Film 2426 - Fall Into Winter

Intro: Not a great weekend that was, for both my personal life and the movie choice that was made. At Sórcha & Niamh's apartment for the now-annual Christmas party, we decided to watch a Christmas movie together the next day to recover. And, to be fair, watching this movie with your friends is the only way to get through it.

Film 2426: "Fall Into Winter" (2023), T.W. Peacocke
Watched: From the TV
Language: English
Watched with: Niamh R, Sórcha, Michelle
Thoughts: Possibly the worst and cheapest-looking Christmas movie I've ever seen. Not much else to say, really.
Cast: Lori Loughlin, James Tupper, Cherion Drakes, Darrin Baker, Marc Senior.
Box Office: /
Worth a watch?: I mean, you don’t watch this type of movie for the revolutionary plot or superb acting, but because it's Christmas and you want something easy, cheesy, and food-coma-proof to play in the background while vegetating on the couch. If that’s your goal, then "Fall Into Winter" is the perfect pick. Otherwise, look somewhere else.
Awards: /
Key word: Shop.
Trailer
#HollywoodCiak
Bengi

Film 2349 - The Substance

Intro: I wan't sure about rewatching this movie already, but Michael really wanted to watch it and, to be fair, I couldn't say no. Because, after all, this was one of my favourite movies from last year.

Film 2349: "The Substance" (2024), Coralie Fargeat
Watched on: From the TV
Language: English
Watched with: Michael
Thoughts: I'm honestly so glad I rewatched this. I think the first time around "The Substance" was more an experience, rather than a film. I remembered I felt I was going through a rollercoaster during my first watch at the movies, but this time I knew what to expect and, in a way, I focused more on other aspects of this wild ride.
First, I paid more attention to Margaret Qualley's performance: she was definitely deserving of an Oscar nomination. Maybe not a win, but her role is iconic and there's no Elisabeth Sparkle without Sue. Remember: they are one.
Second, I paid more attention to the soundtrack and the visuals in general. I think "The Substance" does an amazing job at defyining itself through images and sound, not just the performances. It features a lot of ommages to other films, probably the easiest one to spot is "The Shining". Visually it's an extremely interesting movie, the colours are so bright and the music makes them feel even more "alive".
Thirdly, I reconsidered some of my previous concerns regarding the ending - there's a lot of "Carrie" in that live Christmas special - and although gruesome and gory, it really fits this story, complementing a crazy, wild ride in a way that is so unexpected as it is overwhelming at first. On a second watch, knowing what's about to happen, you focus less on the shock of what you're witnessing and more on the absurdity that is to put your life at risk to fulfill a (male) fantasy and pursue fame at all costs.
Film 2312 - The Substance
Film 2349 - The Substance
Cast: Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley, Dennis Quaid.
Box Office: $77.1 million
Worth a watch?: Definitely not a movie for the general crowd, but an interesting and challenging movie nonetheless. On my second watch I loved it even more: Demi Moore needs to win that Oscar now. We'll see on Sunday what happens, but after her win at SAG last Sunday, it looks like she might have the support to achieve this amazing feat. What a journey for her. #TeamDemi
Awards: 5 Oscars nomination for Best Picture, Director, Actress, Original Screenplay, and Makeup and Hairstyling. 1 BAFTA win for Best Make Up & Hair out of 5 nominations (Director, Actress in a Leading Role, Original Screenplay, and Sound). 1 win at the Golden Globes for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy (Moore) out of 5 noms (Film, Director, Supporting Actress, Screenplay). The movie is currently nominated for Best Foreign Film at this year's César Awards.
Key word: Christmas Show.
Trailer
#HollywoodCiak
Bengi

Film 2340 - Carry-On

Intro: The second movie I watched on Christmas day is one I had heard of, but didn't know what was about. So I reluctantly decided to give it a chance, not knowing what to expect.

Film 2340: "Carry-On" (2024), Jaume Collet-Serra
Watched on: From the TV
Language: English
Watched with: No one
Thoughts: I didn't expect to enjoy this movie as much as I did. It's not groundbreaking by any means, but it definitely a better-than-expected thriller that once again showcase Taron Egerton's talent as a leading man.
Because of its story and setting, "Carry-On" also heavily reminded me of several other movies like "Flightplan", "Red Eye" and "Non-Stop", all of which are set in an airport, although this one doesn't take place on an actual plane.

That said, I really enjoyed this movie and as the first new movie I watched this year - and by this I mean a movie I had never watched before - I was happily impressed.
Not unforgettable, but definitely enjoyable.
Cast: Taron Egerton, Sofia Carson, Danielle Deadwyler, Theo Rossi, Logan Marshall-Green, Jason Bateman.
Box Office: /
Worth a watch?: Usually I don't particularly enjoy Netflix's movies, but this one I did. It's a good ride, Taron Egerton and Jason Bateman play well off each other and the story is crazy enough to be entertaining. One of those movies set in an airport: if you enjoy this kind of films, then "Carry-On" will do the trick for you.
Awards: /
Key word: Promotion.
Trailer
#HollywoodCiak
Bengi

Film 2336 - The Holiday

Intro: I think I've only watched this once at the movies and that was it. Recently, tho, a lot of people were talking about it, especially since the Christmas season was approaching. So I decided to give another go...

Film 2336: "The Holiday" (2006), Nancy Meyers
Watched on: From the TV
Language: English
Watched with: Michael
Thoughts: I remember I didn't particularly like this movie the first time I watched it and I cannot say I changed my mind this time around really. Not that it is a bad movie by any means, it's just a bit meh, although enjoyable. 

I just say that, of all the Christmas movies out there, this isn't my favourite. Also, Nancy Meyers (the director) said she never conceived "The Holiday" as a Christmas movie in the first place.

That said, I'll admit that some bits work and I particularly enjoyed Cameron Diaz's performance. Maybe she isn't the greatest actress of all time, but she surely works for these type of movies, romcoms especially. And she has good chemistry with the co-star Jude Law. They're obviously a gorgeous pair and that doesn't hurt either.

What didn't work for me, tho, is Kate Winslet's character's storyline. Or, to better put it, hers and Jack Black's. I really didn't vibe with these two and not because the actors do a bad job, but rather because it's such an odd pairing it's distracting. 

Additionally, their 'relationship' grows at a very slow pace all to speed up at the very end of the movie very suddenly. We know from the start where the story is trying to go, yet it doesn't really commit until the end.
Furthermore, Iris' (Winslet) story reminded me quite a lot of Bridget Jones'.
Anyway, again, I don't think "The Holiday" is a terrible movie, it's just not my favourite.
Cast: Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet, Jude Law, Jack Black, Eli Wallach, Edward Burns, Rufus Sewell, Kathryn Hahn, John Krasinski; (cameos): Dustin Hoffman, Lindsay Lohan, James Franco.
Box Office: $205.8 million
Worth a watch?: I understand the Christmas appeal and this movie is definitely a good option to watch during the holidays, yet this is not my favourite pick when it come to pictures to (re)watch during thc Christmas season.
Awards: 1 nomination at the 2007's MTV Movie + TV Awards for Best Kiss (Jude Law & Cameron Diaz).
Key word: Home.
Trailer
#HollywoodCiak
Bengi

Film 2335 - Hot Frosty

Intro: Never in a million years I would have imagined this movie to be my first review of the year!

Film 2335: "Hot Frosty" (2024), Jerry Ciccoritti
Watched on: From the projector
Language: English
Watched with: Niamh
Thoughts: No need to go too deep into this movie, as I believe anyone can imagine that "Hot Frosty" isn't anything groundbreaking or even good. Plot-wise it makes no sense and, believe me, it is not becuase he's a snowman that turns into a human thanks to a magical scarf: there are so many inconsistencies in this screenplay, too many to list anyway. I'll just say this: he turns human and can understand the concept of love and death no problem with no need for explaination, but he struggles to grasp the meaning of the most basic words.
With that said, that doesn't take away from the fact that "Hot Frosty" is such a silly watch it's entertaining. As it makes lesser and lesser sense, it gets funnier and more upsurd and, if you're into these plotless silly Christams movies, than you're up for a tread because there's a lot to laught about!
Pretty iconic moment when Lacey Chabert sees a scene from "Mean Girls" and says that Lindsay Lohan's character reminds her of a girl from her school.
Also, worth mentioning that Dustin Milligan looks weirdly sick in this movie, ripped as ever before, yet somehow disturbingly skinny. This man here doesn't look like the same person from "Schitt's Creek" and it's strange.
Cast: Lacey Chabert, Dustin Milligan, Katy Mixon Greer, Lauren Holly, Chrishell Stause, Joe Lo Truglio, Craig Robinson.
Box Office: /
Worth a watch?: Netflix has been trying so hard to replace Hallmark's Christmas movies with its own for the past few years it's insane. And I think it's kinda working. To be added to the endless list of movies only good comes Christmas time, "Hot Frosty" isn't very good nor particularly compelling, yet there's something about it that makes it a great movie pick to watch with friends (and to laught about). And there's nothing wrong with it.
Awards: /
Key word: Red scarf.
Trailer
#HollywoodCiak
Bengi

Film 2070 - The Christmas Setup

Intro: Ciarán ha una certo interesse per le pellicole a tematica LGBTQI+, per cui quando mi è tornato in mente per puro caso questo film, l'ho praticamente costretto a vederlo insieme a me...

Film 2070: "The Christmas Setup" (2020) di Pat Mills

Visto: dal computer di Ciarán
Lingua: inglese
Compagnia: Ciarán

In sintesi: il film è ovviamente tremendo, ma a noi importa? No, perché c'è la mitica Fran Drescher e quindi tutto va bene!
Sulla scia dei terribili film tv della Hallmark, "The Christmas Setup" (che però è della Lifetime) segue la stessa formula di amore a prima vista + complicità romantica del Natale, in questo caso declinando però il tutto in salsa gay. Che, per quanto mi riguarda, è solamente che un incentivo aggiuntivo a recuperare questa pellicola.
Sarà un po' lo spirito natalizio, sarà che il mio cuore rainbow non può fare a meno di gioire almeno un po' del fatto che siamo diventati tanto mainstream da meritarci un prodotto tv scadente dedicato al Natale (quest'anno poi replicato da Netflix), sarà che per me la tata sia intoccabile, di fatto non ho trovato tutto questo condensato di melensa banalità intollerabile. Poi, sì, è una boiata pazzesca di neanche un'ora e mezza che più che un film ricorda un episodio qualunque di una soap qualunque, in ogni caso "The Christmas Setup" è esattamente quello che ti aspetteresti da un prodotto come questo. E l'onestà vince su tutto.
Cast: Ben Lewis, Blake Lee, Ellen Wong, Chad Connell, Fran Drescher.
Box Office: /
Vale o non vale: Banale, superficiale e facile facile, "The Christmas Setup" è una pellicola di Natale a minimo concentrato di sforzo intellettuale (per non dire nullo) che tutto sommato non fa del male a nessuno. Anzi, ci ricorda che persino i membri della comunità LGBTQIA+ - pensa te! - hanno famiglie, amori e festeggiano le feste con i propri cari. Poi che si potesse fare di meglio è indubbio, ma se siete consapevoli di cosa stiate andando in contro recuperando questo film, potreste anche godervelo.
Premi: /
Parola chiave: Train station.
Trailer
#HollywoodCiak
Bengi

Film 1924 - Last Christmas

Intro: Di nuovo con Andrea, ma questa volta a Torino, ci siamo concessi un film natalizio che risulta, sì, fuori contesto, ma che entrambi volevamo recuperare d un po'. Ne abbiamo approfittato.

Film 1924: "Last Christmas" (2019) di Paul Feig
Visto: dal computer portatile
Lingua: inglese
Compagnia: Andrea
In sintesi: è difficile esprimere in parole il disappunto per la banalità di questa pellicola, principalmente a causa di una sceneggiatura superficiale, poco ispirata e farcita di cliché che mancano di far sorridere e un colpo di scena finale che fa cadere le braccia.
Nonostante le apparenti buone premesse di "Last Christmas", infatti, ci si rende presto conto che il piglio della storia non è giocoso quanto il trailer vorrebbe far credere, senza contare che non ho trovato efficace la presenza di Emilia Clarke nel ruolo da protagonista - un'attrice che, forse, abbiamo sopravvalutto troppo presto troppo in fretta?
Va detto che l'operazione commerciale di per sé non ha nulla da recriminarsi, ci sono i presupposti da commedia romantica, ci sono tutti gli step narrativi del caso, gli elementi (teoricamente) divertenti in contrapposizione a tematiche più serie a controbilanciare il tutto (malattia, immigrazione, degrado sociale), c'è perfino una strizzata d'occhio all'operazione-nostalgia che chiama in causa nientemeno che gli Wham! (a cui affida non solo il titolo del film, ma anche la colonna sonora ad hoc che, per l'occasione, sforna un singolo inedito del famosissimo duo anni '80 formato da George Michael e Andrew Ridgeley). Insomma, a ben vedere parrebbero esserci tutti gli elementi del caso a costruire un prodotto mainstream di grande successo, eppure il film non è stato il grande successo che poteva essere: perché?
La verità è che, come spesso succede, "Last Christmas" mette insieme tutti gli elementi sulla carta perfetti a decretare un successo commerciale, ma li incastra in una maniera poco felice, finendo per proporre al pubblico una storia trita che mixa frettolosamente una montagna di trame secondarie, per poi ad andare a sacrificare quella principale che, come si vedrà alla fine, metterà in scena la classica boiata strappalacrime che, per l'occasione, qui strizza l'occhio a prodotti come "Ghost", "La casa sul lago del tempo" o "Me Before You". Onestamente da una come Emma Thompson (qui anche sceneggiatrice) mi aspettavo molto, molto di più.
Cast: Emilia Clarke, Henry Golding, Michelle Yeoh, Emma Thompson, Boris Isakovic, Patti LuPone, Lydia Leonard.
Box Office: $121.6 milioni
Vale o non vale: "Last Christmas" tenta di sfruttare il contesto natalizio, la popolarità sconfinata di Emilia Clarke, la stella nascente di Henry Golding e la conseguente Asia-mania generata da "Crazy Rich Asians" per dare una nuova (ennesima) sferzata al prodotto generico della commedia romantica, nella speranza che l'aggancio musicale degli Wham! consenta di accaparrarsi anche un pubblico meno giovane e generare, così, l'ingente profitto di solito connesso a titoli come questo.
La realtà è che questa volta la formula magica non ha funzionato del tutto e se anche la Clarke ce la metta tutta e il fascino di Golding sia innegabile, il risultato finale è piatto e privo di brio, anche quando si scopre la realtà sulla coppia protagonista. Insomma, ci si poteva impegnare molto di più.
Premi: /
Parola chiave: Cuore.
Trailer
#HollywoodCiak
Bengi

Film 1513 - A Bad Moms Christmas

Intro: I was looking forward of seeing this movie! And I had to wait a lot of time before I was able to download it, so no surprise when I say that I was really excited when we decided to watch it, finally!

Film 1513: "A Bad Moms Christmas" (2017), Jon Lucas, Scott Moore
Watched: my laptop
Language: English
Watched with: Fre
Briefly: it's not easy to write and direct a sequel for a surprisingly profitable movie in less than a year. Jon Lucas and Scott Moore managed to do that, even though "A Bad Moms Christmas" isn't as funny or deliciously entertaining as the first "Bad Moms". And that's a shame. Maybe with a little more time spent on the script, it could have been a great outrageously guilty pleasure as the first movie is;
I appreciate the choice of Christmas time as the center of the story, still I can't really relate to all the struggling the moms have to go through here. Decorations and gifts apparently are a bigger deal than spending time together staying with your family, so it's kinda difficult for me to understand that kind of craziness and anxiety that comes from 'make everything perfect' for the Holidays;
Kunis, Bell and Hahn are again perfect for their roles, with Hahn being the scandalously weird sex addicted mom of the group. I really loved her here. Hines, Baranski and Sarandon are basically clones of their on-screen daughters, which is probably predictable, but no funny enough in my opinion;
"A Bad Moms Christmas" isn't good enough to justify its presence on the market. "Bad Moms" isn't perfect, but at least points out some true facts: moms are overstressed, they have to look after their families and probably go to work as well, they don't have a lot of time for themselves; also, aside from the mom point of view, the first movie shows that women can be delightfully outrageously funny as much as men can be, something the audience needs to be reminded of occasionally. "Bad Moms 2", instead, even though it tries to recreate the same shockingly dirty atmosphere of its predecessor, fails to deliver a message of female empowerment and unity that grows through friendship and self-awareness. What we get here is a comedy movie that delivers a few dirty laughs, but nothing more than that.
Film 1243 - Bad Moms: Mamme molto cattive
Film 1448 - Bad Moms
Film 1513 - A Bad Moms Christmas
Cast: Mila Kunis, Kristen Bell, Kathryn Hahn, Cheryl Hines, Christine Baranski, Susan Sarandon, Jay Hernandez, Justin Hartley, Peter Gallagher, Oona Laurence, Emjay Anthony, Wanda Sykes, Christina Applegate.
Box Office: $130.6 milion
Worth watching?: Fans of the first film will probably like this one too, but still I think this is worst. Let's say it's a good choice if you want to spend your night watching a movie that doesn't requires any brain-related effort.
Awards: One Razzie Award nomination for Worst Supporting Actress (Sarandon).
Key word: Mother-daugher relationship.
Did you like it? Buy it HERE!

Trailer
#HollywoodCiak
Bengi

Film 1483 - Office Christmas Party

Intro: Dopo le oscurità di una pellicola come “Il silenzio degli innocenti” e considerate le condizioni di vita che attualmente ci coinvolgono (sveglia-colazione-lavoro-pranzo-lavoro-cena-nanna), un cambio di genere ci sembrava appropriato. Per farci na risata…

Film 1483: "Office Christmas Party" (2016) di Josh Gordon, Will Speck
Visto: dal computer portatile
Lingua: inglese
Compagnia: Fre
In sintesi: diversamente da quanto mi aspettassi, l’insieme di attori solitamente capace di creare quella speciale alchimia in grado di farmi piacevolmente divertire - anche senza necessariamente prodursi in un prodotto precisamente comico – non è riuscito a fare la magica. In poche parole “Christmas Office Party” non fa ridere, né risulta spassoso. E certamente uno dei grandi problemi alla base di questa evidenza è che la sceneggiatura si sforza troppo di mettere in fila tutti gli “elementi giusti” per creare l’effetto sperato, senza però avere davvero nulla da raccontare. Diffido sempre dai quelle storie che si svolgono nel giro di 24ore o giù di lì, c’è troppo poco tempo per sviluppare personaggi e dinamiche, figuriamoci raccontare qualcosa che abbia un minimo di background. Qui è lo stesso: c’è un pretesto che smuove la trama e si tira dritto finché non lo si realizza. In questo caso la scusa è la festa natalizia dell’ufficio e non c’è verso, l’unico elemento che caratterizzerà la storia sarà la f-e-s-t-a. Non c’è altro argomento davvero rilevante, nessun altro accadimento che aggiunga spessore alle dinamiche. E il film risulta debole; .
il cast non è male e c’è davvero un po’ di tutto, il che aggiunge una buona dose di eterogeneità al prodotto finale. Rimane comunque evidente l’intento comico e, anche da questo punto di vista, la scelta degli attori ricade suoi soliti volti più o meno noti (Aniston, Bateman, Miller, McKinnon, ecc) che finiscono per far sembrare questa pellicola il solito prodotto identico a tutti gli altri del genere.
Cast: Jason Bateman, Olivia Munn, T. J. Miller, Jillian Bell, Vanessa Bayer, Courtney B. Vance, Rob Corddry, Kate McKinnon, Jennifer Aniston.
Box Office: $114.5 milioni
Vale o non vale: è un film innocuo che si fa guardare senza problemi, anche se non bisogna avere troppe aspettative né pretese. E’ quello che è, una scemata bella e buona.
Premi: /
Parola chiave: Contratto.
Ti è piaciuto? ACQUISTALO QUI
Trailer
#HollywoodCiak
Bengi