In Red One, Santa Claus is kidnapped, and it’s up to Santa’s bodyguard, Callum Drift played by Dwayne Johnson, and the hacker who tracked Santa to the North Pole, Jack O’Malley played by Chris Evans, to save Santa and Christmas. The plot outline is cliché among Christmas films involving Santa. Santa gets kidnapped, thrown in jail, or lost, and someone from the North Pole must team with a non-believer to save him. Jack O’Malley is no Captain America, but Evans is charming and still gets to fight.
The power of this film lies in its message. Callum has lost his ability to see the child, and therefore the good, in adults. All he sees is their selfishness, anger, and pettiness. He hands in his resignation, effective after Christmas.
Santa says it isn’t about getting people to do right. It is instead about helping them to see that every decision, big or small, is an opportunity to do good. The choices people make become who they are.
Callum doesn’t see it anymore. He sees people being mean for no reason and feels like people may not need Santa anymore because nothing matters.
Santa says now, they need us more than ever.
Red One has action, quips, and fun. It also has something the world is missing – a positive message without any baggage.
With a stellar cast, including J.K. Simmons as an athletic Santa, Bonnie Hunt as Mrs. Claus, and Lucy Liu as Zoe, the head of MORA (Mythological Oversight and Restoration Authority), Red One provides an entertaining couple of hours. More importantly, it is the kind of movie we need right now.
Red One is an Amazon/MGM film in theaters. Check out this affiliate link for more information (when you purchase something from Amazon with this link, we receive a small finder’s fee.)
Netflix’ “Damsel,” starring “Stranger Things’” Millie Bobby Brown as Elodie, is about a stereotypical, at least as far as modern fantasy is concerned, princess who faces off against a dragon. “Damsel” also features Robin Wright of “Princess Bride” fame, subverting her Buttercup role, playing the queen of a nation that the dragon threatens. The story is enjoyable, and the next spoiler-filled paragraphs (if this one has possibly avoided spoilers) are not meant to diminish the mild pleasure the viewer may get from watching Millie Bobby Brown dress up, fight a dragon, and do other things the script required. Instead, they are meant to explore storytelling using two questionable choices the film made. (If you are worried about spoilers, don’t watch the trailer. I’m glad I didn’t see it before I watched the film.)
Accepted Modern Fantasy Story Trope
The princess knows how to use a sword. The whole point of the film lies in its name. “Damsel” is often the word used to denote a young woman, usually helpless. The word is often used with “in distress,” and the woman waits for her prince to rescue her. Over the course of the last 30 or 40 years, Hollywood has subverted this trope. In Disney’s “Hercules,” Meg says, “I’m a Damsel. I’m in distress. I can handle this. Have a nice day,” as she dismisses Hercules. In “Damsel,” Elodie is a damsel in distress, but she’s going to handle it because she has to. The sword use is never set up, but the audience is fine with accepting she knows how to use it.
This contrasts with horse riding. Elodi and her little sister are seen riding horses at the opening of the movie. Later, when the Elodie suggests that she and the prince she is supposed to marry go for a ride, he is taken aback. “Do you know how to ride a horse?” Why was it necessary for the story to point out she can ride a horse? I don’t know. The audience would’ve likely accepted that she could as well as they accept she knows how to use a sword. It’s fantasy. People, especially nobles, know how to ride horses.
Damsel’s Amazing Flaw
The first flaw is really just a dead end. It’s not a tragic flaw. It doesn’t impede the viewer’s joy in the story. It just doesn’t go anywhere in spite of the prominence the movie gives it. Elodie draws labyrinths. In a fantasy setting, books and paper are often difficult to come by. She’s a noble, so her family can sort of afford them. Still, to use a book to draw a labyrinth is a pretty bold statement. It lends importance to her skill, which should lead to some sort of payoff later in the story. If it were only shown once, we could forget about it. However, it comes back when she meets the prince, and he shows her the letter she wrote to him. He asks about the labyrinth she drew on top of an anatomically correct heart. She never uses the skill again. Some may claim that it helps her in the “labyrinth” of the caves, but she never uses her drawing ability there. And the caves aren’t labyrinthine.
Damsel’s Visionary Flaw
The second flaw in the storytelling of “Damsel” is a little more problematic. When Elodie finds a map and the names of princesses who went before her on the cave walls, she has a vision of those princesses doing things. In a fantasy setting, they could be real visions. Maybe she is using some sort of magic to see the past. It’s enough to throw off the audience. She never showed magic powers before; why does she have them now? The other possibility is that we are seeing what she is imagining. However, what she imagines may or may not be the truth. She has more visions later, and they absolutely affect the outcome of the movie. Still, because they are never explained as magic, the audience is left assuming that Elodie’s imagination provides the correct and true version of the past and not the product of some over-active imagination. However, in storytelling, first person perspective can be used to mislead the audience. The viewer can never be sure that the person, whose point of view the story is told from, is telling the truth or even knows what the truth is. Had the movie set up her imagination or her visions in a way that was reflected in the cave, it would have been easier to understand and more productive than the dead end of her labyrinths.
What happens when an English maid saves her money to buy a Christian Dior dress in 1957? “Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris” is a heart-warming tale full of coincidence, good people, the joy of chasing dreams and heartbreak. While it has all the appeal of your favorite bubble gum, with glorious effects, beautiful dresses, and a story that skirts the traditional Hollywood cliches, it adds just enough salt in heartache, mistakes and reality, to give it a bit of bite. “Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris” can be seen as so much more than it is and, maybe, isn’t.
If you just want to enjoy a simple film that’ll help you feel better about people and life, this offering from Director and Co-writer Anthony Fabian fits the bill. It doesn’t ask you to dig deeper, but it does tell you the water is warm if you choose to explore. Spoilers follow after the trailer, so bookmark this page, watch “Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris,” and come back when you’re done.
For 13 years, Mrs. Harris has been cleaning houses and holding onto hope that here husband will return from World War II. When she gets his ring in the mail, she has to come to terms with her loss. She knew it was coming, but the confirmation still hurts.
While cleaning for one of her rich clients, who refuses to settle the bill and complains about having to tighten her belt, Mrs. Harris sees a Christian Dior dress on the chair. It’s beautiful, and she’s instantly in love with the dress. The client tells her the dress is 500 British Pounds, and she needs to hide it from her husband. Mrs. Harris does so, and later, with a friend, she laughs at the idea of such an expensive dress.
To Be Seen
The dress is gorgeous, and it awakens Mrs. Harris’ joie de vivre. In it, she could find joy, happiness, and her sense of self. It’s only a dream without wings, so she laughs it off. However, this scene opens the eyes of the audience: “Something beautiful” or great clothes can change a person’s day and demeanor for the better. Clothes may not make the woman, but they can help her feel more positive about who she is, an idea that is explored in “My Fair Lady,” where Eliza Dolittle is dressed up like a doll and paraded around as possible royalty.
Here though, Mrs. Harris isn’t forced to wear the dress to help her appear as more than she is, societally speaking. She wants to wear it because it represents an inner need, an aspiration, a desire to be seen as a person, a vibrant woman, a human being, who is more than a cleaning woman. She doesn’t want to be invisible to those around her. This dress would, at the very least, allow her to see herself as a more fully formed woman.
Pursue Your Dreams
When Mrs. Harris wins a sports lotto, she decides she’s going to Paris to buy a Dior dress. The winnings from the lotto aren’t enough to get the dress, but they are enough to spur her into action. She tracks her income, saves her pennies, and gets invited to a dog race.
But this dream isn’t fulfilled on hard work or good luck. Instead, it’s built on a past tragedy, an honest action, and a good friend’s gift. Mrs. Harris goes to Paris – it’s the title of the film, so I guess it’s not really a spoiler. How she gets there is best left for you to see yourself.
Mrs. Harris’ pursuit of her dreams opens others up to pursuing their own dreams and passions. It’s as if the light she generates shows others the path forward. The lives she touches are better for her mere presence. When she actively engages, she gives people the opportunity to show their best selves and that allows them to follow their hearts’ desires.
Be Nice
Mrs. Harris is nice – too nice. She’s the kind of nice that people take advantage of without realizing they are doing so. Her trip changes her (a theme explored in the book “Bravely”). She’s still nice, and she still falls back into her old ways, but that’s a part of who she is. It’s what makes her likable, honest, and good. Paris teaches her to become assertive. Embracing her dream and being nice about it allow her to meet the boorish, rude snobs of the Dior world. Her cash on hand allows her to stay there. However, it’s her British sense of right, wrong, and order that helps her shake things up, creating a force of nature that may fail her but lifts up others before her.
Existential Crisis
Who is Mrs. Harris? Is she the cleaning lady or is there something more behind that mask? Ultimately that question – asked within the film – is something we will all have to face. Moreover, we will have to face it again and again in our lives, and every time the question is asked, we will have the opportunity to affirm the parts of us that are good and reject the parts that don’t serve us. We just have to seize the opportunity to find the better version of ourselves, regardless of our age, occupation, or others’ perceptions of who we might be.
“Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris” is perfectly enjoyable without thinking about any of it. The audience can find a good time and good film simply by feeling it. The layers are there though, if you care to look. I suggest doing both for this wonderful, heart- and eye-opening film.
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“Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris” has two other versions. One done in 1958 and the other done as a TV movie with Angela Lansbury.
“Tapped” (affiliate link) exposes several of the problems that the bottled water industry is implicated in from dissembling and pollution to overwhelming corporate influence over government and the carcinogenic agents found in the bottles and leached into the water they hold.
If you are in self-isolation or quarantine, now’s the time to catch up on all those YouTube videos (I have a channel; you can subscribe.) you’ve wanted to see, and several you didn’t. Turn off your ad blocker, and find all of the creators who have been lucky enough to monetize their videos, and watch like crazy! (Or find those that have fewer than 1,000 subscribers, subscribe to them, and then watch all of their videos, so that they will be able to monetize their videos at some point in the future.) By starting with those who have monetized their YouTube, you’re doing two things at once:
If you love movies and movie memorabilia or you love a
certain movie from the last couple of years, we’ll have something for you at the
Penguinate table (A1). Our Russian lobby cards are double-sided advertisements
for films given away at the Russian cinemas.
Lobby cards used to be a staple of the American cinema, but
now, they are collectible and rarely seen at movie theaters in the United States.
However, in Russia, movie cards are put out every week, and they are an exact
replica of the Russian movie poster. We have brought a limited number of these
cards from Russia to the U.S. for you to enjoy. These cards range in size from
approximately 3×5 to 4×6 with some being more unique than others.
We have done our best to get the lobby cards from every film
in the last year, and many of the cards are from foreign films. We have Marvel,
Disney and DC lobby cards, as well as other top-rated films, including Godzilla
2.
Here is a complete list of the lobby cards we will be bringing
to our table (A1) at Lilac City Comicon 2019. Come by and find your favorite
movie (while supplies last).
24 Hours to Live
A Dog’s Way Home
A Quiet Place
A Star Is Born
Adrift
Alita Battle Angel
American Assassin
American Made
Animation Film Ad
Aritmia (Russia)
Asterix and the Secret Mission
Atterados (Argentina)
Baby Driver
Bad Mamas 2
Bad Samaritan
Bad Times at the El Royale
Bahubali: Birth of a Legend
Bicycles
Big Road (Russia)
Blade Runner 2049
Bohemian Rhapsody
Brothers (Russian)
Byez Mnya
Charming
Chernovik
Chudo-Yudo (Russia)
Coco
Cold Pursuit
Cold Skin (Atlantida; Spain)
Cold War
Corridor of Immortality (Russia)
Crimea (Russia)
Daddy’s Home 2
Dark Mirror (Russia)
Darkest Minds
Day of the Dead: Bloodline
Death Wish
Dessert Ad
Disney Aladdin
Disney Christopher Robin
Disney Dumbo
Disney Incredibles 2
Disney Mary Poppins Returns
Disney Ralph Breaks the Internet
Disney The Jungle Book
Disney The Last Warrior
Disney The Nutcracker and the Four Realms
Disney Wrinkle in Time
Disney Zoopolis
Disney: Beauty and the Beast
Dva Khvosta
Early Man
Equalizer 2
Escape Plan 2
Fantastic Beasts The Crimes of Grindewald
Ferdinand
First Man
Fixiki: The Big Secret
Foto na pamyat
Future World
Gangsterdam (France)
Geostorm
Ghostbusters
Giant Pear
Glass
Godzilla 2
Gogol Beginning (Russia)
Gogol Vii (Russia)
Gogol: Scary Place
Going Vertical (Russia)
Golem
Goosebumps 2
Green Book
Gringo
Halloween
Happiness! Health!
Happy Death Day
Hard Times (Russia)
Holmes and Watson
Hotel Transylvania 3
How to Train Your Dragon 3
I Feel Pretty
Island of Dogs
It
Jim Pykovka and Machinist Lucas
John Wick 3
Jonathan
Jumanji
Jungle
Jurassic World 2
Just Getting Started
Just not them (Russia)
Klubara (Russia)
Kong: Skull Island
Ladybug 2
Lego Film 2
Lego Ninjago
Life
Logan
London Fields
Lucky Logan
Magnificent 7
Mama
Marrowbone (Spain)
Marvel Ant-Man and Wasp
Marvel Avengers: Endgame
Marvel Captain Marvel
Marvel Kingsman: Golden Circle
Marvel Thor: Ragnorok
Marvel Venom
Marvel/ DC: Defenders (Russia)
Marvel/DC Hellboy
Marvel/DC Shazam
Marvel/DC: Justice League
Marvel/DC: Suicide Squad
Marvel: Avengers: Infinity War
Marvel: Black Panther
Marvel: Captain America: Civil War
Marvel: Deadpool 2
Marvel: Once Upon a Deadpool
Mary and the Witch’s Flower
Mary Queen of Scots
Mathilda (Russia)
May Bee
Maze Runner: The Death Cure
Meg
Midnight Sun
Millions (Russia)
Mission Impossible Fallout
Monster Family
Monster Island
Mortal Engines
Mowgli Decoy Planets
Murder on the Orient Express
My Favorite Dinosaur
My Little Pony
Nevedimka
Night Games
Niproshchenyi (Russian)
Niscrushimi (Russian)
Ocean’s 8
Overboard
Pacific Rim 2
Paddington 2
Peppermint
Pet Semetary
Piligrim (Russia)
Play or Die
Power Rangers
Prishelits (Russia)
Proza Brodyach Psob Anime
Rampage
Ready Player 1
Red Sparrow
Renegades
Ribbit
Robin Hood 2018
Robot Park Ad
Rossvet (Russia)
Santa and Company (France)
Saw 8
Searching
Second Act
Selfie from Hell
Serenity 2019
Shape of Water
Sicario 2
Skyline 2
Skyscraper
Smallfoot
Smurfs: The Lost Village
Snow Queen
Snowman
Spascti Leningrad
Star Wars: Solo
Star Wars: The Last Jedi
Suburbicon
Super Bobrovyi (Russia)
Tad and the Secret of King Midas
Tag
Tanks (Russia)
The Boy and the Beast
The Cured
The Curse of Llorna
The Dark Tower
The Foreigner
The Girl in the Spider’s Web
The Greatest Showman
The Hitman’s Bodyguard
The Hustle
The Kid Who Would Be King
The Legend of Kolovrat (Russia)
The Little Vampire
The Mercy
The Mountains Between Us
The New Year (Russia)
The Nun
The Predator 2018
The Professor and the Madman
The School (2018)
The Upside
Three Warriors and the nasledushi prestola
Three Warriors and the Princess of Egypt
Time of Monsters
Titan
Tobol (Russia)
Tomb Raider
Truth or Dare
Unsane
What Happened to Monday
Who Is Who
Widows
Wildling
Winchester: The house that Ghosts Built
Wish Upon
Wolf Obtsi
Wonder
Wonder Park
You Were Never Really Here
Your Name
Zapovednik (Russia)
The fact that “The Wandering Earth debuted in February and
had the highest IMAX gross, which was then beaten by Avengers, creates an
interest in seeing the movie. Endgame could gross more in China than “The
Wandering Earth” and creating an even greater interest in seeing the Chinese
film. If it was that good, it must be worth seeing, and for those who want to
be able to say anything intelligent about the heavyweight duel overseas, they’ll
have to find a way to see ‘The Wandering Earth” and find out what made it such
a huge hit in China. In steps Netflix to fill the gap.
By promoting it as something people can see, Netflix is
effectively able to use the free advertising generated by the comparison
between “The Wandering Earth” and Endgame to get views of a Chinese film most
wouldn’t ordinarily even find to watch much less consider. If Netflix or other
streaming services begin to capitalize on the comparisons that go on with box
office incomes, we could see a slew of international films gaining steam first
through streaming. Once Americans get used to seeing foreign films with
subtitles, there’ll be no stopping the influx of new and better films.
Even if those foreign film studios are as mired in sequel-itis
as U.S. studios are, the stories and concepts will be new and more original to
U.S. audiences. That’s good for storytelling and creativity because foreign
films can introduce different ideas and viewpoints into American culture. For
now, Netflix gains with having “The Wandering Earth” available to stream, and
having one more way to create buzz through using another studios success.
I have been to enough comic conventions to know that people
who love comic books complain about the people who love the movies but don’t
buy comic books. There’s a whole faction of geeks who love every issue of their
favorite comic and consider someone who only knows the character from the
movies and abomination.
Comic stores say they haven’t noticed an uptick in
individuals coming into their store because of the film. For them, there just
is no crossover. Perhaps, that’s because the comic stores need to take more initiative.
Call it “The Avengers Initiative.”
A majority of movie-goers don’t go to comic stores. They
probably don’t even know where the comic stores are. The simplest way for a
comic store to attempt to harness the movie-goers who love the movies is to pay
for an ad before the movie. Most movie theaters offer the opportunity to be in
a slide show before the trailers. This offers an easy and less expensive way to
get the word out about the shop, and placed before a “comic book” movie, it
hits the target audience right where they live.
If the comic store can afford it, a comic store trailer, shot
in high-def, should be appropriate for the movie screen. A trailer will even
reach more people in their seats. Still, this isn’t the most effective way to reach
people because most movie goers probably don’t have a reason to go to the
store.
Setting up a booth with items themed to the film is the
single best way to provide movie-goers an opportunity to find out about the
comics. Any comic store that has also participated in a comic convention should
already have the tools available to create a booth. By targeting the movie(s)
in the theater at the time, a comic store can create an impulse buy and point
of contact for new fans. Include a business card with every purchase, and you’re
all set for getting new people involved in comics fandom.
It won’t be that easy. “Avengers: Endgame” openings promise
to be chaotic. Imagine Free Comic Book Day without the giveaways. That also
means more opportunities to generate revenue from the event.
National chain theaters may be less willing to give up lobby
space for a booth. Of course, DC and Marvel could step in because it would be good
for their comic sales and their movies. The theaters could see a rise in movie
goers if the comic store is able to bring their patrons to the movie. Theaters
also get the good will of comics fans and the advertisement that comes with the
promotion of the event. A local theater may be more willing to partner with a
local comic shop, and both could benefit from the exposure.
Most shops are run by one or two dedicated people. Having to
give up a weekend, move everything, set up and take down is already a lot of
stress. The change in routine, in addition to the increase in dealing with
people who may not know what they want, can also be daunting, especially when
there may not be any return. The keys to a successful theater run for a comic
store setup is a willingness to get out of the comfort zone and a desire to improve
sales at the store. Even if there aren’t any sales at the theater, the chance
to meet people who love films can be worthwhile in and of itself.
Wicked Comics in Malta has partnered with Eden Cinemas for the opening weekend of “Avengers: Endgame” for Comic Fest. They will have booths, cosplayers, retro-gaming, performances, local artists’ booths and comics. It looks like they’ve organized a mini-comic convention to celebrate “Avengers: Endgame.” Wicked Comics organizes the annual Malta Comic Con, so they have a head start on any comic store that may not have organized events outside the store before.
Private showings are already sponsored by larger comic conventions like Salt Lake’s Fan X’ “Avengers: Endgame” screening. They could add a comic store component to the screening, giving people more opportunity to purchase from local businesses.
It may be too late for comic stores to partner with movie
theaters for “Avengers: Endgame,” but it can be something to keep in mind for
the next big movie. Of course, it doesn’t have to be applied to just Marvel
movies. Disney’s “Frozen 2” and DC’s next film could also make for good
opportunities to partner with a local movie theater.
“Aloha” (2015) brings broken Brian Gilchrist (Bradley Cooper) back to his Hawaiian military roots as a contractor designated to get the blessing of the king of Hawaii for a military base’s pedestrian gate, which would allow private contractors access to the launch area of the military base. Gilchrist is assigned Fighter Pilot Allison Ng (Emma Stone) as his military watchdog for his time in Hawaii. There is a love triangle involving quiet man Woody (John Krasinski) and his wife Tracy (Rachel McAdams), who also happens to be Gilchrist’s ex from 13 years ago.
The real problems arise when Ng discovers that billionaire
Carson Welch (Bill Murray) has put a nuke in the payload of the rocket being
sent into space. Weapons aren’t allowed in the sky, and this would violate
treaties. However, because Welch is a private citizen, it falls in a gray area;
he never signed a treaty. Gilchrist is faced with the choice of further
disgrace and saving the sky or keeping his lucrative job and losing Ng.
Stone chews the scenery as the intense, socially awkward,
quarter Hawaiian, who loves the sky and Hawaiian mythology. Krasinski provides
an amazing performance as the man who doesn’t talk much. Cooper and McAdams are
good in their roles as is the rest of the cast, which includes Murray, Alec
Baldwin, and Danny McBride.
“Aloha” is a surprisingly good film. It’s low key nature and
quirky characters provide an interesting family/friend drama. If you need to
find your way back to yourself, there are worse places to do it than Hawaii.
Welcome to a pleasant diversion, or as they say on the islands – Aloha!
In the Nostalgia Critic’s tribute video to Roger Ebert, the Nostalgia Critic unpacks a lot of wisdom and lays it out for the viewer. What he sees in Roger Ebert is amazing, and what the Nostalgia Critic sees should be what we all strive to be.
Penguinate! Positive Creativity 