Holiday Movie Hall of Fame

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You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
I liked it. Not the greatest, but the Britney Spears satire was hilarious.

I never would have known there was any kind of connection to Britney Spears if you hadn't mentioned it. The only thing I know about her is that she sings, but I don't know any of her songs, and I couldn't pick her out of a lineup.
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You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)
Michael Caine movies tend to be hit or miss for me, but this one was definitely a hit. It's a nice take on the classic Scrooge story, but starring our lovable Muppets characters. Some of the songs were fun and catchy, especially the song sung by the Ghost of Christmas Present.

I was surprised that I didn't care for Statler and Waldorf as the Marleys because they're normally two of my favorite Muppets characters, although it was kind of cool to see them as their younger selves.

Even though they're not normally among my favorite characters, I absolutely loved Gonzo and Rizzo narrating the story. They were easily the best characters in the movie.


About the ghosts, I felt that they were a bit of a letdown the way they were presented because they weren't recognizable Muppets characters. They just felt kind of bland, except the Ghost of Christmas Present, who was by far the best of the three ghosts. Maybe the ghosts didn't have to be recognizable Muppets, but they should have at least been some recognizable guest stars.

The Ghost of Christmas Past just looked like a young girl. She just seemed kind of boring, but at least the story was better than the ghosts.

The Ghost of Christmas Present at least looked like a big Muppet, and he was fun. But did they really need to have THREE Miss Piggys??? Ugh! I always thought that one of her was too many. And Kermit the Frog seemed wasted in such a small role, but the movie is good enough that it still works. It's nice to see some of the other characters get larger roles for a change.

The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come was pretty much what I expected to see. He basically looked like the Grim Reaper, but without much personality. He was still a letdown for a Muppet movie.

But even with the disappointment in the appearances of the ghosts, I still enjoyed this movie a lot. It's definitely a fun version of "A Christmas Carol".



You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
This movie is more about the music for me than the actual movie itself. Don't get me wrong, I like the movie, but I love the music much more.

Most of you have probably figured out already that I've never been a big Halloween person, mainly because I don't like creepy, scary, disgusting stuff, and of course spiders. But there's something unique about this movie that just seems to draw me in to it anyway. (It's probably the music.)

I love how Jack is sad about Halloween being boring, and he just perks right up when he finds out about Christmas. Chris Sarandon and Danny Elfman both do such great jobs with Jack's voice that it makes it easy to love Jack. And I also love his ghost dog Zero.

Oogie Boogie is one one of the strangest characters in the movie, but there's something really fun about him. He's mean, nasty and cruel, but somehow, I still like him.

The rest of the characters are just okay, but the story plays out nicely, along with the amazing soundtrack. I love how Santa makes everything right in the end, and even Jack is happy, even though he wasn't able to steal Christmas.



You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
Rise of the Guardians (2012)
This movie kind of feels like a superhero movie for people who don't like superheroes. It's just filled to the brim with great characters. Even the little elves are adorable. (They kind of remind me of the Minions in Despicable Me.)

There's just so much to love about these characters.

I love how Santa is a very big guy, who even has tattoos on his arms, but when we first see him, he's using tiny little tools to make an ice train. I love when we see Jack Frost going through the nesting dolls of Santa, and we get to learn all about him.

I love the strong, but silent Sandman. It was so funny when he couldn't get the attention of the other Guardians, so he used a Christmas elf as a bell. (I think Sandman is probably my favorite Guardian.)

I loved when the kids stopped believing in the Easter Bunny, and he changed into the cute little bunny. He was so funny when he looked that adorable, but he still tried to act tough.

I love the back-and-forth bickering between Jack Frost and the Easter Bunny. They kind of reminded me of what I love about Spock and McCoy in Star Trek, the way they bicker all the time, but we know that deep down inside they really care about each other.

I love when they all realize that they forgot to leave gifts in exchange for the kids' teeth, so we see them go to the laundromat for coins.

The Tooth Fairy is a bit to perky for me, but she's still kind of fun. And the little baby fairies are so cute.

Pitch is a bit overbearing, but I guess he's supposed to be. My favorite part of the movie is
WARNING: "SPOILERS about the Ending of "Rise of the Guardians"!!!" spoilers below
when the kids join in to help defeat Pitch, and then Sandman comes back.


And even though Jack Frost seemed kind of reckless to be a guardian, in the end, it looks like The Man in the Moon knew what he was doing.



Was Just Friends a blind nom for you?
Not really.. I have seen pieces of it but never watched the full movie.



Women will be your undoing, Pépé
Rise of the Guardians (2012)
This movie kind of feels like a superhero movie for people who don't like superheroes. It's just filled to the brim with great characters. Even the little elves are adorable. (They kind of remind me of the Minions in Despicable Me.)

There's just so much to love about these characters.

I love how Santa is a very big guy, who even has tattoos on his arms, but when we first see him, he's using tiny little tools to make an ice train. I love when we see Jack Frost going through the nesting dolls of Santa, and we get to learn all about him.

I love the strong, but silent Sandman. It was so funny when he couldn't get the attention of the other Guardians, so he used a Christmas elf as a bell. (I think Sandman is probably my favorite Guardian.)

I loved when the kids stopped believing in the Easter Bunny, and he changed into the cute little bunny. He was so funny when he looked that adorable, but he still tried to act tough.

I love the back-and-forth bickering between Jack Frost and the Easter Bunny. They kind of reminded me of what I love about Spock and McCoy in Star Trek, the way they bicker all the time, but we know that deep down inside they really care about each other.

I love when they all realize that they forgot to leave gifts in exchange for the kids' teeth, so we see them go to the laundromat for coins.

The Tooth Fairy is a bit to perky for me, but she's still kind of fun. And the little baby fairies are so cute.

Pitch is a bit overbearing, but I guess he's supposed to be. My favorite part of the movie is
WARNING: "SPOILERS about the Ending of "Rise of the Guardians"!!!" spoilers below
when the kids join in to help defeat Pitch, and then Sandman comes back.


And even though Jack Frost seemed kind of reckless to be a guardian, in the end, it looks like The Man in the Moon knew what he was doing.
These were all things I enjoyed as well. This was a pretty nice surprise nom for me.
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I never would have known there was any kind of connection to Britney Spears if you hadn't mentioned it. The only thing I know about her is that she sings, but I don't know any of her songs, and I couldn't pick her out of a lineup.
Doesn't anybody remember back when Britney had a melt down, and shaved her head and kinda dropped out of things? I just read the other day that she's fighting her dad in court as he has control of her estate/finaces and she says she's scared of him.

The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)
Everything you said about this movie is how I felt. Good movie though.



The trick is not minding
The Family Man

Regret has a way of sneaking up on a person. The film gbegibs with a couple at an airport, Jack (Nic Cage) and Kate (Tea Leoni). She wants him to stay, he wants to go with promises of a return. He boards the plane while she is tears. She knows this is probably goodbye.
We fast forward to 13 years later and Jack has become the President of a wall street firm about to land a mega million deal. He has his staff work late in Christmas Eve and plans to have a meeting on Christmas Day itself. He has no meaningful relationships. Women come and go.
All of this changes when a mysterious stranger named Cash (Don cheadle) gives him an opportunity to see how his life would have been different had he not boarded the plane.
Kate and he are married, with 2 children and have a content life together outside the city. No one from his previous life remembers him.
This is where things fall apart a little bit.
Who is this stranger, Cash? An Angel? Possibly. Definitely not human. And what is this purpose of letting Jack have a “glimpse” of what if? In hopes it will Change him? Is it necessary? Jack doesn’t seem like a bad guy, really. Probably could be more aware of his co workers need to be with their family.
But he’s no Scrooge. Through it is possible he could become Scrooge like.
So he gets a taste of the family life, and realizes that this is what he has been missing. It seems important to let him see what could have been, before bringing him back to his old life and I guess letting him decide what to do.
In the end, he follows her to the airport and begs her to not leave for Paris. Their roles reversed, he somehow convinced her to stay. But it felt it too contrived. It’s clear the regret went both ways. But it’s 13 years later and she’s willing to give up her life for him and that felt a tad phony. I get it, the movie needed a happy ending. But it didn’t arrive to this conclusion in a way I felt satisfied with.
Cage is actually good here. He’s usually all over the place, and even here he does tend to over deliver his lines. But he manages to rein himself in for the scenes where it matters most.
And Leoni is great in this. She has a sexiness about her and makes cute gestures throughout the film that makes me understand why Jack would regret leaving her.
A woman like that only comes around once in a lifetime. Maybe that’s the point?
A good film. A good pick. One I’ve also had my eye on for a long time. Mostly because of Leoni.



You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
Doesn't anybody remember back when Britney had a melt down, and shaved her head and kinda dropped out of things?
I don't remember anything about Britney Spears shaving her head, but I know that Sinead O'Connor is bald because of Bill Engvall's joke about a Rollerblading Barbie that shoots sparks from her skates.

The Barbie joke starts about about 3:05 in this video:




28 days...6 hours...42 minutes...12 seconds
The Family Man



A classic What If movie with one of my favourite actors, Nic Cage. The story is pretty basic, a successful and selfish guy is given a glimpse into the life he could have had if he had stayed with the girl he loved. This means a house, kids, low paying job...which he of course freaks out about and hates at first. Give him some time, he'll come around.

The movie is friendly enough and has some laughs. I will say this though....he ain't never gonna see those kids again.

Even if the two of them get back together, they missed that once in a lifetime chance to have those kids. If they do have children....they will have different children. He probably ejaculated those kids out years before Go watch About Time to see what I mean. So despite the ending having a somewhat hopeful outlook, it has a tint of darkness.

Good movie though.

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Suspect's Reviews




The Family Man (2020)

This ain't about learning not to love money or power. It's not about becoming a better person either. It's not a Frank Capra film and it's sure not Disney. The only 'thing' that Don Cheadle (Cash) gives to Nicolas Cage (Jack) is a glimpse of what might have been if he had made a different decision 13 years earlier when he decided to get on that plane to London.

Jack's not a bad man who has to redeem himself. He's simply shown by Cash that he doesn't really 'have it all' as Jack had claimed. I mean he spends most of his time as the family man trying to get back to his old life. First he tries to physically get back to his penthouse apartment. Then later when the corporate boss has a flat tire, Jack talks his way back into his old job. Taking the new wife and kids into tow.

That's why the film is so dark, it might seem like it's going to be a happy, family comedy, but at its core is how personalities can shape one's future outcome. I know my personality did.

Do you guys ever think about 'what might have been' if you had taken a different path in life? I think about that all the time. And yes I'm very happy where I am in life, but I can look back and see that I too had moments where fate hanged in the balance...and my life would've went quite differently if I had 'gotten on the plane.'

I suppose if someone believes everything happens for a reason or that everything is predetermined, than none of what I said would matter. But I personally believe everything in life is random like one giant dice game. Get on the plane, one reality takes effect, stay and another reality takes precedent. Am I the only one who thinks about this?




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Women will be your undoing, Pépé
No, my friend, you are NOT the only one that thinks that.
I've always felt that there are a number of "paths" and life decisions that steer us down one avenue or the other. Bringing us closer to our dreams/goals or sending in a whole new direction.

And it seems like several of us took the A Family Man path together. lol
I finished it tonight and i'll be posting my review tomorrow on this rewatch.



You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.

The Family Man (2020)

This ain't about learning not to love money or power. It's not about becoming a better person either. It's not a Frank Capra film and it's sure not Disney. The only 'thing' that Don Cheadle (Cash) gives to Nicolas Cage (Jack) is a glimpse of what might have been if he had made a different decision 13 years earlier when he decided to get on that plane to London.

Jack's not a bad man who has to redeem himself. He's simply shown by Cash that he doesn't really 'have it all' as Jack had claimed. I mean he spends most of his time as the family man trying to get back to his old life. First he tries to physically get back to his penthouse apartment. Then later when the corporate boss has a flat tire, Jack talks his way back into his old job. Taking the new wife and kids into tow.

That's why the film is so dark, it might seem like it's going to be a happy, family comedy, but at its core is how personalities can shape one's future outcome. I know my personality did.

Do you guys ever think about 'what might have been' if you had taken a different path in life? I think about that all the time. And yes I'm very happy where I am in life, but I can look back and see that I too had moments where fate hanged in the balance...and my life would've went quite differently if I had 'gotten on the plane.'

I suppose if someone believes everything happens for a reason or that everything is predetermined, than none of what I said would matter. But I personally believe everything in life is random like one giant dice game. Get on the plane, one reality takes effect, stay and another reality takes precedent. Am I the only one who thinks about this?


Yes, I've thought about that too. There are decisions that I've made that I've second-guessed later, but I also believe that everything happens for a reason, and fate has a way of making things turn out the way that they should.

There are other movies that have explored the idea of "what might have been". The one that immediately comes to mind is Sliding Doors (1998). In this movie, we get to see both sides of the story where the girl is rushing to catch a train. In one scenario, she makes the train, and in the other scenario, she misses the train. (I haven't seen the movie in years, so I don't remember much about it, but if I remember correctly, it was a pretty good movie.)



Women will be your undoing, Pépé



The Family Man

Annie: Do you like kids?
Jack: On a case-by-case basis.
Annie: Do you know how to make chocolate milk?
Jack: I think I could figure it out.
Annie: Promise you won't kidnap me and my brother and plant stuff in our brains?
Jack: Sure.
Annie: Welcome to earth.

Once Upon a Time I thoroughly enjoyed Nic Cage. Where he kept his manic side to more of a minimum and he starred in a number of fun flicks I got a kick out of watching.
This is one of them.
And, while it's been quite a while since the last time I've seen this, a solid decade or more, I still do.

With an always tantalizing Téa Leoni as the Lost Love whom he is given a "glimpse" of the life he missed out on by getting on the plane and not coming back, as well as The Go-To Guy of that time for Best Friend, Jeremy Piven; you have the ground work set up for an enjoyable banter/dialogue and connections between characters.
Some of my favorite and most touching scenes were actually with Annie (Makenzie Vega) and the conversations they have. Including when he tells her he loves her when they're playing outside in the snow. I got weepy knowing his time with them was reaching its end.

A film that shows what it truly means to be "rich" and "happy" in life; making for an ideal Christmas film and an excellent addition to this HoF



The Family Man

A film that shows what it truly means to be "rich" and "happy" in life; making for an ideal Christmas film and an excellent addition to this HoF
Glad you liked it, I just wanted to see it again that's why I chose it It's my type of film. I recently seen Téa Leoni in Fun with Dick and Jane along with Jim Carrey. I'd never seen that film and it was great fun and Téa was great fun in it.