Day: December 23, 2019

A Christmas Prince is as Advertised

A Christmas Prince

The review:

I had Christmas cards to address and needed something Christmas-y while I was doing it,* and so I turned on Alex Zamm’s A Christmas Prince. It wasn’t terrible. I found that Theo Devaney (Simon) was more interesting than the Christmas Prince himself, so I wasn’t really rooting for the right person, but overall, I didn’t hate it.**

The verdict: Skip

Cost: Netflix monthly fee ($8.99)
Where watched: at home (also, I had to pay more attention to this than It’s a Wonderful Life and thus kept making errors in addressing the Christmas cards.)

Consider watching instead:

Further sentences:

*I don’t own a copy of It’s a Wonderful Life, which is my go-to for this sort of thing
**I’ve really enjoyed Rose McIver in iZombie, and was surprised to see her coming off as so vapid in this film.

Questions:

  • Did you like this film? If yes, what worked for you?
  • Do you think this movie deserves to have two sequels?

Favorite IMDB trivia items:

The movie was filmed on the Peles Castle, a Neo-Renaissance castle in the Carpathian Mountains, situated in Sinaia, in Romania.

(I question your syntax there, IMDB trivia contributor, but I was wondering where that castle was.)

Other reviews:

A Christmas Prince

Motherless Brooklyn is Nearly a Very, Very Good Film

Motherless Brooklyn

The review:

Edward Norton makes a worthy detective story set in the 1950s and Motherless Brooklyn was nearly a very, very, good film.* While the Tourette’s aspect feels very much like Mr. Norton is shooting for an Academy Award nomination and thus, from that angle, is distracting, it is interesting to watch his performance and how the syndrome affects his character.** The movie is also populated with excellent actors (hooray for another good role for Gugu Mbatha-Raw!) and the mystery was engrossing.***

The verdict: Good

Cost: $6.00
Where watched: Jubitz Cinema

Consider also watching:

Further sentences:

*It pains me to say that it’s the slightest bit too long, like maybe we didn’t need that much time watching jazz musicians at the club. As it is, it’s a very good film.
**I found it interesting that no one in the film made fun of him, or was repulsed by for his tics and twitches. I felt like that wasn’t quite up to snuff for film set in the 1950s.
***I figured out one thing before Lionel did, which made me feel very smart.

Questions:

  • Should Edward Norton direct more films?
  • How many favors do you think Mr. Norton called in to get all those really great actors? (Never mind. Answered in the IMDB triva item below.)

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

According to writer, director, and actor Edward Norton, the principal major stars all worked for free on this, his second directorial outing.

Other Reviews:

Motherless Brooklyn