Movie of the Day: "The Santa Clause" (1994)

Here's a holiday staple that's still enjoyable, even if it's a bit silly overall. Tim Allen is a divorced dad who accidentally falls into the Santa "clause" when the real guy falls off his roof on Christmas Eve. He then finds himself at the North Pole (a high tech lab in this one with immortal kids as elves instead of old people) and literally morphing into St. Nick as the next Christmas fast approaches. Sure it's silly, but it still has some funny lines from Allen and Judge Reinhold and a very cool North Pole set-up (one of my favorites in the movies, actually). It works, and for that reason it's still a fun re-watch every year at this time, especially for kids. Stay away from the sequels though- they're almost bad enough to destroy the original, trust me.

Original 1994 Trailer:

Black Film Critics Circle Chooses 'Selma'

Selma completely dominated the Black Film Critics Circle awards, pulling off a near sweep, which is at least a nice change from Boyhood. Ava Duvernay's movie is looking to rival it as the best reviewed film of the year, as it's currently up to 48 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes and still sitting at 100%.

Black Film Critics Circle

Picture: Selma
Director: Ava Duvernay, Selma
Actor: David Oyelowo, Selma
Actress: Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Belle
S. Actor: J.K. Simmons, Whiplash
S. Actress: Carmen Ejogo, Selma
A. Screenplay: Gone Girl
O. Screenplay: Selma
Cinematography: Birdman
Animated: The Lego Movie
Foreign Film: Ida
Documentary: Keep On Keepin' On
Ensemble: Selma

Movie of the Day: "The Lemon Drop Kid" (1951)

Funnily enough, I think this is one of Bob Hope's most underrated movies, since most people don't seem to have ever heard of it. And the truth is, if you've never seen him in anything back from the era when he was a movie star rather than the iconic TV host and presenter he became later, I'd recommend this one over anything else. He's a con man here who cooks up a "Santa Claus racket" to get hold of the money he owes to some gangsters who want to kill him- with some hilarious lines and some of the funniest set pieces in any of his movies, this is a fairly unsentimental comedy (Hope never turns the corner in this, unlike what would happen if this movie was made today) that also manages to be a genuinely heartwarming Christmas movie (it's the one that introduced the classic "Silver Bells" to the world). Check it out and prepare for a delightful yuletide treat.

Original 1951 Trailer (sorry about the watermark):

TRAILER: "Entourage"

So...yeah, I don't how many people were clamoring for this exactly, but the long-awaited (?) Entourage movie is finally coming out next year. What can I say- it looks like the show, I guess. I casually watched the first couple of seasons, but wasn't what you'd call a "fan," so obviously I'm not the target audience for this. What do you guys think?

TRAILER: "In the Heart of the Sea"

I thought the teaser looked weak, but this new trailer is a bit better. This is supposedly the more "realistic" version of the story that inspired Moby Dick. Ron Howard's hit and miss, but I really liked his last movie Rush, so I'm optimistic about him teaming up with Chris Hemsworth again. It's coming out in March of next year.

TRAILER #2: "Focus"

A second trailer for the Will Smith/Margot Robbie caper movie Focus, coming out February 27th. I don't know- looks kinda iffy but I hope it's good. Been a while since Will Smith was in a good movie and he has a few coming out next year- maybe he can make a comeback.

Movie of the Day: "One Magic Christmas" (1985)

With Christmas just a few days away it's time for our Movie of the Day series to return, and today I'm recommending a little known holiday film from the 1980's, starring Mary Steenburgen as a grumpy mom who hates Christmas. This one centers on a working class family in a small town who experiences a bout of bad luck (really bad luck as you'll see in the movie), and a Christmas angel has to come down and help the mother to relearn the spirit of Christmas. Sounds hokey of course, but it's actually pretty serious and very solemn (you'd never believe this was a Disney movie, the way the material is played). It may border on dour actually, but the details and magic of Santa's North Pole and workshop in this are pretty cool, and the heartwarming ending and good acting makes up for the depressing nature of some of the earlier scenes. It's an underrated little movie for the season- you should check it out.

1985 Disney Promo:

TRAILER #2: "The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel"

So here's another trailer for the Marigold sequel- strangely, this one really seems to showcase Dev Patel as the star of the movie. Although, since I didn't actually see the first one, I guess I don't know- was he the major character in that one too? It's coming out in February.

Southeastern Film Critcs like 'Grand Budapest'

The Southeastern Film Critics Association (which happen to very good Oscar predictors with their top ten list) have chosen The Grand Budapest Hotel as their best picture, but seem to really like Birdman a lot too, as you glance through their list of winners (and especially runners-up).

SOUTHEASTERN FILM CRITICS ASSOCIATION

Top Ten

1. The Grand Budapest Hotel
2. Boyhood
3. Birdman
4. Whiplash
5. The Imitation Game
6. Gone Girl
7. Snowpiercer
8. Nightcrawler
9. Foxcatcher
10. The Theory of Everything

Best Actor
1. Michael Keaton, Birdman
2. Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything

Best Actress
1. Julianne Moore, Still Alice
2. Reese Witherspoon, Wild

Best Supporting Actor
1. J.K. Simmons, Whiplash
2. Edward Norton, Birdman

Best Supporting Actress
1. Patricia Arquette, Boyhood
2. Tilda Swinton, Snowpiercer

Best Ensemble
1. The Grand Budapest Hotel
2. Birdman

Best Director
1. Richard Linklater, Boyhood
2. Wes Anderson, The Grand Budapest Hotel

Best Original Screenplay
1. The Grand Budapest Hotel
2. Birdman

Best Adapted Screenplay
1. Gone Girl
2. Wild

Best Documentary
1. Life Itself
2. CitizenFour

Best Foreign Language Film
1. Force Majeure
2. Ida

Best Animated Film
1. The Lego Movie
2. Big Hero 6

Best Cinematography
1. Birdman
2. The Grand Budapest Hotel

BOX OFFICE 12/19-12/21: 'The Hobbit' Rules Them All

The final installment of The Hobbit series came in strong this week, earning over $56 million from Friday to Sunday, while bringing in $90 million since opening on Wednesday. Battle of the Five Armies did however, drop 23% from the last film's opening, which itself was off from the first one. Frankly, the reason for this is probably just fatigue, as this trilogy has stretched a 300-page book out as long as it possibly can, and each film was slightly worse reviewed than the former. It's certainly no Lord of the Rings accomplishment.

Meanwhile, other new releases over the weekend were the dreadfully reviewed family films Annie and Night at the Museum 3. The third Night at the Museum movie is coming out five years after the second, and it's fair to say interest has definitely waned, as it earned just $17 million over the weekend. Annie was right behind it at $16 million, but the movie has just been slaughtered by some of the worst reviews of the year, which had to have cut into its box office some. The rest of the top five was filled out by Exodus and the Hunger Games, but both will likely fall out by next week with Christmas releases Into the Woods, The Gambler and Unbroken opening wide.

Top 5:

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies- $56.2 million
Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb- $17.3 million
Annie- $16.3 million
Exodus: Gods and Kings- $8.1 million
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay- Part 1- $7.8 million

In limited release, Wild expanded to 1,000 screens and made its way to No. 6, earning $4 million, so that will continue to do well as an awards hopeful. More new releases all coming this week (sans The Interview of course), as the Christmas movie season rolls on- traditionally the last two weeks of December are huge at the box office, since everyone's on vacation. We'll have to see what movies are going to benefit from all that time off. Tim Burton's Big Eyes will now be schduled for a wide release to take The Interview's place after Sony canceled the film, so we'll see how that plays out. Tune in next week for the first look at the holiday box office. See you then!

Nevada Film Critics Society Goes for 'Gone Girl'

Hey, something different! Nevada critics like Gone Girl all the way, handing it picture and actress, while giving actor and director to Nightcrawler. Nice to see some variation in taste here.

NEVADA FILM CRITICS SOCIETY

Best Film - 'Gone Girl'
Best Actor - Jake Gyllenhaal 'Nightcrawler'
Best Actress - Rosamund Pike 'Gone Girl'
Best Supporting Actor - JK Simmons 'Whiplash'
Best Supporting Actress - Tie - Jessica Chastain for 'A Most Violent Year' and Patricia Arquette for 'Boyhood'
Best Youth Performance - Ellar Coltrane 'Boyhood'
Best Director - Dan Gilroy 'Nightcrawler'
Best Screenplay - Dan Gilroy 'Nightcrawler'
Best Ensemble Cast - 'Guardians of the Galaxy'
Best Documentary - 'Citizenfour'
Best Animated Movie - 'Big Hero 6'
Best Production Design - 'The Grand Budapest Hotel'
Best Cinematography - 'Interstellar'
Best Visual Effects - 'Interstellar'

REVIEW: "The Babadook" (2014) Essie Davis, Noah Wiseman. Dir. Jennifer Kent

It's easy to forget how hard it is to make a decent horror movie in this day and age. For the last 10-15 years studios have been cranking out cheap, low budget horror flicks with non professional actors in the vein of the Saw movies or more recently, the "found footage" phenomenon. These films are made because they cost next to nothing and they make an easy profit due to the opening weekend alone, because there's a built-in audience for horror movies that will show up to see it, no matter how bad it is and no matter how quickly these movies disappear from public consciousness. They simply don't last.

The ones that have stuck around have left their mark on popular culture- classic horror films like The Exorcist, Psycho, Poltergeist, Halloween, Night of the Living Dead. We haven't had a movie come along that's worthy of joining that list for a good many years- until now. Jennifer Kent's The Babadook is a terrifying, primal scream of a movie that instantly takes its place among the classics of the genre, and sears itself into your brain so that you'll never forget it, the way all the best ones have. It manages to pull this off because Kent understands that horror is never simply about cheap thrills- it's about what's underneath those scares, what's simmering under the surface. You're not really afraid of the monster in front you, you're afraid of the one within- and the real issues it represents.

This movie gets under your skin and stays there, because there's something real at stake in the fight with the monster at hand, and that's the fundamental relationship between a mother and her child. Essie Davis stars as Amelia, a single mom whose 6-year-old son Samuel (Noah Wiseman) she's unable to keep under control. The boy has "behavioral" issues, as doctors, teachers and friends say, and it's getting worse by the day. Amelia loves her child, but is weary of the difficulty of parenting alone all the time, especially because deep down she resents his birth, as it coincided with the death of her husband. This fractured family unit is in trouble, and into this situation comes another problem child, the monster from Samuel's mysterious bedtime story. The creepy pop-up book seemed to appear out of nowhere, and as Amelia and Samuel read the story it eventually reveals itself as the nightmarish tale of The Babadook, who will literally haunt you until you wish you were dead.

From that point on reality takes a strange turn, and Amelia seems to trade places with her son, gradually beginning to lose her mind as she becomes paranoid by the shadows lurking around every corner of her house and following Samuel and herself wherever she goes. The movie becomes a combination of a woman stalked by her pending insanity (Roman Polanski's Repulsion comes to mind) and that of a ferocious mother who must battle demons from hell to protect her son (shades of Poltergeist). But these influences combine to create something truly unique, and the Babadook itself is one of the most memorable movie monsters since Freddy Krueger, Michael Myers, or the shark from Jaws. It's a creation ever more terrifying because of its simplicity and undying nature. Kent creates an intense atmosphere of suspense, fear, and dread as the film rolls along to its unpredictable climax, but the way it wraps up is as satisfying as you would ever want in this kind of story.

This is a must see for horror fans and anyone who thinks they can withstand the pressure (this isn't for kids though, believe me). Davis gives one of the best performances of the year as an exhausted mother who must find it in herself to come alive for her kid, and I only this was able to find a wider audience, as few people will see it in the U.S., so this is really one you have to seek out. It's a winner and believe me, it's here to stay.

* * * 1/2