Pjtaylor-96-138044

'The 12 Days Of Christmas Eve (2022)' is a Lifetime movie remake of an earlier film following a curmudgeonly CEO who dies on Christmas Eve and is afforded 12 chances to redo the day with the goal of learning the true spirit of Christmas to save his life. It's a bit of an odd premise, a mash-up of 'Groundhog Day (1993)' and 'Scrooged (1988)' (or any adaptation of Charles Dickens' immortal classic, 'A Christmas Carol') that reframes Santa as the spectre of Death and has him kill the protagonist over and over and over again. With hard-coded fade-to-commercials and a script that makes 'A Very Jonas Christmas Movie (2025)' seem like a certified seasonal classic, the feature truly struggles to escape its made-for-TV trappings but ironically garners some degree of sympathy because of it. What I mean is that I'm far less likely to be harsh on something so clearly subpar as this than I am something that makes its way to cinemas simply because this kind of doesn't even quality as a "real" movie, instead occupying the liminal space between TV episode and feature film that recalls Disney Channel and live-action Nickelodeon efforts from my youth. It's the sort of thing that would be playing on every television inside a department store during December, the kind of experience meant to be briefly glanced as you browse electronics and wrangle unruly kids. To that end, it's hard to judge it too harshly. Make no mistake: it's a piece of trash. But it's a warm-hearted piece of trash with a central message that's as potent as it is prominent and no illusions about what it is or what it can be. It's cheap, it's unconvincing, it's poorly written and only slightly better acted, but it's also harmless and so unlike anything I'd usually make a sincere effort to watch that I can't quite view it in the same way I view most other Christmas movies. It just doesn't feel like a film, I guess, which is somehow both the most damning criticism I can levy against it and the one thing that stops me from outright hating it. I don't like it, and I certainly wouldn't choose to watch it again (or even in the first place, to be honest), but I don't hate it, either. It's complete crap, but Christmas is the only time you can receive crap and still have a smile on your face. Make of that what you will.

'Zootropolis 2 (2025)' is a lot better than I expected it to be, even if only for the fact that it feels like a genuine feature film rather than a series of Disney+ episodes smushed together to make something that seems like one. Taking place one week after the first film, the animated adventure maintains the political allegory of its predecessor but refocuses on another aspect of society and equality and ends up being much more thematically cohesive in the process. The narrative itself is relatively predictable, but it hits its beats to the appropriate rhythm and feels like it's having fun while it does it. With a few exciting set-pieces and some enjoyable expansions to its interesting world, the feature keeps you wholly engaged as it moves through its plot in a relatively propulsive fashion. It isn't groundbreaking, but it's fun enough for what it is and its messages are as important as they are somewhat anticipated. It's an entertaining effort that's about as good as the first flick.

'The Boxer From Shantung (1972)' is a martial arts movie, directed by Chang Cheh and Hsueh-Li Pao, about an arrogant yet honourable vagrant who slowly but surely finds himself rising in status as a gangster after moving to the big city and defending himself against an axe-wielding gang harassing a tearoom. Although it features plenty of fight scenes, much of the piece is bogged down in gangland politics and messages about retaining pride and honour even while heading down a violent path. It's never quite as compelling as I'd like it to be, at least while it isn't indulging in fast-paced fisticuffs. A large part of why it doesn't connect with me especially strongly is probably the fact that I find the cockiness of the lead somewhat off-putting, so I don't really root for him as much as I'm clearly supposed to. The flick is also has a runtime of two hours, which is far too long for what it is. It has a slightly clumsy pacing that sees its finale essentially interrupt its projected narrative arc, and it doesn't quite settle on a consistent tone. Still, it's enjoyable enough for what it is, thanks mainly to the fact that its set-pieces are stunningly crafted and surprisingly brutal. The final act, in particular, is a bloody, full-bodied assault on the senses that augments its vicious beatings with a portentous tone that ensures we know nothing good can come from its carnage. It's a truly fantastic sequence that ends the film on a high, but it can't quite raise the overall experience out of the 'good enough' category it settles into early on. It's a fair bit of fun, though, and it's almost certainly going to please fans of the genre. I wish it was a bit tighter and perhaps even a bit more action-packed, but I appreciate its consequential combat and vicious violence. When it's good, it's really good. It's just a shame it isn't good as often as it could've been.