I have a love/hate relationship with “the holidays.” In my childhood and well beyond I would have a ball around Christmas wearing my Santa hat, singing songs, and readily become filled with warm fuzzies. I enjoyed watching the lights from my Christmas tree (multicolored lights, thank you,) dance on the ceiling and hung my Star Trek and Ninja Turtle ornaments proudly. Peace on Earth, goodwill toward men, I bought into the whole schtick. Over the past decade though something slowly happened. Perhaps I became an adult. I no longer revel in Christmas cheer. I see it as a potentially stressful time. What used to put a grin on my face now has a fair chance of giving my big ol’ depressive self a case of the sads. Basically somewhere in mid November I gird myself to just “get through the holidays.” But there is still a small part of me that wishes Christmas could be the way it used to be.

Basically I should be looking over my shoulder for Krampus.

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America’s dad Tom Hanks has had a long acting career encompassing a wide variety of roles and genres. Comedic schlubs, hardened gangsters, war heroes, and a toy cowboy. Even when the movie as a whole falls short he is consistently good. What makes him such a talented actor is his ability to truly embody a character. Some stars are always themselves. Those selves can be very entertaining but they are still the same selves they were in every other movie. That’s Jason Statham kicking that dude’s face, not Frank Martin. Often when watching Tom Hanks I forget he is Tom Hanks the movie star and become invested in his character enough to see him only as Jim Lovell, Chuck Noland, or Captain Phillips. And that is one of the best compliments I can give an actor.

So let us begin the Tom Hanks lightning round!

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This week I watched a movie about a father, once lost in his work, reconnecting with his son. I also watched a movie about the power of social media and its ability to reach the masses and turn the tide of his business. Also there was a movie about the art of cooking and a team of people with a gift and a passion for creating new and interesting dishes for their clientele.

All three of these movies were the same one: Chef.

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(cue the theme song from The Beverly Hillbillies)

This week I watched three movies ‘bout a Detroit cop,
a fast talkin’ guy whose antics wouldn’t stop.
The bad guys went and made his friend a ghost
so he chased them all the way out to the west coast.

Under cover. No jurisdiction.

He made some new friends and then returned home,
but then the sequel saw to it that he couldn’t roam.
His west coast buddy, he took a round or three
and Axel found himself headed back to Beverly.

Sensing a pattern. Maybe he should just move.

His boss was the next one to meet his end.
It sure is dangerous to be this guy’s friend.
The crooks fled the country to find some more thrills.
Just kidding, we all know they went to Beverly Hills.

One movie too many. Trying too hard.

Bound to be a reboot soon, y’hear?

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This week I watched a movie based on a book about a heartless dystopian government that has opted to keep its citizens in line through fear and a brutal gladiatorial game in which the children of the country are pitted against each other in bloody mortal combat. Two contestants in the game struggle to survive without losing their humanity, find a way to subvert the cold unfeeling powers that be, and ultimately cheat death in hopes of bringing down the system that put them through this traumatic ordeal.

But enough about Battle Royale.

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Most works of fiction revolve around a central protagonist we follow through the story. Often referred to as the hero, we are meant to relate to this character and root for their victory. Perhaps the character is gruff, dishonest, distasteful, but still has some noble goal at heart. There we’d have an anti-hero. And then we have Jake Gyllenhaal in Nightcrawler who is simply an irredeemable scumbag of a human being.

Good times!

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Let’s talk about a movie that features Daniel Radcliffe like you’ve never seen him. A movie in which Danny Rads surprised me. A movie in which the man who played the boy who lived makes bold choices to prove that he is more than just an orphan beneath the stairs. Radcliffe adopts a character trait in this film that is so startling I had to pause it just to let it sink in. In this movie, as shocking as it is, Daniel Radcliffe has…an American accent.

Oh, and devil horns. Those too.

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Mary Shelley wrote what many consider to be the first science fiction novel with Frankenstein. A doctor, equal parts genius and mad man, plays God by reanimating the dead through science and pays for his hubris. The story has been retold in many ways through the years and today I’ll be looking at two modern takes:  Frankenweenie and Frankenhooker. One is a sweet story about regaining a lost loved one, another is a horrific tale about irresponsibility and its dire consequences.

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Minor spoilers for the first 30 minutes of  Pan. Major spoilers for the original story, Peter and Wendy. Just in case.

I’ve always enjoyed the story of Peter Pan, the boy who wouldn’t grow up. There’s an allure to shirking the responsibilities of adulthood and being care free forever. Also, being able to fly is just plain awesome. Contrasting against the eternal youth of Peter is Captain Hook’s adulthood; a miserable existence characterized by cruelty, deceit, unhappiness, and obsession. Then again, being an evil pirate is pretty awesome too. I should know, I was one! Ultimately, neither extreme is the answer. Wendy, who leaves Neverland to eventually grow up but continues enjoying adventures with Peter as long as she can, is the one who finds the balance.

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The discovery of water on Mars couldn’t have come at a better time if Twenty Century Fox had planned it themselves. On an episode of The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore on Comedy Central a panel discussion about the discovery had Bill Nye trying to convince the rest of the panel that this is an exciting announcement. He spoke about how water on Mars could mean that there was once life on Mars and we may in fact all be descended from that life. He expressed the value of the space program and all the leaps in technology it’s afforded us. Meanwhile, in the face of Nye’s passion the other two panelists were pretty dismissive of the whole concept, frustratingly so.

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