Movies, Movies, Movies!
Three months worth of movies!
I tried to watch all the horror movies I have, or wanted to have, all within October. Didn't work out that way. There were just too many (as you will see.) So it slid into November. Which gets pretty busy about halfway through the month. And then December, well forget about doing anything not pertaining to Christmas. Luckily, November and December lists were short.
So, here we are in January, and I finally did my reviews. Enjoy whatever you can get through. Or maybe all of it if you're of the mind. :-)
MOVIES WATCHED IN OCTOBER
Oct 4 - American Masters: Edgar Allen Poe - Buried Alive (2016)
Edgar Allan Poe: Buried Alive draws on the rich palette of Poe's evocative imagery and sharply drawn plots to tell the real story of the notorious author. Featuring Tony Award-winning actor Denis O'Hare, the film explores the misrepresentations of Poe as an alcoholic madman. It reveals the way in which Poe tapped into what it means to be a human in our modern and sometimes frightening world.
Director: Eric Strange
Stars: Denis O’Hare
An excellent documentary about Poe. There are quite a few myths about the man that are put to rest. We get to see the person behind the stories, most of which were not horror.
Oct 5 - Lovecraft: Fear of the Unknown (2008)
A chronicle of the life, work and mind that created the Cthulhu mythos.
Director: Frank H. Woodward
Stars: Robin Atkin Downes, Neil Gaiman, Peter Straub, Guillermo del Toro, Ramsey Campbell, John Carpenter
Another well made documentary. I’d seen it before, but it was well worth re-viewing.
Oct 5 - Stephen King: A Necessary Evil
Stephen King has been one of the world's most successful bestselling authors for decades. How can the success of his horror novels be explained? Undoubtedly with the inventiveness and effectiveness of his literature. But what else is behind the longevity of its success? On the basis of rarely shown interviews with the author, the documentary explores why his horror stories touch the reader so deeply and how the author succeeded in creating such a gigantic work over the years, the intensity and sensitivity of which makes it part of world literature.
Director: Julien Dupuy
Stars: Micky Sébastian, Kathy Bates, James Caan, Denise Crosby, Tim Curry
Another documentary that dives deep into a horror writer’s life. Some I already knew, but there was much I didn’t. Another one well worth watching.
Oct 6 - King on Screen (2022)
1976, Brian de Palma directs Carrie, the first novel by Stephen King. Since, more than 50 directors adapted the master of horror's books, in more than 80 films and series, making him now, the most adapted author still alive in the world.
Director: Daphné Baiwir
Stars: Mike Flanagan, James Caan, Amy Irving
Not about King, but how his books have been treated on screen. Unfortunately, many haven’t done well, and the documentary doesn’t stint on telling it like it is.
Oct 11 - Macabre (1958)
A doctor's daughter is kidnapped and buried alive, and he is given just five hours to find and rescue her.
Director: William Castle
Stars: William Prince, Jim Backus, Christine White, Ellen Corby
One of my favorite classic horror movies. Castle didn’t insert himself as much in this movie as he did in several others, all to the good.
Oct 12 - Black Sunday (1960)
A vengeful witch and her fiendish servant return from the grave and begin a bloody campaign to possess the body of the witch's beautiful look-alike descendant.
Director: Mario Bava
Stars: Barbara Steele, John Richardson, Andrea Checchi
Another favorite, and quite well done considering the state of special effects at the time. I remember seeing it as a young child and thinking that Barbara Steele was the most beautiful woman in the world.
Oct 13 - 13 Ghosts (1960)
A family inherits what proves to be a haunted house, but a special pair of goggles allows them to see their ghostly tormentors.
Director: William Castle
Stars: Charles Herbert, Jo Morrow, Martin Milner, Rosemary De Camp, Margaret Hamilton
a totally god-awful movie.
Oct 19 - Mr. Sardonicus (1961)
A mysterious and cruel Baron, whose face has become frozen in a horrifying grin, demands that a prominent London physician apply experimental treatments on him to restore his face.
Director: William Castle
Stars: Oscar Homolka, Ronald Lewis, Audrey Dalton, Guy Rolfe
Another favorite. I remember being horrified the first time I saw this movie. It still shocks the first time you see the Baron’s face.
Oct 20 - The Haunting (1963)
Hill House has stood for about 90 years and appears haunted: its inhabitants have always met strange, tragic ends. Now Dr. John Markway has assembled a team of people who he thinks will prove whether or not the house is haunted.
Director: Robert Wise
Stars: Julie Harris, Claire Bloom, Richard Johnson, Russ Tamblyn
Possibly the best horror movie ever made. Without showing a thing, the movie still terrifies. Such a far cry from the so-called horror movies of today.
Oct 20 - An Angel for Satan (1966)
At the end of the 19th century, in a little Italian village by a lake, an old statue is recovered. Soon a series of crimes start and the superstitious people of the village believe that the statue carries an ancient malediction .
Director: Camillo Mastrocinque
Stars: Barbara Steele, Anthony Steffen, Claudio Gora
Just so-so. Rather disjointed, as the movie is trying to hide what’s going on. It does maybe too good a job.
Oct 21 - Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark (1973)
A young couple inherits an old mansion inhabited by small demon-like creatures who are determined to make the wife one of their own.
Director: John Newland
Stars: Kim Darby, Jim Hutton, Barbara Anderson, William Demarest
Totally creepy, though there’s a couple of major plot holes.
Oct 22 - Carrie (1976)
Carrie White, a shy, friendless teenage girl who is sheltered by her domineering, religious mother, unleashes her telekinetic powers after being humiliated by her classmates at her senior prom.
Director: Brian De Palma
Stars: Sissy Spacek, Piper Laurie, Amy Irving, William Katt, John Travolta, Betty Buckley
One of the best adaptions of a King book. The acting is superb.
Oct 24 - Salem’s Lot (1979)
A novelist and a young horror fan attempt to save a small New England town which has been invaded by vampires.
Director: Tobe Hooper
Stars: David Soul, James Mason, Lance Kerwin, Bonnie Bedelia
A bit dated, yet still enjoyable. Not as creepy as I remember it to be.
Oct 25 - Sometimes They Come Back (1991)
A man and his family return to his hometown, where he is then harassed by teenagers who died when he was a kid.
Director: Tom McLoughlin
Stars: Tim Matheson, Brooke Adams, Robert Rusler
From a King short story. Well above either of its sequels.
Oct 26 - It (1990)
In 1960, seven pre-teen outcasts fight an evil demon who poses as a child-killing clown. Thirty years later, they reunite to stop the demon once and for all when it returns to their hometown.
Director: Tommy Lee Wallace
Stars: Richard Thomas, Tim Reid, Annette O'Toole, John Ritter, Harry Anderson, Tim Curry
Still worth watching. The actors, both the children and the adults, all do a great job of bringing the characters to life.
Oct 28 - Frailty (2001)
A mysterious man arrives at the offices of an FBI agent and recounts his childhood: how his religious fanatic father received visions telling him to destroy people who were in fact "demons."
Director: Bill Paxton
Stars: Bill Paxton, Matthew McConaughey, Powers Boothe
Not what one would normally expect from McConaughey, but one of my favorite of his movies. Very well done with a surprise ending.
Oct 31 - Rose Red (2002)
A college professor and a team of psychics investigate an old abandoned house. Hoping to explain some of the mysterious deaths on the property, the psychics stay in the mansion, but unleash a terrifying force that threatens to destroy all.
Director: Craig R. Bailey
Stars: Nancy Travis, Matt Keeslar, Kimberly J. Brown, Julian Sands
Very well done, considering the script was created from the King book, The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer, which is only half the story. The part about the professor and the team of psychics is all original.
MOVIES WATCHED IN NOVEMBER
Nov 2 - Salem’s Lot (2004)
Writer Ben Mears returns to his childhood home of Jerusalem's Lot and discovers that it is being terrorized by vampires.
Director: Mikael Salomon
Stars: Rob Lowe, Andre Braugher, Donald Sutherland, Rutger Hauer, James Cromwell
I thought this remake to be better than the original. I didn’t care for the change in the ending, though. Still, I’d say it’s a keeper.
Nov 3 - Mama (2013)
After a young couple take in their two nieces, they suspect that a supernatural spirit named Mama has latched onto their family.
Director: Andy Muschietti
Stars: Jessica Chastain, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Megan Charpentier
I truly enjoyed this movie. Well done, with a real plot and some great actors. Created by Guillermo del Toro, so that might have something to do with it.
Recommended by greygirlbeast. Many thanks!
Nov 9 - The Fog (1980)
An unearthly fog rolls into a small coastal town exactly 100 years after a ship mysteriously sank in its waters.
Director: John Carpenter
Stars: Adrienne Barbeau, Jamie Lee Curtis, Janet Leigh< John Houseman, Hal Holbrook
Another oldie but goodie. The ending is a head-scratcher, but, other than that, a movie worth watching.
Nov 10 - It - Chapter 1 (2017)
In the summer of 1989, a group of bullied kids band together to destroy a shape-shifting monster, which disguises itself as a clown and preys on the children of Derry, their small Maine town.
Director: Andy Muschietti
Stars: Bill Skarsgård, Jaeden Martell, Finn Wolfhard
Not as good as the original. It relies too much on special effects, so gives short shrift to character development, though the kids come off pretty well.
Nov 14 - It - Chapter 2 (2019)
Twenty-seven years after their first encounter with the terrifying Pennywise, the Losers Club have grown up and moved away, until a devastating phone call brings them back.
Director: Andy Muschietti
Stars: Jessica Chastain, James McAvoy, Bill Hader
Again, too many special effects, not enough character development.
Nov 18, 20 - The Fall of the House of Usher (2023)
To secure their fortune (and future) two ruthless siblings build a family dynasty that begins to crumble when their heirs mysteriously die, one by one.
Director: Mike Flanagan, Michael Fimognan
Stars: Carla Gugino, Bruce Greenwood, Mary McDonnell, Mark Hamill, Nicholas Lea
Not at all what I expected, and not at all like the short story, but excellent in its own right. Each death has a connection to a different Poe story:The Masque of the Red Death, Murder in the Rue Morgue, The Black Cat, The Tell-Tale Heart, Goldbug, The Pit and the Pendulum, and The Raven, though that connection is often tenuous. An exceptional series in any event.
Nov 29 - Genie (2023)
The film is a fairy-tale comedy about a workaholic man who enlists the help of a magical genie to help win his family back before Christmas.
Director: Sam Boyd
Stars: Melissa McCarthy, Paapa Essiedu, Denée Benton
Kind of silly, but enjoyable. Not McCarthy’s best, though.
MOVIES WATCHED IN DECEMBER
Dec 19 - Old Dads (2023)
Three best friends become fathers later in life and find themselves battling preschool principals, millennial CEOs, and anything created after 1987.
Director: Bill Burr
Stars: Bill Burr, Bobby Cannavale, Bokeem Woodbine
Not as funny as Burr seems to think. Only mildly entertaining.
Dec 21 - Leave the World Behind (2023)
A family's getaway to a luxurious rental home takes an ominous turn when a cyberattack knocks out their devices, and two strangers appear at their door.
Director: Sam Esmail
Stars: Julia Roberts, Mahershala Ali, Ethan Hawke, Kevin Bacon
A solid and enjoyable series until the very weird and off the wall ending.
Dec 25 - The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
Jack Skellington, king of Halloween Town, discovers Christmas Town, but his attempts to bring Christmas to his home causes confusion.
Director: Henry Selick
Stars (voices): Danny Elfman, Chris Sarandon, Catherine O'Hara
Some great music, but I wasn’t unduly impressed with the movie. Mildly entertaining.
Dec 25 - Candy Cane Lane (2023)
A man is determined to win the neighborhood's annual Christmas decorating contest. He makes a pact with an elf to help him win--and the elf casts a spell that brings the 12 days of Christmas to life, which brings unexpected chaos to town.
Director: Reginald Hudlin
Stars: Eddie Murphy, Tracee Ellis Ross, Jillian Bell, Nick Offerman
A good movie to add to my Christmas viewing. I’ve always liked Eddie Murphy, and he doesn’t disappoint here.
Dec 25 - a Christmas Story (1983)
In the 1940s, a young boy named Ralphie Parker attempts to convince his parents, teacher, and Santa Claus that a Red Ryder Range 200 Shot BB gun really is the perfect Christmas gift.
Director: Bob Clark
Stars: Peter Billingsley Melinda Dillon, Darren McGavin
Couldn’t go without watching this one this holiday season. McGavin steals every scene he’s in.
Dec 25 - Spirited (2022)
A musical version of Charles Dickens's story of a miserly misanthrope who is taken on a magical journey.
Director: Sean Anders
Stars: Will Ferrell, Ryan Reynolds, Octavia Spencer
Christmas with Ryan Reynolds? what more could I ask for? Not to mention the great music and dance scenes. A truly enjoyable movie.
Dec 27-29 - Dr. Death (2021-2023)
Season 1
As patients entering the operating room of Dr. Christopher Duntsch for routine spinal surgeries start leaving permanently maimed or end up dead, two fellow surgeons and a young Assistant District Attorney set out to stop him.
Creators: Ashley Michel Hoban, Patrick Macmanus
Stars: Joshua Jackson, Christian Slater, Alec Baldwin, Kelsey Grammer, Grace Gummer
Season 2
This season of Dr. Death, based on the Wondery podcast, follows “Miracle Man” Paolo Macchiarini, a charming surgeon renowned for his innovative operations. When investigative journalist Benita Alexander approaches him for a story, the line between personal and professional begins to blur, changing her life forever. As she learns how far Paolo will go to protect his secrets, a group of doctors halfway across the world make shocking discoveries of their own that call everything about Paolo into question.
Stars: Edgar Ramirez, Mandy Moore, Luke Kirby
Finished off the year with something totally different. I got hooked into these after seeing the Netflix documentary series about Paolo Macchiarini. It’s amazing what a doctor can get away with. Truly horrifying.
I tried to watch all the horror movies I have, or wanted to have, all within October. Didn't work out that way. There were just too many (as you will see.) So it slid into November. Which gets pretty busy about halfway through the month. And then December, well forget about doing anything not pertaining to Christmas. Luckily, November and December lists were short.
So, here we are in January, and I finally did my reviews. Enjoy whatever you can get through. Or maybe all of it if you're of the mind. :-)
MOVIES WATCHED IN OCTOBER
Oct 4 - American Masters: Edgar Allen Poe - Buried Alive (2016)
Edgar Allan Poe: Buried Alive draws on the rich palette of Poe's evocative imagery and sharply drawn plots to tell the real story of the notorious author. Featuring Tony Award-winning actor Denis O'Hare, the film explores the misrepresentations of Poe as an alcoholic madman. It reveals the way in which Poe tapped into what it means to be a human in our modern and sometimes frightening world.
Director: Eric Strange
Stars: Denis O’Hare
An excellent documentary about Poe. There are quite a few myths about the man that are put to rest. We get to see the person behind the stories, most of which were not horror.
Oct 5 - Lovecraft: Fear of the Unknown (2008)
A chronicle of the life, work and mind that created the Cthulhu mythos.
Director: Frank H. Woodward
Stars: Robin Atkin Downes, Neil Gaiman, Peter Straub, Guillermo del Toro, Ramsey Campbell, John Carpenter
Another well made documentary. I’d seen it before, but it was well worth re-viewing.
Oct 5 - Stephen King: A Necessary Evil
Stephen King has been one of the world's most successful bestselling authors for decades. How can the success of his horror novels be explained? Undoubtedly with the inventiveness and effectiveness of his literature. But what else is behind the longevity of its success? On the basis of rarely shown interviews with the author, the documentary explores why his horror stories touch the reader so deeply and how the author succeeded in creating such a gigantic work over the years, the intensity and sensitivity of which makes it part of world literature.
Director: Julien Dupuy
Stars: Micky Sébastian, Kathy Bates, James Caan, Denise Crosby, Tim Curry
Another documentary that dives deep into a horror writer’s life. Some I already knew, but there was much I didn’t. Another one well worth watching.
Oct 6 - King on Screen (2022)
1976, Brian de Palma directs Carrie, the first novel by Stephen King. Since, more than 50 directors adapted the master of horror's books, in more than 80 films and series, making him now, the most adapted author still alive in the world.
Director: Daphné Baiwir
Stars: Mike Flanagan, James Caan, Amy Irving
Not about King, but how his books have been treated on screen. Unfortunately, many haven’t done well, and the documentary doesn’t stint on telling it like it is.
Oct 11 - Macabre (1958)
A doctor's daughter is kidnapped and buried alive, and he is given just five hours to find and rescue her.
Director: William Castle
Stars: William Prince, Jim Backus, Christine White, Ellen Corby
One of my favorite classic horror movies. Castle didn’t insert himself as much in this movie as he did in several others, all to the good.
Oct 12 - Black Sunday (1960)
A vengeful witch and her fiendish servant return from the grave and begin a bloody campaign to possess the body of the witch's beautiful look-alike descendant.
Director: Mario Bava
Stars: Barbara Steele, John Richardson, Andrea Checchi
Another favorite, and quite well done considering the state of special effects at the time. I remember seeing it as a young child and thinking that Barbara Steele was the most beautiful woman in the world.
Oct 13 - 13 Ghosts (1960)
A family inherits what proves to be a haunted house, but a special pair of goggles allows them to see their ghostly tormentors.
Director: William Castle
Stars: Charles Herbert, Jo Morrow, Martin Milner, Rosemary De Camp, Margaret Hamilton
a totally god-awful movie.
Oct 19 - Mr. Sardonicus (1961)
A mysterious and cruel Baron, whose face has become frozen in a horrifying grin, demands that a prominent London physician apply experimental treatments on him to restore his face.
Director: William Castle
Stars: Oscar Homolka, Ronald Lewis, Audrey Dalton, Guy Rolfe
Another favorite. I remember being horrified the first time I saw this movie. It still shocks the first time you see the Baron’s face.
Oct 20 - The Haunting (1963)
Hill House has stood for about 90 years and appears haunted: its inhabitants have always met strange, tragic ends. Now Dr. John Markway has assembled a team of people who he thinks will prove whether or not the house is haunted.
Director: Robert Wise
Stars: Julie Harris, Claire Bloom, Richard Johnson, Russ Tamblyn
Possibly the best horror movie ever made. Without showing a thing, the movie still terrifies. Such a far cry from the so-called horror movies of today.
Oct 20 - An Angel for Satan (1966)
At the end of the 19th century, in a little Italian village by a lake, an old statue is recovered. Soon a series of crimes start and the superstitious people of the village believe that the statue carries an ancient malediction .
Director: Camillo Mastrocinque
Stars: Barbara Steele, Anthony Steffen, Claudio Gora
Just so-so. Rather disjointed, as the movie is trying to hide what’s going on. It does maybe too good a job.
Oct 21 - Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark (1973)
A young couple inherits an old mansion inhabited by small demon-like creatures who are determined to make the wife one of their own.
Director: John Newland
Stars: Kim Darby, Jim Hutton, Barbara Anderson, William Demarest
Totally creepy, though there’s a couple of major plot holes.
Oct 22 - Carrie (1976)
Carrie White, a shy, friendless teenage girl who is sheltered by her domineering, religious mother, unleashes her telekinetic powers after being humiliated by her classmates at her senior prom.
Director: Brian De Palma
Stars: Sissy Spacek, Piper Laurie, Amy Irving, William Katt, John Travolta, Betty Buckley
One of the best adaptions of a King book. The acting is superb.
Oct 24 - Salem’s Lot (1979)
A novelist and a young horror fan attempt to save a small New England town which has been invaded by vampires.
Director: Tobe Hooper
Stars: David Soul, James Mason, Lance Kerwin, Bonnie Bedelia
A bit dated, yet still enjoyable. Not as creepy as I remember it to be.
Oct 25 - Sometimes They Come Back (1991)
A man and his family return to his hometown, where he is then harassed by teenagers who died when he was a kid.
Director: Tom McLoughlin
Stars: Tim Matheson, Brooke Adams, Robert Rusler
From a King short story. Well above either of its sequels.
Oct 26 - It (1990)
In 1960, seven pre-teen outcasts fight an evil demon who poses as a child-killing clown. Thirty years later, they reunite to stop the demon once and for all when it returns to their hometown.
Director: Tommy Lee Wallace
Stars: Richard Thomas, Tim Reid, Annette O'Toole, John Ritter, Harry Anderson, Tim Curry
Still worth watching. The actors, both the children and the adults, all do a great job of bringing the characters to life.
Oct 28 - Frailty (2001)
A mysterious man arrives at the offices of an FBI agent and recounts his childhood: how his religious fanatic father received visions telling him to destroy people who were in fact "demons."
Director: Bill Paxton
Stars: Bill Paxton, Matthew McConaughey, Powers Boothe
Not what one would normally expect from McConaughey, but one of my favorite of his movies. Very well done with a surprise ending.
Oct 31 - Rose Red (2002)
A college professor and a team of psychics investigate an old abandoned house. Hoping to explain some of the mysterious deaths on the property, the psychics stay in the mansion, but unleash a terrifying force that threatens to destroy all.
Director: Craig R. Bailey
Stars: Nancy Travis, Matt Keeslar, Kimberly J. Brown, Julian Sands
Very well done, considering the script was created from the King book, The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer, which is only half the story. The part about the professor and the team of psychics is all original.
MOVIES WATCHED IN NOVEMBER
Nov 2 - Salem’s Lot (2004)
Writer Ben Mears returns to his childhood home of Jerusalem's Lot and discovers that it is being terrorized by vampires.
Director: Mikael Salomon
Stars: Rob Lowe, Andre Braugher, Donald Sutherland, Rutger Hauer, James Cromwell
I thought this remake to be better than the original. I didn’t care for the change in the ending, though. Still, I’d say it’s a keeper.
Nov 3 - Mama (2013)
After a young couple take in their two nieces, they suspect that a supernatural spirit named Mama has latched onto their family.
Director: Andy Muschietti
Stars: Jessica Chastain, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Megan Charpentier
I truly enjoyed this movie. Well done, with a real plot and some great actors. Created by Guillermo del Toro, so that might have something to do with it.
Recommended by greygirlbeast. Many thanks!
Nov 9 - The Fog (1980)
An unearthly fog rolls into a small coastal town exactly 100 years after a ship mysteriously sank in its waters.
Director: John Carpenter
Stars: Adrienne Barbeau, Jamie Lee Curtis, Janet Leigh< John Houseman, Hal Holbrook
Another oldie but goodie. The ending is a head-scratcher, but, other than that, a movie worth watching.
Nov 10 - It - Chapter 1 (2017)
In the summer of 1989, a group of bullied kids band together to destroy a shape-shifting monster, which disguises itself as a clown and preys on the children of Derry, their small Maine town.
Director: Andy Muschietti
Stars: Bill Skarsgård, Jaeden Martell, Finn Wolfhard
Not as good as the original. It relies too much on special effects, so gives short shrift to character development, though the kids come off pretty well.
Nov 14 - It - Chapter 2 (2019)
Twenty-seven years after their first encounter with the terrifying Pennywise, the Losers Club have grown up and moved away, until a devastating phone call brings them back.
Director: Andy Muschietti
Stars: Jessica Chastain, James McAvoy, Bill Hader
Again, too many special effects, not enough character development.
Nov 18, 20 - The Fall of the House of Usher (2023)
To secure their fortune (and future) two ruthless siblings build a family dynasty that begins to crumble when their heirs mysteriously die, one by one.
Director: Mike Flanagan, Michael Fimognan
Stars: Carla Gugino, Bruce Greenwood, Mary McDonnell, Mark Hamill, Nicholas Lea
Not at all what I expected, and not at all like the short story, but excellent in its own right. Each death has a connection to a different Poe story:The Masque of the Red Death, Murder in the Rue Morgue, The Black Cat, The Tell-Tale Heart, Goldbug, The Pit and the Pendulum, and The Raven, though that connection is often tenuous. An exceptional series in any event.
Nov 29 - Genie (2023)
The film is a fairy-tale comedy about a workaholic man who enlists the help of a magical genie to help win his family back before Christmas.
Director: Sam Boyd
Stars: Melissa McCarthy, Paapa Essiedu, Denée Benton
Kind of silly, but enjoyable. Not McCarthy’s best, though.
MOVIES WATCHED IN DECEMBER
Dec 19 - Old Dads (2023)
Three best friends become fathers later in life and find themselves battling preschool principals, millennial CEOs, and anything created after 1987.
Director: Bill Burr
Stars: Bill Burr, Bobby Cannavale, Bokeem Woodbine
Not as funny as Burr seems to think. Only mildly entertaining.
Dec 21 - Leave the World Behind (2023)
A family's getaway to a luxurious rental home takes an ominous turn when a cyberattack knocks out their devices, and two strangers appear at their door.
Director: Sam Esmail
Stars: Julia Roberts, Mahershala Ali, Ethan Hawke, Kevin Bacon
A solid and enjoyable series until the very weird and off the wall ending.
Dec 25 - The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
Jack Skellington, king of Halloween Town, discovers Christmas Town, but his attempts to bring Christmas to his home causes confusion.
Director: Henry Selick
Stars (voices): Danny Elfman, Chris Sarandon, Catherine O'Hara
Some great music, but I wasn’t unduly impressed with the movie. Mildly entertaining.
Dec 25 - Candy Cane Lane (2023)
A man is determined to win the neighborhood's annual Christmas decorating contest. He makes a pact with an elf to help him win--and the elf casts a spell that brings the 12 days of Christmas to life, which brings unexpected chaos to town.
Director: Reginald Hudlin
Stars: Eddie Murphy, Tracee Ellis Ross, Jillian Bell, Nick Offerman
A good movie to add to my Christmas viewing. I’ve always liked Eddie Murphy, and he doesn’t disappoint here.
Dec 25 - a Christmas Story (1983)
In the 1940s, a young boy named Ralphie Parker attempts to convince his parents, teacher, and Santa Claus that a Red Ryder Range 200 Shot BB gun really is the perfect Christmas gift.
Director: Bob Clark
Stars: Peter Billingsley Melinda Dillon, Darren McGavin
Couldn’t go without watching this one this holiday season. McGavin steals every scene he’s in.
Dec 25 - Spirited (2022)
A musical version of Charles Dickens's story of a miserly misanthrope who is taken on a magical journey.
Director: Sean Anders
Stars: Will Ferrell, Ryan Reynolds, Octavia Spencer
Christmas with Ryan Reynolds? what more could I ask for? Not to mention the great music and dance scenes. A truly enjoyable movie.
Dec 27-29 - Dr. Death (2021-2023)
Season 1
As patients entering the operating room of Dr. Christopher Duntsch for routine spinal surgeries start leaving permanently maimed or end up dead, two fellow surgeons and a young Assistant District Attorney set out to stop him.
Creators: Ashley Michel Hoban, Patrick Macmanus
Stars: Joshua Jackson, Christian Slater, Alec Baldwin, Kelsey Grammer, Grace Gummer
Season 2
This season of Dr. Death, based on the Wondery podcast, follows “Miracle Man” Paolo Macchiarini, a charming surgeon renowned for his innovative operations. When investigative journalist Benita Alexander approaches him for a story, the line between personal and professional begins to blur, changing her life forever. As she learns how far Paolo will go to protect his secrets, a group of doctors halfway across the world make shocking discoveries of their own that call everything about Paolo into question.
Stars: Edgar Ramirez, Mandy Moore, Luke Kirby
Finished off the year with something totally different. I got hooked into these after seeing the Netflix documentary series about Paolo Macchiarini. It’s amazing what a doctor can get away with. Truly horrifying.