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Nutcracker Fantasy Review

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It’s time for a classic tale although this Nutcracker story takes quite a few liberties from the usual formula. It’s almost always a good idea to do that as it keeps the story fresh and this is no exception. While I wish we had gotten to see more of the infamous Ragman, the main story will keep you entertained the whole time. There’s a whole lot going on here.

The movie begins with the Ragman turning a poor kid into a rat because he stayed up past his bedtime. The unfortunate thing is that every kid knows about the Ragman but he is so well known that he is considered to be a superstition now. We then cut to Clara who was planning to stay up late even while her aunt tried to warn her not to. Fortunately Drosselmeyer shows up and gives her a Nutcracker doll. He’s not too pleased with how it looks but she insists on keeping it. That night, some mice try to kidnap him but the Nutcracker fights back once Clara is in danger. When she wakes up, they’re all gone though. She must navigate a dangerous world of twin headed monsters and a kingdom on the brink of ruin. Is Clara up for this?

Lets get the elephant out of the room right away which is that this film is stop motion. Yeah I know that’s not ideal but look at the end of the day that’s going to happen. As far as that style goes I would say this movie does a pretty good job with it. I liked the fight scenes and this style does make for some pretty fun facial expressions. The characters tend to look shocked quite often and everyone appears to be very suspicious so you really can’t trust them. Meanwhile the backgrounds are all sinister which really drops the hammer on the fact that this is a brand new world.

Keeping all that in mind, Clara handles things really well. She doesn’t waste a lot of time wanting to go back home or complaining about the state of affairs. Instead she gets right to work on finding the Nutcracker and it isn’t easy since nobody is particularly helpful. It also turned out that she looks just like the princess who is currently in a coma so Clara will work with the Nutcracker on saving her. Little does she know the princess would end up being one of the worst characters in the film. Ah well, it’s actually a pretty nice change of pace to have a member of royalty just be unashamedly petty and arrogant the whole time. More often than not that would actually be pretty realistic.

So I give Clara a lot of points throughout the film. Meanwhile the Nutcracker was also good. He was quick to put his life on the line in order to help Clara out and he is very skilled in combat. Even if it means turning back into a doll afterwards, he is not someone who will just give up halfway. It was nice for Clara to have at least one dependable ally.

That’s where I take points away from Drosselmeyer. Now it depends just how aware of things he is because the guy vanishes for most of the film but it’s hinted throughout that he at least know the basis of what’s going to happen. Sure he steps in at the very end but I wanted him to do more. Maybe at the beginning warn Clara that she is about to be facing the fight of her life and giving her some tips.

The Nutcracker’s ending tends to be a little different each time but there is always that moment where you wonder what is real and what isn’t. Well, at least in this case I think it’s clear that it was all real and Drosselmeyer is the key to the whole thing. It’s why the Princess Tutu was a fun TV show because it really went deep into the lore for all of this. It’s probably the best adaption even if some would probably say that it isn’t technically a Nutcracker adaption. I’d say it is at any rate….

Now while there is a ton happening and a whole lot of characters showing up, for that reason is can also be a bit overwhelming at times. Clara is constantly thrown into different situations with more and more characters that it can be tough to keep track of them all. Typically you just have the rats and the rat king but this time there are characters everywhere. At one point Clara basically stumbles into Alice and Wonderland as there are these two guys in the middle of the forest who are just cryptic. They didn’t have much to do with anything although I’m sure there would be some lore videos about them depending on how popular this movie is.

I get the feeling that Nutcracker Fantasy probably has tons of themes and hidden messages beyond most of the scenes and plots. Even the whole Ragman intro that didn’t go anywhere probably has some kind of hidden meaning but in the meantime it’s up to you to grab the meaning. The main thing is to just make sure you are helping out because you want to and not for the satisfaction. After all Clara would have probably been crushed if she had been doing all this to save the princess as opposed to doing the right thing since the princess had no gratitude. The King also looks bad for allowing himself to be dragged on so easily. He at least should have done more for the heroes.

Then again the King couldn’t even take control of a whole room of mad spellcasters who all had crazy schemes on how to wake up the princess. It’s no wonder that the kingdom was losing to the rats. Meanwhile Morphia was a fun main villain. Her rat army definitely could do a lot of damage and so she should take most of the credit there as their leader. Without her they would definitely be a lot more aimless. I would have liked her to have gotten to fight herself more because fighting styles with two heads can be really solid but the film already does have more action than I would have expected so it’s not a negative or anything like that.

Overall, Nutcracker Fantasy is a pretty good film. One of its strengths is absolutely in how wild and unpredictable it is. Even the most seasoned of movie viewers will probably be unable to predict every twist and turn in here. I’d definitely recommend checking it out. The stop motion visuals may be a little hard to get into at first but once you have gotten past that then you will be all set. I’d definitely be up for a sequel to this some day.

Overall 7/10

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 Review

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It’s time to look at one of the all time best films. Sonic 3 is the kind of title that reminds you just how awesome the franchise is. It’s got nonstop action and laughs for all of the viewers. You won’t be the same person you were by the time you finish this movie, that’s just how good it is. Now the tough part is going to be waiting for that sequel!

The movie starts out with the ultimate life form known as Shadow breaking out of his containment unit. He quickly takes down GUN and starts a fire fight in Japan. At this point they are forced to call in Team Sonic but the heroes are quickly taken out as well. Their only hope may be in Eggman but the villain is in retirement after his crushing defeat in the second film. Is he even in a position to help this time or the heroes are barking up the wrong tree here?

Within 15 minutes we’ve already got different action scenes and the film keeps that energy up the whole time. How much you enjoy the film will really be connected to how much you enjoy the action and the characters running around. Fortunately that is all handled really well by the film. There really aren’t any bad characters here and everyone has their roles to play. Additionally the fights are all really intense and show how far the franchise has come.

Naturally the highlight of the film is Sonic vs Shadow but beyond that it was fun seeing the various chase scenes. Eggman even gets a big fight of his own near the end of the film which was pretty fun. His battle is definitely super over the top which is really the whole point of it but it works well. You’ll probably be cackling the whole time. The effects have never looked better so you can expect to see top tier visuals throughout the movie. This really should have been 2 hours so the movie could show off even more but I have no real issues here. Naturally the climax is absolutely top tier. You will be at the edge of your seat here.

As for the soundtrack, quite a few really good tracks there as well. The Shadow danger theme works really well and there were some really nice nods to the games. Some jingles here and there and even a big remix. It’s clear that they really wanted to make this a nice tribute to the fans and it definitely worked out well. Of course the big deciding factor for folks was always going to be the humans. Would they be able to keep up with the creatures or would the humans hold all of the scenes back.

Well, fortunately the humans are really solid. Generally speaking the humor was operating at a very high level. I was cracking up for most of the jokes. In any comedy film there will be some that don’t land of course and that was the case here as well but the important thing is that most of them landed. I was consistently chuckling as the characters got up to all of their nonsense. Sonic has the best jokes for the most part and they really nailed his cocky persona. The fact that he is always making light of everyone and not feeling like he is in danger is a really big deal. I would expect nothing else from the blue blur! I guess some highlights are the marble scene, the play on kunichiwaaaaaat, and reminding an opponent that if you’re gunning for the fastest thing alive then you better not miss.

Sonic learns about teamwork and things here but for the most part he’s still a one man show. When the going gets tough, Sonic gets going and doesn’t have time to wait for the others. I could really appreciate this because Tails and Knuckles mean well but obviously they are nowhere near Sonic’s level. So when there is a big threat that needs to be defeated, it’s not like Sonic can just wait and let them help. Worst case, they would just get in the way. This solo effort is portrayed as a bad thing but if Sonic had waited then they all would have died.

So yeah Sonic was on point here. I’d also give a shoutout to both Knuckles and Tails for both getting some really important moments. Knuckles in particular saved the day on multiple occasions which was really impressive. Meanwhile on the human side of things, Sonic’s guardians got their moments to shine as well. The whole GUN scenes were pretty cheesy of course but it’s probably hard to write in a plausible way for them to help out anymore so I’ll cut them some slack.

On the villain side, Agent Stone looks pretty solid here. He gets a really intense opening scene to the point where I was wondering what character was easily taking out the drones. Stone’s got more of an emotional subplot compared to the others which is tactfully handled with a good blend of humor and seriousness. That’s what the movies really specialize in after all. It can be hard to tell when a scene is supposed to be serious and emotional or when you’re laughing with the characters. The movie really plays with your emotions in all the best ways.

As for Eggman, he gets a lot of good insults and burns the entire time. His opening scene may have been a bit rough but after that he was really ready for action. The way he easily betrays everyone reminds you how the guy is a complete villain through and through. Don’t let all the joking fool you, this is a man who will do whatever he needs to in order to win. Then of course we have Gerald as well who acts a lot like Eggman but a bit more serious. He was another fun villain. I may have preferred Eggman but he was a good contrast.

Now I’m not going to say the movie is absolutely perfect. For every fun comedy scene that really landed like Wade showing up briefly you would eventually get a joke that didn’t quite land. Well the ratio might be more like 10-1 of jokes that worked vs didn’t. I would say Sonic not knowing where his heart is might be a little weak for example. Still, nothing that would really knock you out of the film at any point. Then of course you always have a lot of fun moments where the film wins you back anyway.

A good example of this is the Chao Garden when we get a double fake out. It’s just a really brilliant scene because it shakes you up multiple times. I dare say that a lot of films would not be able to pull that off. The movie gets a whole lot done in under 2 hours so this is also an example of top tier pacing. This even carries over to after the film is over. There are two scenes after the credits and the second is solid but the first may be the best across all of movie history. I have to think about it carefully but I can’t see anything else passing it.

Typically these scenes are very short, maybe a few seconds or so. This one includes a whole fight, real dialogue, and just continues things really well. It was an amazing moment and I can only imagine all the yelling in theaters when this happened. This is absolutely great news for Sonic 4 and I will be there for sure. Sonic continues to prove why it is such a top tier franchise. After the climax of this film with all the DBZ type action, it’s pretty easy to see how they can handle the rest of the fights that will be coming up. This looks better than 99% of all live action movies and I expect that to remain as the case for the sequels.

Meanwhile Shadow’s character arc was really top tier. They did the game justice for sure and I can already see how they will adapt his future story arcs. There is a ton of potential here without a doubt. Because of his high power level it might be a little tough to balance him though. They properly showed that he is significantly stronger than Sonic to the point where we needed some plot armor so who could possibly come in to challenge him? The main villain for 4 seems like a good pick and then we have Infinite but after that it’ll get difficult. Well, at this point I trust the writers. They seem to really have a strong understanding of the characters so I have absolutely no worries here.

Overall, Sonic 3 is an absolute masterpiece! Definitely check it out as soon as possible. I’m definitely going to be rewatching the fight a whole lot! Right now the quality online isn’t all that great though so it’ll be more fun in a few months or so. This was really a great adaption of Sonic Adventure 2 Battle and really hit just about all of the major notes I could have hoped for. It may not have done everything and left a little meat on the bone but I was still content. The Sonic movies continue to be better and better each time so the stakes are really high for the 4th one.

Overall 9/10

Nowhere to Go Review

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After a heist, the average criminal will quickly realize that he has nowhere to go. You’re now on the run for life and eventually the law will catch up. Well that’s the general premise of this film and it definitely makes for a good thriller right out of the gate. It’s very high energy with a lot happening at all times and a really solid cast of characters.

The film starts off in the present with Paul escaping from prison and getting to a nearby hideout. We then get a flashback to the events leading up to this and the flashback was so long that I forgot it was a flashback halfway through the adventure. Basically he decided to swindle an old lady out of her famous coins collection. To do that, he quickly became her friend and took her out to dinner many times. Unfortunately she ended up trusting him so he sold the coins and split. The plan was always to get caught though. He figured he would do a few months and then be out in a snap but instead the judge sentenced him to 5 years.

So Paul breaks out and all he has to do is get to the safe where he has the money stored. If he can make it there then he is now rich and can make a new life for him. It won’t be easy though as his old partner Victor wants a bigger cut of the pie and the cops may be onto him. Paul can’t really trust anybody, he can’t even trust himself. Is he accurately seeing the world as it is or is he starting to jump at ghosts?

Paul really sells the role of the tricky villain here. He acts a lo like a classic Bruce Wayne kind of character. He’s very confident at all times and they say even in the real world that this is the real trick to being successful. When you have other people believing that you are in the right spot, then that ends up being the case. He certainly manipulate a number of characters here even if I think that it was a little convenient for him to meet a lady named Bridget who is into lost cases.

She even says she has a title to that effect and it is readily apparent as she is willing to help this guy. It’s not like Paul is a secret hero who has been framed or anything, he’s straight up a criminal. So it’s not admirable to see Bridget helping him, it just shows that she is not a good character either. It’s a pretty bad look for her and she is definitely one of the weakest characters in the film. She should have been trying to stop him especially with how suspicious the living arrangements were. From her point of view it would certainly seem like he did something to her fiancé.

Victor is a criminal just like Paul but he made for a solid rival. I liked how he was always laughing and was not afraid of Paul. No this guy was talking as big as possible and made sure that Paul knew the score. Victor just wasn’t a particularly smart guy. Threatening someone and then giving them all day to come up with a plan is never going to end well. He was practically begging Paul to do something to him the way that he acted. When you double cross someone, you’re going to need to bump them off right away or things are going to get messy. it doesn’t take a genius to figure that out.

Paul made his own share of mistakes to be sure but nothing on that level. Of course each mistake is appreciated since you are rooting for the cops the whole time. You need Paul to be taken down because taking advantage of the elderly is absolutely one of the worst things you can do. There’s not really much coming back from that. This is yet another example of how the noir genre can churn out solid films even with the whole cast being bad.

There really aren’t any characters to root for here and yet the film is still pretty good. So why is that? Well, that’s because the story and writing are really on point. You may not have someone to root for but you certainly have someone to root against. The film never gives the villains too many wins or makes things too dark but still establishes why you want them to fail. The movie is very measured about this at all times and the pacing is also good. You’re really at the edge of your seat here.

The movie may not be really long but they certainly squeeze in a whole lot of action. The film also covers a long period of time as the main character’s dinner dates are shown in montage format. You can assume this was over the case of weeks to maybe even months. A successful criminal is often looking at things in the long term which is why you really need to keep your eyes open and not lower your guard. You never truly know another person after all and before you take the leap of faith you better give yourself a lot of time to think about it.

Overall, Nowhere to Go is a very solid film with a satisfying ending. I would definitely recommend it to any Noir fans. It reminds you to always keep a careful eye out because it is so easy for anybody to be lying about something. Particularly if you are in a new environment then you need to be able to analyze things on your own without being told. The more you can figure out on your own, the less susceptible you are to being tricked. This goes 10 fold if you are rich or have something worth a whole lot of value. People will tell you any kinds of stories to get close to you and you just have to be able to see through that. It may be a tough burden to get around but at the end of the day it is your burden. The price of being rich as they say.

Overall 7/10

One Piece: Heart of Gold Review

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It’s time for a One Piece adventure! Generally I’ve enjoyed all of the One Piece movies and this one’s no exception. I would say it is one of the weakest titles in the franchise as it can’t really keep up on a story or battle basis. Still, you’ll be entertained which is the important part and it’s always fun to see the gang in new situations.

The story starts with the Strawhats coming across a girl who has just escaped from a bunch of other pirates. She has a piece of gold with her that will enable her to find a hidden city. The main characters are pirates so this sounds like a good time to them. They all end up getting sucked into a giant fish where the island is being hidden. Can Luffy and friends secure the treasure and get out or have they just stumbled onto a massive conspiracy?

This is a classic adventure which feels like a return to the original One Piece days. The nostalgia adds a nice boost to things and the film also does out of its way to try and give everyone something to do. I’d say the main exception is Franky but you had Chopper blocking projectiles and Brook even got to play the piano. Naturally Zoro and Sanji get to have their big fights at the end while Luffy takes on the big shot. Now there are some power level issues here but you would probably expect that from the jump. Mad is strong but nowhere near the level he would need to be in order to take down someone like Luffy.

The film extends things a bit to make it exciting. I can sort of look the other way, it’s not going to hurt the score or anything but seeing Luffy struggle with some chains was definitely rough. That’s not something that I would expect out of him at this stage in the game. Personality wise the Strawhats all looked good though with the exception of Sanji. For Sanji they really leaned into his more pervy side here so he was definitely taking L after L the whole time. I would have liked him to have done better but I’m not the biggest fan of his anyway.

Now for the new characters, the main one here is Olga who is basically a kid who says her thoughts out loud. It’s a classic gimmick that you see from time to time in different titles and I’d say it’s not a bad one. There isn’t much to her beyond this but her character design is memorable and she has a tough personality so she automatically beats a bunch of the other film OCs. Now if she could just fight then she would really rise up.

Mad is a fairly generic villain. He basically wants treasure and likes a good fight. Nothing particularly bad about him but I don’t think anyone will be talking about the guy after a few years. The chains ability is really handy though and it was nice to see animated. There aren’t a ton of chain users out there so I always like to see another user. If the chains themselves were stronger I could definitely see this guy being a top fighter.

Meanwhile the animation is good but nothing amazing. The chain fights are really the only times when the film is actively flexing. Beyond that it’s fairly standard stuff. Better than what you’ll see in the average mainstream movie but not quite near where you’d expect the anime movies to be at. I did like the effect they used for when Luffy was using observation haki though. The red eyes really looked menacing. In terms of soundtrack, not really any big knockout tunes to change things up. The main themes are good enough though. That’s sort of the feel of the whole movie. It’s all good enough without actively trying to be the best or anything more than that. So it’s a pretty good time and you will have fun with it but then it will blend with the background.

The best character here is definitely Zoro and I dare say that will be the reaction of just about anyone who checks out the film. He gets his fight and dominates from start to finish. There is no point where you think he will be on the losing side or anything like that. He even gives a nice speech the whole time and you wouldn’t be surprised if he was actually stronger than Luffy. The guy definitely carries that level of confidence after all.

In terms of the general story, it may be a stretch to have someone from CP0 losing to the new villain but I know it’s a quick way to build up some hype. The film needs an ultimate treasure and so having a secret elixir or immortality is one way to do it. It’s perhaps a little too overpowered though considering there are basically no side effects and it doesn’t seem all that hard to mass produce. It certainly works well in upping the stakes and everything but yeah the world government would be all over that in a heart beat.

Overall, The idea of a movie to set up another movie is pretty interesting. That’s such a bold movie that I can respect it. One Piece Film Gold definitely looks way more impressive and is also the better movie but this is a good title all around. You do have to ignore the fact that the heroes could have ended this film within 5 minutes when the villains showed up due to the gap in power though. I would recommend it if you like One Piece or generally if you like a good adventure film. It’s a very stand alone adventure and only a few cameos will just feel meaningless to someone who is not a fan. The story’s framework and the general plot are both straight forward enough where this won’t be confusing or anything like that.

Overall 7/10

A Visit to Santa Review

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So blurry!!! That’s what you’ll be thinking right away but even 4K visuals would not have been able to save this short film. All films should have some kind of point. Even if we’re talking 10 minutes, there should be some reason that you want to watch the product right? I mean if there isn’t, why would you be watching this at all right? Unfortunately it didn’t seem like this movie actually knew what it wanted to do at all and that’s absolutely disgraceful.

The film starts with two kids whining about Santa. The parents quickly get them off to bed so they can get out of there but Santa learns that the kids want to see him thanks to their message. So he has his elf bring them in and the kids get to see all about how Santa’s workshop works. It’s an intense experience but someone forgot to tell the kids that as they are visibly bored the whole time and want to go home. Here we have Santa being a nice guy and showing them things that almost nobody has seen before and they are bored??? It was such a mean thing for these kids to do.

I’m not saying they had to be yelling up and down but these are rather fantastic events. They are moving at high speeds and seeing such big secrets. At least a bunch of “thank you” responses and general excitement would be good. Unfortunately while I say this would be big for the kids, it’s not so entertaining for the adults though. The effects haven’t aged extremely well at the end of the day and even the costumes are really weak. They could learn something or two from how we have the Macy’s Santa costumes lined up.

Like I said earlier, it’s also hard to find any point to this. What lesson is the film teaching us? How do they want the audience to react and feel? It’s all just aimed so low that anyone over the age of 2 will be bored and anyone under that age will just fall asleep. This film isn’t effectively targeting anyone and so in the end it will just blend in with the background. That is definitely not a good thing at all. It’s only around 10 minutes or so, so at least it doesn’t drag on for as long as it would have otherwise.

Still, there isn’t really much to defend about the film at all. In fact I would say there is a lot to attack instead. Giving us a quick antagonist would have been good even if it was the parents. Like maybe they tracked the kids down and are looking for them so Santa says they will have to move quickly or something like that. At least then you will have a sense of urgency that could push the whole thing forward. Perhaps I am asking for too much but that would have been a nice way to make it all more exciting if you ask me.

Overall, A Visit to Santa is definitely a film to stay away from. It doesn’t do anything particularly bad or offensive but the problem is that it doesn’t really do anything period. I wanted something to excite me but this film just didn’t pull that off. At the end of the day it’s one of those film that has lost its way. I can see why it has been lost to time since nobody would have cared enough about it to preserve this piece of history. It’s best left in your memories so for that reason I would say to give it the boot. Watch Jingle All The Way instead.

Overall 3/10

The Berenstain Bears’ Christmas Tree Review

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The Berenstain Bears is a series that I grew up with but you don’t really see it much anymore. It didn’t really survive the test of time as well as some other titles. That said, it still has a good amount of quality to it and I was eager to see what their Christmas special looks like. It’s definitely really crazy and I would also say that it plays out more like a Dr. Seuss story with all of the rhyming throughout the dialogue. It’s very different from the usual adventure.

The basic plot is that Christmas is nearly here and the bears don’t have a Christmas tree yet! Mama Bear says they should buy one from Gus but Papa Bear scoffs at the idea. He will get a tree the old fashioned way and quickly gets Brother and Sister Bear to go along with him. The problem is that every tree is already spoken for with different animals living in them. Time is ticking and the heroes are no closer to their goal. What can they do?

It should be noted that most of the problems here are directly a result of Papa Bear’s actions. The guy really cannot be reasoned with and in this special he also doesn’t seem to be very smart. At one point he forgets what his name is and he basically ignores the rest of the characters when they are talking. It’s his way or the highway at all times which is not really what you want to hear from the guy since he has no plan. I appreciate wanting to cut down the tree yourself but then you should probably have done that well in advance. It is nice that he stops once the animals are in trouble but it’s definitely more of a hollow victory at times.

I do think the animals were pretty mean to the guy though. He actively stopped in his efforts to cut down the tree so the animals should probably be grateful. Instead they go after Papa and try to murder him but if he fought back they would be the ones to lose. They were not really thinking with their heads on that one. I was glad that generally speaking the kids weren’t too upset with Papa though. They were sad about the circumstances but didn’t try to put all of the blame on his feet or anything like that. It would have still been valid but I was glad they didn’t kick him while he was down.

In a way Papa Bear is the main character and the only one to constantly be doing something so having him in the center of the action the whole time did help keep things entertaining. They did a good job with the animation of showing just how psycho his eyes would get the whole time. Even right to the end with the fish, Sister Bear brings up a good point and then he immediately goes into psycho mode. That was definitely pretty crazy and a super intense way to end the special. He may be crazy but that’s exactly why you want him on your side.

It’s also a good thing that the special was short because if it was too long then I think it would have ended up having a serious pacing issue. As it stands, I would say it was balanced well. Papa Bear keeps it just interesting enough where you aren’t waiting for it to end or anything. It’s not really my kind of style of special generally with the dialogue being a bit too slow but the novelty factor really helps it out. If you like the Berenstain Bears then you’ll probably appreciate this take on them.

Once again I’d give a shoutout to the animation here because it really matches the chaotic energy of the special well. In fact you could argue that without the animation, the rest of the story wouldn’t work so well. I wouldn’t be surprised if the story was based around the animation as opposed to the other way around. It can be a little rarer to see animation this chaotic outside of anime nowadays so you definitely need to savor it while you can.

Overall, The Christmas Tree made for a pretty fun adventure as you watched the heroes do their best and everything got really chaotic. It’s certainly really out there and by the end you don’t really know if this was a super cheerful adventure or not. What you do know is that it was generally entertaining. I think it’s a tricky recommendation though, I would only suggest it if you are really familiar with the franchise. Otherwise as a general viewing I would definitely say to check some other titles out first. This definitely feels like a very hit or miss kind of special.

Overall 6/10

Mr. Miracle Review

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It’s time for me to look at a film where something extremely rare happens. Hallmark actually missed the mark on this one. They just leaned a little too hard on Mr. Miracle not knowing anything to the point where it is actively distracting and also makes no sense with the storyline. I couldn’t ultimately escape this and so the film couldn’t be as good as it should have been.

The film started off with Harry getting super excited because he has been chosen to finally go to Earth and help somebody out. He has been waiting a long time for this chance because if he does well then he gets to stick around on Earth permanently as he helps more and more people. His mission is to help out a girl named Addie who has strayed off the path and isn’t super fulfilled at school Is Harry up to the task or is he about to fail?

The first big problem I have here is that for some reason Harry doesn’t know anything about anything. When he is told to “take a seat” he literally grabs it to walk off with. He takes everything literally and doesn’t know basic concepts like humor. They act like he’s an alien but at some point he had to have been a human before being an angel. Maybe he died as a baby but he’s been waiting years for his turn so it sounds like he should have picked some things up. Ultimately it just makes it so that you are shaking your head whenever he appears. The guy is wayyyyy too overdone.

It actively goes against the storyline of the movie since we never saw that problem with any other angel. I would have to attribute this to be a writing problem because the film could have easily portrayed him as naive or gullible without going this far. The film ends up being illy but not in a particularly funny way. If it was really funny then naturally the issues wouldn’t matter at all. You’re rooting against Harry here because you know that if he succeeds then he will get to stick around.

Fortunately Celeste is around to try and help. The problem is that Harry naturally doesn’t want her help. That is what makes him even worse to be honest. So not only is he terrible at his job but then he is also not willing to accept help. You can’t have a giant ego when you’re this bad. Sure, eventually he accepts the help but it took way too long to get to that point. Celeste probably should have taken a stronger stand against him as well. I’d even recommend reporting him to the other angels for making a mess of things.

As for Addie, the film is mainly supposed to be about her so she is a big character. I thought she was fairly reasonable the whole time. She’s not particularly outgoing and doesn’t like to stand out. I wouldn’t call those objectively negative qualities. I can also see why she didn’t want to help the local bully since they never got along particularly well before. Naturally a romance does bloom out of this which was hard to buy into. I was fine with them finally making amends and getting along though. No sense in holding grudges forever and it seems like things were never too personal.

It’s just hard to take this guy seriously because apparently he was a player for a long while. Sure, no girls are seeing him now that he’s broken his leg but once he is better then that could all change. Addie is doing well to look after him while his mother is out and about but she doesn’t owe him anything more than that. She also has to deal with Harry constantly embarrassing her at school and everything which isn’t easy.

The fact that things go so well for Harry will also have you shaking your head each time. The plot has to bend over backwards to try and make things work out for him and it’s just so forced. They really needed to do something to make this more of a learning experience. If you are going to write Harry like this, then it should be a movie about humility as things get worse and worse until he begs Celeste for help. Another part of the problem here is that he never really does that and she just volunteers help. Right through to the end he just never feels particularly apologetic even though it’s all his fault.

Take Harry out of the film and the whole thing gets way better. After all, it still has the nice Hallmark vibes. It’s generally a pleasant movie to watch and the pacing is fine. You have some fun characters here and it’s the kind of film that you know will have a happy ending. Without Harry I have no doubt that it would hold its own with the average Hallmark experience. So this is a good example of how a film can completely change directions all on account of a single character.

I’ll start wrapping up by saying that it is still an interesting idea to have a main character with powers like this. It’s certainly not the only time we’ve seen this happen and usually it’s a lot of fun. So the takeaway shouldn’t be to remove the supernatural element. In fact, if Harry knew how to use his powers then that would have at least made him look a little competent and could have helped his character.

Overall, Mr. Miracle is one of those films where there is nothing terribly wrong for it but it can be a bit of a hard watch. Harry is just that over the top and I haven’t seen a character that grating in a minute. Side characters sure, but the main character? The film definitely had a serious misstep there and couldn’t course correct in time. If you want to watch a Christmas movie then you should watch just about any other Hallmark movie instead. This one isn’t really going to wow you but if you have no other options left or have already seen all of the Hallmark movies then I guess you should watch this one.

Overall 5/10

Looks like Christmas Review

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It’s time for a Christmas battle as two parents and their ideologies clash. I like it when the two main characters are going up against each other like this because it often makes for really good banter. At the same time it will also usually mean that the romance will end up being rather cheesy. It just doesn’t make sense to get together with someone that you’ve been fighting with right? Well that’s the dilemma that this film has to deal with.

The film starts off with Terry and his daughter moving yet again and so it’s time for her to make friends. She isn’t thrilled about this so Terry decides to be a good sport and try being more involved with the school this time. So he joins the board and plans to help with the Christmas ceremony. Apparently it’s been a massive succeed every year and so Terry decides that they should switch things up. He announces that a new approach is in order which really rubs the lead of the festivities, Carol, the wrong way. She will have to stop this.

Now that clearly wasn’t the film’s intent but it’s definitely how I took it. Carol is a hardcore traditionalist who likes doing things the old way. If she has a system then that will absolutely remain as the system for many years to come. She is well loved by the whole community though and we are told numerous times that everyone loves the Christmas party. So it’s not a negative and a lot of this is exposition. Terry only knows on a very basic level that she is loved and likes her traditions.

So when he shows up at the meeting and immediately says that they should try something new, it makes no real sense. The film should have had someone tell him that the party was boring or the kids didn’t like it. That would have given him reason to blow it all up but instead he comes off like he’s picking a fight. Then the principal is also on board with it right away which is a bit iffy. You’d think he wouldn’t want to risk anything here and making Terry the co-chair with Carol was a bold move.

You could say he was just trying to help Terry fit in but I would say that it was all a bit much. Carol was mainly a jerk to Terry for the rest of the movie and clearly in the wrong in most instances but at least you can say that Terry started the fight. Terry does well with the ideas and participating though. I don’t really have any issues with him as a character. There is a dilemma in the film later on where his daughter gets mad at him for not being around more but the way I see it, there wasn’t much more he could do. He was really trying his best and that should be good enough. Terry is under a lot of pressure in a rather high stress environment after all.

The film stacks the deck a bit here as he is also in charge of shutting down the library that Carol is fighting for. He comes through with a pretty good solution at least but once again it brings you to the main challenge which is why Carol would fall for him at all. There’s just too much bad blood for most of the film in order for this to work out. So like most Hallmark films you do have to get past the romance but then the rest of the film is really solid.

As expected, the kids are the weak links here. The daughter comes off as rather annoying with how she blames her father for everything. He does make promises too easily which is something she could call him out for but otherwise she made the whole thing too dramatic. Carol’s son was more reasonable although his study group was rather bad. They clearly weren’t focused much at all and it seems like the kind of place to go if you don’t mind dropping a few points on your next exam. Otherwise there isn’t much reason to go through with it all.

I spoke a lot about Terry but not so much on Carol so lets get to her. For starters I would say she is a solid character. While she is an antagonist for most of the film with Terry, we do see that she is kind to everybody else and has long been known as an upstanding individual. Generally speaking if you have someone like this, then I will still consider them to be a good character. If she had an attitude with everybody then it would be different but that was not the case.

When there is just friction with one person you can cut a whole lot of slack for her. If anything I think it would have been nice to have seen some more support for her from different townsfolk. Maybe have the principal and a few others find out about Terry’s big library mission and defend her or call him out. I’m thinking the film wanted to be careful about totally burning any bridges or making thing too personal but I do think it would have been nice for her to have had some characters in her corner. Instead she was practically gaslit at times into thinking she was the problem. There’s one scene where Terry buys her a Christmas tree and I totally get why she would be upset there. That’s the kind of thing you want to do on your own and she was completely in the right about getting rid of it. At least that’s how I see it.

Overall, Looks like Christmas is a pretty good film. The banter and conflict for most of the film definitely helped to elevate it. I always find that it makes the film a lot more energetic and this title was certainly no exception. It goes by quickly and the film is able to solve the dilemmas without it being too cheesy. The Christmas party also looked pretty fun so that was nice. The romance tends to be a bit more on the eye rolling side but hey that’s just how it goes sometimes. I would definitely recommend checking this film out. It’s a good film for the Christmas season.

Overall 7/10

One Christmas Eve Review

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It’s time for one of those classic Hallmark films and this one definitely gets intense as someone even pulls out a gun. I wasn’t expecting that so it really showed that this would be a different experience. It makes for a fun title and has a good amount of humor in it. The romance may not hold its own as well as some of the others but the story still keeps it all afloat.

The film starts off with Reggie finishing up a tough shift at work only to find that someone left a puppy outside. He can’t leave it alone but doesn’t really want to spend the effort and time of taking care of it. So he aims to leave it outside the door of a random person but he trips on the ice and breaks his leg. The lady named Nell showed up and helps him but now she’s stuck with the dog and taking care of this guy. She takes him to the hospital but then one of her kids falls in a trap and gets injured. Could it be that the dog is somehow causing them all bad luck?

You could say that the whole film is basically a long string of bad luck after bad luck for all of the characters. They just can’t escape it and gradually the group gets larger as this also includes a night watchmen/security guy who gets in trouble as well. All they want is to enjoy a nice Christmas but the goal gets farther and farther away. This even includes a house burning down so the characters really go through a whole lot here. The film does a good job of keeping the bad things funny without it ever getting too mean spirited though.

This is a happy/wholesome Christmas film first and foremost though. That said, it is also why there would really be no shot at a romance here. After the crazy day that Nell had and how it’s basically 90% Cesar’s fault you don’t really forget that. Nell’s a solid heroine though as she always tries to do the right thing and didn’t just ditch Cesar immediately. She was definitely verrrrry reluctant for a while there but ultimately did things with a good nature.

Her kids were a little more on the annoying side since they didn’t contribute much. The daughter was really bad at singing and didn’t seem to be making much of an effort to improve her skills. The son was busy falling into holes and getting into trouble which didn’t help anybody. Cesar is a character who has his whole character arc and everything but ultimately I wouldn’t say he was a great character. You have to wonder if he really changed or if he’s just nicer now since he likes Nell but otherwise is the same person on the inside. The whole thing with leaving the dog on the front porch like that is super hard to get away from.

I’d say Reggie was easily the most entertaining character. He always had a good one liner for the occasion and he’s a quick study. He went from just knowing a few lines in Spanish to knowing quite a bit during the latter part of the film. The guy also handled being held at gunpoint rather well compared to the rest of the characters who would have probably been panicking a whole lot. The movie did a super good job with the music and atmosphere for that moment too. You could feel the danger.

Then we have Dr. Chen who is another solid character. He was ready to support the heroes as needed even while the nurse was trying to rush them out. He had a lot more common sense and wasn’t just going to be pushed around. It’s always good to have a friendly face out there because otherwise the heroes were really going to be on their own. The film tries to have the nurse suddenly be a little more friendly during the climax but it definitely didn’t work out so well. It was too little too late as they say.

Because the characters are always moving it also makes the plot feel pretty expansive. It already had more main characters than the average film so it was nice to see them all pal up and everything. A film like this is only as good as its writing o fortunately the film didn’t falter there. You could tell that most of the characters were still good people and so that was the same as usual except they just weren’t immune from the bad luck. Like we had a moment where a guy comes over to help tow their car and naturally it goes terribly. Usually that would have instantly been the solution but not here.

I like the idea of a dog that brings bad luck as well. It makes you face a difficult dilemma because the dog himself is quite innocent but it’s not a super comforting thought because you are going to be experiencing the bad luck either way. I was glad that the characters don’t take it out on the dog either. Reggie for example is quick to defend the dog when the nurse tells him to take it outside. He wasn’t about to obey that order and that’s a good thing because it would have absolutely tanked his character!

Overall, One Christmas Eve is a pretty fun film. It doesn’t feel quite as much like most other Hallmark movies since there is so much travelling and running around instead of staying in one place but it still has the right vibes. You’ll have a good time watching the movie which is the most important part as well. The writing is solid and the pacing is good so there aren’t really any issues. If you’re up for a film about how a bunch of strangers all band together to support each other during the holidays, then this is the title for you!

Overall 7/10

The Legend of Frosty the Snowman Review

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It’s time for Frosty The Snowman to return to action but I can tell you that he is playing for keeps here. This time Frosty is the one breaking the rules and trying to get everyone to follow along. The Mayor will need to stop him but doing so may end up breaking all of his relationships. This time there will be no easy winners.

The movie starts by introducing us to a small town that is ruled by Tinkerton. Everybody is taught to follow the rules quite strictly from the start and then from there they grow up to be law abiding citizens. The main catch is that they have given up most of their free will in order to achieve this to the point where everybody is like a zombie. They must all repress their emotions and creativity. Well Frosty has decided to end this and so he starts appearing to some of the kids in town to lead them down the dark path. In the meantime the mayor’s right hand man figures this is his time to take over the village.

There’s quite a lot to unpack here but the main thing about this film is that it is absolutely insane. It is not trying to be all that realistic like the older films. Instead it’s really leaning into how the world could turn into a dystopia some day just by following the rules. The fact that everybody listens to the mayor is really quite telling and you wonder just how long it has been like this. Years, Decades? We know that at least when the mayor was a kid things seemed to be normal based on the book but that’s still more of an assumption I suppose.

The fact that there is a book that shows events of the future is another crazy thing. The inner mechanics of the book are never fully explained but it seems to show you the knowledge that you need in the moment. The best character here was the mayor because of how absolutely busted he was. The guy had more tears to shed about his clipboard than about his own sons. He was absolutely drunk with power and yet he is able to let it go a lot easier than you would expect. He becomes a completely broken man without the clipboard and then we learn that he has been gaslighting himself for years into thinking that Frosty wasn’t real.

I would say in some ways it feels like South Park or Family Guy where the characters can be rather cruel to each other but then this is still obviously aimed at kids. It just makes for a crazy experience where it’s like you’re watching a parody. It succeeds in the most important aspect which is that the film is absolutely hilarious! You’ll definitely be cracking up with the movie the whole time even when that may not have been the overall intent. Characters change personalities on a dime and keep getting in each other’s way but that just increases your enjoyment of the madness.

Pankley is probably the weak point of the film if I have to pick one. It’s more of a by default pick since he still made for a good villain but he’s playing the role a lot straighter than the rest. He doesn’t have to act like a parody because compared to the others you could see him working as a standard villain. The pettiness of his goal is definitely impressive though. This guy never gave up and he nearly succeeded in his master plans. He just got a little sloppy at the end.

Tommy was okay but also mishandled most of his moments. He should have managed to get close to the kids to either prove he wasn’t a snitch, or to become one and make his dad proud. Instead he sort of does neither and fades in the background. The kids all avoid him completely as soon as he got the #1 sticker so it really wasn’t his day. I was definitely expecting that he would do a whole lot better.

Frosty is definitely not as heroic as in previous versions of the character. He’s not singing about good morals and things like that. Instead he’s mainly just messing around and gets sloppy by falling into the villain’s trap. You’d think that freezing water wouldn’t be the most effective thing against him but my guy Frosty folds immediately. He definitely needed some more power because this version of him just felt really weak the whole time.

All of the kids have fairly significant shortcomings the whole time though so it’s not like Timmy is on his own here. You have one kid who gets really selfish and wants Frosty all to himself. Not a very cool thing to do and so it’s easy for him to get manipulated. Then you have the girl who is rather rude to Timmy for no reason until the time skip ending. I know that he was terrible at making conversation but he wasn’t even breaking the rules at that point. There’s his brother who was a bully from the start but gradually got nicer. At least he had full agency the whole time.

In a town where everyone has their personalities suppressed, I suppose they’re all on eggshells. The characters being this flawed is part of what makes the film so much fun though. You’ve really just got to see it, it’s hard to do the whole scenario justice without you seeing it first hand. Even the animation is really crazy with the characters going on and off model the whole time. The character designs are poor to start with so the blend is crazy. The soundtrack is fairly weak. So you’re really here for the writing which is what hard carries the film. There ae just so many great moments here and a clever Youtuber could have a field day making an abridged version or just poking fun at it. For my money, this is a film with a tremendous amount of replay value. It’s certainly short enough to keep on rewatching it anyway and it’s just good high quality fun.

Overall, The Legend of Frosty the Snowman is definitely a really solid film. It may not have the heart of some of the old Frosty titles but this one is just having a lot of fun. You have to imagine the writers were grinning the whole time as they made this one. It’s definitely got much more of a comedic flair than the previous films but again it just works really well! It’s not like the laughs come out of nowhere or anything like that. It’s all balanced towards a grand goal and I expect it’ll be a hit for anyone looking for a fun time watching their Christmas flicks this year.

Overall 7/10