CHRISTMAS CHEER AS AN ANTIDOTE TO DEPRESSING, YEAR-END 'PRESTIGE' MOVIES, HERE ARE SOME FILMS TO MAKE THE HOLIDAY BRIGHT.Byline: David Kronke Staff Writer A couple of months ago, we complained about how Hollywood was trying to stretch the holiday season by releasing a Christmas movie before Halloween (``Surviving Christmas''). Had we foreseen the studios' almost willfully willfully adv. referring to doing something intentionally, purposefully and stubbornly. Examples: "He drove the car willfully into the crowd on the sidewalk." "She willfully left the dangerous substances on the property." (See: willful) perverse response, we might have kept quiet. Now that the holiday season - the traditional time to hope for peace on Earth - is upon us, what kinds of movies are popping up in our multiplexes? Do you really want to know? Well, there are a couple of movies concerned with child molesting (``Bad Religion,'' already in theaters, and the upcoming ``The Woodsman''). Two others examine euthanasia (``The Sea Inside'' and ``Million Dollar Baby''). ``Hotel Rwanda'' takes on that holiday perennial, genocide. If that's not enough to get you in the holiday spirit, then ``Closer'' presents cruel sexual manipulations; ``Imaginary Heroes'' and ``A Love Song for Bobby Long'' romanticize ro·man·ti·cize v. ro·man·ti·cized, ro·man·ti·ciz·ing, ro·man·ti·ciz·es v.tr. To view or interpret romantically; make romantic. v.intr. To think in a romantic way. family dissolution, unexpected deaths and substance abuse; ``The Assassination of Richard Nixon'' looks at madness and corruption; and ``The Merchant of Venice'' venerates the evergreen subjects of anti-Semitism and the unbreakable cycles of cruelty. Even obesity, that bane of adolescence, is probed - in ``Fat Albert.'' Most of these films are hitting theaters now because Hollywood's holiday agenda is decidedly at odds with the rest of the country's - while we just want to celebrate good will toward one another, the movie studios seek to celebrate good direction and even greater performances, most of which apparently can only be found in really depressing movies, for the awards season. We feel your pain, and so we've made a couple of lists and checked them twice: movies that will make you feel good and movies that will flat-out make you laugh. In addition to current releases, we've included classic DVDs that will make your holiday merry and bright. FEEL-GOOD FILMS ``The Incredibles'' (in theaters) and ``Iron Giant'' (Warner Home Video Warner Home Video is the home video unit of Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group, a division of Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc. It was founded in 1978 as WCI Home Video (for Warner Communications, Inc.). It was re-named Warner Home Video in 1980. ; $19.96). Pretty much everyone has seen Brad Bird's mega-hit ``The Incredibles,'' so check out his previous film, which is every bit as clever and resonant yet somehow failed to click in its theatrical release. Set in the Cold War paranoia of the '50s, it concerns a giant robot (Vin Diesel has never been better!) who befriends a fatherless boy but is relentlessly pursued by the military. Bird gets audiences into the mind of a seemingly blank machine more than you'd think possible: Robots are people, too. ``Sideways'' (in theaters). Alexander Payne's brilliantly acted, hilarious but melancholy movie about a memorable jaunt through California wine country offers a hopeful conclusion and has steamrollered through the year-end awards. Essentially, it's about how we respond (or fail to) when life doesn't turn out the way we expected. Even its bleaker moments are exhilarating when we realize we're in the loving, capable hands of a master filmmaker. ``The Aviator'' (now in theaters). Martin Scorsese's virtuosic skills render history's most famous obsessive-compulsive-disorder patient, Howard Hughes (Leonardo DiCaprio), as a jaunty, nervy, charismatic lady-killer and visionary of the highest order. All it takes to be an enduring success, it seems, is knowing when to end your story. ``To Kill a Mockingbird'' (Universal, scandalously out of print but available at amazon.com). One of the finest, most humane dramas ever made stars Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch, a widower teaching his children decency by example, in defending a black laborer wrongly accused of raping a white woman. Featuring Robert Duvall's screen debut as pitiable pit·i·a·ble adj. 1. Arousing or deserving of pity or compassion; lamentable. 2. Arousing disdainful pity. See Synonyms at pathetic. pit outcast Boo Radley. ``City Lights'' (Warner Home Video; $29.95). Probably Charlie Chaplin's masterpiece, this silent comedy concerns the Little Tramp's efforts to help a young blind woman while befriending a blackout drunk. The final shot remains one of the most memorably ambiguous, yet heart-clutching, moments in all of film. ``The Princess Bride'' (MGM/UA; $19.98). One of the most effortlessly charming movies of the past two decades, both a rousing swashbuckler and a clever parody of swashbucklers, an eloquent romance and an entertaining send-up of love stories. Cary Elwes and Robin Wright are destined des·tine tr.v. des·tined, des·tin·ing, des·tines 1. To determine beforehand; preordain: a foolish scheme destined to fail; a film destined to become a classic. 2. to find love, but it takes an awful lot of eccentric characters to get them there. ``Almost Famous'' (Universal; $14.99. ``Bootleg Cut'' available for $34.99). Cameron Crowe's semi-autobiographical account of his days as a teenage rock journalist has it all - a crazed mentor (Philip Seymour Hoffman For other persons named Philip Hoffman, see Philip Hoffman (disambiguation). Philip Seymour Hoffman (born July 23, 1967) is an Academy Award-winning American actor. Biography Early life Hoffman was born in Fairport, New York to Gordon S. ), a buffoonishly charismatic rock star (Billy Crudup), a mom (Frances McDormand) whose tough love is awfully soft, and the sweetest, most romanticized groupie ever imagined (Kate Hudson). ``When We Were Kings'' (Universal Video; $19.98). This Oscar-winning documentary about the trouble-plagued ``Rumble in the Jungle'' in Zaire between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman incisively celebrates everything that was great about one of the sporting world's truest heroes, Ali. ``Fanny and Alexander'' (Criterion Collection, five-disk set: $59.95; two-disc set: $29.95). Ingmar Bergman's final film is based on his own childhood, about how two youngsters who have lost their father turn to their own imaginations to survive the difficulties of their lives when their mother remarries, to a stern clergyman. Magical, theatrical set pieces abound. Available in its theatrical release or the expanded miniseries shown on Swedish television. ``Ed Wood'' (Buena Vista Home Video; $29.99). Tim Burton transforms the life of the unrelenting loser and epically awful filmmaker into the stuff of magic. Johnny Depp portrays Wood as an eternally optimistic, ``Let's-put-on-a-show!'' kind of guy with a creepily wholesome affection for angora sweaters, while Martin Landau won an Oscar for his hilarious turn as bitter junkie Bela Lugosi. COMEDIES ``Ocean's Twelve'' (in theaters). Not as effortlessly entertaining as the 2001 Rat Pack remake, but still plenty smooth; this cast is more offhandedly off·hand adv. Without preparation or forethought; extemporaneously. adj. also off·hand·ed Performed or expressed without preparation or forethought. See Synonyms at extemporaneous. amusing than most movie casts that are trying full-bore to be funny. Heists, feints and double-crosses, but what clicks is the blithe blithe adj. blith·er, blith·est 1. Carefree and lighthearted. 2. Lacking or showing a lack of due concern; casual: spoke with blithe ignorance of the true situation. clique's cool winking at what slight nonsense this whole enterprise truly is. ``The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie'' (in theaters). What better way to school the kids in Dadaism than this aggressively silly incarnation of Nickelodeon's cable sensation about an intensely stupid sponge whose pants are, indeed, square? Warning: Gratuitous David Hasselhoff appearance. ``Monty Python and the Holy Grail'' (Columbia TriStar; $29.95). Arthurian legend and many cheesy cheesy (che´ze) caseous. movie cliches are sent up brilliantly in what may be the funniest movie of the past 30 years. What's amazing is the number of ways the Pythons enter into gags. Soon to become a Broadway musical - cringe or salivate sal·i·vate v. 1. To secrete or produce saliva. 2. To produce excessive salivation in. as you deem appropriate. ``Duck Soup'' (part of the Marx Brothers Silver Screen Collection, Universal Home Video; $59.98). Generally considered the gang's finest moment, it's a surreal satire in which Groucho becomes leader of Freedonia and immediately goes to war - after all, he's already paid the deposit on the battlefield. Even my 11-year-old stepdaughter step·daugh·ter n. A spouse's daughter by a previous union. stepdaughter Noun a daughter of one's husband or wife by an earlier relationship Noun 1. enjoyed it, amazed to discover one of her favorite ``I Love Lucy'' scenes was actually created here (the inspired Groucho mirror sequence). The other movies in this set (``The Cocoanuts,'' ``Animal Crackers,'' ``Monkey Business,'' ``Horse Feathers'') are no slouches, either. ``Some Like It Hot'' (MGM/UA; $19.98). After witnessing the St. Valentine's Day Massacre St. Valentine’s Day Massacre murder of seven members of a gang of bootleggers in Chicago (1929). [Am. Hist.: EB, VII: 797] See : Massacre , Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis elude the mob by joining an all-girl band in this Billy Wilder classic. They pursue fellow bandmate Marilyn Monroe, while Joe E. Brown pursues Lemmon. ``The Philadelphia Story'' (Warner Bros BROS Brothers BROS Benefits and Retirement Operations Section (King County, Washington) BROS Barnes and Richmond Operatic Society (London, UK) .; $19.97). One of Hollywood's greatest romantic comedies finds impossibly spoiled Katharine Hepburn planning to remarry remarry Verb [-ries, -rying, -ried] to marry again following a divorce or the death of one's previous spouse remarriage n Verb 1. , muckraking muck·rake intr.v. muck·raked, muck·rak·ing, muck·rakes To search for and expose misconduct in public life. [From the man with the muckrake, reporter Jimmy Stewart (in his Oscar- winning role) falling in love, and genial ex-husband Cary Grant saving the day. Why can't they write dialogue this snappy today? ``Women on the Verge On the Verge (or The Geography of Yearning) is a play written by Eric Overmyer. It makes extensive use of esoteric language and pop culture references from the late nineteenth century to 1955. of a Nervous Breakdown'' (MGM/UA; out of print but available at amazon.com). Ingenious farce about women coping with sundry unreliable lovers and/or terrorists. Carmen Carmen throws over lover for another. [Fr. Lit.: Carmen; Fr. Opera: Bizet, Carmen, Westerman, 189–190] See : Faithlessness Carmen the cards repeatedly spell her death. [Fr. Maura stars as an unhinged actress best-known for a detergent commercial; her married paramour par·a·mour n. A lover, especially one in an adulterous relationship. [Middle English, from par amour, by way of love, passionately, from Anglo-Norman : par, by has ditched her - and hers aren't even the worst problems suffered in Pedro Almodovar's overstuffed o·ver·stuff tr.v. o·ver·stuffed, o·ver·stuff·ing, over·stuffs 1. To stuff too much into: overstuff a suitcase. 2. To upholster (an armchair, for example) deeply and thickly. (and Oscar-nominated) confection con·fec·tion n. A sweetened medicinal compound. Also called electuary. . ``Flirting With Disaster'' (Miramax Home Entertainment; $19.99). Tea Leoni is dividing critics with her current performance in ``Spanglish,'' and Ben Stiller's ``Meet the Fockers'' is also finding fans and foes alike. See her at her most hilariously neurotic and him at his most deliriously beleaguered be·lea·guer tr.v. be·lea·guered, be·lea·guer·ing, be·lea·guers 1. To harass; beset: We are beleaguered by problems. 2. To surround with troops; besiege. in this breathlessly funny farce about a young man's catastrophic search for his birth parents. ``The Big Lebowski'' (Universal Video; $14.98). The Coen brothers' follow-up to Oscar winner ``Fargo'' alienated mainstream audiences, but for the right sensibility, it's pure comic gold. Jeff Bridges plays a stoner ston·er n. 1. One that stones. 2. Slang a. One who is habitually intoxicated by alcohol or drugs. b. One who is a delinquent or failure. who happens to share a name with someone who actually has the wherewithal to get into deep trouble. This seriously interrupts his bowling schedule but hooks him up with an erotic performance artist (Julianne Moore). Fiercely random, relentlessly silly - and Saddam Hussein has a cameo! (OK, so it's a look-alike.) ``Underground'' (New Yorker Video; $29.95). A half-century of Yugoslavian history - up to the moment it fell apart - is compressed in this surreal satire for more adventurous tastes (which won the Palme Pal·me , Olaf 1927-1986. Swedish politician. As premier (1969-1976 and 1982-1986) he was widely respected for his efforts toward peace and disarmament. Palme was assassinated in 1986. d'Or in 1995) boasting wild music, wilder manic plotting and the construction of lots and lots of weapons of mass destruction Weapons that are capable of a high order of destruction and/or of being used in such a manner as to destroy large numbers of people. Weapons of mass destruction can be high explosives or nuclear, biological, chemical, and radiological weapons, but exclude the means of transporting or . One of the craziest things you're likely to see - with the exception, of course, of ``The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie.'' David Kronke, (818) 713-3638 david.kronke(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): drawing, 4 photos Drawing: (cover -- color) Christmas Cheer Movies to make you laugh and feel good Jon Gerung/Staff Artist Photo: (1) Sandra Oh, left, Thomas Haden Church, Virginia Madsen and Paul Giamatti share a California wine-country picnic in ``Sideways.'' (2) ``The Incredibles'' (3) Leonardo DiCaprio is eccentric billionaire Howard Hughes in ``The Aviator.'' (4) George Clooney, left, Matt Damon and Brad Pitt are up to their old tricks - and some new ones - in ``Ocean's Twelve.'' |
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