What classics did you see last week ? (23 Dec - 29 Dec 2018)

Porky's Railroad (1937) I realized I had never seen a solo outing from Porky Pig, he either appeared with other characters or his signature sign-off at the end of most WB cartoons. So I made a point of seeking out some. Here he costars with Toots the train.




Porky Pig's Feat (1943) Porky and Daffy Duck keep trying to check out of a hotel without paying their bill. Non-stop laffs. Porky is the star, but Daffy steals the show and would soon go on to surpass his popularity with the public.




Christmas Inheritance (2017) has that ole timey classic film feel, big city girl goes to small town at Christmas and her experience there turns around her world view and she falls in love. Contrived and yet lovely. It's Christmas and I fell for it.



Almost Christmas (2016) Danny Glover's entire family comes home for Christmas, each with their own problems. A comedic drama that works.



Bird Box (2018) The most watched Netflix movie ever, an apocalyptic sci-fi movie involving some alien force that forces you to kill yourself if you see it, so everyone stays indoors and blindfolded. Made for great Christmas viewing though!



Christmas Eve (1947) The things I do for Randolph Scott! He doesn't even appear until the last half of the movie, which is not as Christmasy as I was hoping it would be. Still, it was entertaining enough. Joan Blondell steals every single moment she appears in.



Christmas Eve (2015) The things I do for Patrick Stewart! I had to watch this after seeing the original movie called Christmas Eve. These movies are totally unrelated, however. This one is okay too, although it all takes place in various trapped elevators.



Rent (2005) The famous movie version of the famous musical. It didn't blow my mind or anything, and I was a little bored at times, but the music was mostly okay. It was leaving Netflix so I thought I should check it out.



A Christmas Prince: The Royal Wedding (2018) is the sequel to Netflix's unexpected big hit from last Christmas. It was such a big success that Netflix commissioned a sequel and a ton of other Christmas-themed movies. It's harmless fluff and enjoyable.



Thumper (2017) Nothing says Christmas like a little movie about drug dealers. This was a random selection that turned out surprisingly good. It also stars Eliza Taylor, who also starred in the very different Christmas Inheritance earlier in the week.



Hold the Dark (2018) was a very dark, very violent (and shockingly so!) neo-noir Alaskan crime thriller, the best thing I saw all week. Highly recommended!



We're No Angels (1955) The story of my trying to see this movie over the years could be a movie itself. FINALLY I got to see it from beginning to end. It's charming, a bit like a stage play really, but fun holiday viewing. Very different from the De Niro/Penn version.



Dead Man Down (2013) And so begins the out-for-revenge portion of my Christmas viewing. I had a relative here who only watches action movies so I went along with him. I like them too. This one was very good, with some twists and great acting.



Once Upon a Time in Venice (2017) This was more of a comedic action movie, almost sort of like a Carl Hiaasen novel meets the Coen brothers kind of mashup. Bruce Willis seems like he got his mojo back, while John Goodman seems to be on medication that makes him drowsy, or maybe that was just his choice for the character?



Pottersville (2017) At first it seems like a Christmas movie that may be riding the coattails of It's a Wonderful Life, but that movie never had Bigfoot sightings and a furry sex club! My first Ian McShane movie of the week. Here, he spoofs Jaws in a scene that simply has to be seen.



Woman Wanted (1999) The things I do for Holly Hunter! I only watched this because of her and also my friend was a production assistant on the movie too. She couldn't say enough good things about Kiefer Sutherland, and quite the opposite about Michael Moriarty. Let's just say, she never worked on another movie afterwards. The movie is a meandering mess, although not the worst I've ever seen.



This Christmas (2007) This was very similar to Almost Christmas, which came out later and I liked it better. However, this seemed to be more fun for the cast to make, the outtakes at the end were great.



Uncle Nick (2015) This movie makes Bad Santa look like A Charlie Brown Christmas. Quite raunchy at times, somewhat funny, then ends on such a downer. Definitely qualifies for the title of anti-Christmas movie.



Mr. Holmes (2015) An aged Sherlock Holmes revisits his last case. Ian McKellen is superb, as always. Had this movie sitting around for eons waiting for me to watch it, finally, I did.



The Hollow Point (2016) A violent neo-noir modern day western. If Sicario and Hell or High Water could have a one night stand, the offspring may look like this. Okay, so it's not as good as either of those two movies, but it's quite good. Ian McShane is in this too, and has all the best lines.



Vengeance (2017) Nic Cage is out for vengeance! Not too bad, but not too good either. Cage might just be the weakest link here, his character never emotes while all the other characters get to emote up a storm.



Acts of Vengeance (2017) This movie was chosen because it had vengeance in the title and I had to continue to entertain my uncle with a fresher and fresher supply of action movies. I was impressed with Banderas and his fighting skills. The filmmakers did a good job of tricking us into believing this was filmed in NYC and not Bulgaria.