Next to the Super Bowl, the Christmas holiday season produces some of the most memorable commercials. Some are remembered for the wrong reasons. Folgers tried to duplicate the tone of “Peter Comes Homes From Christmas” which premiered 40 years ago in 1985 with an updated version. The original featured a college-aged young man arriving at his childhood home on ChristmasContinue reading “The Am Meisten Bechissen Christmas Commercia And What It Says About Us”
Tag Archives: christmas
‘Claymation Christmas Celebration’ Is A Great Holiday Special For All
The craziest thing about the entertainment world is while one celebrity’s status fades; another celebrity connected to them directly or indirectly rises. Maybe that’s why A Star is Born has been made so many times. It’s that see-saw balance that makes it all so fascinating. From the 1960s through the 1970s, the production dynamic duo of Arthur Ranking Jr. and Jules Bass held theContinue reading “‘Claymation Christmas Celebration’ Is A Great Holiday Special For All”
‘Best Christmas Pageant Ever’ Dated But Overall Moral Is Timeless
Barbara Robinson was in her mid-40s when she published The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. And it’s the type of novel someone middle-aged in the early 1970s would write. It’s very dated by today’s standards as the narrator Elizabeth “Beth” Bradley is recalling the story as it happened when she was younger. But stories about menContinue reading “‘Best Christmas Pageant Ever’ Dated But Overall Moral Is Timeless”
‘Red One’ Isn’t So Fun
Red One is one of those movies that seemed better as a pitch idea for a studio executive rather than a movie. I equate to the atrociously bad The Santa Clause in which it all seemed like a good idea until they put it all together. Apparently, in this movie, Santa Claus and the HeadlessContinue reading “‘Red One’ Isn’t So Fun”
The Awkward Darkness Of ‘The Life and Adventures Of Santa Claus’
All good things must come to an end sometimes. By the close of the 1970s, the Rankin/Bass Christmas holiday specials looked very atrocious in comparison to their earlier productions. In 1979, Rudolph and Frosty’s Christmas in July was released and it’s about as bad as it looks. Even at an hour and a half, it’sContinue reading “The Awkward Darkness Of ‘The Life and Adventures Of Santa Claus’”
A Golden Jubilee For ”Twas The Night Before Christmas’ At 50
Of all the Rankin/Bass Christmas specials, I think the 1974 ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas is one of their most underrated specials. While everyone likes Rudolph and Frosty and Ginger Santa and the Miser Brothers. The 25-minute special loosely inspired by Clement Clarke Moore’s A Visit from St. Nicholas is mostly centered around Junctionville, USA.Continue reading “A Golden Jubilee For ”Twas The Night Before Christmas’ At 50″
Merry Xmas, Motherf@$#ers! ‘Long Kiss Goodnight’ Explodes With A $h!tload Of Holiday Cheer
A movie like The Long Kiss Goodnight completes the unofficial decade-long trilogy of Christmas Action Thrillers that began with Lethal Weapon, unseasonably released in the spring of 1987 and continued with Die Hard in the summer of 1988. (Yeah, I know Die Hard 2 takes place on Christmas Eve too, but this is a farContinue reading “Merry Xmas, Motherf@$#ers! ‘Long Kiss Goodnight’ Explodes With A $h!tload Of Holiday Cheer”
A Fantastic Festivus To The Rest Of Us
Happy Festivus to all those out there. Thank you for reading and subscribing. And now the airing of grievances: That’s all. Have a Fantastic Festivus, a Merry Christmas, a Happy Hanukkah and a Kicking Kwanzaa!
‘Simpsons’ Christmas Special Offers Some Justice For Ned Flanders
For the many years, I’ve stayed away from The Simpsons except for the Halloween episodes which lately also lack the savagery of the series’ heyday. The latest special title “Oh C’mon All Ye Faithful” dropped exclusively on Disney-Plus on Dec. 17, the 35th anniversary of “Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire.” Having given up inContinue reading “‘Simpsons’ Christmas Special Offers Some Justice For Ned Flanders”
Dear God! ‘Dear Santa’ Is Awful
Dear Santa is one of those movies that is about a good 15-25 years overdue. And it represents everything that is wrong with the movies made by Peter and/or Bobby Farrelly – they’re always too longer than they should be. At an hour and 43 minutes with credits, this movie would’ve been cut by 20Continue reading “Dear God! ‘Dear Santa’ Is Awful”
Zane Says 