Knives Out, Marriage Story & more
The holiday season came up fast this year, people! In the three weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas, I've been marathoning through holiday favorites (White Christmas! The Holiday! Festive episodes of The Office!) and trying to keep track of the new TV movies released. Here's a rundown of some of my favorites from this year (and one that may have snuck on the list from 2017...):
Same Time, Next Christmas: Did you know ABC tried to create some festive content this year? Same Time, Next Christmas stars Lea Michele and Charles Michael Davis (from Younger!!) and tells the story of two childhood friends who see each other every year when their families travel to Hawaii for the holidays. After they share a kiss as teens, they don't see each other again until they're both adults living in different parts of the country. The movie shows them reuniting at various Christmases until the timing is just right. It's adorable and didn't feature a heavy-handed promotion of Lea Michele's new holiday album, as I feared it would.
A Christmas Wish: Hilarie Burton is back with some other One Tree Hill cast members for another Lifetime movie this year. In A Christmas Wish, an art teacher (Burton) finds out her program is getting eliminated due to budget cuts and struggles to find love and her holiday spirit, until a wish is made at the town's wishing box. There's magic! Clumsy romcom moments! The main character falling for her best friend! The makings of a fabulous holiday moment.
Snowed-Inn Christmas: Last year, my favorite TV holiday movie was Lifetime's Snowed-Inn Christmas, starring Bethany Joy Lenz and Andrew Walker (which actually originally aired in 2017). It tells the story of two competing journalists who travel to Santa Claus, Indiana after a snowstorm strands them in town. They both rediscover their Christmas spirit in the magical Midwest.
As Seen on Screen
So close to the holidays, I hate to spend too much of the newsletter re-capping non-Christmas-y things. However, this season has been filled with new releases that I simply cannot wait until January to talk about. Here are some spoiler-free looks at Marriage Story, Knives Out and The Crown.
Knives Out: I'm pleased to report Knives Out is just as fun as everyone has said. I'm also pleased to report that Chris Evans and his sweaters are even better than I anticipated, when featured on the big screen. The entire cast of Knives Out is having a ball in this Rian Johnson-directed film (take your Last Jedi hate elsewhere, please), which pokes loving fun at the whodunnit mystery genre. While the movie's structure was surprising to me, I still found myself enjoying its twists and turns, as well as the many things it had to say about class divides in 2019. If you're like me and cannot handle anything remotely scary, rest assured that this is a film that you can definitely handle seeing in theaters!
Marriage Story: If you haven't seen Marriage Story yet, I'd recommend pushing it until post-holiday viewing. While the movie is incredibly well done and the acting is superb, the examination of how the unraveling of a relationship can be further tainted by the involvement of divorce lawyers will leave you in an interesting headspace for the rest of the day. While the story told is incredibly well developed, at times I couldn't figure out if the film's dialogue was actually great or was just being delivered well. Adam Driver is by far the best part of this movie (the performance of Being Alive is one of my favorite scenes, but there are many other excellent moments as well), but the whole acting ensemble does an incredible job of handling the mix of sad, hilarious and relatable scenarios that the cast members find themselves in.
The Crown: After much anticipation, season three of Netflix's The Crown premiered last month, sporting a brand new cast to represent the aging royals. The new actors do an impeccable job of picking up where the originals left off, with mannerisms and speech style carrying over from Matt Smith to Tobias Menzies and Claire Foy to Olivia Coleman, in particular. While I did find myself missing the original cast of players more than I thought I would, I found myself distracted by the new family members that shine throughout the third season's 10 episodes. The addition of Prince Charles (played by the amazing Josh O'Connor) as a more central part of the story is a welcome change and the portrayal of him in his youth really makes you feel for the character (despite what your present day thoughts may be). I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the delightful Erin Doherty, who plays Princess Anne; I just wish she'd been more heavily featured in the show. As usual, I grew frustrated with The Crown's portrayal of female characters as the season went on. Like in the past, Queen Elizabeth often plays a passive role in the show's storylines and her thoughts and actions are never given the same introspection that the male characters receive (all the episodes this season were written by men...). But that's business as usual for The Crown!
Haven't You Heard?
While I typically don't enjoy adding newer, pop-infused holiday songs into my festive music rotation, I am obsessed with Taylor Swift's Christmas Tree Farm. Stop talking about her involvement in Cats and start listening to this delightful tune, which has a nostalgic feel as Taylor sings about growing up on a farm in Pennsylvania (if you know your Taylor, you know it's based on her actual experiences as a child). It's Christmas perfection from the lady who loves December as much as me!
Required Reading
It's that time of year again! NPR has released its annual Book Concierge, and it's filled with some excellent recommendations. If you're looking for a last minute gift idea or something to read by the fire, you'll be able to scroll through and find exactly what you're looking for.
