Top Five Christmas Films

Well it's that time of year once again! I therefor feel it's time to reflect on some the best films the holiday season has to offer us. Here are my top five in reverse order:

5. The Santa Clause (1994)

Just one of those feel good, family, comedy, christmas films. Starring Tim Allen, it's a story of a normal, divorced man, who accidentally kills Santa Clause, meaning he has to don the red suit and deliver the presents himself. Initially out to make a quick buck by stealing valuables from the houses he visits, he soon learns the value of Christmas with the help of his son. It's a generally feel-good film, something you would expect from a christmas film, it's a fun interesting concept on Santa Clause showing it as a job that is passed down, rather then kept forever. A film i would recommend to any family at Christmas!

4. Elf (2003)

The story of a human baby that accidentally ends up in the north pole and has to be raised by elves. Eventually told of his true nature he sets off to find his true family in New York. There he must learn how to live as a human being, while trying to inject that little bit of Christmas cheer that everyone seems to have lost. With starring roles from Will Ferrell and the Godfather's James Caan this film is a hilarious new take on Christmas and the first original christmas film for a good decade. (Also has an extremely funny cameo from Peter Dinklage)



3. The Polar Express (2004)

Ever wondered what it would be like to step inside one of those glass, christmas orbs? Well this is as close as it gets to that. While taking full advantage of 3D and motion capture this magical adventure brings the beautiful book to life. Led by the voice of Tom Hanks, the polar express is the tale of a young boy who on the night before christmas is picked up by a mysterious train. On board he finds many children as well and discovers they are on their way to meet Santa at the north pole. However its not as easy as just taking a trip on a train as it encounters all sorts of dangers. A tremendous watch, full of fun and sense of adventure. (The graphics are pretty special as well)

2. The Nightmare Before Christmas (1994)

Tim Burton does it again. The visionary director/producer who produced one of the most dark christmas films of all time. Though very creepy it is still possibly the greatest and most bizarre christmas film ever made. It tells the story of Jack Skeleton the leader of Halloween Town who decides he is bored of the usual Halloween traditions and sets off in search of new ideas. He stumbles across a portal to Christmas Town and after much deliberation decides to try and take it over, assuming Santa's role. Possibly one of the most unique takes on the holiday season and one of my favorite films regardless of the time of year.

1. Love Actually (2003)

An absolute christmas great. America have tried to match the idea of an all star class to celebrate a holiday season over the last couple of years, and to be honest the poxy efforts of Valentines Day and New Years Eve don't deserve to be mentioned alongside Love Actually. Just one of those films you can watch every christmas and still get the same feeling you did when it was first released. The idea's of different story lines makes for an emotional roller-coaster, from the hilarious story of Billy Mac (Bill Nighy) to the heart wrenching story of Daniel and Sam (Liam Neeson and Thomas Sangster). Not a single story is lost amongst others, with the down right silly stories such as the "Sex God" Colin's expedition to American and the porn-star's body doubles who are both awkward off set. There are messages to be found amongst all the stories as well, with family love being just as important as conditional love. It's a true great that you can sit along and smile, laugh, cringe, cry and above all else, enjoy christmas.

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows:

After the initial Sherlock Holmes film, this had big shoes to fill, but my did they fill them! When Guy Ritchie re-invented the much loved british detective, initial reaction was mixed, with critics and cinema-goers reaction as hesitant, unsure about how it would turn out. The reaction was stupendous, with it clearing up in the box office and receiving critical acclaim from all types of critics and audiences. So could Sherlock Holmes: a Game of Shadows keep the originality that made the first so great, and keep a story line as complex as the first, while topping it with action and adding more complex relationships? The answer: of course it could. After the success of "bad-guy" Lord Blackwood (Mark Strong) in Sherlock Holmes, Ritchie needed a villain who could top even the seeming master of death. Who better then Holmes age old nemesis, someone who has appeared in only one of the original 60 stories and yet caused such a massive stir, Professor James Moriarty. The only man ever to match Holmes in intellect and wit and the only man to come close to out-witting the great detective mind.

Jared Harris as Moriarty

When finding out the role was to be played by Jared Harris at first I was a little concerned, he didn't strike me as the suave type, judging by his other films. However he owned the role of Moriarty and now his performance will stick with me as my first impression, when thinking of the character Moriarty. The chemistry between Holmes (Robert Downey Jr.) and his assistant Dr. Watson (Jude Law) was as ever brilliant, with both actors able to bounce off each other to supply perfect comedic moments.The steady calmness of Watson, only to be worn away throughout by the irrepressible Sherlock Holmes gets funnier by the minute. Downey Jr. is fantastic, his pure surreal performance of the verging psychotic genius is perfect and gives new life to the smooth sophisticated Holmes that is portrayed in the books and so many other interpretations. It adds new life to the character, while being utterly mad he still has that perfect arrogance that strangely causes the audience to fall in love with him.

Jude Law (left) and Robert Downey Jr. as Watson and Holmes

One thing that the sequel has kept is it's originality. Possibly the best part to the first film was Holmes' summary of what he was about to do, showing the scenes in slow motion, explaining each motion before then performing them. This was a clever way of showing Holmes' intense thinking speed and playing clever jokes on the audience by explaining what he was going to do then simply opting for an easier route. I loved the fact that they kept this in the second movie and simply made the scenes longer, also adding opponents that were able to counter Holmes moves showing him having to improvise. Some of the camera shots were simply stunning. In particular the escape through the woods, (trying to to give away any spoilers) The 300 like stop-start of the slow motion was incredible to watch, slowing down bullets, showing near misses for the escaping heroes. The fight scene that follow is one of the best I've scene using the same tactic of stop-start slow motion.

Verdict: Although it was always going to be hard to top the first, Guy Ritchie went out and did it. This is not only a visual great, it is also a brilliant film that you can still relax into. 8.5/10

The Adventures of Tintin:

Andy Serkis playing Captain Haddock

       Wow. Who knew when motion capture was being used to create video game action, and the singular characters of Gollum and King Kong, that this is where we’d finish. When Spielberg was taken on to direct this classic story there were questions raised about whether he would stay true to the original story. The answer? You bet he will. As a Tintin fan this was a dream come true. The storyline stayed true to the original and the acting, in particular from Andy Serkis was incredible. Serkis was brilliant showing yet again his diversity and pure talent at acting in not just motion capture, but his ability to create a character with his voice. With stellar performances from Daniel Craig and Jamie Bell, and to have two of the most successful directors ever (Spielberg and Peter Jackson) in the role of producer and director, the film looked destined to be fantastic. And yet it just wasn’t.

The desert turns into the ocean

        What went wrong with it? For a start it seemed to lag on a little bit, it was less edge of your seat towards the end and more hoping that the end was coming soon. Which to me was disappointing as I thoroughly enjoyed the majority of the film. The pace was all wrong, feeling very stop, start, with the action moving very coarsely into a lot of information in a short space of time. The action was phenomenal, with action that while looking very real, had that spark of insanity to it, something only able to be achieved through motion capture. The detail was amazing, giving the film that very real element to it and some of the transitions were amazing only achieved through the medium used. Just look at the transitions between Tintin and Haddock in the desert, to Haddock’s memories of his ancestors fight with Red Rackham.

Nothing is impossible with motion capture

         The film has been criticized for occasionally lumbering into mindless mayhem, but personally I think that this has the opposite effect. It showed the true potential of the motion capture, showing how in one room you can weave your way through Moroccan style streets, smashing through windows and sliding down wires.

        What struck me as fascinating was the fact that you could see the mannerisms of the actors come across in the characters. The most clear, being the villain, played by Daniel Craig. He managed to bring his suave confidence and a cool, charismatic presence to this arch-villain. My major concern with the casting is the Thompson twins. They could not have been more spot on with Nick Frost and Simon Pegg playing the loveable idiot duo, so why did they get so little face time? The parts they had were very well executed and showed the sheer potential of the pair, and one can only hope that any sequel will have them more heavily included.

The underused, Thomson and Thompson

       A very difficult film to rate. Though hugely impressive, both acting wise and visually, the script seemed to let it down a bit. Seeing the Adventures of Tintin brought to life, however, was brilliant, with the actors and director doing it proud.

My Rating: 6.5/10

Iconic Film Images

   Over the years Movie’s have made audiences cry, laugh, scream and cringe. They are moments that will stick with people forever, moments that have been captured for a life time. These are my favorite film moments captured in stills.

Alien (1979)

The very first appearance of the infamous Alien, at the expense of John Hurt

       The first is a still from Alien, a fantastic film and still one of the scariest films I think I’ve seen! Ridley Scott was treading in unknown territory when he made this sci-fi classic. The use of a tiny cast, only 7 actors, just made the ship seem even bigger then it was and caused the relationship between character and audience to develop that much quicker. This meant you cared about the actors when they inevitably get picked off one by one. The scene I have chosen as a favorite movie moment is the infamous scene of the first appearance of the alien, the moment where he bursts through the stomach of Executive Officer Kane (John Hurt). I first saw this at the age of 14 and was horrified by this unexpected death. The graphics compared to modern day films are obviously very poor, merely what appears to be a puppet and some fake blood, but the effect this still has on audiences is phenomenal. I can only imagine the kind of impact this would have had when it was released in 1979. This moment quite rightly deserves its place on my favorite moments. 

300 (2006)

"THIS IS SPARTA" The scene that sparked an internet phenomenon

In 2006 three words sparked an internet phenomenon. When King Leonidas (Gerrard Butler) turns to his wife Queen Margo (Lena Hadley) before turning back to the emissary, I remember watching it thinking what was going to happen next. What followed had a reaction that no one could have expected. “This is Sparta!” was then remixed, used over a video of Zinadine Zidane’s head but in the 2006 world cup final and pictures were uploaded online where people had edited “be careful when wet” signs to show one man kicking the other into a pit. The scene itself was brilliant, just one of those film moments I can watch over and over again. This was the film that propelled Gerrard Butler Hollywood stardom after all! The film itself in my opinion is a visual masterpiece, and this scene is one of the high points. Personally I think it belongs with the rest of the moments I’ve referenced an iconic moment in film history!

Airplane! (1980)

The hilarious "manual inflation" scene



         In my opinion Airplane! is one of the funniest films ever made. I rarely laugh out loud at all at comedy films, let alone laugh constantly throughout. Leslie Nielsen has never been funnier and he’s made some greats, just look at the Naked Gun series! There are many classic comedy stills from this, the “drinking problem” moments and the “fatal guitar” scene, but I think the funniest of them all has got to be the “manual inflation” scene. I wondered where they were going with the blow up autopilots when they first appeared and without spoiling the film, they used it very well! I think most people could guess how they used the autopilots by the photo but I still recommend anyone to see it!



Jaws (1975)

Who knew two notes could cause so much fear...

          You'll never go in the water again! The perfect tagline for one of the perfect horrors! Jaws was absolutely brilliant, another horror that did the simple things right. Just look at the music, two notes was all it needed to put the audience on the edge of its seat. The first proper water based horror than launched many films that tried to re create the feeling you got when you went in the water after seeing Jaws. None really succeeded. The first scene from Jaws is one that will remain with me forever, the drunken girl who went for a swim, and paid for it! The sheer horror you felt when she was dragged backward and forward above the water, a image that has been used in comedy films since such as in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective. I think this is the most iconic image from any horror, except maybe the “here’s Johnny!” moment in the Shinning!

The Godfather (1972)

Sonny gets wacked

          The Godfather. One of the greatest films ever made, the greatest gangster film ever made, winner of 3 Oscars including best film, and best actor and nominated for 8 more. Four of the best acting performances I’ve ever seen from Marlon Brando, James Caan, Robert Duvall and Al Pacino. It is near impossible to choose my favorite moment from this fantastic film but I’ve done my best to choose the most memorable moment. I have settled on Sonny’s death, as it is the memory that sticks with me ever since I first saw it. Everything about that scene was brilliant, the timing, the music, the acting… The way Sonny dragged himself from the car being riddled with bullets, slumped on the side of the car and let out a shout of agony was brilliant. Such a well made film and a fantastically filmed scene!

The Shawshank Redemption (1994)



My favorite scene ever, the final freedom from Shawshank Prison

 

           My final moment is my favorite scene ever in film history and it is also in my favorite film ever! It comes from the Shawshank Redemption which shares the IMDB’s top film with the Godfather. I love this film, and its idea is what makes it so loveable, the idea of hope and the idea that hope is a thing every person should hold onto. Fear can hold you prisoner. Hope can set you free. The tagline sums the film up perfectly and I think it’s this that makes, what at times could be a very dark film, such a feel good movie! This is Morgan Freeman’s greatest performance, which again, is saying a lot! His narration holds the film together and makes the film a lot more enjoyable. The scene I’ve chosen is the peak of the idea of hope, the final freedom of Andy Dufresne. His escape is no mean feat and this final moment of joy shown by throwing his arms into the air and facing the rain with a bright smile on his face. The music is perfect and every time I watch it I can’t help but smile! The perfect moment to lift your hopes and your feeling if you’re ever down! An absolute classic.

Andy's Freedom

Actors who have never won an Oscar!

I am an avid watcher of films. I can sit looking at a film or actor bio’s on IMDB (internet movie data base) for hours! Naturally I have stumbled across the many winners of the Academy Awards. This has of course sparked my anger and frustration in some of the actors who have missed out on nominations or wins for certain performances. 

My first issue is with the lack of an Oscar for Edward Norton. He has delivered two sparkling roles that have earned him nominations, one for American History X and the other for Primal Fear. His overlook for American History X was in 1999, which admittedly was in a very strong year of candidates. He was along side Tom Hanks for an Oscar deserving role in Saving Private Ryan, Sir Ian McKellen for Gods and Monsters and the winner, Roberto Benigni in Life is Beautiful, (In my opinion the least deserving out of the four!) His performance in American History X as the once upon a time Neo-Nazi, Derek Vinyard is staggering, as he plays both roles of before prison and after.  The contrast in the characters is staggering as he portray portrays the disturbed adult who starts off a revolution, and then the changed man re entering the world he built. It is one of my favorite acting performances of all time and unfairly overshadows a very good performance from Edward Furlong, but that was just how good Norton was. His other overlook was for playing an Alter boy Aaron Stampler in the film Primal fear, in which he received a Best actor in a supporting role nomination in only his second film ever! It was a fantastic debut in many ways for Norton although he was unfortunate to be up against another one of my favorite performances by Cuba Gooding Jr. in Jerry Maguire. There is one film however that I believe he not only deserved an Oscar nomination but possibly to win, although he would have been up against Kevin Spacey in American Beauty! But for him not to even receive a nomination! For Fight Club to not receive a single acting nomination with both Brad Pitt and Norton being fabulous in it is a travesty!

Edward Norton in American History X

Following on nicely from the previous actor my next issue is with the lack of an Academy award for Brad Pitt. The man has been a major contender five times in my opinion, so for him to only be nominated twice and to never have one is ridiculous! I understand that not everyone can win but still five brilliant performances and not a single golden statue? He had two great films in 1995 once of which he received a nomination for. His portrayal of Mentally Insane Jeffrey Goins in Twelve Monkeys not only had me laughing out loud but also had me thinking. It’s a very clever role from Pitt as he makes you believe in his character and has you sympathizing and liking his character. He lost to a brilliant Kevin Spacey in The Usual Suspects. In the same year he acted in Se7en alongside Morgan Freeman and Spacey, a film which should have earned both Freeman and Pitt, and possibly Spacey had he had more screen time, Oscar nods. Unfortunately it didn’t, but that was quite a tough year in the best actor department where Mel Gibson also got overlooked for his role in Braveheart. Four years later Pitt starred alongside Norton in Fight Club, and this took Pitt to all new levels in my mind. His part as soap salesman Tyler Durdan was funny, baffling and intriguing. His contrast to Norton was perfect and made for one the greatest on screen relationships I’ve ever seen! His other Oscar nomination came in 2008 for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button in which he got beaten by an outstanding Sean Penn in Milk. He was also alongside strong performances by Frank Langella for Frost/Nixon and Mickey Rourke in the Wrestler. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button was perfectly paced, it was slow, very slow, and yet you were sucked in and couldn’t take your eyes off it for a second. This had something to do with the perfect acting by Pitt, Tilda Swinton and Cate Blanchett. Both women Pitt has brilliant on screen chemistry and they played so well off each other. The complete documentation of Pitt’s character never got boring and the introduction of Jason Flemyng as his father worked just as well as with the introduction of the two actresses. The final issue I have is for his lack of Oscar nomination for Inglorious Basterds This one is a bit of a long shot to be honest though one that I feel quite strongly about. I thought Pitt was superb as the leader of the Nazi killing platoon in World Ward II. His performance was strong and funny, a skill Pitt has mastered is being funny while giving a very serious performance. Inglorious Basterds was a great film, getting an Oscar Nom itself for Best Picture. It took the same style as Quentin Tarantino’s masterpiece Pulp Fiction with the idea of chapters from many different characters’ viewpoints. With other brilliant performances by Michael Fassbender, Mélanie Laurent, Christoph Waltz and Eli Roth it made for a fascinating watch.

Brad Pitt

The next problem is with Johnny Depp never winning and Academy Award, for two performances in particular. The first was for his Oscar nominated performance as Captain Jack Sparrow. He played his part to perfection, it is no mean feat to take a part that was meant to be a standard pirate captain, that was meant to be nothing more than a supporting role, and turn it into one of the most original and humorous performances cinema has every seen. Captain Jack Sparrow has become an icon, if a party theme is “pirates” no doubt there will be numerous ‘Captains Jacks’ wandering around. It was staggering how far Depp has taken this character even earning himself his own film, after stealing the show of the Knightly/Bloom trilogy of Pirates of the Caribbean. Depp was rightly nominated in 2004 for The Curse of the Black Pearl and without a doubt should have won; once again Sean Penn denies one of the actors of my list for his role in Mystic River. Depp has been nominated three times, once for best actor in Finding Neverland, and then one final time in 2008 for Sweeny Todd: the demon barber of Fleet Street. In this he surprisingly gave a superb performance as the famous murderous barber of Victorian Britain. The film was brilliant with Alan Rickman and Helena Bonham Carter both giving fantastically grim and dark performances. Depp once again stole the show with another surreal performance that only he seems to be able to pull off perfectly. Unfortunately he was up against one of the best actors around and lost to Daniel Day-Lewis for There will be blood.

Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow

My other issue isn’t strictly in keeping with the title of the blog. My issue here is with a particular performance not winning an Oscar. The actor in question has won two Oscars, but the performance that failed to win but was nominated was Daniel Day-Lewis’ performance as Bill ‘The Butcher’ Cutting in Gangs of New York. If I had to choose my favorite performance of any film ever, it would probably be Daniel Day-Lewis’ role in Gangs of New York. He was incredible in this as the leader of the “Natives” a political group in 19^th century New York. He opposes the Irish immigration and leads his force against Liam Neeson as Priest Vallon who leads the dead rabbits. His role is incredible and powerful. I don’t think I’ve seen any better performance from any actor, in particular his speech to Amsterdam in the rocking chair draped in a tattered American flag. (Anyone who’s seen the film will know what I’m talking about) His performance was truly stunning and disappointing not to give him what would have been his second, now third, Oscar.

Daniel Day Lewis as Bill "the Butcher" Cutting

My final issue is with the lack of an Oscar for Leonardo Di Caprio. He has been nominated for three Oscars and had deserving performances in numerous others. He is one of my favorite actors and seems to just attract Oscar deserving films. He was nominated for, What’s eating Gilbert Grape?, the Aviator and Blood Diamond. However he could well have been nominated for Inception, Titanic, The Departed, Shutter Island, Romeo + Juliet, Catch me if You Can… I won’t go into every detail purely because I’d be writing all day, but out of the three he has been nominated for I’d say they were weaker then many of his other roles. The ones that stand out to me in particular are Inception, Catch me if you can and the Departed. He is a truly fantastic actor who defiantly deserves and Oscar before his retirement in, hopefully, the very distant future.

Leonardo Dicaprio 

So there you have it, my very detailed reasoning why my favorite actors haven’t won Oscars. I apologize that this occasionally just becomes me ranting and moaning but these are simply my views and I trust other people will have contrasting ones to me!