Merry Christmas!

I hope everyone has a safe and very MERRY CHRISTMAS!

-Scott

DVD Review: The Santa Clause 3

It’s still Christmas Eve out here, so I still have time for the 12th (and final) Review of Christmas. It’s time to complete the trilogy and review The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause.

The Santa Clause 3 is about a stressed out Scott Calvin/Santa Claus (Tim Allen). It’s the Christmas season and he’s trying to get everything ready for his trip around the world. At the same time, Mrs. Claus is very pregnant and will have their baby at any time. Throw in some in-laws and Jack Frost, and you have yourself a movie.

The Santa Clause 3 is called “The Escape Clause” because there is a way of not being Santa. Jack Frost (Martin Short) knows how this happens and lays a trap to trick Santa into giving up his title as Santa Claus. When this happens, Frost puts on the Santa suit and, due to The Santa Clause (from the first movie), he becomes Santa and turns the North Pole and workshop into a cheesy amusement park. Scott Calvin must then try to reclaim his position and get Christmas back to normal.

This third installment is a bit weak. I thought Tim Allen does well, as does Martin Short, but that’s about it. Watching these movies so close together, it was interesting to note that Santa’s lead elf, Curtis, got really tall and his voice got deeper. Hmmm. But that’s not my main gripe with this movie. It was just really weird. I tried to enjoy it, but it became pretty difficult, especially since I liked the first one so much. This is one you may have to see once, but I wouldn’t recommend making this one a tradition.

My rating: 4/10 corns

Thanks for following the 12 Reviews of Christmas. My Christmas wish this year is to get this site as popular as IMDb.com...and world peace.

-Scott

DVD Review: Scrooged

For the 11th Review of Christmas, we have Scrooged, starring Bill Murray. Scrooged is a funny look at the classic story, “A Christmas Carol.”

Bill Murray is Frank Cross, a TV executive that is only focused on his career. He doesn’t let anybody get in his way or question his methods. If anyone has a problem his him, he fires them in a dramatic fashion, even if it’s the Christmas season. As his station is preparing to show a live version of “A Christmas Carol” on Christmas Eve, Frank gets to experience the story first-hand.

Just like all other versions, Frank gets visited by a former colleague to prepare him for a visit from three ghosts. The three ghosts are similar to “A Christmas Carol,” but have a little twist. The Ghost of Christmas Past is a crazy taxi driver; the Ghost of Christmas Present is a psycho angel that beats him up; the Ghost of Christmas Future is a Grim Reaper character with a TV face and is pretty creepy looking. The first two ghosts are pretty funny.

Scrooged has its ups and downs. The parts I enjoyed the most were his interactions with the ghosts. After all, it is Bill Murray. He is very funny, as are the first two ghosts. This is a good Christmas comedy, but I wouldn’t watch it with kids. It’s PG-13 for a reason. But if you’re looking for a funny Christmas movie, and you’re a fan of Bill Murray, this is a good one to watch. It’s not my favorite, but it kept me entertained.

My rating: 6/10 corns

Thanks for reading!

-Scott

DVD Review: The Santa Clause 2

Right now seems like a good time for the 10th Review of Christmas. If you couldn’t guess, I’m following up The Santa Clause, with The Santa Clause 2. I couldn’t find out for certain, but I think “The Mrs. Clause” may be part of the title.

I never realized there was so much legal mumbo jumbo involved in Santa politics. In this 2nd Santa Clause movie, Santa (Tim Allen) learns that, in order to stay being Santa, he must get married. In other words, he must find his “Mrs. Claus.” He is also given very little time to do so. He also learns his son is having problems at school, and his son dislikes the principal. Santa, as Scott Calvin, finds his son’s principal very attractive and starts to work some magic (literally) on her.

Filling in for Scott at the North Pole is a plastic-looking Santa clone who loves hot chocolate and believes all children in the world have been naughty. This clone was almost a good idea for the movie, but he started to wear on me. We also learn that Santa meets with a council that includes: the Tooth Fairy, Mother Earth, Father Time, Cupid, and the Easter Bunny. I didn’t really like this addition to the series either. Although I’m sure kids will like seeing these characters. Oh yeah, his son gets pretty annoying.

The Santa Clause 2 isn’t as good as the first. It’s pretty good and has some really good parts (I thought his date with the principal was pretty neat), but I did mention some things that I didn’t like already, so I won’t revisit them. I think the story for the first was more interesting as well. But I think a Mrs. Claus was a good addition. I’d say to watch this one if you haven’t seen it, and it’s a must see if you’re into watching this entire “trilogy.”

My rating: 5/10 corns

Thanks for reading!

-Scott

DVD Review: The Santa Clause

Don’t worry, I plan on finishing the 12 Reviews. The Santa Clause is the 9th Review of Christmas.

After seeing this movie, I have a word of advice: If you ever see Santa Claus running around on your roof, don’t yell at him. He may fall and die, leaving you in a situation where you’d put on his clothes and, because you didn’t read the fine print, you’d be stuck being Santa Claus for the rest of your life. At least, I think that’s what would happen. That’s what happened to Scott Calvin (Tim Allen) one Christmas Eve. And that’s how we begin The Santa Clause. Scott Calvin becomes Santa and then has to deal with trying to balance his regular life, job, son, and everything else, while making the magical transformation into Santa.

I’ve always liked The Santa Clause. It’s a different take on Christmas movies. It shows how Santa can get into places that don’t have fireplaces. And it’s funny. I think Tim Allen plays a great Santa. This isn’t my favorite Christmas movie, but it’s one that I’d like to try to see every Christmas (although I won’t be disappointed if I miss it). I think it’s a good movie for the entire family. So if you’re looking for a Christmas movie to watch before Christmas, this is an excellent option.

My rating: 7/10 corns

Thanks for reading!

-Scott

DVD Review: The Polar Express

I do remember reading The Polar Express when I was a kid. It’s just one of those books that has an unwritten rule that all kids have to read it (just like Where the Wild Things Are). They finally made it into a movie, and they managed to get Tom Hanks to lend his voice to various characters. The Polar Express is the 8th Review of Christmas.

The Polar Express follows one child as he tries to figure out what Christmas is to him. More specifically, he is losing his belief in Santa Claus. Because of his doubts, he’s invited to go on a Christmas Eve on the Polar Express with other doubting children. Each child shows a different level of belief. All have very distinct personalities. And there will be one nerdy kid that you wish you could just punch in the eye during the movie because of his annoying voice. If you’ve seen this movie, you know what I’m talking about.

Anywho, these kids are on this train, headed to the North Pole to see Santa. One of them will receive, from Santa, the first gift of Christmas. But the ride to get to the North Pole is full of twists and turns. It really should just be a simple ride on a train, but then it wouldn’t have sold any books or been made into a movie.

I’ve never thought of the book at “great” or “amazing.” I think I’ve always been a little indifferent when it comes to The Polar Express. With the movie, I feel the same way. It’s a good movie, but it doesn’t “wow” you. I think Peyton (4) and Mikey (2) feel the same way, at least at their current ages. They were excited about a Christmas movie that has a train, but they did lose interest. But this is a movie that we can try showing them in the years to come since we do have this one on DVD. Tom Hanks does a good job. To me, it felt like he was actually in the movie and not just a voice. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed with this movie, but I don’t think you’ll be appointed either =).

My rating: 6/10 corns

Thanks for reading!

-Scott

COW: Jim Gaffigan on Holiday Traditions

Jim Gaffigan is one of my favorites. Here's his take on holiday traditions:



-Scott

Saturdays with Scott - 12/19/09

It's still Saturday, so I can still do this (heck, I've done it on Monday). Here it is:

1- Christmas!!!

Christmas is on Friday, and that's very exciting. Have you noticed how commercial it's become? I think we all need to remember this scene to the right because Christmas is more about giving and receiving presents. It's about remembering when Santa Claus visited the Baby Jesus (That's in St. Luke, Chapter 2, isn't it?). Seriously, it's pretty amazing how focused people can get on the gift part of it and forget the man who we should be remembering on this day. Take a moment to remember Him. If you want to break out your Bible or check out the circumstances around Christ's birth, Luke chapter 2 is excellent. You can even check it out online here:

Luke 2.

2- Ghostbusters

Any Ghostbuster fans out there? Did you know that the third movie is in the works? Oh yeah. Apparently, Sigourney Weaver mentioned (even though she hasn't seen a script yet) that all the original actors are on board, and Bill Murray will be playing a ghost. But not just any ghost; his ghost will be a Slimer-like character. I think this is a movie that can be very successful. I'm looking forward to it.

3- 12 Reviews of Christmas Update

I know, it looks like I'm pushing it to get all 12 reviews in before Christmas, but don't worry, I'm still on track. The Polar Express will be reviewed on Monday, followed by the 3 Santa Clause movies (assuming the library gets them to me). If I don't get them from the library, I've seen them enough times to wing it.

That's all I have for now. I had a couple other items, but Mikey deleted my notes once again. I think it's just a ritual thing that he has to do when we let him use the iPod.

If you have any topics you'd like me to discuss, send them to me. As always, thanks for reading!

-Scott

DVD Review: A Christmas Story

For the 7th review of Christmas, we have “A Christmas Story” (another holiday classic). This is the movie that will play over and over on TBS on Christmas day. I don’t know if they’ll do it again this year, but they might as well. Oh, and thank you Alan for letting us borrow your copy.

I like a movie that you can learn from. There are three very important life lessons that I got out of this movie and I’d like to share them with you now:

1- Don’t stick your tongue to a frozen pole, even if your friends triple-dog dare you.

2- Be sure to drink your Ovaltine (my top choice for chocolate milk mix).

3- If you get a Red Rider BB Gun, you’re gonna shoot your eye out.

I don’t know why I’ve only seen this movie a couple of times. Watching it last night made me realize why this movie is a holiday tradition. It’s a story about Ralphie, his parents, and his little brother as they prepare for Christmas. I would guess Ralphie is about 8 years old and all he wants for Christmas is a Red Rider BB Gun (even though everyone he tells warns him about lesson #3 above). More importantly, we get to see what Christmas means to this 8 year old. We see him in school, dealing with bullies, and getting soap in his mouth for swearing. Honestly, I think it will remind most guys what it’s like to be 8.

This is a movie that I’ll have to buy sometime so we can make it part of our tradition, at least for movies to watch during the Christmas season. It’s a great movie for families, and a better option for families with younger kids than National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (my favorite for the holidays). This is officially dubbed a classic.

My rating: 9/10 corns

Thanks for reading!

-Scott

DVD Review: Fred Claus

We always hear about Santa Claus and his life up in the North Pole, but have you ever wondered about Santa’s older brother Fred? I never knew he even had a brother until this movie. And this movie, Fred Claus, is the 6th Review of Christmas.

Before his brother Nick came along, Fred Claus (Vince Vaughn) was enjoying life as an only child. But when Nick entered his life, Fred found himself not feeling good enough when compared to Nick and his “saintly” ways.

The bulk of the story has Fred Claus living in the big city, trying to make ends meet with money-making schemes, especially the schemes of the get-rich-quick variety. While out competing with the Salvation Army for donations, Fred gets in a fight with a bunch of Salvation Army Santas and lands himself in jail. The only person he can reach from jail is his brother, Santa. He asks for money from Santa, but Santa makes him go to the North Pole in order to help with preparations for Christmas. Fred reluctantly accepts and heads to the North Pole. While he is there, an efficiency expert shows up to monitor Santa’s operation with the intent on shutting him down. If you haven’t guessed, it will be up to Fred to save the day.

I’m a Vince Vaughn fan. I can’t think of any movies of his I didn’t like. Fred Claus, however, might be at the bottom of the list (even though it’s not that bad). I think it has a pretty good story with funny parts. One thing that annoyed me with this one is the sound effects. During some scenes, whether a fight or someone falling down, you can hear cartoon noises added in, which I didn’t really like. At the same time, I think this movie does have kids in mind as it’s target audience, so that’s probably why those sounds were added in. Aside from that, I think most ages will be able to enjoy this movie. I don’t think it’s your best option for the Christmas season, but it’s definitely worth picking up if you haven’t seen it before.

My rating: 6/10 corns

Thanks for reading!

-Scott