Yule Love It: Journey Back To Christmas (2016)

If there's one thing I enjoy more than a Christmas movie, it's a good bit of time-travel fun. So when I heard that Journey Back To Christmas mixed in both of these things, well, I was sold. Yes, I have said this so many times that anyone who has read some of my other reviews will know it doesn't take a lot to sell me on something. But it keeps me happy.

Candace Cameron Bure plays Hanna, a nurse in WWII who ends up somehow transported to the future (2016) and has to figure out a) how to convince people that she's not insane, b) how to get back to her own time, and c) how to teach people a valuable lesson that feels in the spirit of the season. Luckily for her, she ends up in the company of some people who believe her story quite easily, and who are quite willing to learn a thing or two from Hanna, which really only leaves her having to figure out how to get back, if that's at all possible.

Although she doesn't seem to be someone I have seen in many other movies (strange, considering how many of these things she has starred in, although I reviewed the poor A Christmas Detour here), Bure is a likeable enough leading lady, portraying the sweeter than sweet heroine we often see in these Christmas features. The supporting cast are fairly bland though, although that's also often the case for these particular movies, with the only two standing out being Oliver Hudson, playing the police officer who seems strangely trusting of this woman who claims to have come from the past, and Tom Skerritt playing someone who reveals his identity in a timely fashion during the third act. Brooke Nevin isn't too bad in the role of Sarah, who obviously holds a candle for Hudson's character, but the rest of the supporting players may as well not have been there, for all they add to the experience.

Of course, part of that is the fault of writer Maria Nation, who takes a fun central idea and then tries to ruin it with unnecessary distractions. A few less scenes showing the local resident who views Hanna as a danger and a few more scenes of Hanna adjusting to 21st-century life and this would have been a lot more fun.

Director Mel Damski also could have done more. The film feels Christmassy enough, there are plenty of decorations on display and the requisite supply of snow, but it doesn't quite tick everything off the checklist that viewers may want from this kind of fare. I'm not saying that I REALLY wanted a sequence showing Bure being taught a song & dance routine for "Christmas In Holliston" but I'm not saying that including such a moment wouldn't have elevated this into one of my new favourite holiday movies.

I'm surprised that I liked this as much as I did. That may say as much about all of the other movies I have watched recently, and I've also already started to overdose on hot chocolate and advent calendar sweeties, but I'll recommend this one to anyone who wants yet another one to add to their overflowing viewing schedule this month.

6/10

If you have enjoyed this, or any other, review on the blog then do consider the following ways to show your appreciation. A subscription/follow costs nothing.
It also costs nothing to like/subscribe to the YouTube channel attached to the podcast I am part of - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCErkxBO0xds5qd_rhjFgDmA
Or you may have a couple of quid to throw at me, in Ko-fi form - https://ko-fi.com/kevinmatthews
Or Amazon is nice at this time of year - https://www.amazon.co.uk/hz/wishlist/ls/Y1ZUCB13HLJD?ref_=wl_share 

Poison Ivy (1992)

Like other, slightly better, examples from the subgenre, Poison Ivy is an erotic thriller that walks a fine line between pulpy trash and dark psychological study. It's maybe not the cream of the crop but it's certainly a very enjoyable movie, buoyed by great performances from all involved and the easy-to-understand appeal of Drew Barrymore in full-on sexy mode.

Sara Gilbert plays Sylvie Cooper, the young girl who finds herself developing a friendship with the strange and exciting Ivy (Barrymore). The two soon become inseparable, which helps Sylvie no end as she deals with the continuing illness that keeps her mother (Cheryl Ladd) bedridden and the animosity that she has for her father (Tom Skerritt). But friendship can quickly sour and Sylvie soon starts to envy Ivy, with her free spirit and her ability to get attention and the fact that she doesn't mind shopping for new fashion choices that Sylvie usually ends up paying for. Things get even worse when Ivy takes things further, scheming and manipulating to get exactly what she wants.

Director Katt Shea doesn't really have a lengthy, glowing filmography but she actually does very good work and certainly meet audience expectations (and, hey, I even quite enjoyed The Rage: Carrie II despite expecting to hate it). She's helped here by a decent script (co-written by herself and Andy Ruben) based on a story by Melissa Goddard, something that titillates and teases in places while also ensuring that viewers stay considerate of the very differing personalities onscreen and how they're affecting each other.

The camerawork is perfectly fine, though the soundtrack is a bit cliche and cheesy in places (a bit of soft rock here, a saxophone moment there), but the cast make up for any shortcomings elsewhere. Sara Gilbert is likeable and understandably emotional, Drew Barrymore is a fantastic potential femme fatale - sexy, persuasive and always just playful enough to avoid being hated. Tom Skerritt does well as the flawed father figure and Cheryl Ladd is very good indeed as a woman tired of living with her ongoing health problems.

Some people may watch the movie and hope for more nudity, others may want more drama and thrills. I think it gets a decent balance of the two and remains a solid erotic thriller.


7/10.


http://www.amazon.co.uk/Poison-Ivy-DVD-Drew-Barrymore/dp/B00009KOY7/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1327700683&sr=8-1

Poltergeist III (1988)

That spooky, nasty reverend Kane is back (this time played by Nathan Davis after the death of actor Julian Beck) and he still wants Carol Anne, despite the fact that she now lives in a sleek, ultra-modern highrise building with her uncle and aunt (Tom Skerritt and Nancy Allen). Thankfully, this big building has lots of mirrors and reflective surfaces that can become portals for Kane’s particular brand of evil.

You can try to be all deep and meaningful about it and put it this way – Poltergeist was about the insidious nature of television and how too much exposure to it can literally eat up the life of your child, Poltergeist II: The Other Side was about the family unit and how important and difficult it was to stay united against outside pressures and obstacles, Poltergeist III is about the perils of complete modernisation that leads to alienation and far too many opportunities for wrongdoing. Or you could just say that Poltergeist was a great ghost flick, Poltergeist II: The Other Side was a decent ghost flick with a definite baddie to focus on and Poltergeist III was the movie that went back to the well one time too many.

The acting is okay from all involved but everything is undermined by a poor script (that should have simply been titled “Carol Anne” due to the number of times that her name is called out) and mediocre execution. Director Gary Sherman (who also shares the blame for co-writing the thing) seems happy to go along with everything that is wrong with many modern horror movies. You know what I mean: people keep running off alone, nobody seems to notice while lots of other folk disappear, one jump scare is repeated so often that it ends up being ineffective, etc.

It’s a shame that this was the last movie for young Heather O’Rourke (her death after this movie completed a trio of deaths that people referred/refer to as “The Poltergeist Curse”) because it’s just not a very good film. On a lighter note, it’s the first film gig for a young Lara Flynn Boyle so fans may want to check it out for that reason. 

There are still a few decent moments here and there but, overall, this is a poor end. 
 
5/10

If you have enjoyed this, or any other, review on the blog then do consider the following ways to show your appreciation. A subscription/follow costs nothing.
It also costs nothing to like/subscribe to the YouTube channel attached to the podcast I am part of - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCErkxBO0xds5qd_rhjFgDmA
Or you may have a couple of quid to throw at me, in Ko-fi form - https://ko-fi.com/kevinmatthews
Or Amazon is nice at this time of year - https://www.amazon.co.uk/hz/wishlist/ls/Y1ZUCB13HLJD?ref_=wl_share