Elf

"Why are you smiling like that?"
"I just like to smile, smiling's my favorite"

When a baby is discovered in Santa's bag of toys, the elves of the North Pole decide to keep and raise him as one of their own. Years later, Buddy (Ferrell) believes he is an elf... despite being significantly taller and not good at making toys. The elf that raised him, Papa Elf (Newhart), tells Buddy the truth: he is human. Buddy decides to travel to New York to meet his father, even after learning from Santa (Asner) that his father is on the naughty list!

His father, Walter (Caan), is a book publisher... and not very nice. When Buddy arrives at Walter's office, in full elf attire, they think he is a Christmas Gram or some kind of practical joke... and then he is thrown out. Then Buddy discovers Gimbels... where the manager (Love) thinks Buddy is one of the employees, who are preparing the store for Santa's arrival. A giddy Buddy spends the entire evening decorating the area for Santa. He is crushed when a fake Santa appears, "You sit on a throne of lies!"

But Buddy has an even bigger problem: the people around him don't have Christmas Spirit.  Walter is planning to work on Christmas Eve, and barely spends time with his sons.  Buddy's stepmom, Emily (Steenburgen), and brother, Michael (Tay) don't believe in Santa.  And the woman of his dreams, Jovie (Deschanel), has a beautiful voice but won't sing in front of people.  Will Buddy help these scrooges get the Christmas spirit?


So quotable!  In case you didn't notice on my Top Christmas Films list, I love this film!  Will Ferrell films are either brilliant or crash-and-burn.  Thankfully, this film falls into the first camp... Ferrell makes Buddy sweet and child-like, you just fall in love with the character,

"I thought maybe we could make ginger bread houses, and eat cookie dough, and go ice skating, and maybe even hold hands"

He carries the film well, and makes it a new Christmas MUST film.

The film is funny and fit for the family.  Kids with laugh with Buddy and adults will be surprised how sweet and earnest the film is.  Love it and all the lines I can quote with other friends who have seen this film too many times (like me).

Elf (2003) 97 minutes
Rating: PG for some mild rude humor and language.
Director: Jon Favreau
Starring: Will Ferrell as Buddy
James Caan as Walter
Bob Newhart as Papa Elf
Ed Asner as Santa
Mary Steenburgen as Emily
Zooey Deschanel as Jovie
Daniel Tay as Michael
Faizon Love as Gimbel's Manager

Christmas Vacation

"Can I refill your eggnog for you? Get you something to eat? Drive you out to the middle of nowhere and leave you for dead?"
"Naw, I'm doing just fine, Clark."

Clark Griswold (Chase) dreams of the perfect family-centric Christmas, complete with the perfect tree. He takes his long-suffering family: wife Ellen (D'Angelo), daughter Audrey (Lewis), and son Rusty (Galecki), to the middle of nowhere to get the perfect tree, which they will cut down. But it isn't that easy... they trudge through the snow, shake with the cold, and then realize the saw is still in the car. Thus begins the Griswold Christmas.

Soon the feuding grandparents arrive... Clark's parents Clark Sr. (Randolph) and Nora (Ladd), who only survive the holidays by drinking; and Ellen's parents Art (Marshall) and Frances (Roberts) who don't approve of Clark or anything he does. Clark is optimistically awaiting his yearly Christmas bonus so he can purchase a family pool. This optimism is the only way he survives the unexpected arrival of Cousin Eddie (Quaid) and his clan, who park their "home" in the driveway and impose on Clark's hospitality. Will they survive the holidays... better question, will the neighbors (Nicholas Guest and Julia Louis-Dreyfus) survive?


Over the years, I have seen parts of the film... but until recently had never seen the entire film. In fact, I have yet to see any of the "Vacation" films in entirety. I have seen portions of the first film, but that is it. I know many people who consider this film a holiday tradition, and I can see the appeal, but I don't think it would make my Top Christmas Films.

The writing is good... Memorable for the sight gags and quotes, I love the one at the beginning of the post. The cast is littered with veteran comics, all underused. The grandparents, Uncle Louis (William Hickey), and Aunt Bethany (Mae Questel),

"Is your house on fire, Clark?"
"No, Aunt Bethany, those are the Christmas lights."

get a few laughs, but don't really get to do much. They play interesting characters, but aren't around enough. But it's hard to stand out when you have Chevy Chase and Randy Quaid on screen... Quaid's inappropriate character has some classic moments, such as his Christmas gift to Clark. The children, Rusty and Audrey, are portrayed by different actors than the other "Vacation" films (Rusty and Audrey are different in each film), and both have done well since making this film (Galecki is one of the stars of the TV show "Big Bang Theory" and Lewis is still appearing in films).

This film, even on TV, is not appropriate for children... It's a good Christmas film, but not a family film. Watch with discretion.

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989) 97 minutes
Rating: PG-13
Director: Jeremiah Chechik
Starring: Chevy Chase as Clark Griswold
Beverly D'Angelo as Ellen Griswold
Juliette Lewis as Audrey Griswold
Johnny Galecki as Rusty Griswold
John Randolph as Clark Griswold Sr.
Diane Ladd as Nora Griswold
E.G. Marshall as Art Smith
Doris Roberts as Frances Smith
Randy Quaid as Cousin Eddie Johnson
Miriam Flynn as Cousin Catherine Johnson

Up

"This is crazy. I finally meet my childhood hero and he's trying to kill us. What a joke."
"Hey, I know a joke! A squirrel walks up to a tree and says, "I forgot to store acorns for the winter and now I am dead." Ha! It is funny because the squirrel gets dead."

Carl (Asner) has always longed for adventure. As a child, he followed the career of Charles Muntz (Plummer), a world renown adventurer. When authorities question Muntz's latest discovery, he goes to clear his name... and Carl meets the woman of his dreams, Ellie, over a mutual admiration of Muntz. Both long for adventure and plan to follow in their heroes path.

Fast forward a few years, Carl and Ellie are married, but never get around to starting their adventure. When Ellie dies unexpectedly, Carl is heartbroken. The only thing that matters to him is keeping the house the way it was when Ellie was still around, but a contractor wants to remove his home and send him to an assisted living facility.

But before that can happen, Carl rigs hundreds of balloons to his house, making the entire house take flight. He wants to take the house to Ellie's dream location, at the top of a secluded waterfall in South America. Along the way, Carl discovers he picked up Wilderness Explorer Russell (Nagai), who just wants to help an elderly person so he can get the last required badge and move to the next level of exploring. Together they locate the falls and a pack of talking dogs... including the lovable outcast Dug (Peterson), and a strange chocolate-loving bird that Russell names Kevin.


Once again Pixar has yet to steer me wrong. The story was complicated enough for an adult to be interested (and relevant), but fun enough for kids to be completely hooked. The story, animation, music, everything was spot on!

The film opens strong as Carl's life is unfolded through a series of snapshots and minimal dialog. You care about him, and are moved by Ellie's death (this isn't a spoiler as this fact was covered by any trailers and basic plot synopsis for the film). Even as a crotchety old man, you still cheer for Carl. The relationship between Russell and Carl was also well done.

Other reviewers complained about the talking dogs, but they were my favorite characters. Dug is adorable and endearing (the quote above is a discussion between Carl and Dug),

"Won't you please be my prisoner, please please please!"

The other dogs are a bit on the rough side, but still make you laugh with their interesting speech patterns and names for things: the cone of shame, calling Russell a "small mailman." Of the pack, the leader Alpha was my favorite (the voice gets me every time).

I can't see small children liking this film... some of the action sequences are a bit intense (to a little kid). Otherwise, this is a great family film. Thank you Pixar for once again making a quality family film, that is well made and entertaining. Keep up the good work!

Up (2009) 96 minutes
Rating: PG for some peril and action.
Director: Pete Docter and Bob Peterson
Starring: Ed Asner as Carl Fredricksen
Christopher Plummer as Charles Muntz
Jordan Nagai as Russell
Bob Peterson as Dug / Alpha
Delroy Lindo as Beta
Jerome Ranft as Gamma

White Christmas

"I think it's ridiculous, impossible, and insane!"
"Anything else?"
"Yes, I wish I'd thought of it first."

While in the army, entertainer Bob Wallace (Crosby) is almost crushed by falling rubble, but is pushed aside by Phil Davis (Kaye) who gets injured in the process. After the war, Bob and Phil join forces to become a successful song-and-dance team. They are constantly working and planning for the next show, and Phil longs for Bob to settle down so they can have some down time,

"I want you to get married. I want you to have nine children. And if you only spend five minutes a day with each kid, that's forty-five minutes, and I'd at least have time to go out and get a massage or something."

As a favor to an old army buddy, they take time to view the sister act of Betty (Clooney), the singer, and Judy (Ellen), the dancer, Haynes. The men are smitten and end up accompanying the girls to their next job, at an inn in Vermont. The inn is run by their former commanding officer, General Waverly (Jagger), who has invested everything into the inn. The inn is in trouble because of the lack of customers and snow. To help business, Bob and Phil arrange to have their entire company come to the inn, and have the Haynes sisters join the act. With romance in the air, they strive to drum up some business for "the old man."


A great holiday classic (even though it didn't make my Top 10 List)... This film was the third film (of 3) to star Bing Crosby and include the song "White Christmas" ("Holiday Inn" in 1942 and "Blue Skies" in 1946 starred Crosby and Fred Astaire). Many critics find this film to be a poor follow-up to "Holiday Inn," but I enjoy both films... I haven't seen "Blue Skies" yet.

Bing Crosby makes this movie... whether by singing the title song, or by matching wits with Danny Kaye, or wooing Rosemary Clooney, he shines. Danny Kaye manages to keep up with Crosby, but I wonder what Fred Astaire would do with the part... I think Kaye is wonderful in general (see "The Court Jester" or "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" to see his best), but at one dance number seemed more fit for someone like Astaire (or Donald O'Connor who was originally hired, but pulled out due to illness). The women are good as well... Rosemary Clooney gets her own ballad "Love, You Didn't Do Right By Me" and killer dress (Edith Head was the costume designer... she is amazing, true story. To see other costumes she designed go here for her IMDb page), and Vera-Ellen gets a few dance numbers (you can't take your eyes away!). Besides the leads, the other stand-out player is Mary Wickes as the General's busybody housekeeper. She was often cast in this kind of roles, and she gets some great lines.

"I got along just fine without you in the Army."
"Yeah. It only took 15,000 men to take my place."

White Christmas is a beautiful song, when Bing Crosby is the singer, and this film is the perfect showcase for it.

White Christmas (1954) 120 minutes
Director: Michael Curtiz
Starring: Bing Crosby as Bob Wallace
Danny Kaye as Phil Davis
Rosemary Clooney as Betty Haynes
Vera-Ellen as Judy Haynes
Dean Jagger as Major General Thomas F. Waverly
Mary Wickes as Emma Allen

The Mouse That Roared

"Remember, men. There is nothing wrong with surrendering to overwhelming powers, as long as it is done in a military manner."

The smallest country in the world, The Duchy of Grand Fenwick, is in trouble financially. Located on the France - Switzerland border, the country only has one export: wine (made the old fashioned way... by stomping on grapes). The United States is the main consumer of the wine, until a company in California creates a cheap version of the wine and gives it a similar name. With sales down, the country is looking towards bankruptcy. The Grand Duchess Gloriana XII (Sellers) gathers her advisors to figure out how to solve the crisis. The Prime Minister, Count Rupert Mountjoy (Sellers), and the Leader of the Loyal Opposition, Benter (McKern), convince the rest of the council to declare war on the U.S. They plan to lose, and then the US will come in and fix everything for them.

The Field Marshall, Tully Bascombe (Sellers again), is sent to America with a group of 20 men, including a soldier from WWII, Will Buckley (Hartnell). They arrive in New York, prepared to surrender to the first person they spot (see the quote above)... but the streets are bare. The people are underground for an air raid, in preparation for the new bomb being prepared in their midst. The bomb is the Q Bomb, which is much stronger than the H Bomb, and operates on a hair trigger. The bomb maker is Professor Kokintz (Kossoff), and is aided by his feisty daughter Helen (Seberg). They are captured by the Fenwick army, along with the bomb, a few military men, and a General (Parke), and taken to Grand Fenwick...


A political satire about the Cold War, this film is funny without being obnoxious or overly focused on politics. Still funny after all these years. The script is adapted from a novel ("The Mouse that Roared by Leonard Wibberley), and relies on the humor in the situations and in the stars instead of slapstick, like many films.

Peter Sellers steals the show with his multiple characters: 3 very distinct personalities. He gets the pleasure of being the hero, the villain, and the endearing monarch. As Tully he is the reluctant hero, awkwardly trying to fullfill his mission so he can get home to his fields. As Prime Minister Mountjoy he is the scheming villain, although you don't realize he's the villain at first. And as the Grand Duchess, he is the second coming of Queen Victoria, just slightly detached from reality, but keen enough to still make decisions. It is interesting to see Sellers at this point in his career, and how he presents the careers prior to his memorable roles in The Pink Panther and Dr. Strangelove: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. The rest of the cast works, but Sellers is the reason to watch.

The second novel in Wibberley's series about Grand Fenwick was also adapted to film: The Mouse on the Moon (there are 3 other novels in the series).

The Mouse That Roared (1959) 83 minutes
Director: Jack Arnold
Starring: Peter Sellers as Grand Duchess Gloriana XII / Prime Minister Count Rupert Mountjoy / Tully Bascombe
Jean Seberg as Helen Kokintz
William Hartnell as Will Buckley
David Kossoff as Professor Alfred Kokintz
Leo McKern as Benter
MacDonald Parke as General Snippet

Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog

"The world is a mess, and I just need to rule it."

Dr. Horrible (Harris) wants to be a famous super villain and join the Evil League of Evil. He narrates a video blog chronicling his journey to evil. During one blog entry he receives a letter from the League regarding his latest application,

"No response, BTW, from the League. But my application is strong this year. A letter of condemnation from the deputy mayor - that's got to have some weight. So... fingers crossed!"

and learns that the League is impressed and watching for his next evil move: to complete a Freeze Ray.

On his way to steal the last component for the Freeze Ray, Dr. Horrible runs into the woman he loves, Penny (Day), who is campaigning for better care for the poor... then his arch nemesis, local hero Captain Hammer (Fillion), arrives to thwart the robbery and win the girl.

AWESOME! Initially I was interested in this short film because of Joss Whedon (!!) and the fact that it was a musical. I'm a Whedon fan (I love his shows: Firefly, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel and Dollhouse) and was impressed with his musical episode of Buffy, so I had faith that it would be awesome. Also, Nathan Fillion and Neil Patrick Harris are in two of my favorite shows (Firefly, which is in my Top 10 Fave Shows, and How I Met Your Mother respectively)... Once again Whedon delivers!

Not only is the story funny, (written by Joss, his brothers: Jed & Zach Whedon, and Jed's wife Maurissa Tancharoen), but the songs are great as well. After watching all three Acts (Act I is summarized above), I proceeded to download the entire soundtrack. Interesting note, this short film was created during the Writer's Strike and released, by Act, online for free for awhile.

Harris is great as the star of the show, and has a background in musicals (he was even on Broadway), and makes Dr. Horrible sympathetic. Fillion succeeds at making you simultaneously love and hate Captain Hammer: he's cocky and over the top... and tries to steal the show. The rest of the cast delivers solid performances and good musical numbers. The best of the supporting cast are Captain Hammer's groupies who get some great lines in one of the songs.

Although I don't normally talk about the DVDs, I definitely suggest renting or buying the DVD. There is a hysterical musical commentary (Commentary: the Musical), sung by the cast and crew of the film. Sometimes they are in character, and other times they are parodies of themselves... I was crying by the end of it (from laughter). There are also funny videos of submissions to the Evil League of Evil (some of which are songs). Completely worthwhile! Now we just need to wait for the sequel...

Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog (2008) 42 minutes
Director: Joss Whedon
Starring: Neil Patrick Harris as Dr. Horrible
Nathan Fillion as Captain Hammer
Felicia Day as Penny
Simon Helberg as Moist
Maurissa Tancharoen as Groupie #1
Stacy Shirk as Groupie #2
Steve Berg as Groupie #3

Sunshine Cleaning

"How'd she die?"
"It was sorta a do-it-yourself thing?"

Life hasn't turned out the way Rose Lorkowski (Adams) expected. To make ends meet and support her young son, Oscar (Spevack), she cleans the homes of wealthy former classmates and has secret rendezvouses with her high school sweetheart and Oscar's father, Mac (Zahn), who married someone else. When Oscar gets kicked out of another school for his behavior, Rose wants to send him to a private school to give him a challenge... but she can't afford the school. Mac, who is a police detective, suggests transitioning to crime scene cleanup to make a little more money.

Rose recruits her unreliable and unemployed sister, Norah (Blunt) and they dive into the world of cleaning and disposing of blood. But this new career awakens old memories about the first dead bodies the girls saw, and cleaned up after. With a little help from the owner of the local clean-up/bio-hazard store, Winston (Collins), the sisters learn the rules and tricks of the trade. And their father, Joe (Arkin), teaches Oscar life lessons.


I had very high expectations for this film... It was made by the producers of "Little Miss Sunshine" (which I love), the cast is great (love Amy Adams), and the premise is interesting. It was good, but it wasn't great.

Things that work: the cast. Amy Adams gives Rose the right amount of optimism and desperation. And Emily Blunt is convincing as her sister, and an American... you definitely cheer for both women. Returning to the type of role that won him an Oscar for LMS (Little Miss Sunshine), Alan Arkin delivers as the eccentric grandpa with a plan that no one besides his grandchild understands / appreciates. The character that stands out the most is Clifton Collins Jr's Winston, the one-armed store owner who helps the sisters. He isn't on screen much, but his character is memorably sweet and helpful.

Things that don't work: the subplots. One has Norah trying to locate the daughter of the first home they clean, to return old school photos. But instead of telling the woman, Lynn (Rajskub), they end of forming this awkward friendship that drags on too long. The other subplot involves the underlying family tension (which I won't discuss because it gives away too much plot)... it is presented abruptly and never really resolved.

It is an interesting and enjoyable film, but don't go expecting to see the next LMS... the laughs are few and far between. There is so much potential here, but it just never pans out. Good, but not awesome.

Sunshine Cleaning (2008) 91 minutes
Rating: R for language, disturbing images, some sexuality and drug use.
Director: Christine Jeffs
Starring: Amy Adams as Rose Lorkowski
Emily Blunt as Norah Lorkowski
Alan Arkin as Joe Lorkowski
Jason Spevack as Oscar Lorkowski
Steve Zahn as Mac
Mary Lynn Rajskub as Lynn
Clifton Collins Jr. as Winston

High School Musical 3: Senior Year

"Danforth! Bolton! You get out there and you get on stage!"
"Never thought I'd hear my dad say that."

It is finally senior year for the East Side Wildcats. As they make plans for the future, it becomes clear to Troy (Efron) and Gabriella (Hudgens) that their time together is getting shorter and they wish for time to slow down. At school, it is time to get the spring musical ready. To keep Sharpay (Tisdale) from turning the musical into a one woman show, the senior class agrees to participate, leading drama teacher Ms. Darbus (Alyson Reed) to change the show to showcase the senior year and the seniors.

The stakes are raised when 4 of the seniors: Sharpay, her brother Ryan (Grabeel), composer Kelsi (Rulin), and Troy, are being considered for a single scholarship to Julliard. Sharpay convinces her brother to do whatever it takes to make sure they get good songs, instead of Troy and Gabriella, so they have a better shot at the scholarship. Troy is more concerned with finding the place for him, even if that means disappointing his father (Bart Johnson) and Chad (Bleu) who expect Troy to play basketball at University of Albuquerque... but all the pressure makes Troy want to scream, especially when he learns Gabriella has the opportunity to start college early.


I spent most of a Saturday evening watching the 3 High School Musical films back to back (at times it was painful)... and after seeing them in succession, I was a little disappointed in this film. Yes, the franchise survived the trip to the big screen (the first two were shown on the Disney channel, while this was released in theatres and is feature length), but I have a few issues with what they did with it... My main problem is the supporting characters. In the second film the supporting characters: Zeke (Warren), Jason (Sanborn), Martha (Stroh), and Kelsi, got to interact with the main characters and even get solos in the group numbers. They added a nice dynamic to the cast. However, they are barely involved in this film, except for Kelsi, who gets to be pretty involved, and I was disappointed.

In place of these characters, 3 new characters were introduced... The new characters are sophomores to keep the franchise alive now that the main characters have graduated. I can understand the rationale (people love these films... they are clean, the songs are catchy, and the choreography is excellent!), but I wasn't impressed by any of them. There is Jimmy "Rocket Man" (Matt Prokop) who makes the winning basket in the big game, Tiara (Jemma McKenzie-Brown) the Brit who becomes Sharpay's assistant, and Donny (Justin Martin) who is on the basketball team and involved in the backstage for the musical. Jimmy and Tiara get to understudy the leads for the show... and each get to perform with Ashley Tisdale, but I'm not sure if they can carry this franchise.

The majority of the film is devoted to the typical events of a senior: prom, picking a college, remembering the past, and graduation. The cast goes through the motions on stage, but in some cases, we never see the actual event (i.e. prom). It works on some levels, allowing all of the characters to participate in all of the songs, instead of just appearing in a few. I didn't love all the songs, but several were show stoppers. If you already like the High School Musical films, you will like this one... but it probably won't bring in new fans (it helps to already know the relationships and history of the characters). Good, but not great.

Click here to see my review of "High School Musical" and "High School Musical 2"

High School Musical 3: Senior Year (2008) 112 minutes
Director: Kenny Ortega
Starring: Zac Efron as Troy Bolton
Vanessa Hudgens as Gabriella Montez
Ashley Tisdale as Sharpay Evans
Lucas Grabeel as Ryan Evans
Corbin Bleu as Chad Danforth
Monique Coleman as Taylor McKessie
Olesya Rulin as Kelsi Nielsen
Chris Warren Jr. as Zeke Baylor
Ryne Sanborn as Jason Cross
KayCee Stroh as Martha Cox

The Twilight Saga: New Moon

"You can't trust vampires. Trust me."

After a bloody birthday celebration leaves Bella (Stewart) injured, Edward (Pattinson) and his family leave without a trace. Bella's world is shattered. Every trace of the Cullen family is gone, but Bella cannot let them go. She shuts down and shuts out everyone, including her friends and father, Charlie (Burke).

To appease her father, Bella begins spending time with her old friend Jacob (Lautner). After learning that dangerous situations conjure the image of Edward, Bella purchases motorcycles and convinces Jacob to make them run. Spending time with Jacob makes Bella happy and brings her out of the funk, but Jacob is not what he seems.


A vast improvement on the first film, although the book was still better. I'm sure by this point most people know the basic plot points (whether they want to or not)... such as some members of Jacob's tribe gaining the ability to change into a wolf. But of course, the wolves and vampires can't get along (as was hinted in the first film)... but all want to protect Bella.

The effects and the budget for this film are much greater than the previous film. And director, Chris Weitz, uses actual film techniques to convey points... it is refreshing. My biggest issue with the film is the size of the wolves. I understand that they need to be impressive and capable of attacking and injuring vampires, but do they really need to be huge? They are larger than some of the characters! Why? Closer to the actual size would be appreciated, now they are just laughable.

When I reviewed the first film (Twilight), I was concerned with some casting decisions, such as Taylor Lautner as Jacob, but my fears were for naught. After some time in the gym, and a haircut, Lautner is convincing... when he removes his shirt during the film, the teenage girls in the audience gasp and are completely in love (well, the ones that aren't completely in love with Robert Pattison's Edward).

The Twilight Saga: New Moon (2009) 130 minutes
Rating: PG-13 for some violence and action.
Director: Chris Weitz
Starring: Kristen Stewart as Bella Swan
Taylor Lautner as Jacob Black
Robert Pattinson as Edward Cullen
Billy Burke as Charlie Swan
Ashley Greene as Alice Cullen