The Life and Times of a Midwestern Movie Addict

Every year there are a handful of films that I get obsessively excited about, and usually one of those occurs during the Holiday Movie Season of November and December.   Last year it was The Muppets , the year before it was Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 , and the year before that it was Avatar .   You can usually count on me being gaga for one film or another and this Holiday Season was no different.   There were a great many films that came out in Novemeber and December that I wanted to see this year and was excited about (and several that I have not seen and either can still catch or have to see on disc) but only one worked me into an obsessive frenzy matching the excitement I felt for The Muppets.   It was sure to be epic, emotional, and full of beautiful music.   It is based on one of the most popular and well known musicals of the last 30 years, which itself was based on what is considered Victor Hugo's masterpiece...the novel "Les Miserables"...

You won't believe this, but I just wrote a fantastic post about Christmas miracles and the importance of family and all that rot while tying it to Miracle on 34th Street.   It's also one of the rare posts I wrote on my iPad because I couldn't get my laptop to work...well in trying to publish it and share some videos to it, it erased.  Nothing I wrote, as lovely as it was, was saved and there's no way to recapture it.  I'll admit, at first I just wanted to pout and say "insert curse here this!", but then I decided that that attitude would fly in the face of everything I just wrote.  How could I talk about the importance of Christmas and little miracles (especially when so many have so little to be happy about) if I let one stupid cock up ruin my good will? So, a little Christmas miracle just occurred and here I am...again writing this post...because I believe that it matters.  I have faith, and isn't that what this film is about?  So let's all enjoy...

Well it's Christmas Eve again and we are a mere 24 hours from concluding yet another Christmas season (fear not though, the holiday season continues until New Year's) and I honestly couldn't be more excited.  We've got a ton of good food in the house, good people to share it with, and a really good pile of gifts under the tree.  I know that the pile is only huge because now there are two kids (and let's face it, once you have kids Christmas is...nay SHOULD be...about them) but it still inspires excitement and visions of torn paper and tall stashes of loot.  Tomorrow seriously can't get here soon enough so it can reveal it's secrets to us (I for one can't want to find out what I got, but I also can't wait to see everyone else see what they got).  To add to this year's Christmas anticipation, I am scheduled to be one of the first in Gallatin, TN to see Les Miserables when it is released on Christmas Day (cue me singing "One Day More") so...

I'm currently sitting in the guest room of my sister's new home...it is a generous sized and comfortable room that I am only using because my sister has asked my mother to move out of it for a few days this Christmas so that there would be room in the house for my father and I.  Mom has been living here for a few months now as she waits for her new condo to be finished and so for all intents and purposes, this has become her home.  So you can imagine the enthusiasm with which she met this idea.  I can sympathize, and in fact I will be spending the afternoon with her to help her not feel so left out this Christmas, but I wish she and my sister were getting along better this Christmas.  I'm not saying either of them is being a huge witch or anything like that, but there have been more than a few choice words between them over the subject and really the situation is very simple: My sister wanted some quality time with my father (with whom relations are always ...

If there's anything that we all can agree on, it's that the Holiday season is largely about love.  We share love with our families, our friends, our significant others, and all the rest of the special people in our lives.  So it shouldn't be surprising that a good chunk of romantic comedies take place on Christmas, given the built in seasonal expectations and universal appeal of the holiday.  One of my favorites incorporates a great deal of Christmas cliches, music, and customs into an ensemble piece that features some of my favorite British actors and actresses.  It is a story about how love exists everywhere in the world around us in many different ways, all we have to do is look for it.  I give you, Love Actually . The film begins with a voiceover from David (Hugh Grant) commenting that whenever he gets gloomy with the state of the world he thinks about the arrivals terminal at Heathrow Airport, and the pure uncomplicated love felt as friends and families w...

We all know the familiar story of Scrooge and his change from a bad man into a good one, so I'll spend no more time going over that here...however today I will be discussing a Christmas Carol that works in reverse for the sake of satire.  I don't know about any of you, but while I love and adore Scrooge's transformation, I always thought Scrooge's rampent overspending and charity was going to bankrupt him really fast if he didn't do some massive rebudgeting really fast.  I suppose that is why I have chosen tonight's Television special for your consideration.  It is a satire of the ideals and themes of "A Christmas Carol" put through a somewhat extreme lens, but it's all in good fun.  So I present to you, Blackadder's Christmas Carol . Ebenezer Blackadder (Rowan Atkinson), the Victorian proprietor of a "moustache shop", is the nicest man in England. He is everything that Ebenezer Scrooge was by the end of the original story; generous...

Another day, another Christmas Carol adaptation. I think if I really put my mind to it, I could do a 25 days of Christmas movies that subsists entirely of Christmas Carol adaptations (some would argue that last year I nearly did).  Today I'm cutting to the chase quickly, since it was the last day with students and it really wore me out (making me less anxious to work on a blog tonight) and the point to reach is really very simple...I watched another film last night and I need to talk about it to fill my quota.  So here we go...once upon a time about 13 years ago, TNT aired a new version of a classic story starring Patrick Stewart, fresh off his success as Captain Jean Luc Picard in "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and the subsequent film adaptations, as Ebenezer Scrooge.  It was a highly anticipated event as Stewart seemed taylor made for the role.  Would he nail it or would he flop?  Let's find out as we watch A Christmas Carol. In the Victorian period, Ebene...

Yes, I admit it...I run a Christmas centric blog.  I have talked primarily about Christmas movies and yet I still, annoyingly PC as I am, still talk about the "Holidays" as though I am representing all of the December holidays on my blog.  I have no excuse for my behavior, I'm a terrible Christo-centric person (and yes, I even invent words when I so choose).  Whatever could I do to improve my tarnished image? Well, what if I took a break from the holiday of red and green and focused on the 8 day marathon of blue and white?  Yes friends, Hanukkah has come to The Movie Addict's blog and it has arrived with a vengeance.  I personally don't have any Hanukkah memories to tie this entry to, but I did talk to a Jewish friend about it (and no, I'm not merely saying that as an ironic joke).  She told me that compared to Christmas, Hanukkah was like a gift marathon.  She also said that 8 days of presents ways WAY better than just one way.  I won't lie, she ...

Anyone who reads my blogs yearly knows that one of my favorite Christmas stories is also one of the most often adapted ones ever...namely A Christmas Carol .  In fact, there have been no less than 21 film adaptations and equal amounts in television and the theater.  Several of them are rather joyless affairs, but some of them are inspired adaptations and worth making into holiday traditions.  The one I am presenting to you tonight is a favorite of one of my co-workers and he often mentions it when we talk about our favorite versions of the Dickens classic.  I had never seen this particular one until this year when it was added to Netflix instant watch, and I am very glad that it was.  Now I can stop him from bugging me about seeing it...I kid, I kid.  This particular adaptation features a cartoon character that you may be familiar with, the nearsighted Mr. Magoo.  Yes, "the" Mr. Magoo who has entertained us for years with his lovable antics has taken o...

There are moments when I feel I am blessed to have my family.  That sounds like somewhat of a backhanded compliment I realize (I can already hear my mother saying "What do you mean 'moments'? Aren't you always blessed to have us?") and you'd be correct.  It does sound a lot like I don't care for my family except for those 'blessed' moments.  However, if I were to say that I am always happy and glad to be a part of my family you might be confused as to what I might mean.  Actually, it's fairly simple.  Sometimes I see other people talk about (and even interact with their families) and it causes me pain to watch.  It's a general fact that there are a great many of people who don't enjoy their family's company due to varying reasons (and some because they don't have a family of their own) but it still distresses me to see.  I think for a family to be as close as we are is a treasure and something to be celebrated over the holidays....

Today has been a remarkably productive day.  I feel like this is the first day I've gotten since December 1st that I've actually had the time to do any of my holiday preparations and while it might have passed quicker than I would have liked due to my massive amount of activity, I feel really good about the rest of the holidays now (whereas before they were looming in front of me like a massive deadline with a frowny face on it).  In the space of one day I finished all my baking, wrapped all the presents I currently have in hand, figured out how much pizza would cost for my Broadcasting holiday party, washed my laundry, wrote up my rehearsal schedule for the week, and even completed a blog post (that is, I'm assuming I'm going to complete this post).  I'd say I've done fairly well for this day.  Honestly, with just a week left till my holiday break and two weeks (give or take) left in this year, I feel comfortable preparing for the end of yet another year.  Afte...

Ok, don't get all filthy.  Pleasure can mean a lot of different things, including having a good laugh. Some of my best holiday memories center around hefty belly laughs.  Sometimes it is a present that makes us  laugh, sometimes someone tells a really funny joke, and sometimes someone gets a turkey dropped on their head (long Thanksgiving story).  I think laughter is important to having a good Holiday season and this is why I think some of our favorite Christmas movies are comedies...particularly broad comedies.   National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation , A Christmas Story , and even Deck the Halls  deal with slapstick situations, surreal comedy, and an overall devotion to the absurd.  This is especially true in today's film where the sheer violence would be painful to watch if it wasn't done in such a cartoony manner.  I think it's time to order a pizza, set up some booby traps, and enjoy an evening Home Alone . The McCallister family prepares t...

Christmas is a time of discovery for a lot of us.  I feel like I learn something every year.  Sometimes that knowledge is about myself, sometimes it's about others.  Lessons we learn during the holidays can be some of the most important ones we learn, for example last night I learned that I've largely ignored some of my best friends these past few months in the interest of my busy career and spending as many of my free moments with my boyfriend.  I saw the two of them last night and noticed that one of them was clearly exhausted (out of character) and the other had lost a significant amount of weight since I had last seen either of them.  I feel as though these are things I should have noticed more recently than the holidays, only I didn't cause I've been so tied up in my own affairs.  My friends are important to me and I learned that I need to create more space with them I my life.  Friendship is the theme of today's post...indeed it is the spontaneou...

As I look back through the years, I think about the various gifts I have received at Christmas and how, so very quickly, they lose their identities as Christmas gifts and become just a normal part of my every day life.  I suppose this is true of most of us, but if gifts could feel I wonder how they would react to this 'demotion".  I mean really, being a Christmas gift must be a great honor among gifts because it is 'the' biggest holiday of the year for a large percent of the population.  To hold that loved and cherished status in our hearts, however briefly, must be lovely.  It must really be tough on the gifts that actually CAN feel themselves being replaced or shuffled aside like pets.  Pets are the most understanding and forgiving companions that we have, and I think it is often a devotion that is taken for granted.  Today's film, for example, deals with the gift of a pet and how that pet manages to change her family's life while also having hers changed...

The idea of visiting several different homes for Christmas is not a foreign one for me and my family.  Ever since I was 5 and my parents divorced I've been making at least two different Christmas trips in order to spend time with both parents.  In the busiest time of my life, when my father was remarried, I actually had four Christmasses in one day (and that didn't include the Christmas spent with my mother later in the month).  Lately, my sister and I have done two Christmasses in order to see both my mother and father now that we are grown, but this year we are seeing a return to one single Christmas day.  Thank god my sister had two children, because they have forced mom and dad to be in the same place on the same day since my sis and brother in law won't be doing any traveling with two tiny babies.  It's something of a relief actually, because it means I get more of my precious two week break to myself.  However, it does mean I probably won't be seeing ...

I think that the requisite family Christmas film is a staple of Hollywood and has become something of a tradition in America.  Every year, people get together as families and, quite often, they will go to the movies in a large group to enjoy watching the colorful and safe features wash over them.  However, this year there seems to be a severe lack of Holiday related material for families to go see.  Oh sure, they have plenty of films for grown ups this year ( Argo , Lincoln, Life of Pi , and my personal favorite Les Miserables among them) but we don't have much like Happy Feet Too , The Polar Express , or Arthur Christmas . However, there is one film that...while not featuring a winter Holiday setting...features one of the best loved Holiday figures in history as a butt-kicking dude.  Yes friends, Santa doesn't just give presents at Christmas...he also swings swords like a beast.  Let's all learn a little about the Guardians of Childhood as we witness the Rise o...

I won't lie, I don't care much for television movies.  I always feel that for all their production value and effort they always look cheap and low-rent.  But every once in a while, a tv movie comes along that has such a good story that it simply wows me.  It happened with It , it happened with Jack and the Beanstalk: The Real Story , and it happened with today's film.  On the surface it looks like a "Harry Potter" ripoff being that the title sounds like Hogwarts and the whole thing is based on one of the many books Terry Pratchett has based in his fictional universe named Discworld.  However there is much much more happening in the narrative than magic and wizards.  It is a delightful send up of our own secular Christmas tales while also spoofing our perception of death, belief, and Gods or saints.  I think it's time we all visit Discworld and learn about the Hogfather .  It is Hogswatch in Discworld, a world that mirrors our own with odd aspect...

I'm late and don't have a lot of time to elaborate so I'm writing this at a breakneck pace.  It's rather like the world of business portrayed in today's film.  This is one I've written about before and yet not as a Christmas movie, though it certainly works as a holiday tale.  First it deals with themes of love, perseverance, and miracles.  Second, it takes place during the holiday season (though it could be argued that the film's climactic scene takes place during New Year's Eve and not Christmas).  But who cares about those details when it works so well as a Christmassy feel-good romp.  Let's watch the underdog win in The Hudsucker Proxy. Norville Barnes (Tim Robbins) is a recent graduate of the Muncie College of Business Administration in 1958 and has just hit the streets of New York City looking for a job. He manages to get a job in the mailroom of Hudsucker Industries at the same time that the company C.E.O., Waring Hudsucker (Charles Durning...

Santa Claus may very well be the face of Christmas.  I know I know, some would argue that he can't really be anything in the grand scheme of things because he doesn't exist.  But how do we really know that? How do we know that Santa isn't real?  Has there been conclusive evidence provided of his non-existence?  Sure, satellite photos can show us that there's no workshop in the North Pole and science can tell us that reindeer don't fly but honestly, don't you think that if an immortal man with magical powers existed that he couldn't conceal his home from surveillance or make reindeer soar across the sky?  I don't think so.  So who's to say that those of us who don't believe simply are left presentless because we choose to not believe?  I cannot say one way or another, but I can infer.  However, when was it that we all decided to stop believing?  Was it because Santa never showed himself to us?  Was it due to unmasking a fake Santa at...

If you've been reading my 25 Days of Christmas Movies for a few years now, you should be aware that amongst the heartwarming and relatively family friendly Christmas fare I tend to pepper my posts with films that are a little bit darker.  You've seen me talk about the psychotic Billy Linz, gremlins, Jack Skellington, and even an ax-weilding Santa Claus in the past three years so why should this year be any different?  Before I do, however, I feel I must yet again justify why I write about the darker side of Christmas.  Perhaps it is because while there is something very beautiful about snow falling silently outside, I feel that there is something quite eerie about it when it is dark out.  Or maybe I think that the pretty lights strewn across bushes and eaves (and even our own Christmas trees) cast a lovely, but dim glow that could conceal any number of horrors in dark corners.  Perhaps I just have a deranged mind and I imagine too many crazy things.  At any...