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FredGailey
Reviews
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer & the Island of Misfit Toys (2001)
A misfit of a movie!
This is an abomination to the entire film industry and a disgrace and insult to the original 1964 classic. The animation looks like some amateur bought a 'CGI For Dummies' book and made it on their home computer. Like other users remarked there is no texture to the images, the graphics look like something out of a cheap children's video game, in which the paper thin plot would have been more suitable for. Gosh, the 30 second AFLAC commercial that spoofed Rudolph had more production value than this 90 minutes of gutter trash! This had so much potential to be a decent sequel but greed, as always in modern movie making, killed it with a slapped together rush job all for the sake of capitalizing off the Rudolph franchise and the integrity of the original!
A Garfield Christmas Special (1987)
Fa-La-La La-La, La-La-sagna!
A lot of cartoons of the 80's and 90's did obligatory holiday specials. And, though,I fail to recall any by name I'm sure if you could think of any cartoon series of the time you'd find they produced some sort of yuletide special at one point. Maybe because they were so cookie cutter is why none are memorable to me. 'A Garfield Christmas' special however is different. Although, there's no real plot to speak of, this special has heart. There is a lot of sentiment packed in this short little half hour (thats with commercials) and a lesson about love of family that really shines through. However, the message conveyed is not so overly sappy that you feel like you're being beat over the head with it. But have no fear, the dry humor and sarcasm that Garfield is know for is left intact, balancing out the tender moments that give us a rare glimpse at Garfield's softer side. And lets not forget the songs, they are my favorite thing of all about the special, the lyrics get stuck in my head every time I watch it. I think the quality of music is right up there with 'Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer'. This special is on the same level as, dare i say, 'A Charlie Brown Christmas' and in that regard I don't understand why it doesn't receive the same fanfare, it is hardly aired but it is more than worth buying on DVD.
The 20th Century-Fox Hour: The Miracle on 34th Street (1955)
A 'Miracle' it was ever aired!
If I could have I would have rated this -10! This movie is a disaster and what makes it so is the acting. Its amateur and thats putting it as nicely as possible. Its as if they're all reading straight off the cue cards with no expressions on their faces or inflection or emotion in their voices. I despise the '94 remake but this version makes the '94 film seem Oscar worthy. Now I hate when people imply sinister things that aren't really there in a film thats wholesome fare, but there's something about the way this Santa interacts with Susan, it comes off creepy. Made me uncomfortable watching their scenes together. And his portrayal of Santa didn't help matters, his performance was awkward at best. He had this wild look in his eyes throughout the whole film, that really did make him look like he should be committed. And when he hit Mr. Sawyer, it was not the innocent "V8 bop" Gwenn gives in the '47 version, instead he literally clubs him and in front of the children and then after stands there with this evil grin on his face, makes the viewer hardly sympathetic to his plight. Also, the whole plot that involved Mr. Sawyer giving a speech about the non-existence of Santa at Susans school, where the incident I just mentioned took place, was beyond contrived. What kind of school would hold an assembly for the purpose of ruining the fantasy idol of grade school children?? I understand that this is fiction, but there still has to be a basis in reality somewhere. The scene I just described was one of many deviations from the original movie. Another that didn't sit well was that Doris only finds Kris after he applies for the job as Santa instead of stumbling upon him at the actual parade....I think that sort of took some "magic" out of the tale. It just seemed the lightheartedness, innocence, sentiment and charm captured by the 1947 original was completely lacking in this. It was wholly miscast and poorly acted and it completely missed its mark. They should have just aired the original movie back in 1955 and made an annual tradition of it similar to what they did with 'The Wizard of Oz' and maybe the original 'Miracle' would be just as beloved. I could go on and on about what a travesty this picture is, but I have a 1000 word limit, just stick to the 1947 version is my sound advice.
The Gift of Love (1958)
Dreadful
I would give this no stars if I had the option. An insult to the original 1946 'Sentimental Journey' which starred John Payne & Maureen O'Hara (a highly under rated screen couple from the golden age of cinema, in my opinion, who should have been cast alongside each other in more than the 4 films they did, as they had definite chemistry. )All I can say is pass on this and watch the original - its better acted and scripted than this drivel. When you see the on screen electricity between Payne & O'Hara, you'll see why, they give Scarlett & Rhett a run for their money and Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie for that matter. Can't understand why they had to remake Sentimental Journey anyway as it was only 12 years old at the time this dud was made!
One Special Victory (1991)
One Special Movie (if not Cliché)
'One Special Victory '(1991) w/ John Larroquette from 'Night Court' is a NBC made for TV movie, and although TV movies were for the most part heavy handed tear jerker melodramas this is a rare instance where the subject is light and humorous. This was originally aired during the 1991 holiday season, alongside a few other well produced Xmas themed TV movies that are worth watching: namely 'Yes, Virginia There Is A Santa Claus' that starred Charles Bronson and 'Christmas On Division Street' starring Fred Savage. 'One Special Victory' is one of those movies that takes place at Xmas but the story is not directly related to the season itself. In other words - a few well placed Xmas trees in the background were enough for the network to warrant it a yuletide movie and promote it as such but I don't think Xmas is even mentioned - like I said you wouldn't know it was even a holiday movie if it weren't for the strategically placed Xmas decorations that are visible. Oddly enough, in the TV Guide ads promoting it John Larroquette is wearing a Santa hat giving the impression that the movie revolves around an Xmas plot. Its never been released on VHS/DVD as most made for TV movies aren't but it occasionally pops up on Lifetime/Lifetime Movie Network. It is a good little movie nonetheless, although it suffers from 2 overused clichéd themes, the first being basically a different sort of spin on a Christmas Carol type story and the other is the whole "teacher radically impacts students' lives and vise versa" theme being that the storyline is as follows: Larroquette plays the self absorbed jerk (much like his character Dan on Night Court sans the sex obsession) but by coaching a mentally challenged adult basketball team, as a result of a community service sentence, he sees the error of his ways. A little cliché? Yes, but the handicap adults gives it a different, if not fresh, angle and though as I said the whole Scroogeesque theme has been exhausted on the big and silver screen, this movie is better than most holiday fare being produced today. Larroquette is great in his role as are the rest of the supporting cast who are very convincing in their parts, however, my only complaint is with Kathy Baker - she is also terrific in her role but in the end she doesn't really convey to the the audience that shes fallen in love with Larroquette and ***SPOILER***** their kiss at the end seems very forced although they lack chemistry throughout - which really doesn't matter as their "relationship" or lack thereof is a secondary subplot. Otherwise, its a great little movie that is the equivalent of comfort food. Not too heavy to digest, but not too sappy either, just very enjoyable and from an era where TV movies reigned but are for the most part now extinct.