Movie/TV Reviews

‘Tis the season to rejoice over memories of your favorite Christmas movies – but where to stream them? Here’s a handy guide to where you can find your classic preferences, along with some eclectic oddities:

HBO MAX

“A Christmas Carol” (1938) – Reginald Owen is Scrooge

“A Christmas Story” (1983) – Ralphie wants a Red Ryder BB gun for Christmas

“Elf” (2003) – Will Ferrell discovers he’s not really a North Pole elf.

“Four Christmases”

“Fred Claus”

“Gremlins” (1984)

“Jack Frost”

“Miracle on 34^th Street” (1947) – What happens when Kris Kingle becomes Macy’s Santa?

“National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” (1980) – frolic with the Griswold family

“The Polar Express” (2004) – animated

DISNEY+

“Home Alone” (1990) – An eight year-old his accidentally left behind on a family trip…plus “Home Alone 2” and “Home Alone 3”

“A Muppet Christmas Carol” (1992) – Michael Caine joins the Muppets

“Jingle All the Way” – Arnold Schwarzenegger is desperate for a Turbo Man action figure (it’s also on Amazon Prime and Hulu)

“Noelle”

“The Night Before Christmas” (1992) – Tim Burton/animated

“The Santa Clause” (1994)…plus two sequels

“I’ll Be Home for Christmas”

“Miracle on 34^th Street” – both the 1947 classic and the 1994 remake

AMAZON PRIME VIDEO:

“Bad Santa” (2003) – Billy Bob Thornton is hilarious as a demented mall Santa

“Arthur Christmas” (2011) – animated

“Christmas With the Kranks” (2004)

“Mariah Carey’s All I Want for Christmas Is You” (2017)

“Surviving Christmas” (2004 comedy)

“Holiday Inn” (1942) – Bing Crosby introduces Irving Berlin’s “White Christmas” & Fred Astaire dances

“White Christmas” (1954) – remake of “Holiday Inn” with Bing & Danny Kaye

“How the Grinch Stole Christmas” (2000) – Jim Carrey is the Grinch

“Love Actually” (2003) – romantic comedy with Colin Firth, Emma Thompson, Hugh Grant

“Meet Me in St. Louis” (1944) – Judy Garland sings “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”

“It’s A Wonderful Life” (1946)- Jimmy Stewart in the most iconic holiday films

“Santa Claus Conquers the Martians” (1964) – sci-fi fantasy about kidnapping Santa Claus

“Scrooged” (1988) – a weird adaptation of Charles Dickens’ classic with Bill Murray

“The Holdovers” (2023) – Paul Giamatti at a boarding school

“The Bells of St. Mary’s” (1945) – Bing Crosby & Ingrid Bergman

“The Lemon Drop Kid” (1951) – Bob Hope comedy introducing the song “Silver Bells”

NETFLIX:

“White Christmas” (1954) – remake of “Holiday Inn” with Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney

“The Holiday” (2006)

“A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas” (2011)

“A Very Murray Christmas” (1915) – Bill Murray is the center of a star-studded variety show

HULU

“A Christmas Carol”

“Christmas in Connecticut” (1945) – Barbara Stanwyck & Dennis Morgan

“Christmas With the Kranks”

“Happiest Season”

“Deck the Hall”

“The Mistle-Tones”

“The Family Stone”

“Jingle All the Way”

“The Holiday”

“The Man Who Invented Christmas”

APPLE TV+

“A Charlie Brown Christmas” (1965) – Emmy/Peabody-winning Charles Schultz’s short

PEACOCK

“Die Hard” (1988) – Bruce Willis action thriller (also shown on AMC+)

“How the Grinch Stole Christmas” (1966) – animated

“Better Watch Out” (2016)

“My Santa” (2013)

AMC+

“Die Hard” (1988) – Bruce Willis action thriller (also shown on Peacock)

“Scrooge” (1951) – Alastair Sim is absolutely wicked as Scrooge

TUBI & YouTube

“The Bells of St. Mary’s” (1945) – Bring Crosby & Ingrid Bergman save a parish school

“Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer & Island of Misfit Toys” (2001) – animated

 

 

 

Susan Granger’s review of “Landman” (Paramount+)     

 

Based on Christian Wallace’s podcast about industrial corruption within the big 21^st century oil boom in the West Texas basin, Taylor Sheridan’s “Landman” attracted 14.9 million viewers in its first four weeks, making it the biggest global premiere for any Paramount original to date.

Billy Bob Thornton plays Tommy Norris, a thoroughly disgruntled, disillusioned crisis-management landman whose job is to secure mineral rights for the small, independent oil company owned by Monty Miller (Jon Hamm), married to Cami (Demi Moore)..

A longtime roughneck, Tommy is all too familiar with America’s dependence on oil, a 150-year petroleum-based infrastructure. So expect to become acquainted with the personnel operating the oil derricks (the large metal apparatus holding pipes, drills, pumps, filters, etc.) that pull crude from the ground, refine it and prepare it for mass consumption.

That includes ‘toolpushers’ and ‘drillers’ who specialize in fracking, utilizing highly pressurized water to break ground. ‘Ginsels’ are low-level crew members who perform menial tasks, and the ‘worm’ is the most novice worker on an oil rig.

In addition to work, Tommy’s got his hands full with the ridiculously sexy, skimpily clad women in his life: his relentlessly seductive ex-wife Angela (Ali Larter) and 17 year-old daughter Ainsley (Michelle Randolph), along with his 22 year-old son Cooper (Jacob Lofland), determined to learn about the oil industry.

Drilling is a dangerous business so when a horrific ‘blowout’ occurs, Monty Miller summons Rebecca Falcone (Kayle Wallace), a ferociously intelligent, politically correct young attorney whose presence complicates matters further.

Since he’s admittedly $500,000 in debt, Tommy shares sprawling home with Nathan (Colm Feore), a company lawyer, and Dale (James Jordan), an oil patch worker; their provocative presence creates another interesting dynamic.

Although the series just made its debut, critics have already attacked Taylor Sheridan’s controversial assertions about renewable energy – particularly the concrete, crane and lubricants in wind turbines – and climate change technology.  

Tyler Sheridan’s best known for his “Yellowstone” trilogy, encompassing “1883” and “1923,” starring Harrison Ford & Helen Mirren, which begins its second season.

On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “Landman” is an engaging 8, streaming every Sunday night on Paramount+.     

Susan Granger’s review of “A Real Pain” (Searchlight)

 

Nominated for 3 Critics Choice Awards (Best Original Screenplay, Best Comedy, Best Supporting Actor) and 4 Golden Globes (Best Comedy, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Screenplay), Jesse Eisenberg’s “A Real Pain” is on a roll.

The story follows two estranged Jewish cousins – cautious, pragmatic David (Jesse Eisenberg) and unpredictable, free-spirited Benji Kaplan (Kieran Culkin) – who reunite for a Holocaust tour through Poland to honor their late, beloved Grandma Dory whose childhood home they’re planning to visit.

Their travelling companions include wistful Los Angeles divorcee Marcia (Jennifer Grey), a stolidly boring older couple – Diana (Liza Sadovy) and Mark (Daniel Oreskes) from Shaker Heights – and soft-spoken, compassionate Eloge (Kurt Egyiawan) who fled the Rwandan genocide and later converted to Judaism.

The itinerary takes them to a number of picturesque stops in Warsaw and Lublin with a somber visit to the Majdanek concentration and extermination camp.

While their British tour guide James (Will Sharpe), an Oxford scholar, has an intellectual understanding of the statistics of history, outspoken Benji forces him into exploring a more visceral connection to these landmarks, much to uptight David’s embarrassment and exasperation.

David & Benji’s adventure takes an abrupt emotional turn when old resentments and tensions erupt against the backdrop of their shared Jewish family heritage.

Yet there’s relatable humor when they visit an immense sculpture dedicated to W.W. II’s Warsaw Uprising Movement and – urged by Benji – their various companions pose for photos, pretending they’re fighting the Nazis.

Written and directed by Jesse Eisenberg (“The Social Network”), the deftly perceptive comedic drama explores the various paths to dealing with pain, loss and suffering, accompanied by the complicated upheaval of self-discovery.  And look for Kieran Culkin to snag a Supporting Actor Oscar nomination to accompany his Emmy for “Succession.”

Cinematographer Michal Dymek makes the most of the contemporary Polish locations, and the sound track incorporates Chopin nocturnes, preludes, etudes, ballads and waltzes, played by Israeli-Canadian pianist Tzvi Erez.

On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “A Real Pain” is an authentic, emotional 8, streaming on Amazon Prime, Apple TV and Fandango At Home on Dec. 31.

Susan Granger’s review of “Carry-On” (Netflix)

 

With so many of us planning to fly this holiday season, Netflix’s explosive thriller – evoking memories of “Die Hard” – “Carry-On” couldn’t be timelier.

It’s Christmas Eve at LAX (Los Angeles International Airport) and the rush is on. Thousands of travelers are loading their bags onto conveyor belts, eager to pass through security and board their designated flights.

For 30 year-old Ethan Kopek (Taron Egerton) and his unexpectedly pregnant girl-friend Nora (Sofia Carson) it’s a celebratory day. After being rejected at the police academy, Ethan’s been working as a low-level TSA agent just so he can have lunch every day with Nora, a supervisor at the same terminal.

Meanwhile, a mysterious Traveler (Jason Bateman) is determined to get a dangerous bag through LAX security. To make sure all goes as planned, he has a sniper (Theo Rossi) remotely ‘watching’ from a stolen van in the nearby garage.

After switching shifts with a colleague, hoping to secure a promotion, unsuspecting Ethan is told to listen carefully to menacing instructions given through a discreet earbud dropped off at his screening station.

When a particular black bag adorned with a red ribbon passes through his x-ray scanner, “All you have to do…is nothing,” he’s told. If Ethan doesn’t comply, Nora’s life is threatened, along with everyone else in the airport.

At the same time, the LAPD has been alerted to a mysterious fire which is being investigated by detective Elena Cole (Danielle Deadwyler) who somehow ties it to the treacherous plot unfolding at LAX.

Formulaically scripted by T.J. Fixman, duly directed by Jaume Collet-Serra (“Non-Stop,” “The Shallows”), and expertly photographed by Lyle Vincent, this is a sleek, suspenseful surveillance story with exciting chase scenes staged throughout the airport and deep into the bowels of baggage sorting.

Like making amiable Hugh Grant a psychotic killer in “Heretic,” designating likeable Jason Bateman as the villain is clever casting. And Taron Egerton delivers on the ‘leading man’ promise he showed in “Kingsman.”

On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “Carry-On” is an escapist, stressful 7, streaming on Netflix.

Susan Granger’s review of “Challengers” (M.G.M.)

 

“People” magazine’s film critic Tom Gliatto just designated “Challengers” as his #1 favorite for 2024. While I wouldn’t go that far, Italian director Luca Guadagnino’s emotional entanglement saga involving three tennis players is certainly one of the most challenging in recent memory.

It begins as discontented top-ranked tennis pro Art Donaldson (Mike Faist) is nearing is 40^th birthday and obviously tiring of the game, much to the distress of his ultra-competitive wife/coach Tashi Duncan (Zendaya). To restore his mojo, she urges him to enter a low-level Challenger tournament in New Rochelle, New York.

What she doesn’t realize is that Donaldson’s long-time on-court rival, Patrick Zweig (Josh O’Connor) is one of the participants. Down-on-his-luck and so strapped for cash that he sleeps in his car, Zweig needs a win there in order to qualify for the U.S. Open.

The Donaldson/Zweig relationship is a complicated bromance, dating back to their years on National Juniors circuit, where they were doubles partners and inseparable buddies until they both fell in love with up-and-coming women’s star Tashi Duncan, who wields a powerhouse backhand.

While Donaldson’s so totally disciplined and dependable that he borders on bland, volatile Zweig slyly oozes a rakish energy that backfires as often as it succeeds.

As for Tashi, she flirtatiously plays precarious mind games with both her suitors that only intensify when she’s sidelined with a career-ending knee injury at Stanford.

While Zweig’wins’ her first, she shrewdly marries Donaldson and they have a hotel-loving daughter who seems irrelevant to the plot.

What distinguishes Luca Guadagnino’s (“Call Me by Your Name”) risqué, psychologically intriguing concept, scripted by novelist/playwright Justin Kuritzkes, from other sports-themed dramas is its essential ambiguity, a closing twist leaving the audience wondering who really wins at the conclusion – and does it really matter?

The on-court conflict is deftly chronicled by cinematographer Sayombhu Mukdeeprom and there’s a terrific techno score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross.

For those who are curious, the cast ‘trained’ with tennis pro/coach/commentator Brad Gilbert and his wife Kim at a country club outside Boston. They ‘look’ good but much of the visual action is computer-generated.

On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “Challengers” is an erotically-charged, enigmatic 8, streaming on Prime Video and MGM+.

Susan Granger’s review of “The Agency” (Showtime/Paramount+)

 

Combine CIA secrets with undercover espionage and toss in some big-name studs and you should have an intriguing new spy series, right? Unfortunately with “The Agency,” it doesn’t add up.

Using the code name ‘Martian,’ Michael Fassbender plays a world-weary CIA field agent abruptly summoned from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to his London base after six years of undercover work, leaving behind his lover, activist Sami Zahir (Jodie Turner-Smith).

After Martian connects with his Zoom handler Naomi (Katherine Waterson), he’s passed along to Henry (Jeffrey Wright), who tells him the Cold War is back, and the British station chief Bosko (Richard Gere) who answers only to Langley.

There’s a definite hierarchy here.

“There are 170,000 words in the English language,” declares Bosko. “Each year 2,000 of them become obsolete; they enter the great verbal bathtub of our collective being. Presently circling around that open drain are these words: stoicism, fortitude, duty, honor, sacrifice.”

Who talks like that?

Not Danny (Saura Lightfoot-Leon), a new recruit on her first assignment. “There’s a cost for doing this work,” she’s told. “A price. Are you sure you want to pay it?”

Meanwhile, a CIA-asset called ‘Coyote’ has disappeared in Belarus and, because he’s a reformed alcoholic, he may have been tortured/forced to drink liquor which would cause him to spill confidential information during an interrogation.

More complications arise when Dr. Rachel Blake (Harriet Sansom Harris) arrives from Langley “to evaluate mental health across the department.”

That’s understandable since everyone seems disgruntled. Martian soon discovers that his flat has been bugged, and he resents that he’s being tailed as he copes with his teenage daughter, Poppy (India Fowler). Plus, Sami arrives in London.

Debuting on Nov. 29 with the first three of 10 episodes, it’s remake of the French series “Le Bureau des Legendes” (“The Bureau”) that’s been adapted by brothers Jez & John-Henry Butterworth and produced by George Clooney & Grant Heslov.

Inexplicably underwritten and slow-paced, it’s punctuated with predictably chaotic car chases in and out of a shadowy garage, tires skidding…..

On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “The Agency” is a clichéd, stagnant, frustrating 4, streaming on Paramount/Showtime

Susan Granger’s review of “Maria” (Netflix)

 

Prediction: Angelina Jolie will be nominated for a Best Actress Academy Award for her luminous, imperious performance in “Maria.” Back in 2000, she won as Best Supporting Actress for “Girl, Interrupted,” so it’s been more than two decades between trips to the Oscar podium.

Chilean filmmaker Pablo Larrain’s visually sumptuous fantasy about formidable Maria Callas begins in September, 1977, with a poignant death scene in her luxurious apartment in Paris, punctuated by her singing “Ave Maria (Desdemona)” from Verdi’s “Otello.”

Larrain insists that – after spending seven months in arduous vocal training – Jolie’s dubbed voice is blended with the opera diva’s, particularly during the scenes that take place at the end of Callas’ life when her soprano range was weaker.

Basking in adulation from her adoring fans and addicted to a powerful sedative marketed as Mandrax, then-53 year-old Callas tells her faithful housekeeper (Alba Rohrwacher) and butler (Pierfrancesco Favino): “As of this morning, what is real and what is not real is my business.”

So don’t expect meticulously researched details of a traditional biography. Instead, there are fragmentary flashbacks: Born in New York to Greek parents, Maria as a poor, fat teenager in Athens…Glorious ovations at La Scala…Her nomadic nine-year affair with predatory Greek shipping tycoon Aristotle Onassis (Haluk Bilginer), who paraded her like a trophy yet abruptly left her to marry widowed Jacqueline Kennedy.

“Perhaps we can speak a little about your life away from the stage,” an intrepid TV interviewer (Kodi Smit-McPhee) intones. “There is no life away from the stage,” Callas replies with tremulous vulnerability. “The stage is in my mind.”

Pablo Larrain is perhaps best known for his trilogy of one-word famous-women film titles: “Jackie,” “Spencer” and “Maria,” speculating on the enigmatic inner lives of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis (played by Natalie Portman), Princess of Wales Diana Spencer (played by Kristen Stewart) and now Maria Callas.

If you’re intrigued, I highly recommend reading Sophia Lambton’s “The Callas Imprint: A Centennial Biography” (2023), which informed my evaluation of this film.

On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “Maria” is an exaggerated yet elusive, elegiac 8, streaming on Netflix, starting on Wed., December 11.

Susan Granger’s review of “Blitz” (Apple Original Films)

 

“Blitz” is a historical drama revolving around a mother desperately trying to find her young son in the midst of the Nazi bombardment of London during W.W. II.

Their adventure begins in 1940 as a massive firehose ominously whips around like a giant snake while brave firefighters battle a building that’s engulfed in flames and reduced to smoking rubble.

Nine year-old George Hanway (Elliott Heffernan), along with other terrified residents, cowers in an underground shelter with his single mother Rita (Saoirse Ronan), a munitions factory worker, but there’s never enough room for everyone.

That’s why Rita puts him on an evacuation train to join more than 500,000 children taking refuge with families in the English countryside. George doesn’t want to leave her or his beloved grandfather (musician Paul Weller) but he has no choice.

Once the steam engine gets underway, George manages to jump off, determined to make his way back to London’s East End and Stepney Green. Along the way, he joins orphaned siblings hiding in a box-car and he’s reluctantly recruited by a group of scavenging thieves before he can make another getaway. 

Sired by a Black father who disappeared before he was born, George is biracial which subjects him to prejudice and bullying. Roaming the streets, he enters the Empire Arcade, a shopping center filled with enticing window displays of lavish items imported from areas that have been colonized by Great Britain.

That’s where he’s befriended by Ife (Benjamin Clementine), a wise, soft-spoken Nigerian expat, assigned to monitor/enforce the nightly blackout.

Writer/director Steve McQueen’s (“12 Years a Slave”) story structure is episodic and formulaic. On the other hand, working with production designer Adam Stockhausen and cinematographer Yorick Le Saux, he visually recreates not only the detailed chaos of London under attack but also its frenzied nightclubs where all-Black jazz bands entertain integrated audiences.

One of the most memorable scenes reconstructs a true Blitz disaster when a bomb blew both a sewer and water pipe, flooding the Bethnal Green Tube Station where people were sheltering and 70 died.

On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “Blitz” is an evocative 7, streaming on Apple TV +.

Susan Granger’s review of “La Maison” (Apple TV+)

 

It’s been called “‘Succession’ but with better clothes” and/or  “‘Emily in Paris’ for Grown-Ups” …either way, Apple TV+’s French series “La Maison” entices viewers into the century-old, ultra-luxurious, haute-couture empire that once belonged to Vincent Ledu, who has suddenly fallen out of fashion.

When an offhand racist remark ‘gone viral’ causes Vincent Ledu (Lambert Wilson) to lose control of his iconic label in an international scandal, his relatives circles like vultures, primarily his younger brother Victor (Pierre Deladonchamps) and his pampered thirtysomething nephew Robinson (Antoine Reinartz).

Complicating their inheritance claim is edgy Paloma Castel (Zita Hanrot), a visionary designer who arrives on the scene in order to learn more about her father Gino – the great love of Vincent Ledu’s life – who died when she was only two years old.

Championing diversity and sustainability, this outspoken orphan is welcomed by Perle Foster (Amira Casar), Vincent’s second-in-command/former muse, who tries to convince her boss that “a biracial activist young woman” is exactly what they need, particularly since their financial future is hanging by a thread.

Meanwhile, Ledu’s financial independence is threatened by uber-wealthy Diane Rovel (Carole Bouquet), a relentlessly avaricious predator who already controls a Bernard Arnault-like collection of luxury labels and desperately desires to acquire the Ledu brand – perhaps via her daughter Caroline (Florence Loiret Caille) who is married to Victor Ledu.

Created by Jose Caltagirone and Valentine Millville, this drama series offers behind-the-curtain insight into the unstable economics of the highest echelon of fashion which – for years – has been supported by sales of perfume and purses. With a minuscule client base (about 4,000 worldwide), it nurtures and endorses elitist designers – like Chanel, Dior, Givenchy, Gaultier, Schiaparelli, etc. – who meet the exacting, labor-intensive standards of Paris’s Federation de la Haute Couture et de la Mode (FHCM).

Since the first season concludes with ambiguity, there’s anticipation for a second season but that has yet to be announced by Apple TV+.

On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “La Maison” is a sleek yet slow-paced 6 – with all 10 episodes now streaming on Apple TV+.

 

 

Susan Granger’s review of “Gladiator II” (Paramount Pictures)

 

After “Gladiator” (2000) won an Oscar as Best Picture, Ridley Scott waited more than 20 years to return to Rome’s ancient Colosseum to film “Gladiator II.”

While the first “Gladiator” focused on Roman General Maximus (Russell Crowe), this follow-up introduces Lucius who, as a sensitive 12 year-old in Numidia, was forced to leave his aristocratic family, go into hiding and ‘forget’ his identity.

Growing up on the coast of North Africa, capable Lucius (Paul Mescal) was ready to fight when Roman legions – under General Marcus Acacius (Pedro Pascal) – invaded Numidia, killing his wife and taking him to Rome as a slave/prisoner.

His extraordinary courage and combat skills are immediately spotted by sleazy Macrimus (Denzel Washington), a Machiavellian gangster/gladiator wrangler who buys him, realizing Lucius’ swaggering, crowd-pleasing potential in the arena.

Meanwhile, weary General Acacius returns home to his wife Lucilla (Connie Nielsen), daughter of late Emperor Marcus Aurelius, confiding his disgust with the despotic tyranny of simpering, sadistic twin Emperors Geta (Joseph Quinn) and Carcalla (Fred Hechinger) to Senator Gracchus (Derek Jacobi) and others, which inevitably places him in harm’s way.

And you don’t have to be much of a soothsayer to figure out Lucius’ relationship to Lucilla, tracing back to her liaison with the fabled gladiator Maximus.

Written by David Scarpa, Peter Craig & David Franzoni and photographed by John Mathieson, it’s a sword-and-sandal, cinematic spectacle, featuring ferocious baboons, a saddled rhinoceros, and savage sharks. The latter are part of an elaborately staged naval battle in the flooded Colosseum pit, credited to production designer Arthur Max, who did extensive research at the Museum of Roman Ships of Fiumicino.

Above all, it’s redemptive comeback for 86 year-old Ridley Scott after duds like “Napoleon,” “House of Gucci,” and “The Last Duel.” And it should nab a Best Supporting Actor nomination for scene-stealing Denzel Washington.

FYI: If you want to revisit Scott’s original epic “Gladiator,” it’s available on Paramount+ or purchased digitally on Amazon Prime Video, Google Play, Fandango At Home, and Apple.

On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “Gladiator II” is an eye-popping, barbaric 8, playing in theaters.