"Arthur Christmas" Brings Yuletide Cheer At The Start Of The Holiday Season

Finally, a quality Christmas movie since Elf that isn't a "Christmas Carol" adaptation!  This film follows the title character, Arthur, who discovers that, after what seems to be a perfect Christmas Eve for the Santa family, one gift has been left behind meaning one child will end up present-less.  It sounds like your typical Christmas movie, but it's actually quite unique and quite hilarious.

Arthur Christmas, an Aardman production for Sony Pictures Animation, starts off very similarly to Disney's holiday special Prep & Landing with secret agent-like elves using advanced technology and gadgetry to complete their deeds as Santa's little helpers on Christmas Eve.  Although it seemed to be an outright copycat at first, Arthur Christmas used this idea in a much cooler and eye-catching way.  After getting out of a jam and finishing a long night of delivering presents in the very high tech S1 sleigh, the elves and the Santa family celebrate back at the North Pole.  Then they find out about the wrapped-up bicycle that went unnoticed and undelivered.

The current Santa, boringly voiced by Jim Broadbent (a bit of a letdown since he is the iconic figure), goes right to sleep, ignoring the forgotten child.  The Santa-to-be, Santa's son Steve, voiced by Hugh Laurie, claims that the night was still a success due to the very small margin of error.  But Arthur, Santa's youngest son, voiced by James McAvoy, is as obsessed with the holiday as Will Ferrel's Elf and believes that the present must be delivered so the child can wake up to a gift the way all children should.  Grandsanta, hilariously voiced by Bill Nighy, agrees to help with his old sleigh to prove that newer is not always better.

Along with an elf that has a knack for wrapping, the former Santa and his grandson set off on an adventure.  As funny and emotional as the film may be, there are some issues.  It's very interesting to see an all British cast in an Americanized Christmas movie, but at times it seemed a little too British.  I've seen many acclaimed British comedies that I've enjoyed, but have also been like "What the hell is this guy saying?"  Grandsanta has some great lines, but also some that went right over my head because of his extreme accent.  British! British! British!

And as with most 3D movies, it's completely unnecessary.  This style is even less appreciated when you're in a theater as crappy as South Bay Cinemas in West Babylon where they don't even turn the lights off until you say something.  Some material in the film also seemed to be a bit much for children, which made me laugh, but may not have been understood by my eight-year-old sister.  And as likable as the main character should be, Arthur was a bit intolerable at times due to McAvoy's overacting and nonstop yelling that exceeded normal excitement.

Nevertheless, Arthur Christmas is a good new Christmas movie, although part of me thinks it won't be played every holiday season for years to come.  I could be wrong though because I've seen Fred Claus played on TBS multiple times and that movie is as enjoyable as a three-year-old fruitcake.  It could become a classic since it borrows from other holiday films like the aforementioned Fred Claus, showing the lives of the entire Santa family, Prep & Landing, with its use of high tech elves, and Elf, with its super excited human who kind of acts like an elf, but manages to make itself an original treat.

Arthur Christmas may share a few similarities with these films, but its emotional ending and Christmas message, along with its great use of humor, make it stand out.  After decades of the same holiday specials being played over and over, hopefully future Christmas movies can try to achieve their own unique styles, giving us a whole new batch of holiday treats.

I think I'll try implementing a star rating for those of you who don't like to read.

Here you go: 3/4 stars

"Melancholia" Is Visually Stunning

So I saw this in my friend's apartment where he downloaded the film and hooked it up to his TV.  Since I was not in a movie theater environment, I was not fully engrossed in the movie, but it deserves a review nonetheless (granted it will be brief).  Melancholia follows two sisters after the wedding of one of them, Kirsten Dunst as Justine, while Earth is about to collide with a rogue planet that the film is named after.  The first half focuses on Dunst's character who is experiencing melancholia, giving the title more than one meaning, which is a Greek word meaning sadness, further described as a "mood disorder of non-specific depression."  Being in this state allows Dunst to give a great performance, earning her the Best Actress Award at the Cannes Film Festival.

The second half follows Justine's sister, Claire, played by Charlotte Gainsbourg.  In my opinion, she handles the inevitable doom in a much more believable way.  She is constantly freaking out and is more noticeably depressed, while Justine is very calm and quiet while dealing with the end of the world.  Kiefer Sutherland is also in Melancholia, as Claire's husband, and proves that he can be more than just a hitman or a secret agent.  

Although the actors do a wonderful job in the film, I enjoyed it more for its visuals.  The characters use a simple homemade device to judge whether or not the planet is moving closer, and it creates a beautiful spectacle.  And overall, the whole thing is visually captivating.  The fact that they live on a golf course with the most amazing view certainly doesn't hurt.

So if you're sick of blockbuster end of the world films, and want to see a disaster movie done in a more artsy and emotional way then consider downloading Melancholia.  The director, Lars von Trier, has experience with this type of movie and certainly knows what he is doing, although he seems like a total weirdo.  In a Kirsten Dunst interview, the actress said he would run around with his pants off just to get a laugh.  You don't have to worry about that sight in the actual film, but you do get to see Kirsten Dunst's boobs.  How's that for "visually stunning"?

"Tower Heist" Is An Investment That Sometimes Pays Off

I'd like to start off by saying that I've made multiple attempts to see this movie.  It was sold out twice in one night, and plans fell through the other few times I tried to check out Tower Heist, so I apologize for the lack of reviews throughout the month of November.  Anyway, last night I went back and forth between Tower Heist and The Descendants, not quite sure which I'd rather see more, favoring one over the other for brief moments, until I finally decided I'd try one last time to see Tower Heist.  The actual heist takes place during the Thanksgiving Day Parade and I figured this would put me in the holiday spirit.  However, since I failed in my attempts at seeing it so many times, maybe those were signs saying I shouldn't waste an evening with this mainstream jibber jabber.  But I digress.  The fact of the matter is, it was a Monday night and it's been out for a while and I got tickets no problem.  Let's talk about the actual movie.

So I don't think I need to get too into the plot points because the title itself tells you what this movie is all about.  Plus, it's a Brett Ratner film so the plot doesn't really matter because let's face it, this director just puts out decent crap.  And that's really all it is.  But in case you don't know, the movie takes place at The Tower, just like the Trump one, located in Columbus Circle.  I'm not sure how I managed to live there during the filming of it and not notice the production, but they probably only needed a few shots and I just missed out.  So Alan Alda plays Arthur Shaw, who is essentially Bernie Madoff, and he does a great job with this role.  Like Madoff, Shaw steals the Tower's employee's pensions in a Ponzi scheme.  Although Josh Kovacs, our protagonist played by Ben Stiller, had a very close relationship with Shaw at first, he discovers that his doorman friend got screwed over and he decides to get a motley crew together to steal back everyone's money.

The cast of characters includes: Matthew Broderick as a somewhat unintentionally hilarious Mr. Fitzhugh, who has recently been evicted, Casey Affleck as a less enjoyable, but not so bad version of himself in the Ocean's movies, Gabourey Sidibe as a pretty funny maid, and finally Eddie Murphy back to his hysterical, not Meet Dave self.  It took a while for him to finally get screen time in the film, making the first half hour or so quite stale, but it picks up once Eddie joins the crew.

So the plan for the heist gets pretty crazy and a bit unbelievable, but it's all in good fun.  The movie is nothing special, but it will hopefully pave the way for Eddie Murphy to get back on track with his career.  It's a shame that Ratner screwed up his chances at the Oscars, but I don't think he was ever truly committed to hosting anyway.  So if you have time to kill and wish to see decent performances from a decent cast, then check out Tower Heist.  I know it's been out for several weeks, but I'm glad I got it out of the way before Thanksgiving break.  The Muppets looks like it'll be a great movie-going experience.