When Sheriff Andy Taylor is forced by the town Scrooge, Ben Weaver (Will Wright), to hold a moonshiner in jail over Christmas, Andy (Andy Griffith), Barney (Don Knotts), Aunt Bee (Frances Bavier), Ellie (Elinor Donahue), and Opie (Ronny Howard) move their Christmas celebration to the jail. 25 min. So many Christmas shows try for warmth
With his sister hanging on the Christmas tree, the Angry Kid (voice: Darren Walsh) is filmed giving the Queen’s traditional Christmas address, but he can’t get it right. 2 min. The Angry Kid series of short-shorts have gotten a wide distribution via the Internet. While you can pay for them (a DVD is available), I
Orlando (Laurence Olivier), kept from the life he should have as a gentleman by his cruel older brother (John Laurie), leaves town for the forest of Ardenne, where the usurped duke (Henry Ainley) lives with a merry band of exiles. At the same time, the new duke, Frederick (Felix Aylmer), banishes his niece, Rosalind (Elisabeth
An alcoholic, self-loathing, store Santa (Billy Bob Thornton) and a mastermind dwarf (Tony Cox) rob department stores at Christmastime. Here is a film that assaults the overripe icons of Christmas, laying low the sickly-sweet sacred cows with a “take no prisoners” roar—except it doesn’t. It’s more like a troop of girl scouts knocking politely at
At Christmastime, in a northern Alaskan town where everyone is crazy from SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder), an old serial-killer-turned-barber (Malcolm McDowell) is back to his old tricks. Never quite hitting its stride as a comedy or as a thriller, The Barber is nonetheless an entertaining and well made confusion. The murders are nothing special and
Beavis and Butt-head (voice: Mike Judge) watch some videos, read a few letters, and star in two shorts: Huh-Huh-Humbug! and It’s A Miserable Life. In the first, Beavis fantasizes he’s the manager at a burger joint and is visited by three ghosts. In the second, Butt-head is shown what the world would be like if
Against the advice of her father, Nigel Bigelow (Michael Caine), Isabel (Nicole Kidman) decides to give up witchcraft and live as a human. At the same time, obnoxious, failing, film actor Jack Wyatt (Will Ferrell) agrees to take the part of Darrin in the TV remake of Bewitched, demanding that an unknown be cast as his
Three old men (Charles Winninger, C. Aubrey Smith and Harry Carey), with nothing to do for Christmas, toss three wallets into the snow, hoping that whoever finds them will return them and stay for dinner. It works in two cases, reeling in a young girl and a down-on-his-luck Texan (Richard Carlson) who find each other
This is a review of a “Fan Edit,” and is intended for people who are familiar with the “original” studio cut(s). I may reveal details of that version, including twists and the ending. Perfection. I’d say “brilliant,” but it really isn’t; it’s obvious. “Brilliant” should be reserved for things that everyone and his uncle couldn’t
The Grim Reaper (voice: Greg Eagles) takes Billy (voice: Richard Steven Horvitz) and Mandy (voice: Grey DeLisle) to the North Pole to prove that Santa Claus exists. But once there, they find that Santa (voice: Gilbert Gottfried) has become a vampire. Leaving Billy with Mrs. Claus (voice: Carol Kane), Grim and Mandy journey to the
The Bennets go Bollywood (well, faux Bollywood as this movie was produced in the West), with bright colors, singing, and dancing, but it’s a fairly straight rendition of the story from the novel. The advantage of the modern Indian setting is that the important old-style English sensibilities (marriage is vital, status is paramount, etc.) are