Watched 2 this weekend. On Sunday night, got hooked by A Night to Remember from 1958, the epic story of the Titanic with Kenneth More and short appearances by Honor Blackman and David McCallum, and a dynamite adaptation of Walter Lord's book by thriller writer Eric Ambler. After 63 years, and even though we know how it will end, the darn thing still compels you to watch.
On Saturday, a rare new movie, and a fun one: Fatman with Mel Gibson. Written and directed by the Nelms brothers, it's a hardboiled Christmas fantasy thriller, a Die Hard attitude meeting The Santa Clause and coming out ahead. Be aware that it is much more DH than the latter movie. There is humor, often dry *; there is real danger and gunplay (Gibson's "Chris Cringle" is a solid marksman with a 9mm). There is good world-building: The elves are simply pro workers and not cutesy, for instance, and we're told that they live much longer than humans because they eat 6 meals a day of simple carbs and sugar (!). Walton Goggins turns in a low-key performance as the hit man sent after Chris. It's a one-of-a-kind movie, and I think everybody should try it.
* Chris (after singlehandedly righting an enormous crate that 2 or 3 U.S. soldiers are struggling with): "Steroids."
Chris (when a govt. bureaucrat is startled by a nip from one of the reindeer): "Ah, that's Donner. Lucky it wasn't Blitzen. She'd tear your package clean off."
On Saturday, a rare new movie, and a fun one: Fatman with Mel Gibson. Written and directed by the Nelms brothers, it's a hardboiled Christmas fantasy thriller, a Die Hard attitude meeting The Santa Clause and coming out ahead. Be aware that it is much more DH than the latter movie. There is humor, often dry *; there is real danger and gunplay (Gibson's "Chris Cringle" is a solid marksman with a 9mm). There is good world-building: The elves are simply pro workers and not cutesy, for instance, and we're told that they live much longer than humans because they eat 6 meals a day of simple carbs and sugar (!). Walton Goggins turns in a low-key performance as the hit man sent after Chris. It's a one-of-a-kind movie, and I think everybody should try it.
* Chris (after singlehandedly righting an enormous crate that 2 or 3 U.S. soldiers are struggling with): "Steroids."
Chris (when a govt. bureaucrat is startled by a nip from one of the reindeer): "Ah, that's Donner. Lucky it wasn't Blitzen. She'd tear your package clean off."
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