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Christmas Holiday: A Holiday Retrospective Review

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Since we’re slowly approaching the winter festivities and holiday season, I thought it would be special and talk about forgotten or holiday themed movies that do get overlooked. The movie I have selected to review takes place during Christmas Eve and Day without any of the morals and holiday spirit, giving it the Die Hard spirit of movies.

The movie, Christmas Holiday, stars Deanna Durbin and Gene Kelly (who is actually playing the villain of the film). This movie was made in 1944 and is a movie that breaks the typecast of what both actors were usually known for. Kelly was known for being a spectacle dancer, singer and showman and Durbin was a musically gifted singer as well. This movie is a sad, dark drama with not much happiness to go around. That being said, is the movie good and does it give you the holiday feels? We’ll judge the movie based on plot, characters and the holiday spirit that the title offers us. Let’s hitch a ride and go on this journey as we explore Christmas Holiday.

The movie is a sad look at love and lies. The movie is about a young lieutenant on leave and gets stranded in New Orleans on his way to San Francisco due to thunder storm. He was going there because his fiance or woman who promised to marry him decided to marry someone else. While in New Orleans, he gets taken to a club where he meets a young woman named Jackie. Jackie seems like a distant or aloof woman who seems to be pining from days long gone. She confides into the lieutenant and she tells him the story of meeting her husband and what lead to her being alone in the club on Christmas. Gene Kelly plays the estranged husband of Jackie. Its a touching and sad story that shows how love sometimes isn’t enough and addiction sometimes can ruin anything and everything. The plot is simple but you get lost into the dialogue and you feel for the characters even when they do horrible acts toward their fellow townsmen.

The characters make the movie worth watching. Deanna Durbin plays a somber club singer down on her luck and comes off like she is experiencing loss and could be dead inside. Her dialogue is done very well without a filter, using her experience of loss and love to help the lieutenant that sometimes love isn’t enough and there has to be more. Gene Kelly, the villain in the movie, is charming as usual and shows us some glimpses of stern and even angry tone when he talks about murder and his gambling addiction. This is so different than what we’re usually used to with Gene Kelly.

This is the guy who would smile at the screen, do a soft shoe dance and sing a little jazzy diddy making such a spectacle. What we see in this movie is a down played actor with a more vindictive motive. I enjoyed the way Deanna and Gene play off each other. These are crafty and clever actors, who play off each other so well to the point where it almost looks like we’re watching a real life couple having conversations with each other, even if the main fault of Gene Kelly’s character, comes out of nowhere.

The holiday spirit is quite low by the time the audience joins the story. This whole story takes place during two days of Christmas Eve and Day and we learn about the tragic story of a woman not being with her husband and the faults of both of them either being naive or not having proper communications with each other. The story is quite sad and depressing without much hope for a happy resolution.

This movie could’ve taken place on any other day and it would still be treated the same. The only Christmas motif included the flashback when the lieutenant and Jackie went to Christmas Eve mass at the local church and Jackie breaks down and has a crying spell. Due to that event, we start learning about her past and the events. That is the only thing about Christmas that really stands out. Without that scene or if the scene was altered based on the holiday, we could still get the same events leading to the flashbacks. The fact that it was during Christmas doesn’t really offer anything special to the audience, except the possibility of more people being together celebrating and drinking and partying. This is a movie that could maybe make you feel grateful for everything you have because it could be worse and you could be like Gene.

Overall, this movie was good. It had some good dialogue, great acting by both lead characters, and a simple story just done very well. I was pleasantly surprised that Gene could play the serious villainous role and sort of wishes he could have taken more roles similar to his filmography. Deanna Durbin was acting very well and sung some nice blues style songs. I think this is a forgotten movie that should not be forgotten. I don’t know why people often don’t remember this film, maybe because it’s called Christmas Holiday. People were expecting more festivities and more feelings of the holiday to celebrate Christmas more and this movie is a sad and depressing look at a woman’s failed marriage. I think this is an underrated movie and should be treated better. Is it a Christmas movie? Well, that’s a tough call. Like Die Hard, that takes place during Christmas, this is similar. This is a movie that happens to take place during Christmas and does offer some church choir scenes, so I guess it does sort of make it a Christmas movie. Is it one for the whole family to enjoy? No, this isn’t that kind of movie. If you enjoy Gene Kelly as an actor, classic black and white film and some interesting dialogue, then this movie would be a good fit for you.

 

 

 

 

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‘Abigail’: Bite Me Harder Tiny Dancer

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A gang of misfit kidnappers find their tiny target far more bloodthirsty than they bargained for! 

So, unfortunately, the trailers gave it away and let’s be real that’s why most of us are here, the knowledge that the kidnap victim Abigail (Alisha Weir), codenamed by the would-be kidnappers appropriately as ‘tiny dancer’, is in fact, a vampire. Not a spoiler, point of fact, one of the film’s actual great selling points. And the reactions from the misfit club when faced with a real actual f*cking vampire, range hilariously from the blunt “no such thing as vampires” all the way to, “Are we talking True Blood or Twilight rules or what?” all while covered in buckets and buckets of blood. 

Anyway, the gang manages to subdue and abscond with the aforementioned Abigail, in a pre-prepared duffle bag, like you do, and converge to a new location, a house oddly similar to the one she was just taken from. Welcomed and given codenames by a man who introduces himself as Lambert (Giancarlo Esposito), our misfit club is told to simply hold down the fort in this strange old house with the girl chained up in a room and one person to attend her, for twenty-four hours, and they’ll all get paid. 

As inevitable as the tides, the dopey druggie Dean (Angus Cloud) is the first to die, and we’re going to give that death-style points for inspiring terror right off the bat. The very controlling Frank (Dan Stevens, holy crap yes that is the guy from FXs Legion) is also of course the most suspicious – of everyone around him, sure, but also he himself is totes sus. We don’t learn terribly much about the musclebound tank who gets dubbed Peter (Kevin Durand), he’s your pretty typical little-brains-heart-of-gold muscle-for-hire any proper gang needs, right down to the bottle problem. Sammy (Kathryn Newton), well, even for being a purported hacker-type, she has, like, reality issues. Rickles (William Catlett), he’s arguably the most dangerous among them, ex-military and yet somehow here and involved in kidnapping for a few mills. Joey (Melissa Barrera) is our Final Girl, and though she has the inevitable problems in her recent past, she seems more capable of doing the hard thing and still somehow empathizing at the end of the day. Must be her burning desire to get back with her son. 

The fit hits the shan pretty quickly, and Abigail morphs from tiny dancer to tiny monster, though honestly, the way Abigail spoke the entire time in the film, if the ‘nappers had been paying close enough attention, would have been a solid clue. The performance from Alisha Weir as Abigail is incredible, as she literally dances a fine line between comedy, tragedy, and outright monstrosity. With a face full of makeup and the force of a tiny tornado to back it up, Weir brings to mind the great performances of the vampires in 30 Days of Night who saw the practicality in the need to trap their food, but also, play with it a bit first before feasting! Anything else would give away the absolute fun time that is Abigail, so you should go see it, out in theaters now!

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Scrubs Reunion: The Band Gets Back Together

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Fans of the beloved medical comedy series Scrubs were recently treated to a thrilling surprise when John C. McGinley, who portrayed the iconic Dr. Perry Cox, dropped a photo on Twitter hinting at a potential reunion project. The image, showing McGinley alongside his former co-stars, sparked a wave of excitement and speculation among fans who have been longing for more adventures with the beloved Sacred Heart Hospital staff.

While details about the reunion project are still scarce, the mere possibility of seeing the gang back together again has sent waves of nostalgia through fans who fondly remember the show’s original run from 2001 to 2010. Scrubs was not just a sitcom; it was a heartfelt exploration of friendship, love, and the chaotic world of medicine, all wrapped up in a quirky and often hilarious package.

At the heart of the show was the bromance between JD (played by Zach Braff) and Turk (played by Donald Faison), whose antics and deep bond served as the emotional anchor for the series. Their dynamic, along with the sage wisdom (and relentless sarcasm) of Dr. Cox, provided viewers with memorable moments that have stood the test of time.

As we eagerly await more news about the Scrubs reunion project, one thing is for sure: it’s time to dust off those old DVDs, rewatch our favorite episodes, and get ready to welcome back our favorite gang of doctors, nurses, and janitors for what promises to be a memorable reunion.

But Scrubs was more than just its main characters. The supporting cast, including the eccentric Janitor (played by Neil Flynn), the neurotic Elliot (played by Sarah Chalke), and the wise-cracking nurse Carla (played by Judy Reyes), each brought their own unique flavor to the show, creating a rich tapestry of characters that fans grew to love.

While the photo shared by McGinley has fueled speculation about what the reunion project might entail, whether it’s a one-off special, a new season, or something else entirely, one thing is certain: fans are eagerly awaiting any opportunity to dive back into the world of Sacred Heart Hospital.

In an age where reboots and revivals are commonplace, Scrubs stands out as a series that has the potential to recapture the magic that made it a fan favorite in the first place. With its blend of humor, heart, and unforgettable characters, a reunion project has the opportunity to not only satisfy longtime fans but also introduce a new generation to the joys of life at Sacred Heart.

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‘The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes’: Rebellion with a cause

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The story of the rise of Coriolanus Snow, from teenage Capital City pawn to rising Dictator of the Hunger Games! 

Apparently no one out here in post-apocalyptic Panem has heard of irony and so they name their children things like Coriolanus (Tom Blyth), Tigress, and further off in Hunger Games lore, after swamp plants like Katniss. Corio’s father was a legendary general and that is pretty much the only reason young Snow and his meager family of grandmother called Grandma’am (Fionnula Flanagan) and sister Tigress (Hunter Schafer) are tolerated here in the Capital City at all. 

Most of the snotty youngsters at the academy won’t let Snow forget how far his family has fallen, but he’s generally not concerned with them. What is concerning is the strong disapproval of the drugged-up Dean Casca Highbottom (Peter Dinklage) and the creepy attention of Dr. Volumnia Gaul (Viola Davis) as she lurks in the classroom sniffing out talent. The Dean feels very strongly the annual Hunger Games should end, while Gaul is violently adamant that not only do the Games continue, but that they get as much more attention as possible. And young Snow is stuck in the middle, when the yearly prize money normally awarded to the academy student with the best grades gets switched out for, you guessed it, the student that can make this years’ Hunger Games as entertaining as possible. 

Whilst the students are protesting this sudden change, the annual Reaping is about to commence, and big shock and surprise, Corio’s candidate from District 12 Lucy Grey Baird (Rachel Zegler) is chosen as a Tribute. This is where the film begins to really take off on musical wings, for as it turns out, Lucy Grey can sing. Boy, can that gal sing! She can sing, she can play guitar, she can work a crowd, she can calm things down, she can fire ‘em up too! And Corio, being no dummy himself, instantly plots ways to use his Tributes amazing voice to draw attention to her, and admittedly his own, plight! 

Though far too many people sneer at the idea, Corio takes his position as Mentor to his Tribute seriously enough to sneak onto the tram taking the Tributes to their habitat, which turns out to be a completely appropriate moniker, as this year the Tributes are held before the Hunger Games in a large zoo habitat so the weatherman ‘Lucky’ Flickerman (Jason Schwartzman), host of this years games, can MC the hell out of everything up close and personal! 

What happens at this years Hunger Games and the subsequent consequences to both Corio and Lucy Grey is actually only half the story, and the movie. Coriolanus has always had to be opportunistic, but learning to be absolutely ruthless when necessary under the tutelage of Dr. Gaul, who basically thinks it’s always best to be merciless, is an eye-opening education indeed.  Even after they’ve both been consigned to military service and his friend Sejanus Plinth (Josh Andres Rivera) decides to finally rebel, Corio and Sejanus continue to deceive each other and themselves, to accomplish their separate goals. Not even the love Corio swears he feels for Lucy Grey can save him, or them, from the adamant absolute necessity of the Hunger Games continuing. And after all that’s happened, Coriolanus Snow has gotten a terrific education in the best way to be the absolutely ruthless next Hunger Games advocate, and oh yeah, President of Panem. 

The movie does itself no favors by trying to stuff not one but two major storylines and a bunch of side storylines sadly introduced and then ignored, into the film. It would have been entirely possible to turn Ballads of Songbirds and Snakes into two different movies, separated between feathers and scales if you like, and do justice to the major storylines in both. Blyth gives a fine  performance as a young Coriolanus Snow, but the fact that President Snow is played by Donald Sutherland in all three of the Hunger Games films means Blyth has incredibly large shoes to fill. Rachel Zegler as Lucy Grey is absolute fire, and yes the actress did sing the songs in the film herself, including the Hunger Games franchise epic song, ‘The Hanging Tree’. Every time Lucy Grey opens her mouth and sheer soul-searing music comes out, it provides a distinct counterpoint to the soul-crushing ambition of Coriolanus Snow and further demonstrates the District and Caste separation Hunger Games is known for. And if, by the end of the film, Coriolanus Snow has come to agree that the Hunger Games must continue but perhaps under his own auspices, he has no one but himself to blame when another younger but still rebellious female blows it all up in his face! 

Choose rebellion or conformity for yourself in The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

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