Month: December 2021

Posted on 2021-12-11 | No Comments |

Bachelor Mother (1939) – Rewatch

In a case of mistaken identity, newly fired saleslady Ginger Rogers is presumed to be the mother of a foundling she helped save. Complicating the situation, her attractive former boss David Niven offers to give her her job back if she continues to care for the child he presumes is hers. There’s not a lot that screams Christmas about the film as it begins at the end of the holiday season, but it is a sweet little romance with more hijinks as presumed fathers emerge once it has been settled that Ginger is the mother.

Oscar Nomination: Best Writing, Original Story

Posted on 2021-12-11 | No Comments |

Beyond the Lights (2014)

Pushed to success by her stage-mother Minnie Driver, Gugu Mbatha-Raw’s rising star begins to crash under the pressure of show business. Saving her from herself, even momentarily, is down-to-earth cop Nate Parker. It’s not a particularly new story nor does it end in anything but a thoroughly expected way. The leads are appealing with good chemistry; both of them capable at portraying the vulnerabilities necessary to make their characters believable.

Oscar Nomination: Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song

Posted on 2021-12-11 | No Comments |

Saving Face (2004)

Chinese-American surgeon Michelle Krusiec is in the closet to her conventional family, even allowing them to try to match her with any number of eligible bachelors. Unbeknownst to everyone else, her mother Joan Chen harbors secrets of her own that could bring shame to their family. The film centers on Michelle’s attempts at balancing her burgeoning relationship with her strict familial expectations and her mother’s newly found situation. While obviously somewhat low budget, it remains a light hearted, cute take on romance in various forms.

Posted on 2021-12-10 | No Comments |

I’ll Be Seeing You (1944) – Rewatch

Convict Ginger Rogers, on a good behavior furlough from prison, meets PTSD-suffering soldier Joseph Cotten on the train to visit her relatives for the holidays. They are both social outcasts of a type and make for an odd pairing in a Christmas film. Despite not knowing each other’s ails , they manage to find strength and comfort from the other character. Adding to the cast is Tom Tully and Spring Byington as Rogers’s kind and supportive aunt and uncle while Shirley Temple is their suspicious teenaged daughter. Their welcoming home provides just the right atmosphere to make this unusual Christmas tale work for the holiday season.

Posted on 2021-12-10 | No Comments |

Snowy Day/If You Give a Mouse a Christmas Cookie (2016) – Rewatch

I pair these two because I’ve watched them together every year since they first appeared on Prime. They are both delightful adaptations of well-known children’s picture books. While they are both enjoyable, I love Snowy Day more. It perfectly encapsulates Ezra Keats’s beautiful illustrations and urban setting with an excellent voice cast that includes Regina King, Angela Bassett, and Laurence Fishburne. As a bonus, it contains a new Boyz II Men song that serves as a soundtrack through the entire short. If You Give a Mouse a Christmas Cookie focuses solely on the animal characters, really stretching the story of them trying to fix the school holiday pageant that they almost ruined. It’s a cute and inoffensive diversion that also captures its book inspiration well.

Posted on 2021-12-10 | No Comments |

Blaze (1989)

Paul Newman is flamboyant Louisiana governor Earl Long, brother to the well known U.S. Senator Huey P. Long. He falls in love with stripper Blaze Starr, played by Lolita Davidovich, which proves to be his political downfall. The film is all over the place in tone, unsure if it wants to be about the comedic partnering of the mismatched pair or a serious look into civil rights and Southern political machinations. My usual adoration for Newman flatlined ins his relatively dull representation of Long, while I was impressed with Davidovich’s portrayal. Looking at photos of the real Starr, it seems Lolita encompassed her essence quite wonderfully.

Oscar Nomination: Best Cinematography

Posted on 2021-12-09 | No Comments |

Frosty the Snowman (1969) – Rewatch

Somehow this classic Christmas short manages to flesh out an entire special out of the well known song. By adding in a couple of extra named characters not mentioned in the lyrics, it presents a more thorough story of Frosty’s struggle between having fun with his new friends and melting away forever. Though it remains a bit questionable for a young girl to just hop on a freight train to the North Pole, the story is a mild diversion that doesn’t overstay its welcome, at least not until it decided to inspire multiple sequels, each with lessening returns.

Posted on 2021-12-09 | No Comments |

Scrooged (1988) – Rewatch

Yet another version of A Christmas Carol, the enjoyment of this one lies in its clever ‘performance within a film’ premise and prime 1980s Bill Murray comedy. The ghost choices are wonderful and outperform Murray at every opportunity. I like the touches of adding Karen Allen as a love interest and the usually tiring Bobcat Goldthwaite as a disgruntled former employee. The bit of nepotism in casting two of Murray’s brothers makes sense here where they play relative roles. (Only nepotism explains John’s addition.) It has so many other amusing cameos and minor roles by well-known actors and celebrities, plus goddess Alfre Woodard in the much under-appreciated Bob Cratchit role.

Oscar Nomination: Best Makeup

Posted on 2021-12-09 | No Comments |

This Sporting Life (1963)

Richard Harris is a brutish, ambitious coal miner who is given a place on a local rugby team after impressing the team’s owner with his aggression. He’s an unlikable lout who assaults opposing players and attempts to rape his landlady. At the same time, no one treats him as anything more than a goon and a payday. I had a hard time relating to or finding interest in the hyper masculinity of the main character and the world he inhabits. It is obvious that Harris put much into the character, believably encompassing his roughness and belligerence.

Oscar Nominations: Best Actor in a Leading Role; Best Actress in a Leading Role

Posted on 2021-12-09 | No Comments |

Nine Days (2020)

Winston Duke is a formerly alive soul whose current job is to choose which of a handful of candidate souls will have the chance to be born. Outside of that job, he spends his time watching the lives of those souls he has chosen and occasionally hosting visits from Benedict Wong who serves as somewhat of a supervisor/mentor for Duke. It’s an ambitious and unusual take on existential topics that has kept me intrigued from the moment I read the premise. The cast, also including Zazie Beetz, Tony Hale, and Bill Skarsgård, is somewhat eclectic but somehow works when thinking of all the potential souls in the universe. Beyond that, the film has a gorgeous, minimalist set and Duke’s performance is heart-wrenching and incredibly mesmerizing. Looking up his filmography, it seems I might be stuck watching Spenser Confidential just to see more of his work.