Because Everybody Else Has One

 I haven't posted anything on this blog in a while, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to talk about what is this year's biggest cinematic surprise so far: a "legacy" horror prequel/ sequel/reboot that is actually really good! After approximately seven hundred thousand Texas Chainsaw Massacre sequel, prequels, and reboots and especially after last year's crushingly terrible The Exorcist: Believer, you would be excused for believing that the carcass of '70s horror classics had been well and truly picked clean.  Not that there haven't been decent follow-ups to the big horror hitters of the 1970s. The Exorcist had The Exorcist III, a genuinely pretty great horror film in its own right, even with all its flaws. Alien had Aliens. Halloween had at least a couple of sequels/ remakes that are well regarded. But overall, abominations like The Exorcist II - and The Exorcist: Believer - are more the norm than the exception. Which brings us to The First Omen. ...

It may have been snubbed in the recently announced Academy Awards nominations but, make no mistake about it, Pride is easily one of the highlights of the past year.  This review is also up at Channel 24 What it's about During the UK's lengthy miners strike in 1984, a group of young gay activists (and one lesbian) take up the cause of those who they perceive as their brothers in arms: the thousands of miners who, with severely dwindling amounts of both resources and morale, continue to hold out against the Thatcher government's steely resolve in a battle for their very livelihoods. The only problem is that the conventionally conservative, often homophobic miners, may be less than appreciative of where their latest support is coming from. What we thought “Gay” in both its homosexual characters and in the sheer joy that it will inevitably instil in the hearts of all but the most cold-hearted (or, at least, Tory-leaning) of us, Pride is “feel good” filmma...

Well, it's that time of year again... Santa Clausians of the world rejoice! (Also at Channel24)   What it's about: Santa Claus's youngest son, Arthur (voiced by James McAvoy) sets off on a mission to correct a mistake made by his father's hi-tech operation: To give a Christmas present to a little girl who was overlooked. What we thought: At a cursory glance, Arthur Christmas doesn't look too promising. Its frankly awful title aside, Arthur Christmas isn't just a seasonal kids film, but a seasonal kids film that sets out to answer that most ridiculous of eternally ridiculous questions: Just how does Santa Claus deliver all those presents to all those billions of kids in a single night? Isn't devoting a film to answering that question more or less the same as devoting an entire film to figuring out why Superman can fly?  Worse, this is a Christmas film whose main plot revolves around Santa delivering presents, which means it will ...