My feed

First Viewing Plot: When thieves steal horses from a family property in Australia, three children and an Indigenous bushman set out across the bush to track them down.

I wasn't aware that Bush Christmas even existed, especially as the list of Australian Christmas movies is shorter than a nun's body count, but this one popped up on Stan. and I decided to give it a whirl. This is Nicole Kidman's film debut (she was 15/16 at the time of filming), and it was helmed by Storm Boy director Henri Safran, but I can't say that this flick is entirely appealing or engaging. It works in fits and starts, such as a particularly intense scene as the main characters try to sneakily steal from the horse thieves, but it never comes together as well as it should. And even though it runs a brisk 90 minutes, I still feel that the movie outstayed its welcome. There isn't much in the way of festive cheer here, either, as the Christmas setting is pretty incidental to the plot. Bush Christmas isn't bad, but I can't recommend it too strongly, either.

First Viewing Viewing Date: December 17th Via: Stan. Plot: When thieves steal horses from a family property in Australia, three children and an Indigenous bushman set out across the bush to track them down. Rating: 5.2/10

First Viewing Plot: When a zombie apocalypse hits a small English town close to Christmas, a group of friends work together to fight through the horde and reach their loved ones.

Anna and the Apocalypse is a good fun British horror-comedy-musical. It's a slick and high-energy endeavour, with a fun soundtrack of original songs ("The Fish Wrap" is my favourite), genuine heart, and some memorably gory zombie kills. It's also a boldly original picture; although the plot is formulaic, the execution feels fresh and innovative, since this is a Christmas zombie movie musical (the director ostensibly parodies High School Musical). It does start to run out of steam in the third act, though I later found out I watched the extended version rather than the U.K. theatrical cut, so perhaps the theatrical cut is tighter. I don't think Anna and the Apocalypse will become a quintessential part of my annual festive movie line-up, but it's an entertaining watch all the same.

First Viewing Viewing Date: December 16th Via: iTunes Store Plot: When a zombie apocalypse hits a small English town close to Christmas, a group of friends work together to fight through the horde and reach their loved ones. Rating: 6.9/10

First Viewing Viewing Date: December 15th Via: Shudder Plot: Driving to a music festival in Ireland, a new couple become lost and are then set upon by a tormentor with an unknown motive. Rating: 6.2/10

First Viewing Plot: Kate Pierce, now a cynical teen, is unexpectedly reunited with Santa Claus when disgruntled former elf Belsnickel threatens to cancel Christmas forever.

Kurt Russell is still an incredible Santa Claus here, and the lore of this particular iteration of Father Christmas is further explored in endearing and creative ways while bringing in a new villainous character (Belsnickel, who was infamously brought to light by Dwight in The Office). However, Netflix's follow-up to the 2018 picture The Christmas Chronicles is an imperfect family festive offering, due to problematically rote and episodic plotting (when ostensibly major complications are resolved easily in mere minutes, there's an issue) as well as some risible dialogue that panders directly to the youngsters in the audience. Goldie Hawn also brings absolutely no life to Mrs. Claus (her presence is better in theory than execution), and there are some eye-rolling feminist undertones that the film absolutely refuses to let go, to the detriment of the story ("It's Mrs. Claus' village," the characters proudly proclaim, without actually finding out her first name...). The uneven structure is the big problem with The Christmas Chronicles: Part Two, as there's still a good 20 minutes of film left after the villain is overthrown, and some of the padding (i.e. the musical numbers) becomes tiresome. And, oh, they do a slight time travel detour and have a character meet their father as a teenager (it's head-slappingly obvious, but takes a while for said character to realise), because the writers refuse to introduce any original ideas. However... I still enjoyed it well enough. It looks nice, Russell gives it his all despite the slipshod scripting, Darby Camp is charismatic as hell in the protagonist role, and I can't say I was necessarily bored despite the prolonged runtime. Also, it's nice to see Chris Columbus direct something new. This one won't get replayed much, but I didn't feel like I wasted my time watching it. And I'm still all in for any potential third film.

First Viewing Viewing Date: December 14th Via: Netflix Plot: Kate Pierce, now a cynical teen, is unexpectedly reunited with Santa Claus when disgruntled former elf Belsnickel threatens to cancel Christmas forever. Rating: 6.0/10

First Viewing Viewing Date: December 13th Via: Stan. Plot: On an outback farm ravaged by drought, the lives of a struggling family are upended when a runaway criminal dressed as Santa Claus crashes onto their property. Rating: 7.2/10

First Viewing Plot: On an outback farm ravaged by drought, the lives of a struggling family are upended when a runaway criminal dressed as Santa Claus crashes onto their property.

Not bloody bad, mate. I can count the number of Aussie Christmas films on a single hand (or even a single finger, really), so it was nice to get some festive content a little closer to home. This is a bit of a cross between The Ref and Bad Santa filtered through an Australian lens, and it's also a fairly relevant movie since it touches upon the recent Aussie outback draughts with families struggling to make ends meet. There's not much new here in terms of plot, and it's not always entirely believable, but the characters are endearing and there are some standout sequences which left this reviewer cracking a smile (including a sort-of fight scene scored to "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen"). It also looks great; this is not another cheap Aussie indie which belongs in the bargain bin. And best of all, you don't necessarily need to be familiar with Aussie culture to appreciate it - so everybody else can have at it.

First Viewing Viewing Date: December 11th Via: Cinema Plot: When Peter is forced to give up his bedroom and move into the attic to make room for his grandfather, he becomes determined to get his room back and promptly declares war. Rating: 5.7/10

First Viewing Viewing Date: December 11th Via: iTunes Store Plot: A former L.A. drug dealer tries to go straight but his past and his underworld connections bring him into the focus of the DEA, the Mexican feds and the Mexican drug cartels. Rating: 5.8/10

First Viewing Viewing Date: December 9th Via: Netflix Plot: When a grieving father begins hearing the voice of his recently deceased son, he turns to a famous paranormal investigator for help. Rating: 6.3/10

First Viewing Viewing Date: December 7th Via: iTunes Store Plot: A Hong Kong detective struggles to transport an American gambler to Macau, and seeks to bring a notorious Chinese criminal to justice. Rating: 5.6/10