ryanpersaud-59415

I remember in 2019 seeing and generally disliking this film, and I was wrong. I'm a man who can admit his mistakes. Last Christmas is utterly delightful; it's the sort of breezy, saccharine, Christmas romance we just don't seen in theatres anymore.

Emilia Clarke is fantastic here; if all you've seen her in is Game of Thrones, you owe it to yourself to watch this movie. She has excellent comedic timing, is unbelievably endearing, and really makes Katerina her own. I also, in hindsight, didn't appreciate how great Emma Thompson is here. I don't know if her Croatian accent is good or not, but man, she disappears into this role. Michelle Yeoh is awesome, as usual, and Henry Golding gives a pretty good, if unremarkable performance.

This film has a fundamentally optimistic warmth and loving nature to it that really makes it a perfect Christmas film. It also wonderfully showcases multicultural London in a way you just don't see a lot stateside. I initially found the film preachy and annoying with its not-so-subtle political themes, but honestly, that was more of an immaturity on my part. I actually think the theme plays well into Katerina's (or, Kate, as she likes to be known) "issues" she has to deal with: her own identity as an immigrant.

It's also a really nice looking film; watching it, you really see how different this would've looked in 2025. There's a warmth and beauty to London during Christmastime that's really great. Santa's store alone is amazing and maybe one of the best sets I've seen in a recent Christmas film.

The music is almost entirely Wham! And George Michael songs, with Christmas songs making up the remainder. Overall, the songs are integrated well as needle drops, though it is a little weird Mr. Michael is such a big part of the film and no one at least acknowledges being a fan. I do like the music a lot though, and there are some sequences where it really elevates scenes.

And yes, some of the film's "subversive" nature feels very late 2010s; of course it can't be *just an average* romance, that's not theatre-worthy.

The film feels quite hokey and predictable towards the end, but I feel like if you're not even a little moved, you might be a sociopath. It's a really sweet movie, and honestly, probably one of the best Christmas rom-coms in recent memory.

What is there to even say about Fargo at this point? It and the Coen Brothers - alongside Quentin Tarantino and his 90s classics - pretty much created the template for the dark comedy crime caper.

Quirky characters? Check. Criminals completely out of their depth? Check. A strong sense of place? Check. Pitch black comedy and brutal violence? Check and check.

It's almost hard to watch a film like this and think about it objectively. The film's impact and influence is so vast that it ceases to be a movie, but a cultural institution. That being said, it's a really good move in its own right.

I was surprised by how small of a role Frances McDormand's Marge actually has in this movie. She's actually quite marginal to the plot, and it's mostly driven by Steve Buscemi's Carl and William H. Macy's Jerry. Jerry is arguably one of the best examples of a truly pathetic man put to screen. He's so pathetic that you can't help but feel bad for him, but not that bad when you consider all of this problems are directly due to his own conduct.

Famously, Fargo - which does not take place in North Dakota or Fargo - is one of Minnesota's greatest cultural exports. Some may decry the exaggerated, almost caricatured accents and "aww shucks," nature of many of the people involved. I think it's brilliant.

The entire point of the film is to uncover the seedy underbelly behind even the seemingly friendliest people; a dose of Americana that is both sentimental and willing to confront the violence bubbling right underneath. Oh, and winter itself is am omnipresent, almost oppressive character in this film as well. Fargo is undoubtedly one of the best "place" films ever made. (The Coens are from Minnesota, by the way, so it's not like they just made this stuff up)

Yeah, it's a masterpiece, and it's a movie that is pretty much essential viewing for a comprehensive look at American cinema. Without it (and a few other movies), how we think of crime films would be completely different. And honestly, mostly for the worse. You betcha this rocks.

When i first saw this film as a child, I not only didn't really understand it, but really hated it. On the insistence of my wife, we decided to give it another watch and honestly...it's pretty good. But I think part of my opinion derives from the dire lack of films like this anymore.

Holes is an adaptation of a young adult novel that FEELS like it's for pre-teens and teens without trying to be overly edgy or saccharine. It explores some very interesting themes about racism, injustice, and exploitation, but does it in a way that's digestible for young audiences to understand. I also felt the mystery that drives this film really fun and engaging, if not a bit *convenient* how everything sort of falls into place. Yet, from the beginning their is some established supernaturality going on here, so I'll give it a pass.

There's a fair bit of wackiness and toiler humour you'd expect from an early 2000s Disney flick, but it's not excessive. I'll admit the requisite "silly family" stuff is probably the weakest aspect of this movie, but it does help keep everything fairly light hearted.

Shai LaBouef is really good here and it's crazy watching this film and knowing how his career (and frankly, life) would turn out. He has screen presence, charisma, and is so likeable in this movie. While I did feel his relationship with Zero (Khleo Thomas) was nice, and very sweet, it did come out nowhere and very much falls into the "did we just become best friends?" trope that kind of drives me crazy in movies like this.

Sigourney Weaver, Tim Blake Nelson, and John Voight are really fun here as well, doing their best "villainous Disney adult" schtick before that term..meant something a little different later on.

I did briefly mention the themes this film explores and again, while I can't fault director Andrew Davis or even the studio for this...I do wish the themes of racism was a bit more explicit than it was.

It ends up being a pretty big plot point and was a bit jarring given that a substantial portion of the plot takes place in early 20th century rural Texas. It's only when it's absolutely necessary is it a topic that comes to the forefront, but I feel like even small indicators (passing glances or disapproving statements) would be more effective. As it stands, the film implies that racism was an aberration in this time period and region, used by bad people to get what they want, and only part of that is true: racism WAS the norm for a majority of people, and yet, it was used by bad people to get what they wanted.

This might be the most random reassessment of any movie I've previously seen, but yes, Holes is good. Did anyone need this recommendation in 2025? Honestly, maybe, given how rare live action kid oriented dramadies are nowadays.