Safety Not Guaranteed, Grabbers and More!

Time travel and bloodsucking aliens are going up against Jack Reacher in cinemas from Boxing Day. Thanks to the folks at Den of Geek, I got to see both of these films in a double bill on Tuesday 18th December. They are both getting limited releases from Boxing Day and are up against the little big man himself Tom Cruise. So if you don't fancy seeing everyone's favourite stuntman/Scientologist doing his thing in cinemas, then I can highly recommend giving either Safety Not Guaranteed or Grabbers a go.

Safety Not Guaranteed is directed by newcomer Colin Trevorrow and stars Mark Duplass as a guy who thinks he can time travel.  I have written my review of Safety Not Guaranteed for Static Mass Emporium and you can read it here. 'It may not be a film that breaks new ground for the future but it certainly has enough new to make it sufficiently different to anything you have seen in the past.'

Grabbers is a great bit of Irish fun with the locals on a secluded island finding they have to get drunk to survive an alien invasion. It's really funny, has a great cast and very impressive special effects. I wrote my review of Grabbers for Static Mass Emporium and you can read it here. 'Balancing action, horror and comedy and even squeezing in a sweet romance and love triangle, this is a low budget blockbuster with something for everyone and a real crowd pleasing vibe.'

So don't be disheartened if you don't want to see The Hobbit or the other short guy (perhaps with hairy feet... I don't know ask Katie Holmes), there are other options this festive season. It's probably a bit late but if you aren't ready to let go of the Christmas spirit, you could always read my review of It's a Wonderful Life at Filmoria which I had never seen before this Christmas Eve.

Berberian Sound Studio is also out on DVD from Monday and I reviewed it for Filmoria here. And finally if you haven't seen Life of Pi, it's still in cinemas and I reviewed it for Static Mass Emporium here calling it 'heartfelt and compelling'.

Have you seen any of these? What did you think?

It's a Wonderful Film

Just watched It's a Wonderful Life for the first time and would like to report to anyone who has not yet had the fortune to see it, that it truly is a wonderful classic. James Stewart is an absolute delight from start to finish and if you're not yet feeling the Christmas spirit, then I highly recommend you give this a watch. I can see why this is so many people's favourite Christmas movie now. Bedford Falls is a better place with George Bailey and Christmas is a better time with this film.

 You can watch the whole film online below. So if you've put it off evey year or you just haven't got round to watching it for the umpteenth time again this year, then now is the time to put your feet up, gather your family round and enjoy the film!

SANTA! OH MY GOD! SANTA'S COMING! I KNOW HIM!

It's nearly December which means it's nearly time to get the tree up, drink some mulled wine and watch some overgrown man-child in a silly green suit prance around New York with a great big smile on his face.  Yes this weekend I'll be watching Will Ferrell in John Favreau's Elf.  It's the film Ferrell will be remembered for.  Long after the Ron Burgundy quoters have moved on to the next comedy creation, Buddy the Elf will still be being watched by kids, families and Ferrell fans at Christmas time.  It's got charm, heart and a role that fits the innocence and immaturity inherent in Ferrell's persona.  So the romance with Zooey Deschanel is slightly icky and James Caan could have phoned this performance in from a yacht in the Caribbean and then turned up in the last reel cackling with a sack of money but it still never fails to get me in the mood for Christmas.

This December, I'm also going to make sure I get to watch Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale, the Finnish film about an evil Santa being caught by a father and son and then wreaking havoc in the remote mountain community.  It sounds like a very fun, pretty silly mix of creepy fable and dark humour with just a dash of kids adventure story thrown in.  I've heard it compared to The Goonies which is a good enough reason for me to hunt this down.  It's meant to an Anti-Christmas horror but hopefully just not in any way as nasty as Billy Bob Thornton's wretched Bad Santa.

And it's really time I finally watched It's a Wonderful Life this year once and for all.  It's got the wonderful James Stewart and I feel like I know the film already from what I've heard, seen and read about it over the years.  If I'm not all Christmassed out by then, I might have to re-watch Scrooged as that's one I haven't seen for a very long time and quite frankly I miss Bill Murray. 

What will you be watching this Christmas?  Any recommendations?