Disney+ Holiday Specials: An Almost Christmas Story & O C’mon All Y Faithful

Gen X'ers remember a time when animated Christmas specials were worth waiting all year to watch (and they were called Christmas specials at the time). Of course, Merry Christmas, Charlie Brown was the king of “holiday specials.” Kids in the 1980s and early 1990s even looked forward to the Dolly Madison commercials. Obviously, streaming changed the way viewers relate to media. “Specials” maybe no longer seem as special when they are viewable 24-7-365. Yet, the quality can still be special, or not. This holiday season, Disney+ released two holiday specials of varying degrees of specialness.

In a way, David Lowery’s An Almost Christmas Story (Oscar-qualified, but not shortlisted for Best Animated Short) indirectly revisits the question whether Die Hard is a Christmas movie when the Folksinger narrator ponders whether a Christmas setting is sufficient to make a Christmas story. In this case, the answer should be yes, given the extent of the Christmas trappings.

Having recently discovered his flying ability, the growing owl chick Little Moon shows far too much enthusiasm and not enough caution. After accidentally wrecking his nest, Moon tries to redeem himself gathering twigs, making himself a target for a predatory bird of prey. Barely surviving with a wounded wing, he waits for his frustrated father to rescue him. However, he takes refuge in the giant tree bound for Rockefeller Plaza, just as they start chopping.

Suddenly, Little Moon finds himself in the strange world of New York, overlooking ice-skaters like young Luna. (Presumably, he must somehow have slept through all the mediocre pop stars performing at tree lighting ceremony, so he is luckier than he realizes.) Nevertheless, he is quite alarmed, especially since the trio of street-smart pigeons led by the tough-talking Pat (Natasha Lyonne, almost, but not quite laying on the gruffness too thickly) greet him with suspicion and hostility rather than compassion. (Naturally, Phil Rosenthal of Somebody Feed Phil has instant credibility as Punt, the pigeon who only thinks about food). However, Little Moon and Luna learn they share an affinity beyond their names.

Partially inspired by Rocky, the owl discovered in the 2020 Rockefeller Center tree, An Almost Christmas doesn’t even get to Christmas. It only takes place during the lead-up. However, Little Moon’s desire to return home (for the holidays) is a classic Christmas theme. The use of the Folksinger (warmly performed by the just folksy-enough John C. Reilly) as an on-camera narrator, sort of like Jimmy Durante in Frosty the Snowman, is another staple of holiday specials.

The third Christmas short produced by Alfonso Cuaron for Disney+, An Almost Christmas Story was computer animated in a style that emulates various stop motion techniques. Appropriately, it has a woody, textured vibe that evokes the owls’ forest environment. Even the character design reflects the wood-work effect, like Moon’s eyes, which charmingly suggest tree-rings.

The resulting visual style is quite distinctive, while the story qualifies as endearing. As a result, An Almost Christmas Story passes the Christmas special test, even though most of its characters do not know what Christmas is.

In contrast, The Simpsons: O C’mon All Ye Faithful talks all about Christmas, but its holiday spirit feels rather Grinchy. Technically, this is episode S36E10 (featuring all the regular continuing members, who should be able to voice their characters in their sleep, by this point), but it has the distinction of being the first Simpsons programming to premiere on Disney+ rather than Fox.

Marvel’s Holiday Tales to Astonish

Old school comics fans miss Marvel’s penchant for hyperbolic superlatives. The Hulk was “incredible,” Iron Man was “invincible,” Spiderman was “amazing” or “spectacular,” and many staple characters debuted in Astonishing Tales. That is why it is nice see this one-shot collection of holiday stories intends to “astonish.” Marvel was not stingy with the characters, giving fans seasonal tidings from their three most important heroes or teams: the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, and Spiderman (both Peter Parker and Miles Morales). They also do some superheroing in Holiday Tales to Astonish, which is now available at your LCS.

“’Twas the Fight Before Christmas,” written by Gerry Duggan, features the best image of the entire issue, when the Human Torch kicks off the Four’s holiday party by lighting up a flaming Menorah in the sky for Ben Grimm. The story itself is a little jokey and the stakes are relatively low when a group of anonymous crooks reprogram a Doombot to steal the season’s hottest toy from underneath trees. However, fans will always enjoy seeing the Fantastic Four battling Doctor Doom, even if it is a phony. Plus, they technically save Christmas, so bonus points for that.

“Festival of Fights,” written by Daniel Kibblesmith, is even more jokey, but fans should appreciate the concept. Way back when Kitty Pryde was an X-Men rookie, she wanted to find an opportunity to buy her new teammates Hannukah presents, but every night they had to jet off to save the world. Again, it is nice to see inclusion for Hannukah, especially given the horrifying explosion in antisemitic violence this year. So, the good holiday vibes continue.

Arguably, Gene Luen Yang’s “Resolutions” delves the deepest into the challenges the holidays offer its heroes. In fact, the Miles Morales Spiderman is getting a little discouraged on New Year’s Eve, but the Peter Parker Spiderman has his back. In fact, this seems like the only constituent story that might be referred to in later storylines.

Regardless, they are all fun and they amply fulfill the holiday theme. Also, there is nothing political or objectionably about any of the stories, so it would make a nice stocking stuffer for young superhero fans. Recommended for casual Marvel consumers, Holidays to Astonish is now on-sale wherever weekly-release comics are sold.

Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu

Bela Lugosi memorably launched the tradition of suavely elegant portrayals of Count Dracula. His approach remains the most popular. However, he was predated by Max Schreck’s depiction of the infamous Count in F.W. Murnau’s Nosferatu, whose freakish appearance served as a physical manifestation of his moral corruption. He was also German. Lugosi and Anne Rice’s smooth-talking vamps remain more popular, but Schreck still spawned his followers, including Werner Herzog’s remake of the 1922 silent classic (with the names re-Stokerized). Now, horror auteur Robert Eggers’ presents his take on the Teutonic Dracula story in Nosferatu, which opens Christmas day in theaters.

Eggers’ screenplay returns to the names Henrik Galeen’s century-old screenplay that so transparently substituted Count Orlok, Thomas Hutter, and Prof. Sievers for Count Dracula, Jonathan Harker, and Dr. Seward, Stoker successfully sued, securing the destruction of nearly all but a few blessedly surviving prints of the film. In one of Eggers’ few departures, Prof. Van Helsing is now Prof. Albin Eberhart Von Franz, a brand new moniker for the familiar occultist.

Once again, newlywed Hutter journeys to Transylvania to facilitate a reclusive nobleman’s real estate transaction—and it turns out just as badly as ever. However, Orlok intentionally wanted Hutter out of the way, because he already forged a sinister connection to his new bride, Ellen (a.k.a. Mina). Since Hutter’s boss Knock (a.k.a. Renfield) also happens to be Orlok’s enthralled servant, he duly orders Hutter to the Carpathians, where the junior clerk gets somewhat delayed in the castle.

While much more monstrous than conventional tall, dark, and handsome vampires, Eggers’ Orlack is still highly sexualized, in very disturbing ways. Somehow, despite distance and circumstance, Orlack’s spirit seduced and defiled Ellen in her youth. She hoped her love for Hutter would redeem her, but the vampire will not let her go easily.

Regardless, fans know what to expect when Orlack’s trunks arrive on the decimated ship on which they sailed. However, Eggers emphasizes the rats, worthy of “Three Skeleton Key,” which disembark from the derelict vessel, spreading pestilence throughout the city. Conditions get so bad, Prof. Sievers reluctantly consults his slightly disgraced former mentor, Prof Von Franz (a.k.a. Dr. Bulwer, a.k.a. Prof. Van Helsing), who seems to secretly understand the situation more than he lets on.

By horror movie standards, Eggers’ Nosferatu is absolutely gorgeous looking. In addition to Murnau’s original, Eggers and cinematographer Jarin Blaschke achieve a dreamlike vision that suggest the shimmering fantasia visions of Guy Maddin as an unlikely source of inspiration. The film is steeped in Old World gothic atmosphere. In fact, it revisited some of Murnau’s 1922 locations.

Regardless, Bill Skarsgard is amazing and rather frightening to behold, as the demonic Orlok. By now, he could be considered the Doug Jones of leading men. His presence is ferocious, to the point of outright viciousness. Yet, there is still a seductiveness to Orlok’s grotesqueness.

Of course, the perfectly cast Willem Dafoe is jolly good fun to watch unleashing his inner Peter Cushing as the brilliant but erratic Von Franz. Honestly, Ralph Ineson has yet to get the credit he deserves as a horror all-star, but he is every bit Dafoe’s equal playing the sharp-tempered Sievers.

Superman/Shazam!: The Return of Black Adam

Shazam and Captain Marvel are weirdly like Dr. Frankenstein and his monster. People often casually refer to the latter by their creator’s names. Technically, Shazam was the name of the wizard who conferred the powers of Captain Marvel on young Billy Batson. That is the DC Captain Marvel, who is not to be confused with Marvel Comics’ Carol Danvers Captain Marvel. Frankly, for a lot of fans, the real Marvel Captain Marvel was the legendary Mar-Vell, known on Earth as Walter Lawson, whom Marvel killed off in 1982. Confused? Then you can watch the better animated version of the DC Captain Marvel’s origin story, in Joaquim Dos Santos’s Superman/Shazam!: The Return of Black Adam, in honor of Billy Batson’s in-world birthday (12/23).

Clark Kent is trying to do good with his pen for change, by interviewing a scrappy young orphan named Billy Batson, who lives by his wits on the streets of Metropolis. However, the evil Black Adam crashes their breakfast, hoping to kill Batson, “The Chosen One,” before the wizard Shazam powers him up. That would be the same Black Adam the Rock tried to portray as a conflicted anti-hero in the live-action movie. However, Arnold Vosloo (of The Mummy franchise) gives a definitive Black Adam voice-over performance that is unambiguously sinister.

Fortunately, Shazam whisks Batson to his secret chamber outside of time and space, where he bestows the powers of Captain Marvel on the confused teen. By invoking the Wizard’s name, “Shazam,” he transforms into a full-grown superhero, with powers much like those of Superman. Inconveniently, one of Superman’s few weaknesses is a vulnerability to magic, which is the source of Black Adam’s power. Fortunately, Captain Marvel is only one Shazam away from joining the fray.

Indeed, all three caped super-characters get nearly equal time slugging in out in this awkwardly titled installment of DC Showcase. It delivers a bounty of aerial fighting action in a mere twenty-five minutes, which still makes it one of the longest short films in the under-appreciated series.

Harlem, the Graphic Novel

It was a vice, but the numbers game run by notorious crime boss Stephanie “Queenie” St. Clair was on the level. She also argued that it was homegrown and the proceeds were re-invested back into the neighborhood. St. Clair probably offered a better return than future state lotteries. Regardless, the numbers game and her quasi-legal policy banking were the only businesses she wanted to be in. However, the outside gangs that moved in on her territory also had narcotics-trade ambitions as well. St. Clair fights for her territory, because it is her neighborhood in artist-author Mikael’s Harlem, which is now on-sale for last minute Christmas shoppers.

Getting shot at by two-bit hoods and then having the crooked cops arrest her instead was all in a night’s work for Madame St. Clair. It happens again in the opening pages, but this time it is witnessed by Robert Bishop, a naïve liberal cub newspaper reporter. He hopes to tell her story, because he is impressed by St. Clair’s community spirit and her public criticism of police corruption. He also thinks he has an “in,” since he is one of her friend Tillie Douglas’s many white lovers (indeed, he is probably the one she really digs, since he has no money). Instead, St. Clair hires Bishop to copy-edit her new column for the Amsterdam News, to make it sound properly polished for influential readers.

Unfortunately, a turf-battle is brewing. Dutch Schultz wants to take over Harlem. He figures a show of force will intimidate St. Clair, but he gravely underestimates her. Instead, her chief lieutenant (and eventual successor) Bumpy Johnson prepares for war. Lucky Luciano and the Italian mafia have no love for Schultz, but they also have their eyes on Harlem. Yet, they further recognize the prospect of raging gunfire on the streets of Harlem would be bad for everyone’s business.

Mikael presents an incredibly atmospheric vision of 1930s New York. Although there are few explicit references to jazz, jazz musicians often appear in the background. He also explores Tammany Hall’s grotesque corruption, which St. Clair helped expose. Clearly, Mikael’s narrative reflects thorough research of the era, while his elegant art visually recreates the grandeur of vintage Harlem architecture and fashion. Indeed, the vibe of his illustrations appropriately harken back to the sophisticated style of the 1920s and 1930s.

AFI EU Showcase ’24: I’m Not Everything I Want to Be

Ironically, no regime was more oppressive and prejudiced when it came to LGBTQ rights than the old USSR and its Warsaw Pact puppet governments. They were also often quite racist. Yet, so-called “progressive” activists still frequently demonstrate under the ominous hammer-and-sickle. They should listen to Libuse Jarcovjakova, because she was there to witness Communist oppression—and she has the pictures to prove it. She also thoroughly documented the underground Czechoslovakian gay scene and her own sexual awakening—sometimes in those same aforementioned photos. Jarcovjakova tells her stories through her photos and journal entries in Klara Tasovska’s documentary, I’m Not Everything I Want to Be, which screens today and tomorrow at this year’s AFI EU Film Showcase.

This film truly would not exist without Jarcovjakova. The images consist entirely of her photos, assembled collage-like to accompany her story, as recounted from her diaries, which she herself reads. However, the film still reflects Tasovska’s filmmaker sensibilities, especially in the selection of photos, which sometimes looks eerily allegorical rather than on-the-nose illustrative. Of course, there are also plenty of candid and even journalistic photos, especially those capturing the Soviet invasion of 1968, crushing the brief liberalization of the Prague Spring.

Although she never says so straight out, it is clear coming to terms with her perhaps evolving sexuality was a decades-long process for Jarcovjakova. Regardless, she immediately felt at home at the T-Club, which she extensively captured in photos until the police confiscated her latest batch, ostensibly as part of the investigation into the murder of a club regular. Obviously, she quickly realized how those photos might endanger her many friends.

Jarcovjakova discovered T-Club through a colleague who also taught Czech to Vietnamese immigrants. Lured by false propaganda, the immigrants believed their Communist “allies” would welcome them warmly with waiting factory job, but they were instead greeted with nativist hostility. Such work was one of the few jobs open to Jarcovjakova, given her background as the daughter of non-conformist artists.

The Count of Monte Cristo, in Cinema Daily US

The new French adaptation of THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO delivers some spectacular locations, nicely choreographed swordplay, and a trio of loathsome villains who richly deserve the payback coming to them. It is reasonably faithful to the novel and quite satisfying. CINEMA DAILY US review up here.

Green Lantern: First Flight

Of all the superheroes, the Hal Jordan Green Lantern is the most like Pete “Maverick” Mitchell in Top Gun. Yet, Hollywood crashed and burned with the deservedly maligned 2011 Ryan Reynolds movie. As usual, DC animation far outshines their live-action colleague-rivals. The 2011 animated series was even better depicting Jordan’s ability to fly by the seat of his pants, as both a test pilot and a “maverick” member of the Lantern Corps. However, his first adventure after succeeding Abin Sur as our sector’s Green Lantern, which happened on this very day according to the DC calendar, gets a briskly energetic animated treatment in Lauren Montgomery’s Green Lantern: First Flight.

Jordan was minding his business testing experimental aircraft for his boss and Hepburn-and-Tracy-esque girlfriend Carrol Ferris when the Green Power of Abin Sur’s ring whisked him away to the dying Green Lantern’s fatal crash site. Soon, a Lantern honor guard comes looking for their comrade’s body and his successor, but they are shocked to discover he is a human earthling.

Jordan quickly learns there is a deep-seated prejudice against humans on Oa, the home of the Guardians of the Universe, who oversee the Lantern Corps. Perhaps the Trisolarans of The Three-Body Problem told them about the Cultural Revolution. Yet, there is no denying the ring chose Jordan, which theoretically is an ironclad testimonial to his virtue.

Consequently, the prestigious Lantern Sinestro offers to take the green Green Lantern under his wing, as he investigates Abin Sur’s murder. Of course, fans know Sinestro is an infamous Lantern turncoat and everyone else could probably guess as much, since his name sounds like “sinister.” Indeed, Sinestro quickly alarms Jordan’s “spider sense,” so to speak. However, none of the other Lanterns want to hear his reservations, because Jordan is only human—particularly not the hulking Kilowog, who has canine and hog-like features.

In general, Jordan is a roguishly relatable superhero and Kilowog is one of the most appealing characters who still largely flies under the radar of non-comics fans. First Flight does a nice job conveying their personality strengths and quirks, but it really excels portraying Sinestro’s devious cunning and duplicity. There is a lot of cataclysmic cosmic wrath in the climatic battle, involving an evil scheme to employ yellow power to nullify the Lanterns’ green, but the film really showcases the characters and the inner dynamics of the Lantern Corps.

Signe Baumane’s My Love Affair with Marriage, on OVID.tv

Evidently, the Soviet regime ruined weddings and funerals, because they made them all about Communism rather than the people everyone came to honor. However, Baumane’s pseudo-proxy cannot really blame the old, bad state for the failure of her first marriage. Most of the culpability lies with her selfish ex, and maybe to lesser extent herself, for excusing his bad behavior for far too long. Yet, the real culprit is human biology, because it prompts bad decisions with its dopamine and the like in Baumane’s animated feature My Love Affair with Marriage, which premieres Friday on OVID.tv.

While the film starts on Russian-occupied Karafuto Island, “Zelma” mostly grew up in Latvia, where she didn’t take guff from any of her classmates. Yet, that perversely made her something of an outsider, since girls were expected to be meek. Consequently, it is on a day-trip to Vilnius where she loses her v-status, to Jonas, a much older artist. Of course, the loss of “purity” holds dire implications, even in the USSR. Yet, Zelma navigates such pitfalls better than her roommate, who dies as a result of an unplanned and untreated pregnancy.

Zelma assumes her marriage to Sergei will be the answer to everything, but eventually she recognizes what the audience knew all along. He is a cad and a user. She thinks Bo from Sweden will be different—and he is. Yet, it still doesn’t quite work. Actually, her second marriage is rather sad, because he is not a bad guy. Again, it is just a matter of chemistry, as “Biology” herself explains.

Periodically, the personification of biology narrates interludes that illustrate exactly what is happening to the neural receptors and the brain chemistry of the film’s characters. Think of these slightly surreal segments as if they were industrial films made for 1960s sex ed classes, adapted into animation by Bill Plympton. The first two or three are really cool and funny but the motif loses it potency over time. (Imagine if the Burt Reynolds control room skit in Woody Allen’s Everything You Ever Wanted to Know had been stretched throughout the entire film.)

Yes, less probably could have been more, but Love Affair with Marriage is still a distinctive animated film from a refreshingly offbeat animator. Her previous feature Rocks in My Pockets is still the film you should start with, but together they make quite a revealing personal statement.

Sonic the Hedgehog 3, Featuirng the Voice of Keanu Reeves

Sonic is so fast, he outran Covid, grossing almost $150 million domestic (over $300 million worldwide) on a mid-February 2020 opening. Of course, his tail was cut somewhat short due to theater closures, but the sequel made even more money. Running is what Sonic does best, but he struggles with tasks that require quiet subtlety, or as his fans would say, the boring stuff. With the second film, Sega fans got even more of what they want and the trend continues in Jeff Fowler’s Sonic the Hedgehog 3, which opens this Friday in theaters.

Sonic is a big blue talking alien hedgehog who came to Earth in the first film after his guardian was tragically killed. In the second film, Sonic met his constant companions, Miles Prower a sensitive fox and Knuckles, a pugilistic echidna. Their longtime nemesis remains Dr. Ivo Robotnik, a.k.a. Eggman, but the former government scientist turned supervillain has lately fallen on hard times.

Apparently, another evil genius re-purposed Robotnik’s special drones to attack G.U.N., the Men-in-Black like agency (but with proper uniforms) that handles aliens like Sonic—and frees Shadow the Hedgehog, Sonic’s evil equivalent, from his cryogenic prison. Perhaps Sonic and Robotnik will forge a temporary alias to save the world from Shadow, or perhaps not.

Sonic’s whole deal is his speed, so Fowler duly delivers scene after scene of his fleet footwork. It might be true to the character and the games, but for non-fans, the repetition grows dull. Fortunately, the new film also brings back James Marsden and Tika Sumpter as Tom and Maddie Wachowski, because they have surprisingly endearing chemistry together and help supply the human touch the film needs more of.

Admittedly, Idris Elba’s gruff voice-overs as Knuckles are so consistently amusing, it is easy to see why his character starred in the spin-off streaming series. Likewise, Keanu Reeves growls with Method-level intensity as Shadow, having reportedly done his Sonic homework. On the other hand, Ben Schwartz might have the right tone for Sonic according to what fans expect, but adults unfamiliar with the franchise will be underwhelmed by his brashly juvenile-sounding portrayal of Sonic. Yet, he remains palatable.

On the other hand, a little of Jim Carrey, as Robotnik (and in a not-so-secret dual role), goes a long, long, long way. Seriously, Carrey piles shtick on top of shtick, while mugging and pratfalling like both his face and bones are made out of rubber. It quickly grows tiresome.

The Three-Body Problem Graphic Novel, vol. 1

When the opening installment of Cixin Liu bestselling Remembrance of Earth’s Past series was first published in the United States, it was considered more definitive than the original Chinese edition, because the author was able to move scenes of the Cultural Revolution earlier in the novel, instead of “burying” them in the middle. (Believe me, I was there). However, the first volume of the graphic novel adaptation seemingly reverts to the old Chinese outline. Readers must continue waiting for both the horrors of the Gang of Four and the aliens themselves after reading the first volume of Liu’s The Three-Body Problem, adapted as a graphic novel by Jin Cai, Twilight Lu, and Silver—and illustrated by XuDong Cai, which is now on-sale for holiday shoppers.

Viewers of the hit Netflix series understand why the shocking horrors of the Cultural Revolution are so necessary to Liu’s story. They persuasively explain how a human being could decide humanity no longer deserves to exist. Cai, Lu, and Silver are not even close to getting there yet. However, there is a possibility physics no longer exists. At least that was the partial lament expressed in one physicist’s suicide note.

Evidently, a suicidal epidemic has suddenly cut down dozens of the world’s top theoretical physicists. It has gotten so bad, even the CCP state security apparatus has noticed. It turns out the victims were overwhelmingly (but not quite exclusively) members of a mysterious scholarly society known as The Frontiers of Science. Therefore, the multinational working group wants Prof. Wang Maio to go undercover.

He is also a physicist, but he works on practical applications, so he should be immune to whatever is affecting more abstract-minded scientists like his old friend, Dr. Yang Dong. However, working with his handler, hardboiled police detective Shi Qiang, will be a challenge, especially when he recognizes a cryptic message apparently meant for his eyes only.

If readers only judge from Cai, Lu, and Silver’s first volume, they will little know the enormous scope of Liu’s novel, which only gets wider with successive volumes. The significance of the “Three-Body” “game is hardly even hinted at. Of course, the novel’s grand historical sweep cannot be established without the episodes set during Cultural Revolution. In fact, there is not even a sense of cosmic stakes yet.

Homestead: Preppers from Angel Studios

In William Forstchen’s One Second After, it was an electro-magnetic pulse that unleashed havoc across America. It was a slightly more conventional nuclear bomb in Jason Ross & Jeff Kirkham’s Black Autumn novels. This film (and the forthcoming streaming series it sets up) adapts the latter, but fans of the former will surely feel at home during Ben Smallbone’s Homestead, from Angel Studios, which opens this Friday in theaters.

Like the survivors, viewers have a very incomplete picture of the Armageddon that transpired, but apparently a boat loaded with nuke’s detonated off the California coast, right before a cyber-attack (reportedly from Russia) brought down the power grid along the Atlantic coast. As a result, panic swept the country, overwhelming governments at every level. However, Ian Ross was prepared.

The wealthy prepper had converted his Rocky Mountain “Homestead” ranch into a doomsday compound with farmland, vineyards, and extensive stores of supplies, including, of course, guns. He also hired a security team of former special ops to keep them safe from marauders.

Jeff Ericksson is very good at his job, maintaining a secure perimeter. However, Ross’s wife Jenna argues in favor of letting more survivors into Homestead. Some of Ericksson’s men adamantly oppose, with a vehemence that is a bit alarming. Ross is somewhere in the middle, mindful of his limited resources, but also recognizing their human plight. As for Ericksson, he general agrees with his men, but he also has his family at Homestead, including his wife Tara and three children, so he worries about what kind of community they might grow up amidst.

So far, his oldest son Abe has taken to Homestead quite well, but it is mainly due to Ross’s home-schooled daughter Claire. It most respects, the teenaged Ericksson remains just as snippy and churlish towards his father as ever. Before long, legit bad guys also try to gate-crash, including a government bureaucrat (very much in the mold of Ghostbusters’ Walter Peck) who thinks he has the right and authority to commandeer Homestead’s supplies.

Frankly, it makes sense Homestead is set in the Rockies, because the mountainous region would likely have a very high survival rate. The population density is low, the rate of gun ownership is high, and Mormons on the Utah side would have three months off food on hand, as per Church teachings. Without question, it depicts prepping and survivalism with much more intelligence than the recent Year 10, but it is not as cerebrally speculative as Earth Abides.

It is also nice to see Neal McDonough playing a good guy, like Ross, who is much more reflective of his values than the villains he often plays. In fact, he is perfectly cast as the steely rancher, who accurately predicted the physical needs of survival, but had less foresight when it came to the human element.

Oshi no Ko, in Cinema Daily US

Featuring former members of Nogizaka46 and =LOVE, Prime Video's live-action adaptation of the OSHI NO KO anime/manga franchise depicts the world of Japanese idols with convincing authenticity. Yet, it also derives suspense from the mystery involving characters' past lives. CINEMA DAILY US review up here.

St. Denis Medical: Ho-Ho-Hollo

Nobody wants to be in the hospital around Christmastime. Evidently, that includes the doctors and nurses, because all those sick people are so annoying. This Christmas Eve, the camera crew documenting the titual Oregon hospital captures two particularly sensitive cases in “Ho-Ho-Hollo,” the Christmas-themed episode of St. Denis Medical, which airs tomorrow on NBC.

This episode will make viewers grateful for pixelation, because of the patient who intended to propose to his girlfriend by putting the ring in a rather private place, where it got stuck. Normally, Dr. Bruce is insufferably cocky, but this case maximizes his capacity for sympathy. Still, his katana sword still seems like the wrong approach.

In a way, Dr. Ron can also almost empathize with this week’s other problem patient, Bob Klein. He was admitted after a nasty fall, but it turns out St. Denis also cured his leukemia—because he never had it in the first place. However, he asserts his patient-doctor confidentiality with Dr. Ron and Alex, the supervising RN, because he so enjoys all the attention from his family.

Feeling somewhat abandoned by his grown children, Dr. Ron almost sort of gets it, even though he still finds it horribly slimy. Instead of his real-life namesake, this Robert Klein is portrayed by the perfectly cast David Paymer, who makes a perfect foil for series stars David Alan Grier and Allison Tolman.

Oscar Qualified: Boat People (animated short)

The Clueless on social media like to pretend harrowing stories of forced migration are a recent phenomenon. The surviving “Boat People” of South Vietnam could quickly set them straight. They have always been a forgotten people, because their plight was made possible by the New Left’s selective “anti-war” “activism.” However, the fall of the South was far from peaceful for many South Vietnamese civilians, including Canadian-Vietnamese children’s book author Thao Lam’s mother and her parents. Lam and Canadian animator Kjell Boersma tell her family’s story in the Oscar-qualified animated short film, Boat People (supported by the National Film Board of Canada), which streams via PBS’s POV.

To many, ants are a symbol of industry, but Lam draws inspiring parallels to their resiliency. Like the ants, her family survives great hardships as a unit. Sadly, that also means some sacrificed themselves for the good of the family. Yet, there was an important reason that justified all their suffering and sacrifice. In fact, that is the film’s big payoff. It is a huge emotional moment, but it also subtly expresses the importance of freedom.

Visually, Boersma and the animators nicely retain the illustrated vibe of its original source, Lam’s children’s book, The Paper Bat, even though they rendered the animation in color. However, the muted palette still reflects the influence of wood-cuts, water color, charcoal, and other traditional Eastern art forms and media.

The Chelsea Detective: Everyone Loves Chloe (Christmas Special)

In the early 2000’s, Chloe Carmichael was like the Mariah Carey of the UK, especially around Christmastime. Then she largely walked away from public performances and the celebrity lifestyle. Now she is dead. Since she was rich enough to live in London’s tony Chelsea district, her murder is DI Max Arnold’s problem. The poor guy also has a nasty tooth ache he never seems to have time to fix in the “Christmas Special” (a.k.a. “Everybody Loves Chloe,” the first episode of season three) from creator Peter Fincham’s The Chelsea Detective, which premieres tomorrow on Acorn TV.

Not only did Carmichael record an early 21^st Century Christmas favorite, she donated all the royalties to charity. However, her manager at the time never agreed to donate his cut, which he still expects. In fact, he has been demanding them so vociferously, he talked himself into a restraining order, making himself a prime suspect in her murder.

Her roommate and reputed lover Zadie Evans also looks pretty bad, especially since she disappeared. When Arnold’s squad find her, she insists they are merely roommates and the drugs were all hers—or at least mostly hers. The whole relationship business was fabricated by “journalist” Silvie Wix, who was co-writing Carmichael’s memoir. Apparently, Carmichael openly speculated Wix might prefer her dead, because the book would sell better, so there’s that.

Poor Arnold has a lot to deal with. In addition to that tooth ache, his separated wife Astrid Fischer talked him into attending couple’s therapy. Plus, he must peddle around London on his bike like he is Dutch.

“Everybody Loves Chloe” is not very Christmasy for a Christmas special. Frankly, Die Hard decks more halls. However, it serves up some decent procedural work. This is not a great episode for featuring the rest of Arnold’s team (played by Vanessa Emme, Peter Bankole, and Lucy Phelps), but they still show off some nice camaraderie and rhythm together. It also boasts a colorful guest-star performance from Julian Wadham as a MP who has a mysterious connection to Carmichael.

Utopia (it is not)

It is a lot like Westworld, with more sex. In addition to similar Old West and ancient Rome adventure options, you can also roleplay a Nazi in the WWII area, to make it even more distasteful. Humanity is basically doomed, but the bad guys intend to make money off the bottoming out. Unfortunately, their plan is especially exploitative in James Bamford’s Utopia, which is now available on VOD.

The adult theme park Utopia operates in the fictional Eastern European country of Astovia, making it part of the “Bamverse,” following the not-so-bad Air Force One Down and the disappointing Shadow Land. The returns now diminish furher. Regardless, former American Special Forces commando Damon Matthew has followed the trail of his semi-ex-girlfriend Alexis to Utopia, which he infiltrates with the remote hacking aid of his old British comrade Rupert.

There he finds her working as one of the hostess-harem girls, with no apparent memory of him or the rest of her past life. To make matters worse, she is clearly the favorite of pervy Karl Tubin, Utopia’s largest silent investor. Matthew and Rupert assume the abducted women were implanted with some sort of AI chip that alters their memory and behavior. Yet, some abducted women, like Joan and Natalie (who had to be “reprogrammed” after the little incident during the prologue) have grown suspicious and perhaps even rebellious.

Compared to Utopia, the Bruce Willis quickie Vice passes for a masterpiece. Basically, this entire film is reverse-engineered around shots of Charlotte Vega, Alix Villaret, and Wanda Banda wearing skimpy attire, in suggestive situations. Unfortunately, Bamford largely wastes legit martial arts veteran Daniel Bernhardt playing Utopia’s security chief, William Sallow.

September 5: The 1972 Olympic Terrorist Attack, Live on ABC

The 1972 Olympics were a triumph for one Jewish athlete, American Mark Spitz, until he was forced to leave early, under armed heavy guard. Soon after Spitz swam to his seventh gold medal, the Games turned tragic for eleven Jewish Israeli athletes and coaches, who were murdered by Palestinian terrorists. Yet, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) never acknowledged their deaths during the Games proper, until they final observed one single solitary minute of silence during the 2020 Covid games in Tokyo, having long deferred to states that hate Jews and sponsor terrorism. Nevertheless, the world knows full well of the Munich atrocities, thanks in part to ABC Sports’ coverage. Swiss director and co-screenwriter Tm Fehlbaum recreates the broadcast team’s tense hours managing their coverage from the network control room in September 5, which releases today in New York theaters.

On paper, it looked like a slow news day for the American team, which is why ABC Sports President Roone Arledge and anchor Jim McKay (seen entirely and extensively in archival footage) had originally taken the day off. They soon returned when staffers reported hearing gunfire in the Olympic Village.

Only few hundred yards away, the bunker-like ABC facility was so close, yet so far—but it was certainly much closer than a studio in New York. Soon, broadcast director Geoffrey Mason and his operations boss Marvin Bader figure ways to steal shots including repurposing the aerial camera and moving one of the studio cameras right outside their facility. They also manage to dispatch Peter Jennings and a cameraman to athletic dorm opposite the unfolding hostage crisis right before the clueless Bavarian police shutdown access to the area.

However, the audience’s POV never leaves the makeshift ABC studio, so we see the outside footage at the same time as do Arledge and his employees. Fehlbaum deliberately presents the story from a narrow perspective, but it captures the confusion and the ethical dilemmas that result from trying to cover violent breaking news. In fact, we watch with the ABC crew as they realize their live coverage may have sabotaged the Bavarian police’s planned rescue attempt.

In fact, Fehlbaum and co-screenwriters Moritz Binder and Alex David directly address the moral implications of the terrorists’ savagery by introducing viewers to David Berger, an Israeli weightlifter hostage (and former American), whom ABC cameras filmed at length during his visit to Auschwitz the previous day. Use of that footage (recreated with actor Rony Herman) both humanizes the victims and draws a clear comparison between the Black September terrorists and Hitler’s National Socialists (although not mentioned in the film, it was later revealed German Neo-Nazis groups provided logistical support for the September 5^th attack). Yet, he also skillfully builds tension from the claustrophobic setting.

Frankly, the Jennings estate might not be thrilled with September 5, because Benjamin Walker’s impersonation-style depiction makes the newsreader look like an arrogant snob. However, Ben Chaplin’s performance as Bader is richly complex, particularly in the ways he relates to his Jewish heritage (which grows increasingly complicated, for obvious reasons).

John Magaro realistically portrays Mason’s shock and disillusion, as his greatest professional moment in the sun turns into a nightmare of profound dimensions. Yet, perhaps the most arresting performance comes from Leonie Benesch, as German translator Marianne Gebhardt, whose pride in Germany’s new progressive direction turns to horror and disgust at its incompetence and short-sightedness.

Submitted by Bulgaria: Triumph

G.K. Chesterton's famous words: “When men chose not to believe in God, they do not thereafter believe in nothing, they then become capable of believing anything” certainly applied to the godless Bulgarian Communists. Having rebranded themselves as Socialists after the break-up of the USSR, they spent two years digging a hole to nowhere, based on the contradictory advice of psychics. Often described as Bulgaria’s “Area 51,” the Tsarichina hole was more like their version of Al Capone’s vault. The characters are fictionalized, but the Tsarichina mission is bizarrely true to history in Kristina Grozena & Petar Valchanov’s Triumph, which Bulgaria officially submitted for Oscar consideration as Best International Feature.

Evidently, while the military was digging this hole to nowhere, assorted psychics predicted it would lead to various Fortean wonders, including aliens, mythical creatures, and/or Biblical revelations. In the film, Pirina Nyagolova picks aliens and sticks with it. Somehow, she convinced General Zlatev to authorize this excavation, "Operation Triumph," promising the ancient beings could lead Bulgarian into a new golden age.

Having steadily worked her way up the chain of command, Nyagolova’s current lover is Col. Platnikov, who appears skeptical of all her New Age babble. However, Nyagolova convinced his impressionable daughter Slava that she too has psychic powers that are especially sensitive to the alien energy, or whatever.

Grozena, Valchanov, and co-screenwriter Decho Taralezhkov ruthless skewer Nyagolova’s hippy-dippy babble. Frankly, it is never clear whether she or Slava really believe their own supposed channelings. Thanks to the filmmakers’ brutal ambiguity, it is unclear whether they are conning themselves as well as the entire Bulgarian military. Yet, there apparently reaches a point where everyone gets so deeply enmeshed in the madness, they have no alternative but to pretend to believe, to justify themselves.

Again, this premise is mind-bogglingly 100% real. To its credit, the Bulgarian government took a sharp turn towards sanity in 2022 under Nikolai Denkov, but with the fall of his coalition, the Russian trolls hope to reassert their influence. Hopefully, this film reminds Bulgarians of the Pro-Russia Bulgarian Socialist Party’s past lunacy (in addition to opposing sanctions on Russia, the current Socialist Party is also seen as increasingly hostile to same-sex marriage).

Red One, on Prime Video

According to scientists, polar bears really belong at the top of the planetary food chain, because so many of them have a taste for eating people. Therefore, a big talking polar bear like Agent Garcia ought to provide all the protection Santa Claus needs. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is also considered fairly formidable for a mere mortal. Yet, somehow the bad guys still kidnap Santa while both ELF (Enforcement, Logistics, and Fortification) Agents were on the job. Even though he is only human, Johnson’s Callum Drift won’t take this threat to Christmas laying down, so he decides to flip the clueless hacker who helped facilitate the crisis in Jake Kasdan’s Red One, which starts streaming today on Prime Video.

Agent Drift intends to retire after this Christmas, so you know what that always means: trouble. Masked mercs abduct Santa spiriting him away through a hole in the North Pole security system. Of course, a blame-America-first leftist like Tulsi Gabbard would say Santa was asking for it, because of his security arrangement with NATO. Regardless, it took some serious computing power to detect the secret location of Santa’s workshop, but Bah-humbugging black-hat and self-described bounty-hunter Jack O’Malley inadvertently supplied the necessary data by hacking national science networks.

To avoid further beatings from Drift, O’Malley agrees to work with ELF to follow the trail of his anonymous client, who turns out to Gryla, the Icelandic winter witch. As a former associate of Santa’s adopted brother Krampus, she always believed Santa was too lenient on the “naughty-listers,” like O’Malley. By stealing Santa’s powers, she intends to finally deal out the punishment she believes they richly deserve.

Chris Morgan’s screenplay cleverly incorporates a lot of slightly macabre Christmas lore, including Gryla and Krampus. However, Kiernan Shipka’s portrayal of the Christmas witch and the special effects surrounding her are consistently overshadowed by the more colorful characters. That definitely includes Kristofer Hivju’s imposing Krampus, who is more grouch than demon.

In truth, nobody is more colorful than J.K. Simmons, who looks quite fit—and even downright cut—as old kris. Frankly, he makes cookies and milk look a better muscle building supplement than any GNC powder. As usual, Simmons can land a sharp one-liner, but his sarcasm is gentler this time around—because he is Santa. He also develops great chemistry with Bonnie Hunt, who really should have had more screentime as Mrs. Claus.

Of course, the Rock does his thing, which includes milking Drift’s humorlessness for humor. Basically, Johnson acts like the film is titled The Fast and the Jolly, which should be totally fine with his fans. It is also nice to see Lucy Liu get to kick some butt to as Zoe Harlow, the chief of the clandestine MORA (Mythological Oversight and Restoration Authority) agency. However, Chris Evans’ portrayal of O’Malley, the hacker and jerkweed absentee father, needed more charm and less smugness.