Movie Review Christmas Bloody Christmas

Christmas Bloody Christmas (2022) 

Directed by Joe Begos

Written by Joe Begos 

Starring Riley Dandy, Sam Delich, Abraham Benrubi, Jonah Ray 

Release Date December 9th, 2022 

Published December 12th, 2022 

Christmas horror movies are really having a moment in 2022. Three high profile Christmas themed horror movies have been released to theaters in just the first two weeks of December. One of them is a high profile star affair, Violent Night, while another is an open ripoff of a famed children's franchise, The Mean One. The third Christmas themed horror of December 2022, however is by far the best of the trio. Christmas Bloody Christmas is a wildly over the top, high concept horror movie with high grade gore and sex to spare. 

Riley Dandy stars in Christmas Bloody Christmas as Tori Tooms, the ultimate cool chick. Tori owns a record store, loves heavy metal, and claims she can drink any man under the table. She's a manic pixie dream rock chick. I'm being sarcastic, but only a little. Riley Dandy is soooo good in this movie that she makes this dream girl into an awesome character. Did I absolutely go for this fantasy woman, yes, but only because Riley Dandy commits to the character so very deeply. 

It's Christmas Eve as our story begins and Tori is closing shop for the night on her killer retro record store. She's planning on hooking up with some guy on Tinder until her employee, Robbie (Sam Delich) convinces her to go out drinking with him instead. The banter between Tori and Robbie is charged, flirtatious, combative and quite funny. These two probably should not be hooking up under any circumstances, this would definitely be a mess the next day, but tonight, who knows. 

As the night kicks off, the pair drop by a toy store where two of their friends, a couple, Jay and Lahna (Jonah Ray and Dora Madison), are planning to have sex amid all the trappings of a toy store at Christmas. These many Christmas decorations include large amounts of fake snow, all the colored lights and stockings you would want and one creepy, animatronic Santa Claus. Unfortunately for all of these characters, this Santa does more than just repeat 'Merry Christmas.' 

In a backstory delivered by exposition TV News channel, we learn that these animatronic Santa's that have been delivered to toy stores across the country have been coming to life. It turns out, each was part of a failed experiment to create animatronic soldiers to be sent into violent conflicts. These unstoppable killing machines have, for some reason, been converted into Santa Claus robots and now, for unknown reasons, they've started to come to life and kill. 

That's the premise and from there unfolds a standard slasher film with Santa seeking and destroying anyone who gets his attention. Naturally, this includes our hero, Tori, and Robbie and whether or not they can survive Santa is the crux of the story. Naturally, this will include an inept response from local small town cops and no shortage of failed attempts to kill Santa followed by Santa making an improbable and terrifying comeback. 

Click here for my full length review at Geeks.Media. 

Classic Movie Review I'm No Angel

I'm No Angel (1933) 

Directed by Wesley Ruggles 

Written by Mae West, Harlan Thompson, Lowell Brentano 

Starring Mae West, Cary Grant, Gregory Ratoff 

Release Date October 6th, 1933 

Published December 12th. 2022 

I'm in love. Somehow, I had managed to spend my time as a film critic missing out on the career of Mae West. I was always aware of her, I had seen clips from her films, and I'd heard her famous quotes, but I'd never watched one of her movies until now. The latest presentation of The Film Foundation is Mae West's 1933 romantic comedy, I'm No Angel. One of the earliest films in the career of the legendary Cary Grant, I'm No Angel is a breezy, delightful comedy of music, sex, and unending wit. 

Mae West stars in I'm No Angel as circus performer Tira. Though her act mainly consists of a sexy song and a boyfriend in the crowd lifting wallets, Tira nevertheless is a star. When her boyfriend gets in trouble with the cops, Tira is implicated and is forced to agree to become a lion tamer. She even goes so far as agreeing to put her beautiful head inside a lion's mouth in exchange for the circus manager, Big Bill Barton (Edward Arnold), paying for her lawyer/ 

The lion tamer act is a huge hit and takes her to New York City. There she becomes a sensation and earns the attention of several rich and prominent men. One of those men is Jack Clayton (Cary Grant), who becomes so smitten that it appears they are headed down the aisle. The marriage, however, causes Tira to give up the lion tamer act, angering Big Bill. Big Bill instructs Tira's ex, Slick Wiley (Ralf Harold) to ruin the marriage plan. He succeeds in running off Jack, but that's not the end of the story. 

Rather than go away quietly, Tira instructs her lawyer, Benny Pinkowitz (Gregory Ratoff), to sue Jack for Breach of Promise. This leads to a court scene that is a wonderfully comic set piece. Here West's Tira takes over the cross examination of witnesses questioning her character and typical of her wit, she bowls them over with her charm. As Tira delights the jury, the movie breezes along toward a wonderfully satisfying conclusion. 

I'm no Angel was directed by Wesly Ruggles but much of the movie has been credited to West in the years since. West has a screenwriting credit, alongside two other screenwriters, and it's quite clear that she is in full control of how she's presented. Ruggles may be pointing the camera, but it is West who commands the screen. Her broad accent, her lovely smile, and that unending confidence radiates star power like few actors in movie history. It's clear she's the brains and the beauty behind the whole operation of I'm No Angel. 

I'm No Angel is also notable for being a pre-Hayes Code comedy. This means that West is free to be a fully realized sexual being. While much of the movie is about disproving the number of men she has slept with, that doesn't mean she acts with any shame. Tira's past is her past, she doesn't feel bad at all about her past, nor should she. Society, even today, demands shame of women if they choose to be open and honest about sexual desire, West was and is a rarity in film history, a woman in full control of her sexuality, intelligence, persona, and power. 

Click here for my full-length review 

Movie Review Empire of Light

Empire of Light (2022) 

Directed by Sam Mendes 

Written by Sam Mendes 

Starring Olivia Coleman, Michael Ward, Colin Firth, Toby Jones, Tom Brooke 

Release Date December 9th, 2022 

Empire of Light stars Olivia Coleman as Hilary Small, a cinema employee in a seaside English town. Hilary's life is a drab routine of taking tickets and having sex with her married boss, Mr. Ellis (Colin Firth), though he has no plans to leave his wife. Hilary's life is changed forever with the arrival of a new employee at the cinema. Stephen (Michael Ward) is a handsome young man whom Hilary instantly falls in lust with. However, since he's so young, she assumes he will have more interest in one of her younger co-workers. 

Much to her surprise, Michael takes to Hilary right away. The two have a terrific conversation which lead to Hilary showing Michael her favorite secret spot in the Cinema. The gorgeous art-deco cinema used to have more than 2 screens. A third screening area, which also included a dance floor and lounge, has been left to rot. Hilary likes to go there and smell the sea air from the lounge seats. It's also become a de-facto smoking spot for the employees. 

At first, the banter between Hilary and Stephen is just friendly but it soon takes on a flirtatious air. As their bond deepens via their conversations, Hilary gains the courage to stand up to Mr. Ellis and end their affair. This however, is a tenuous decision as Hilary harbors a dark secret. Mr. Ellis brought Hilary back after she had a mental breakdown a year ago. He's essentially her sponsor, the reason she's able to work and not be in a hospital. 

The burgeoning romance between Hilary and Michael is threatened as Hilary's mental illness returns to the fore and her relationship with Mr. Ellis sours further. Meanwhile, the cinema has earned a remarkable opportunity. The cinema will play host to the premiere of the movie Chariots of Fire, a film that went on to win the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1981. The premiere will be attended by celebrities and politicians and would be a huge boost for business. 

Meanwhile, in the background, racial issues are also coming to the fore. Hilary witnesses Michael being harassed by skinheads, his life threatened. Later, a race riot breaks out and Michael's life is once again placed in peril as is the cinema itself which gets caught up in the brief, violent white nationalist uprising. It seems that even society itself is conspiring to keep Michael and Hilary from being together. The dramatic crux then of Empire of Light is whether or not the central couple can overcome the personal and societal roadblocks in front of their unlikely romance. 

Olivia Coleman is a radiant actress of limitless talent. That said, the part of Hilary is a tad broad and leans into an actors worst instincts. Director Alan Ball allows a little too much room for Hilary's mental illness to be played broadly. A scene where Hilary has fully reached the end of her rope goes off the rails and Coleman's hysterics in the scene don't feel legitimate, they play like someone's broad idea of a mental breakdown. 

Hilary's mental illness and the raging racial tensions that also play throughout Empire of Light don't work well together. They feel like two different movies grated together. Then there is an overarching notion of the magic of the movies which has promise but never really gains momentum. A big part of the movie unfolds when Hilary actually takes the opportunity to watch a movie and has a very special experience. This feels completely apart from the rest of the movie as well. The choice of movie is perhaps meaningful, but the idea is underdeveloped. 

Find my full length review at Geeks.Media.