Cinematical

• The Ten Best Films of 2007 -- James's Take
  

  Filed under: Awards, Lists, Oscar Watch, 12 Days of Cinematicalmas, Best/Worst

  

  If I had to think of one moment that summed 2007 up for me as a critic and moviegoer, then that moment came before an early-morning press screening at Cannes. Two film writers were speaking about a film from the day before -- excited, animated, engaged. One of them said "Le Scaphandre et le Papillion?" She then made a hand gesture worth a thousand words, and then exclaimed "Cinema!" And I felt the same way about The Diving Bell and the Butterfly as she did -- that it was a work of pure cinema, using every possible...
  




• Cinematical Seven: Non-Holiday Movies to Watch on Christmas
  

  Filed under: Animation, Classics, Comedy, Family Films, Cinematical Seven, Lists, 12 Days of Cinematicalmas, Religious

  
  
  Enough with the same old lists of favorite holiday movies! Every year, I see the same entries, probably because there hasn't been a good Christmas movie in years. At least here at Cinematical we shake things up a bit and present you with our favorite Christmas horror, favorite Christmas action, favorite holiday musicals, favorite Christmas movies for Jews, favorites you probably haven't seen, favorite R-rated Christmas, Scrooge's favorites, least favorite obnoxious Christmas comedies and we have a...
  



• Retro Cinema: It's a Wonderful Life
  

  Filed under: Classics, Family Films, Home Entertainment, 12 Days of Cinematicalmas, Retro Cinema

  
  
  It is easy to dismiss It's a Wonderful Life, and indeed, people have been doing so since the film's release in 1946. Too sentimental, too hokey, too loaded with Frank Capra's hopeful humanism -- all these complaints, and more, have been fired at It's a Wonderful Life over the years. People still watch It's a Wonderful Life, sure, but you have to ask how much of this is based in the two most corrosive reasons to watch a film -- camp and tradition. Watching a film only so you can...
  



• Cinematical Seven: Great Movie Christmas Songs
  

  Filed under: Cinematical Seven, 12 Days of Cinematicalmas

  

  Lots of Christmas songs appear in lots of movies, and we all know how bad and how monotonous they can get. The following is a list of seven Christmas songs in seven Christmas movies that stand out. They're used for some particular purpose, rather than just dressing. Hopefully these songs lend new meaning to their movies, and vice versa. And in the end, everything becomes just a little more tolerable.

  1. "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," from Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)
  This song has become a standard, of course. But looking at its very first performance by Judy Garland...
  




• Retro Review: A Christmas Story
  

  Filed under: 12 Days of Cinematicalmas, Retro Cinema

  

  "Ho, ho, but no matter. Christmas was on its way. Lovely, glorious, beautiful Christmas, upon which the entire kid year revolved."

  I tried that once. Only I didn't have the guts to stick my tongue to a flagpole, so instead I tried repeatedly to stick my tongue to the metal plate inside my parents' freezer. I was a kid who had just watched A Christmas Story more than five times over the Christmas holiday, and I wanted to see if my tongue would stick. No one else was around to egg me on -- and though I grew up with kids like Flick...
  




• Cinematical Seven: Christmas Movies that Demand 'R' Rated Remakes
  

  Filed under: Classics, Comedy, Drama, Fandom, Home Entertainment, Cinematical Seven, Lists, 12 Days of Cinematicalmas

  
  
  Wonderful as the classic family Christmas movies can be, the overwhelming sugary sweetness in most of them can be a little off-putting to adult audiences. I know my friends tend to gravitate more towards the R-rated holiday fare -- Die Hard, Bad Santa, The Ref, etc. Lord knows Hollywood doesn't want to be bothered coming up with original ideas, so I'm proposing seven remakes of Christmas family classics -- souped up for 2008 and aimed at the 17+ crowd. I've set up the plots and...
  



• Retro Cinema: Reindeer Games
  

  Filed under: Action, Comedy, Thrillers, Fandom, Home Entertainment, 12 Days of Cinematicalmas, Retro Cinema

  
  
  

  
  Who is Charlize Theron to know which of her movies are good or not? During a recent interview in Esquire magazine, the actress had the following to say about Reindeer Games, one of her early films: "That was a bad, bad, bad movie. But even though the movie might suck, I got to work with John Frankenheimer. I wasn't lying to myself -- that's why I did it. I mean, he directed The Manchurian Candidate, which is like the movie of all movies."...
  




• Cinematical Seven: Dysfunctional Families
  

  Filed under: Cinematical Seven, Lists, 12 Days of Cinematicalmas

  
  
  Most of us are probably painfully aware of the stress of the holidays when it comes to familial relationships. Films about families tell the one story that practically anyone can relate to. So in the spirit of feeling better about ourselves I've compiled a list of some of the most dysfunctional families in film. Maybe after taking a look at some big-screen dysfunction, we can sit back and take a little solace in that at least none of us have to sit down to Christmas dinner with any of the people on the following list.
  
  1. Classics, Home Entertainment, 12 Days of Cinematicalmas, Cinematical Indie, Retro Cinema
  
  
  
  One of the perennial favorites for TV broadcast at this time of year is the 1945 film Christmas in Connecticut, starring Barbara Stanwyck. I sat down for the first time in years to watch the entire movie, and gave it my full attention in a way that I never did while I was wrapping presents or chatting with relatives or trimming the tree. As I suspect from my half-assed viewing of the film over the years, Christmas in Connecticut is a very slight...
  



• Cinematical Seven: DVD Box Sets for the Film Buff on Your Christmas List
  

  Filed under: Classics, Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, New Line, United Artists, DVD Reviews, Fandom, Home Entertainment, Cinematical Seven, Comic/Superhero/Geek, 12 Days of Cinematicalmas

  
  
  'Tis the season to get away from your family, bundle up with a gallon of moonshine (preferably one with "XXX" written on the label), and watch endless hours of movies! What follows is not a comprehensive or "Best Of" list. These are simply seven DVD box sets that any film buff would be thrilled to find in his or her stocking this Christmas. Most of them were released...