The Spirit of Christmas (2005) TV-PG

Tasked with Selling the Hollygrove Inn before the New Year, lawyer Kate (Jen Lilley) runs into problems when she meets the Inn's dashing and reclusive ninety-five year old ghost (Thomas Beaudoin) who is confined to the Inn and cursed to be corporeal during the twelve days of Christmas.

Overall this ended up being an adorable supernatural love story with a dash of murder mystery built in.  Unfortunately, I found Lilley to be too soft and adorable to portray the tough and savvy lawyer she was supposed to be, and Beaudoin seemed stiff and stilted trying to act like a gentleman from the twenties, and not because of culture differences.  It was like he had trouble speaking formally.  And the actors portraying the other ghosts were terrible, like... high-school theater terrible.  Thankfully we do not see them often.

However, in the end it is a story worth seeing if you like romance.

As a maker's movie, it depends on what you're working on.  I got quite a bit done on the Christmas gift I've been knitting on.  It's a dialogue-rich movie, and the snowy countryside is not very distracting.  The period costumes in the flashbacks were bland.

Four out of five stars.  The acting needed work, even though the story was adorable and interesting.  Three laugh out loud moments; especially noteworthy was the break-up scene at the beginning.  One eyeroll when even I thought the romance was a little treacly.  At this price point, however, if you want to add to your holiday movies and round out your romance section, this is certainly a fine choice.  Available on Netflix, as a DVD, or on Amazon video.

 

Netflix Original: Spectral (2016) TV-14

A unit of soldiers in a war-torn country start falling prey to an enemy they can't see and can't combat with conventional weapons.  It takes a scientist from DARPA (James Badge Dale, Rubicon) and a CIA analyst (Emily Mortimer, Shutter Island) to go in and assess the situation, identify the enemy, and stop it before it spreads beyond the confines of the battlefield.

Soldiers just keeping the peace for America start getting wiped out by what appears to be ghosts of the dead.  They can't fight them, they can't run from them, and can't hide from something that can walk through walls.  So they bring in the scientist that helped them create the technology that allowed them to see this spectral enemy in the first place in an attempt to isolate and contain the threat.  They ended up facing a force that they were not ready to combat by conventional means.

This is a beautifully shot and produced movie.  The costuming, acting, and effects are all top-notch, and it's stunning to watch.  Unfortunately in the last half hour, I found my interest fading.  Even the cinematography couldn't keep me watching, which was actually great for my knitting... I got several inches of my hat done for a Christmas gift.

I think the problem was that we just kept hitting high points, climaxes, with characters falling left and right, and by the time you get down to the last twenty minutes, you just really don't care anymore what happens with these people, or what's causing the specters.  Like shell shock, you're just numb and waiting for it to be over.

One eyeroll at the end.  These two people suddenly have these big emotions that seem to come from nowhere.  Two holy crap moments because the specters are badass killing machines.  I dropped my needles twice in the middle for combat scenes that were frenetic and stylistic, but brutal.  Not a lot of blood, though, if that's a concern.

Three and a half stars.  It would have been higher but like I said, by the last half hour I was saying "Why aren't we done with this yet?". 

Shakespeare In Love (1998) R

In this wild imagining of Shakespeare's (Joseph Fiennes) days writing "Romeo and Juliet", William falls in love with Viola DeLesseppes  (Gwyneth Paltrow), a shop-keeper's daughter destined to wed Lord Wessex (Colin Firth).

Can a play show us the true nature of love?  That is the bet in this movie between the Queen and Lord Wessex.  Set in Shakespearean England, this tale takes us on a romantic journey between The Bard and Lady Viola.  She comes to him dressed as a boy, but her true nature is revealed, and thus begins the romance.

If you know Shakespeare, you will still be fascinated by the screen.  The costumes are amazing.  The twists between the everyday words, and his poetic translation into the play, are magical.

You know what?  Fuck it, it's a great movie.  Paltrow's accent doesn't even make me cringe, and that's saying something.

For makers, it depends on your discipline.  If you're a costume geek, you're going to be transfixed.  If you're a fan of the written word, you may still struggle, but it's easier to watch your hands.

Just watch it ladies.  And if your man has half a brain, he'll follow right along with you and love it, because that's what it's all about.  Love, and a journey.

At least seven laugh out loud moments.  You may drop your knitting needles during the fight scenes, especially towards the end.  Five stars.  Don't ask me to define them, but they're there.  And if you don't add this to your rom-com collection, you're fortune's fool.

The Rebound (2009) R

When she catches her husband cheating on her with a neighbor, a newly divorced Sandy (Catherine Zeta-Jones) finds herself in New York with two kids and no help.  She hires coffee shop clerk Aram (Justin Bartha) to be her nanny, but a romance soon develops and things get complicated.

I expected this to be either one of two things... that it would focus on the steamy sex, or be a treacly, preachy exploration of why a May-December romance with the woman being the older party is wrong.  I was pleasantly surprised to find out it was neither.  Instead it was an exploration of a love story that starts out with bad timing.

Another pleasant surprise is that there were many, many laugh out loud moments.  More than ten for me.  Sandy's first date after her divorce with the chiropractor (John Schneider) was hilariously cringe-worthy.  A couple of holy crap moments too, mostly related to her precocious and slightly outspoken children.

Four and a half out of five stars.  A movie is seldom perfect, but I could really relate to this one at this time in my life, and it comes darn close to being perfect.  Some comedic moments were slightly over the top, so I dinged it half a star.   If you want to add it to your shelf of Rom-Coms, the price point is pretty good and it's definitely worth a look.

Michael Che Matters (2016) TV-MA

Michael Che offers up his views on a wide variety of subjects, most of which are hilarious.

As a Netflix original show, this has the production value I've come to expect.  I went into this having never before heard of this particular comic, but I was not disappointed.

There are some topics he covers that some people will find offensive.  Jesus in particular, and religion in general.  Maybe the discussion of the N-word.  You can either let it roll off your back and relax and enjoy the rest, or you can take great offense and grumble.  Your choice.  But why go through life angry?


Just watch for that gorilla rapture.  And speculate as to whether Michael, Nick, and Paul ever went to that strip club.

Four out of five stars.  Way too many laugh out loud moments to tally up.  The bit about carpentry and Jesus was pretty good, but I didn't care for the rest of the religion content.  The parts about cat-calling, porn, and your children were spot-on.  For makers, standup comedy is always great because there's rarely any visuals you need to pay attention to.  However I did enjoy spotting the reactions of the warmup band behind him when he said something particularly good.  That, and poor Nick's face when asking what kind of porn he watches.  Good thing he was not on a date.

Fire this up if you need a serious hour to devote to your crafting, it will keep your brain amused.

Sliding Doors (1998) PG-13

Helen (Gwyneth Paltrow) has been fired from her job at a swanky PR firm in London.  The simple closing of a train door determines her future, and we see both timelines play out.  Will she make it home in time to catch her cheating boyfriend Gerry?  Or will she be late, get mugged, and come home to a sympathetic Gerry who tries to turn over a new leaf?

Let's get the biggest problem out of the way first.  I don't like Paltrow's accent in this, at all.  I've heard her do it beautifully before in Shakespeare in Love, I just don't get why she sounds so awkward here.  Maybe it's modern vs. Shakespearean language, who knows?  It's off-putting at first, but once you get past it, this is a lovely film, especially for fans of time travel and stories about the effects of one random choice.

In both of Helen's timelines she crosses paths with James (John Hannah), a kind and funny man who seems to have a secret of his own.  I really can't say much more because the two timelines are so intertwined with similar events, that to spoil one is to spoil the other.

As a romantic comedy, it satisfies.  The two timelines are easily distinguished as we flip between them, so even a newbie would be able to follow.  As a maker's movie, it is also satisfactory, with swaths of witty dialogue that don't need to be seen to be appreciated.

Four out of five stars.  Maybe if Helen didn't say "bollocks" quite so often, Paltrow's accent wouldn't be nearly so off-putting.  As it stands, that's what dinged it one star for me.  An excellent film to add to your shelf of date movies at this price point.

Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (2009) PG-13

Connor Mead  (Matthew McConaughy) is a fashion photographer who breaks hearts in the manner he was taught by his uncle Wayne (Michael Douglas), a now-deceased famous international playboy and ladies' man.  When he meets up with his childhood sweetheart Jenny (Jennifer Garner) at his little brother's wedding, and he ruins everything, he is visited by three ghosts... girlfriends past, present, and future.

I didn't intend for this to be a theme this week, yet thanks to a roommate, once again we are revisiting the classic Charles Dickens tale, but this time with a romantic twist.  Instead of chastising him for his treatment of all mankind, he's being taught a lesson for how he treats women and the value of true love.

As a crafter's movie, it's excellent.  Dialogue-rich, you can pay plenty of attention to your current project.  The humor, and the well-researched trips back to the 80's and 90's make it interesting and amusing.  The only problem I had with it was that this man was so deeply, unashamedly using women for his own hedonistic desires, I found his sudden turnaround very unbelievable.  Not all that behavior can be explained by a broken heart at a seventh grade dance and a debauched father figure.

Well, it's entertainment.  Maybe I should just try to let it go.  Four out of five stars.  Their extended love story is cute, and ultimately endearing.  I just wish they hadn't blamed a young girl for his lifetime spent on the crappy treatment of women.

Scrooged (1988) PG-13

Bill Murray is a lonely, bitter TV executive who schedules a live version of Dicken's A Christmas Carol on Christmas eve.  He is visited by three brutally honest ghosts who show him the true meaning of Christmas.

If you can't watch Sir Patrick Stewart in the classic-style enactment of the original A Christmas Carol, then this is an excellent substitute.  I say watch both, but you may not have the time.  Filled with slapstick comedy and Bill Murray's usual surreal improvised bits, this is an hilarious re-imagining of the classic with an upbeat ending.

For the knitters out there, it's not bad if you're struggling to get your knitted gifts finished before the big day.  While there are some action sequences and tender moments that should be watched, there are some dialogue-heavy scenes that are helpful if you need to watch your hands while you work.

Plenty of laugh out loud moments, especially when Carole Kane makes her appearance as the ghost of Christmas Present.  You may drop your needles for the action when Elliot takes a shotgun into the office, but otherwise this is an excellent film.  The effects may be a bit dated, but the sentiment behind the story is real, and fitting with the holiday season.

Available on Netflix for right now, or you can add it to your holiday film collection for a decent price point.