review

(6/10)

This wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. It was fairly funny, freaky, and very modernized, but it's also shallow, bleak, and tacky.

PLOT:Frank Cross (Bill Murray) has been the manager of the IBC TV station for a while, and he's trying to make this year's Christmas special as can't-miss as possible. However, Frank is a shallow businessman who cares only about money and ratings for his Christmas. As he's preparing for the next night, Frank is visited by the dead apparition of his former boss, Lew Hayward (John Forsythe). He tells Frank that he will be visited by three ghosts starting at noon the next day. These ghosts are determined to change Frank's cold, greedy heart into a light, nice one in this modernized adaptation of the Dickens' story. It's a good plot executed fairly.



ACTING:The acting in here was alright for the most part. There were some bad performances and some good ones. Bill Murray mainly stole the role as Frank Cross, the Scrooge of this movie. He did a fine job. The other shiners would be John Forsythe as Lew Hayward, Karen Allen as Claire Phillips, John Glover as Brice Cummings, and David Johansen as the Ghost of Christmas Past. The rest were pretty sucky, I'd say.

SCORE:The score was mainly for dramatics, but it sounded pretty good. It wasn't anything special though.

EFFECTS:The effects in here are pretty good, I'd say. The effects used for make-up are pretty gruesome for each of the ghosts, and the effects used for the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come are pretty scary. The effects are used pretty well.



OTHER CONTENT:This wasn't too bad. It had a few good funny moments thanks to Murray's acting, it was pretty freaky, and it was a very modernized take for the time. I liked how they made everything scarier to make a better effect. It actually works in here thanks to the more mature audience and modernized society. However, this also brings on a few cons. This edition is much more bleak and depressing as compared to the others. The presence of the Christmas spirit is really hard to find until the end scenes. It just comes off as dry and overused. It also gets dreadfully chinsy and tacky near the end. I wouldn't use cheesy, because it's worse than that. It's not the best Christmas Carol, but it isn't horrible either.

OVERALL,an ok Christmas movie with a good plot, ok acting, unimportant score, good effects, a few funny moments, added scares that actually work, and more modern ideas, but it's more bleak and shallow from other Christmas Carols, and it gets pretty tacky near the end.

Prep and Landing (2009) review

(7/10)

ABC Family usually puts out some pretty crappy stuff, especially for Christmas, but this one isn't half bad.

PLOT:Everybody knows the story of Santa and how he gets to other kids' houses on Christmas Eve, but what we don't know is how he knows exactly whether it's  safe or not. This is the job of Santa's prep and landing crew. They test the waters and give the stats of the child's house the big guy's about to visit and put out the landing gear for him to hit each house. The lead elf of this division is Wayne (Dave Foley), who has been working it for over 200 years. When his partner gets a promotion instead of him and a new partner (Derek Richardson) gets placed in his midst, he falls into carelessness because he didn't get promoted. Because of him, the fate of everybody's happy Chistmas might be at stake. It is a very unique and modernized twist on Santa's flight story executed rather well.



VOICES:The voices chosen are very cartoonish and fit each personality perfectly. David Foley plays a pretty good leading role as Wayne, and Derek Richardson plays off of him rather well as Lanny. The other shiners would be Sarah Chalke as Magee and William Morgan Shepherd as the Big Guy.

SCORE:The score is mainly made up of random Christmas songs from the likes of Nat King Cole and others, with some dramatic score. It wasn't too important, but still pretty good.

ANIMATION:Since this is an ABC Family Christmas special, I expected the animation to be lazily done, but the animation was actual pretty intricate and detailed in a cartoonish way. The characters by themselves are no big deal, but the facial expressions made by the characters and their actions both expressed their emotions in a quite whimsical way. Then again, John Lasseter was in charge of some of it.



OTHER CONTENT:This is just a TV special, but it's really not half bad. Aside from the animation, it holds up a great Christmas spirit and some clever twists. The conflict that comes up in the middle puts an unexpected feeling of Christmas spirit and nostalgic feeling of childhood memories. The holiday humor in here is also pretty clever and funny, especially the holiday lingo used among the elves. Phrases such as "Totally Tinsel" and "Figgy Pudding" all make those aware of the references smile. However, this does have a few cons, as it is just a TV special. It's way too short, I believe. Clocking in at only 22 minutes, everything feels rushed and the attempted character development almost fails. Thanks to proper storytelling, everything is safe. I've noticed in rewatching this however, that it's quite cheesy with its dialogue as it is clever. It was purely for entertainment, but it did hold a supple amount of emotion, I'd say.

OVERALL,a good Christmas special with a unique plot, cartoonish voices, good holiday soundtrack, detailed animation, nostlagic Christmas feeling, and clever holiday humor, but it is just a really short TV special with rushed character development and a bit of cheese.

Disney's A Christmas Carol (2009) review

(7/10)

This adaptation of the popular isn't as bad as some may think, and it does make itself different from the others in many ways. However, all of the Hollywood jazz and added scares deter from the meaning.

PLOT:Seven Christmas Eves after his business partner, Jacob Marley, dies, Ebenezer Scrooge (Jim Carrey) is still as cheap as he's ever been, turning away charities and shunning his nephew, Fred (Colin Firth). He gives his assistant, Bob Cratchit (Gary Oldman), the day off Christmas and heads on home. However, when he gets home, he's visited by the tormented spirit of his former partner, Marley (Gary Oldman), who tells him that he shall be visited by three ghosts to help him change his miserly ways. It's the same great plot executed very differently this time around; however, it's still a good adaptation.



VOICES:The performances in here are pretty good I'd say. Jim Carrey played a great part as Ebenezer Scrooge, even though every bit of dialogue he spoke as him was over-enunciated. Jim Carrey also plays the voices of all of the ghosts: Christmas Past, Present, and Yet to Come (though he barely spoke). A good bit of the actors voiced multiple roles as well. The shiners besides Carrey would be Gary Oldman as Bob Cratchit/Jacob Marley, Colin Firth as Fred, Bob Hoskins as Fezziwig, Robin Wright as Belle/Fan, Cary Elwes as many multiple roles, and Fionnula Flanagan as Mrs. Dilber.

SCORE:The score is mainly made up of popular Christmas songs and some dramatic score. It was a pretty good soundtrack, though it doesn't really matter as much as other aspects of the movie.

ANIMATION:The animation in here is very great. It's like that of The Polar Express, but better. Every character's main role is animated as if they were acting that role visually on-screen. The animation fit the characters' faces to the last wrinkle, minus what they added on for effect. The animation is dazzling, to say the least.



OTHER CONTENT:This adaptation of Charles Dickens' classic novel isn't as bad as some make it out to be. It follows the book's dialogue to the letter, adds the emotion needed, and dazzles with its animation and performances. However, some things Hollywood adds take the Christmas spirit out of the movie. The scares they added into the story are the main culprit. The director added a few unnecessary scares to make it worthy to Hollywood and the general public and to try to enhance the lesson in it. However, it does the exact opposite and covers up most of the warm feeling with dread and horror, from things such as a deteriorating Marley in the spirit world, to personifications of Ignorance and Want, and even demon horses led by Yet to Come. They put a little too much Hollywood sparkle and scare in here for it to be that great of an adaptation. Even I, as a horror fan, admit it's too much for a family holiday film.

OVERALL,a good Christmas movie with a differently-adapted plot, good performances, pretty good score and soundtrack, very great animation, and accuracy to the book, but the added Hollywood pizazz and scares take away some of the warm feeling and the lesson it's supposed to give.

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989) review

(7/10)

The National Lampoon's series has had its flops and rises; this one is a small rise. This has become a huge tradition in my household to watch this movie at least once every holiday season.

PLOT:In this third installment of the National Lampoon's vacation, the Griswolds decide to stay at home for this year's Christmas vacation, but the hassles of the family fighting and getting Christmas perfect are getting in the way. Clark (Chevy Chase) just wants a happy family Christmas, but the family's fighting, the lights aren't working, the trees too big, the neighbors are prudes, and the bonus check Clark's been hoping for is getting further and further delayed. Will this crazy, mixed-up Christmas work out right? It's a simple plot executed very well.



ACTING:The acting's not spectacular, but it's still pretty great. Chevy Chase plays a pretty funny part as the dysfunctional family-man, Clark Griswold. The whole family played mainly off of his actions, especially Beverly D'Angelo as Ellen Griswold, the wife. Besides these two, the shiners are Juliette Lewis as Audrey Griswold, Johnny Galecki as Rusty Griswold, Randy Quaid as Cousine Eddie, Dianne Ladd as Nora Griswold (Clark's mother), John Randolph as Clark Griswold, Sr., E.G. Marshall as Art (Ellen's father), Doris Roberts as Francis (Ellen's mother), Julia Lewis-Dreyfuss as Margo Chester, Mae Questel as Aunt Bethany, William Hickey as Uncle Lewis, and Brian Doyle-Murray as Mr. Frank Shirley. Every performance in the family worked, as well as the wacky-er roles.

SCORE:The score wasn't anything too special, but it was used pretty well. The soundtrack has lived in my family since we started the tradition, from the title song to "The Spirit of Christmas".

EFFECTS:There weren't a whole lot of effects, but of the few there, they were pretty realistic.



OTHER CONTENT:This Christmas movie has lived in my family as long as I can remember as one of the traditional Christmas movies we watch every year. It stays true to the crazier aspects of Christmas and how timeless it really is. The jokes can sometimes flop as well as rise, as it is a National Lampoons movie. Either way, it's still a near-hilarious and timeless Christmas movie tradition.

OVERALL,a good Christmas movie with a very well-executed plot, great acting, well-fitted score and traditional soundtrack, realistic effects, timeless jokes, Christmas realism, and some good jokes, but a lot of the movie can get old and fall as well.

A Claymation Christmas Celebration (1987) review

(10/10)

This has been a big part of my childhood since I first saw it, and it was run all the way though to now. I still love the beautiful song renditions and colorful animation.

PLOT:Rex (Johnny Counterfit) and Herb (Tim Conner) are in London's Christmas Square, going over their favorite Christmas songs in various renditions, from a goosebump-inducing "We Three Kings" to a soulful "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer", all told in unique, silly, and meaningful ways. It's a good plot idea executed wonderfully.



VOICES:The voice acting doesn't matter all that much in here, but there were some good peformances anyhow. The voices fit their characters well. Johnny Counterfit and Tim Conner as Rex and Herb are a pair of two loveable hosts and played off each other well.

SCORE:The soundtrack is the second most important part of this special. The different renditions of famous Christmas songs sound great. From beautiful to soulful to played for kicks, the score was all good.

ANIMATION:This is the most important part of the special. The animation is under the control of the great Will Vinton, and it's great as well. It's very detailed, colorful, and well done overall. Only Vinton could have pulled it off like he did.



OTHER CONTENT:This special has held a special place in my heart ever since I first saw it in my childhood. The loveable soundtrack, beautiful animation, and childlike execution all put this special at the top of my Christmas list.

OVERALL,an epic Christmas special with a wonderful plot, fitting voice acting, beautiful soundtrack, detailed and colorful animation, and a special place in my childhood heart.