Netflix And Chill: The Christmas Chronicles 2 (2020)

Most of the main players return for this sequel to the Santa flick that gave Netflix a big hit two years ago. Having said that, I cannot think of many of their original Christmas content that hasn't gone down well. They have certainly done their homework, and worked with people who know what viewers will expect.

Young Kate (Darby Camp) is unhappy. She is having to spend Christmas in a warmer climate, with her brother (Teddy, played by Judah Lewis), her mother (Kimberly Williams-Paisley), her mother's boyfriend, Bob (Tyrese Gibson), and Bob's young son, Jack (Jahzir Bruno). So she takes the opportunity to sneak away when she can, but young Jack accompanies her. The two children end up on a cart driven by Belsnickel (Julian Dennison), who then throws them all through a wormhole, which is all part of his plan to get to Santa's Village and ruin Christmas. Why does he want to do that? That all comes out as the slim plot unfolds, with Kate and Jack doing whatever they can to help Santa (Kurt Russell) and Mrs. Claus (Goldie Hawn).

Directed by Chris Columbus (you can say many things about him, but an unsafe pair of hands he is not), The Christmas Chronicles 2 gives you everything you might want from a sequel to the first movie, without taking any risks. Columbus also co-wrote the movie with Matt Liberman, the main writer from the first movie, and it's a very enjoyable and amusing family film. Like so many other films that Columbus has helmed. But other films from Columbus are missing one vital ingredient that this has; Kurt Russell.

Yes, that's right, much like the first time around, this Christmas movie is absolutely lifted up by a turn from Russell that shows him to be the Santa we never knew we wanted. Having been an acting legend for decades, especially to fans of John Carpenter movies, Russell has the look and age to play Santa, but the baggage and cool factor to add a different kind of magic sparkle. He always has a twinkle in his eye, and genuinely seems to relish the adventures that divert him from his usual Christmas schedule.

Having Goldie Hawn play Mrs. Claus (following on from her cameo in The Christmas Chronicles) is another major plus. This isn't just a Christmas movie, this is a family affair. These stars are having a whale of a time, and viewers are simply lucky enough to watch their chemistry infuse the whole film with a warm glow. Very few people could compete with these adults, but fair play to the younger cast members for trying their best, and being helped along by the script. Camp is, in many ways, the least of the leads, but she's the unwavering heart of the film, dealing with her own complex issue as she loses herself in another Christmas adventure. Then you have Bruno, stealing a lot of his scenes with a wonderful comic turn. Dennison makes a great villain, blinded by his rage for much of the runtime, although perhaps not beyond some kind of redemption. The other characters have much less screentime, but everyone does good work.

The many CGI elves are designed for fun, rather than realism, the reindeer all look fine, the many small wonders in Santa's village are a treat, and there's nothing here to stop this becoming a new Christmas favourite for a while. Yet it is lacking something. If it wasn't for the casting, this wouldn't play half as well as it does. It's also just not quite as good as the first film, because it lacks the impact of first seeing Russell play his Santa so perfectly, and it repeats a number of tricks. If the first film was a shiny new toy, this is the party gift that seems fun at first, but is then placed in a drawer and forgotten about until someone asks you to bring it round for their Christmas party.

An easy option if you're wanting some fun for all the family, but I don't think it will become an annual tradition. 

6/10

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Netflix And Chill: Holiday Rush (2019)

There's never a good time to fire an employee. Unless you're a proper Scrooge, Christmas is probably the worst time to do it. But that is what happens to popular DJ Rush Williams (Romany Malco) in this light and enjoyable bit of holiday fare.

Initially seeing no silver lining on the massive cloud that has descended upon his life, Rush is soon spurred into some positive action by his long-time associate, and close friend, Roxy (Sonequa Martin-Green). A bit of downsizing is required, a new home (well . . . it's their old home, one with less space but more emotional weight to the memories), and a plan to take over a small radio station and start again. If it's not going to be difficult enough already, the person responsible for firing Rush (Jocelyn, played by Tamala Jones) aims to try and make it impossible. There's also the not-insignificant matter of how the four children will adjust to the situation.

Although he has a 2013 festive special under his belt already, director Leslie Small is a strange choice for Holiday Rush. His background is rooted much more in comedy, particularly the live comedy of Kevin Hart, as well as numerous Comedy Jam specials. And Holiday Rush is not a comedy. So I assumed that Small had decided to put his faith in some writers with more experience in this kind of thing. Not so. In fact, neither Sean Dwyer nor Greg Cope White have an extensive list of writing credits, and they certainly haven't accrued the TV movie work that some have (usually those who know the formula in and out and can tweak it every time for a number of variations on the same themes).

Maybe this lack of over-familiarity helps to make Holiday Rush as good as it is, although I am not going to tell you that it's great. It manages to use some familiar tropes sparingly, yet remains focused on the story of a father trying to recover from a major blow while also ensuring that his children can acclimatise to the changes he is taking them through. A big part of the movie, an undercurrent that bubbles to the surface in a couple of crucial scenes, really delivers the lesson that it's okay to not be okay, and sometimes everyone needs someone there to help them, or maybe just be in their corner and continue to believe in them while they work beyond their own doubts. That may sound as trite and cheesy as anything else you could glean from any crop of TV movies, but it's done in a way that handles the unsubtle emotional manipulation better than many others I could point to.

Malco is a pleasant surprise in the main role, considering how much I assumed the material would pump up the bluster and swagger that I always think is his main persona (to be fair, I am basing that entirely on his turn in The 40-Year-Old Virgin, which remains one of his strongest supporting turns). He has the confidence you expect him to have when doing what he loves, but that is tempered by the stress and worry building as everything seems to conspire against him. Martin-Green is very welcome in her role, an obvious close and supportive friend who seems to be at her best when giving someone else a kick in the pants. Darlene Love is a solid matriarch, playing the aunt who knows when to offer tough love and when not to push, and Amarr M. Wooten does his best with what he's given, which is to be the most difficult of the four children, viewing the problems as an indicator that there won't be enough money for him to go to the university of his choice, and viewing some decisions made as personal attacks on things that he holds dear. Jones is a fun baddie, and Deon Cole is a highlight, playing a supposed friend who doesn't really give due consideration to Rush and co. while his own job is safe.

Once again, as if it would ever be different for a film of this type, you know how things are going to end, you know that nobody will get themselves into any kind of situation that they won't be able to get out of, and you know that everything will be wrapped up in shiny paper with a pretty bow on top. But that doesn't stop this from being a very enjoyable slice of Christmas cake, helpfully coming in at an almost-perfect runtime and leaving you with a smile on your face as the credits roll.

6/10

Lethal Weapon (1987)

Does Lethal Weapon NEED any introduction? I really don't think so. THE buddy cop movie by which all others ended up being measured, this was the film to put Danny Glover and Mel Gibson together with highly entertaining, and explosive, results.

I'll briefly surmise the plot. Mel plays Martin Riggs, a suicidal cop who lives for his job. Danny Glover is Roger Murtaugh, a 50-year-old cop who just wants to keep doing his job well while avoiding any of the downsides of the job, like bullet wounds or premature death. The two men are partnered up together, and it's not long until the case that they're working on places both of them in great danger.

With solid direction from Richard Donner, despite a flurried final fight sequence, and a cracking script from Shane Black, Lethal Weapon is everything that you should love about '80s action movies. All of the cliches are in place, although they weren't necessarily cliches when the movie was released, and every element is added to the movie without any hint of shame. The saxophone popping up all over the soundtrack, the troubled hero, the moment at which it all becomes personal, the mad villainous henchman played by Gary Busey. Admittedly, that last part isn't a cliche. It's just a masterstroke.

After attaining iconic status with his leading role in the Mad Max movies, Gibson finds himself in the enviable position of being able to have fun with another character quickly embraced by, and absorbed into, the pop culture of the time. Glover is in the same position, thankfully, as both men have their fair share of great moments. Lethal Weapon benefits from a central pairing so perfect that one man cannot shine without the other. But it's not JUST all about the men, oh no. It may seem that way, yet Traci Wolfe and Darlene Love also get to make a great impression as, respectively, Mrs Trish Murtaugh and daughter Rianne. Mary Ellen Trainor also pops up as a psychologist, a character she would reprise in the sequels, and she'd even gain an actual name in the third movie. Tom Atkins appears briefly, lending some Atkins greatness to the proceedings, Mitch Ryan is a bad man, and Busey is the REAL, and more entertaining, bad man. Well, he's the one who thinks himself capable of facing off against Gibson's character, which makes him highly dangerous.

Full of great moments, that are deservedly remembered with fondness, and great characters, Lethal Weapon endures, despite the fluffiness of Gibson's oh-so-eighties hair and the potential to teeter into all-out ridiculousness, because of the chemistry between everyone onscreen, be it Riggs and Murtaugh, the goodies and the baddies, or even the warmth between Murtaugh and his loving family. A classic of the genre.

9/10

http://www.amazon.com/Lethal-Weapon-Collection-Blu-ray/dp/B0079KGAOY/ref=sr_1_2?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1405112139&sr=1-2&keywords=lethal+weapon