I AM LEGEND
Man, this is the most relentlessly depressing movie I think I’ve ever seen. I imagine most of you have seen it already, so I’m not really going to comment on it, just say that I thought it was very well-made and effective, but I didn’t really like it. I think it’s going to prompt me to read Matheson’s novel, though, so that’s probably a good thing.
IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE
We hadn’t seen this for several years, so we watched it on Christmas Eve. What’s left to say about this movie that hasn’t been said many times over? I love it, think it has a
great script and one of the best casts ever assembled. The stark black-and-white photography is beautiful. I realized this time through that the guy who opens the dance floor over the swimming pool is none other than Alfalfa from the Little Rascals. This is one of my all-time favorite films and always will be.HOLIDAY INN
This movie is famous for introducing the song “White Christmas”. None of us had ever seen it, so we watched it on Christmas night, appropriately enough. Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire are a song-and-dance team who split up over their female partner. Bing goes off to Connecticut, tries to be a farmer, and eventually opens an inn that’s only open on holidays. The female partner runs off on
Astaire. A new girl comes along, both guys fall for her, they sing, they dance, there are some fairly amusing moments. Irving Berlin’s music is dandy, as always. Eventually there’s a movie-within-the-movie that provides some mildly surreal moments. I’m a big fan of Bing, not so much of Astaire, although I don’t dislike his work. HOLIDAY INN is no WHITE CHRISTMAS, but it’s pretty entertaining.KUNG FU PANDA
Just your typical martial arts epic, only with animated, anthropomorphic animals instead of people. I thought it was pretty funny and enjoyed it quite a bit. Although wholesome and inspiring overall, it has a few dark moments, and the action is good. Also, unlike a lot o
f animated movies, there’s not much in the way of wink-wink, nudge-nudge pop culture references, which is fine with me. Nothing wrong with a movie that’s a little more serious at times, even if it is animated. Another good cast, led by Jack Black.
9 comments:
My wife and I alternate each year with either IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE, NATIONAL LAMPOON'S CHRISTMAS VACATION or MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET. This year it was MIRACLE. I will get around to watching I AM LEGEND. I'm interested to see if I will like it better than THE OMEGA MAN.
We didn't watch MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET this year, but it's another of my all-time favorites. Heck, we didn't even watch A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS. No wonder I was late getting into the Christmas spirit this year!
I haven't seen THE OMEGA MAN since the Seventies (saw it at the Eagle Drive-In Theater, just up the street from my house, as I recall). But I remember liking it.
I AM LEGEND used the ending they always use in these movies instead of the creative, complex one Matheson used. It was depressing but I liked it for about 40 minutes. I'm gonna try The Omega Man but I'm not hopeful the ending will be any different.
I find It's a Wondeful Life incredibly depressing. Only the last few minutes are happy. Kind of like life and then you go to heaven.
So give me A Christmas Story every time. Love that one. Also love Miracle and Meet Me in St. Louis which ends at Christmas and has the best halloween sequence ever.
I love A CHRISTMAS STORY, too. I had read all the Jean Shepard stories it's based on years before in PLAYBOY, and I recall that Livia and I went to see it when it first opened, at a small theater that's long since been closed down. And we've seen it many times since on videotape and then DVD. Wonderful, wonderful film. I'm just a sucker for holiday movies.
I love both THE OMEGA MAN and I AM LEGEND. Having seen both endings to IAL, I'm not quite sure why the studio went with the one we see in the theaters.
What amazes me about IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE is how entertaining it is, even if you've seen it 50 times and really don't feel like watching again. Really zips right along.
I'm not satisfied with any of the three versions of I Am Legend. The Omega Man, while a good adventure film, bore only a rudimentary nod to the novel.
Though it had a low budget look to it, Vincent Price's The Last Man On Earth came the closest to the novel of the three.
It's a wonderful life - so many people love this one and to think it flopped on original release. Kung Fu Panda was great fun.
James, as you've probably been said time and time again (sic), Matheson's original novel is one of the masterpieces of literature.
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