The Movie that Christmas Forgot

Gremlins

     Turn on all your lights, and start the fire.  Gremlins are here.  Gremlins is the tale of a father trying to surprise his son with a wonderful Christmas gift, a mogwai.  But this creature comes with rules.  Never get it wet, do not let it out in the sun, and never ever feed it after midnight.  One mistake and before you know it your life is falling apart gremlin by gremlin.

     What better way to celebrate Christmas than a story of greed, consumerism, and the way it brings us all together.  

With Christmas just around the corner you're probably thinking to yourself, "What movies should I watch?"  You can dust off the old classics, Christmas Vacation, A Christmas Story, Elf, It's a Wonderful Life, and more.
But if you're looking to change it up a bit, here could be a new addition to your line up.

Rocky Balboa must defend the honor of America against the red enemies of Russia.  It's a heart breaking journey for the Italian Stallion as he loses a friend and has to leave home for Russia to confront the dreaded Ivan Drago.  They will main event Christmas day and the fate of the cold war itself lies in his gloves.

Friday the 13th

Friday the 13th part 7: New Blood

     Celebrate this wonderful holiday with one of the overlooked Friday the 13th sequels.  I have to hand it to the 13th franchise.  Six movies behind them all consisting around the story idea of a murder at the same camp.  Granted two of them had non Jason Voorhees killers, but seriously people need to stop going to that area.  

     This time around they don't change up the killer.  They change up the hero.  Tina Shepard goes to Camp Crystal Lake to relive her childhood trama only to discover she has telekinetic abilities.  Then she unknowingly releases Jason from his chains at the bottom of the lake.  It's up to her and her new found powers to put him back.

     It's really brilliant.  The villain is indestructible for no real reason.  You might as well even the playing field a bit for our hero.  It also features my favorite look for Jason from any of the other 13th films.  (Jason X comes in a close second.)

    New Blood marks a changing of idea in the series.  While the rest of the films were mostly misses it certainly doesn't lose points for lack of trying.  

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

      Settle in, folks.  You'll be in the theater for a while.  Bilbo, Gandolf, and company have returned to continue their journey to the Lonely Mountain and help Thorin claim his throne as King Under the Mountain.
      If you've seen any of the previous Lord of the Ring trilogy or the first Hobbit film then you know what to expect from The Desolation of Smaug.  The action bounces from exciting to comical almost on the turn of a dime.  We're taken to several towns further world building of Middle Earth.  And new characters arise that steal the show.
     Benedict Cumberbatch is wonderful as the dragon Smaug.  Like Andy Serks as Gollum, Cumberbatch will be the talk of the show.  The smugness and self-righteous oozes out of Smaug.  Which is also a testament to the cgi creators.
     The only problems with the film are Gandolf's side story.  He splits off to journey across the land to discover the return of Sauron.  While the drama is played up its less impactful.  We know he is not going to be able to prevent the return of Sauron.  All Gandolf is doing is explaining to the audience character set-ups for the Lord of the Rings Trilogy.  Most of which are, "This is really evil."
     Also since this is only two of three.  Do not get excited for any kind of conclusion.  While the first Hobbit may have ended on a low note in the journey.  Desolation of Smaug ends with a massive cliffhanger.
   
4/5 stars