December Movie Buffet: Pick and Choose!

December is here and I’ve just blown out my candles – 41 to be exact.  It's been a crazy time and I think I have more than 41 grey hairs to match, probably way more, but I think that's relatable. My escape is often movies, just to reset my perspective on issues that I might be dealing with, to find some kind of inspiration amongst the chaos, or  to just be entertained. Laughter is the best medicine, it hosts a ton of benefits and being married to an entertainer, there's always something to laugh about around here and a reason to harvest the joyful moments that catch you by surprise. 

So now it’s time to watch all our favourites again this year like Die Hard (hey it IS a Christmas movie!), Scrooged, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, and probably every single romance tale from Love Actually and The Holiday, to even a few terribly-acted, what-is-with-that-sweater?! Hallmark ones. Most likely, I will watch those ones alone, as subjecting Bill to those might result in divorce papers. (Insert awkward laughter)

I did a full holiday movie list that you can check out here, which has some unique holiday movies you might not have heard of before.

The movies listed below are not all holiday-themed,  but still worth mentioning, just in case you are not really in the jingle jangle spirit or maybe want to add them to your list for future movie-watching.

 

American Hero – Set in New Orleans, the city is riddled with crime, and Melvin, played by Stephen Dorff is part of the problem, engaging in all the behaviours that would rarely be deemed as superhero qualities, even with telekinetic abilities. Underneath the rough facade lies a vulnerable broken man, with a burning desire to see his estranged son, who deserves to know his father.

So adventures ensue and there’s a lot of shoot-ups and a pivotal moment where Melvin’s heart stops and the typical “I’m gonna change after this life altering experience” begins, yet not without its complications.

There are a lot of moments of “that could never happen” so strap yourself in for suspending your disbelief. Aside from an overabundance of profanity and some stuff that might be taken as insensitive/offensive, the bonds of friendship pull you in and keep you invested. Also there are some pretty cool action scenes. 

If you can take anything out of this movie, it would be Melvin’s best friend, Lucille (Eddie Griffin) who is always wheeled by his side (yes he’s in a wheelchair). A great character, yet suffers from similar motivation to change his own circumstances. You need a bestie to hit you with reality checks whenever you get out of line, so I thought these two were paired well together.

Laggies – The word “laggies” translates to “one who lags behind” and so the movie explores life’s journey of unknowns, tapping into emotions once forgotten, yet worth revisiting and maybe even letting go of. Craig, played by Sam Rockwell is once again a delight on screen, add in Megan (Keira Knightly - with an American accent!) and the sensational Annika, played by Chloë Grace Moretz. It also had a wonderful soundtrack, including Ben Gibbard’s achingly beautiful song; It’s Never Too Late.  Absolutely loved it - Bill often picks out some great movies for us to watch together.

Hunt For The Wilderpeople is absolutely weird and wonderful. There is so much to discover in the movie and each character has its own story to tell, especially Ricky (Julian Dennison), who is rebellious but with a huge heart and just wants to belong somewhere, anywhere. Hec, Ricky’s foster father, played by Sam Neill feels just right. He's a guy that marches to the beat of his own drum but with gusto and spirit. I will not forget to mention how breath-taking some of the scenery is too, my longing to visit NZ grows stronger each day.  The movie is incredibly funny and humanly-touching. If you like the humour and style of Taika Waititi who also directed unique films like Jojo Rabbit, What We Do In The Shadows, you'll definitely love this one.

Kiwi Christmas. Materialism on Christmas, you don't say!? Of course that would have anyone running for the hills, or rather this time scooting away from the North Pole. However, Santa's vacation doesn't go as planned, as his trip to New Zealand via his rocket sleigh (yes I said rocket sleigh) breaks down and his cover is blown when two kids find out who he is and tries to help him back to the North Pole before Christmas. 

I loved "Stan" aka Santa, played by Kari Väänänen and sure the predictability factor is smack dab where you'd expect it to be, but it didn't matter one iota. The wacky humour, the joyful spirit captured, the beauty of NZ, and the overall message just makes this a great one for everyone to enjoy.

Zoey’s Extraordinary Christmas  I don’t think I was quite expecting the emotional punch that this movie brought over what seemed like a common holiday premise of trying to bring everyone together at Christmas for the first time after the loss of a loved one. The emotional connection you feel with each character’s “heart song” as they call it, is just so unexpected but powerful.

The film does touch on painful subjects like post-partum depression and the complex feelings that come with grief, loss and bereavement, so considering my personal woes of what I deal with during the holiday season and probably what a lot of people battle with, this one hit incredibly hard.

The choreography was done beautifully too especially in one specific scene with Zoey (played by Jane Levy) and Max (played by Skylar Astin) creating the last tear drop on my face with a beautiful version of Cyndi Lauper’s Time After Time. The romance had my heart bursting.   

I never knew about the tv series - Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist , mainly because I'm not quite a tv watcher overall, but it might be worth checking out. 

💜As always, I love to hear your comments, so you can leave a message below or e-mail me your favourite holiday or non-holiday films that made your 2021.