As this is very much the last day of 2019 it behoves me to write about the year that has just happened. But because 2019 ends in a ‘9’ it behoves me to write about the last decade too. There is always some debate that the new decade doesn’t start until the beginning of a…
Month: December 2019
Hoping For A Twixmas Miracle
As we’re roughly in the midpoint of that weird period between Christmas and New Year, known to some as Twixmas (and this is not because the only chocolates left in the mostly-eaten tub of Celebrations at this point are the rubbish Twix ones), I thought I’d take some time to reflect on the festive period…
The Fifth Annual Christmas Message from James Proclaims
Merry Christmas! Yes it’s the big day once again and everyone everywhere is making merry! Except for those that aren’t. Which is probably quite a few people. But let’s not trouble our consciences thinking of those less fortunate than ourselves. It’s Christmas for goodness sake! If ever there was a day for reckless self-indulgence then…
The Third Annual James Proclaims Advent Calendar of Christmas(ish) Films – Door 24
And so The Third Annual James Proclaims Advent Calendar of Christmas(ish) Films comes to an end. But what film could be lurking behind door 24? Why it’s only the utterly brilliant 2019 superhero movie Shazam!. When it comes to superheroes on the silver screen, there’s no denying that Marvel/Disney have had considerably more success in recent…
The Third Annual James Proclaims Advent Calendar of Christmas(ish) Films – Door 23
Time for door 23 of The Third Annual James Proclaims Advent Calendar of Christmas(ish) Films, which, thankfully means we’re almost done with my delusions of film connoisseurship for another year. Probably. I have been known to throw in the odd film review that has nothing to do with Christmas in the past. But it’s hardly a…
The Third Annual James Proclaims Advent Calendar of Christmas(ish) Films – Door 22
2015’s Run All Night is the third (of four to date) collaborations between director Jaume Collet-Serra and senescent superman Liam Neeson. Like all their other collaborations (Unknown, Non-Stop and The Commuter) it’s a pretty ‘by the numbers’ action flic. This is fine if you like that kind of thing. Which I do. Unfortunately, Run All Night…
The Third Annual James Proclaims Advent Calendar of Christmas(ish) Films – Door 21
Barry Levinson’s 1982 directorial debut, Diner is an eminently watchable film. Although nothing much really happens. Set in 1959, it’s a sort-of coming-of-age story about a group of twenty-something guys who spend quite a lot of their time in a diner. Notionally focussing on the build-up to the imminent wedding of one of their number,…
The Third Annual James Proclaims Advent Calendar of Christmas(ish) Films – Door 20
Door 20 of The Third Annual James Proclaims Advent Calendar of Christmas(ish) Films brings us 1985’s Better Off Dead. Which is quite a strange film. At first I thought it was an 80s teen comedy in the mould of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Which would be no bad thing because that is a great movie. But, although…
The Third Annual James Proclaims Advent Calendar of Christmas(ish) Films – Door 19
1998’s Soldier seems like exactly the kind of film I would have been watching in the late 90’s. It’s as generic a sci-fi action flic as you could hope to find and it was made at a time when I was watching little else. Somehow, however, it passed me by. Which was no great loss really. Because…
The Third Annual James Proclaims Advent Calendar of Christmas(ish) Films – Door 18
It’s December 18th, which means we’re now only a week from the big day. Probably time to start wrapping the presents. Be careful with those scissors though. Particularly if your name’s Edward And the scissors are your hands. Yes, behind door 18 of The Third Annual James Proclaims Advent Calendar of Christmas(ish) Films is none…
The Third Annual James Proclaims Advent Calendar of Christmas(ish) Films – Door 17
If yesterday’s entry, Love Actually found me conflicted over my feelings about Richard Curtis as a filmmaker, then his directorial follow-up The Boat That Rocked did little to help resolve those conflicts. The Boat That Rocked is a ‘sort-of’ love letter to the pirate radio stations of the 1960s. I wasn’t alive then, so have no recollection…
The Third Annual James Proclaims Advent Calendar of Christmas(ish) Films – Door 16
Richard Curtis is a man who divides opinions. Specifically he divides my opinions. In some respects the man achieved a God-like status in my esteem in my formative years, because he was one of the people responsible for bringing the world Blackadder. No-one linked with that peerless television programme could ever do any wrong in my…
The Third Annual James Proclaims Advent Calendar of Christmas(ish) Films – Door 15
Door 15 of The Third Annual James Proclaims Advent Calendar of Christmas(ish) Films reveals the third in this year’s collection, which is an adaptation of a novel by Brett Easton Ellis. And of the three it is by far the best. It’s also the second film in this year’s ensemble to have the word ‘psycho’ in…
The Third Annual James Proclaims Advent Calendar of Christmas(ish) Films – Door 14
We’re up to door 14 The Third Annual James Proclaims Advent Calendar of Christmas(ish) Films and it’s as if time is literally flying by as we head toward Christmas. Maybe we could do with a time machine. Like the one in 2002’s The Time Machine. Although it doesn’t seem to be the most reliable of…
The Third Annual James Proclaims Advent Calendar of Christmas(ish) Films – Door 13
It’s Friday the 13th. Which is considered unlucky by some. And possibly it is for the entire population of the UK who might well be waking up to find out that someone truly awful is now their prime minister. I wouldn’t know as I’m writing this in the past. Although given that both of the…
The Third Annual James Proclaims Advent Calendar of Christmas(ish) Films – Door 12
It’s December 12th and, if my understanding of current events is in any way accurate, then I believe there is a general election happening in the UK today. I don’t think too many people are feeling very optimistic about the outcome of that election. Hopefully we won’t all feel the need to throw ourselves off…
The Third Annual James Proclaims Advent Calendar of Christmas(ish) Films – Door 11
11 days into The Third Annual James Proclaims Advent Calendar of Christmas(ish) Films and we arrive at 2002’s About a Boy. Which is about a boy. And also some other people. Adapted from the 1998 novel by Nick Hornby (an author who occupies God-like status in my esteem) About a Boy is not really like…
The Third Annual James Proclaims Advent Calendar of Christmas(ish) Films – Door 10
Door 10 of The Third Annual James Proclaims Advent Calendar of Christmas(ish) Films brings us 2002’s The Rules of Attraction. Which is not the helpful guide that you might imagine it to be. Indeed I’m not sure that there are any rules of any description on offer. As with Door 7’s entry Less Than Zero, this…
The Third Annual James Proclaims Advent Calendar of Christmas(ish) Films – Door 9
As it is very much the 9th Day of December, it seems only right that we open door number 9 of The Third Annual James Proclaims Advent Calendar of Christmas(ish) Films. And behind the door we find John Shaft II, protagonist of 2000’s Shaft, which is a sort-of-reboot/sort-of-sequel to the 1970’s trilogy of movies. Starring Samuel L.…
The Third Annual James Proclaims Advent Calendar of Christmas(ish) Films – Door 8
Door 8 of The Third Annual James Proclaims Advent Calendar of Christmas(ish) Films brings us 2005’s Just Friends. Notionally a ‘rom-com’ it probably is a little more ‘com’ than ‘rom’. Which would generally make it more to my tastes. It’s not always as funny as it would like to be, but it deserves credit for effort…
The Third Annual James Proclaims Advent Calendar of Christmas(ish) Films – Door 7
As we move further into December, so too continues The Third Annual James Proclaims Advent Calendar of Christmas(ish) Films. Today we are on door number 7. ‘7’ is a positive integer and therefore is ‘more than zero’. But the movie behind door number 7 is Less than Zero. This is not really a movie about…
The Third Annual James Proclaims Advent Calendar of Christmas(ish) Films – Door 6
It’s December 6th and therefore no coincidence that it’s time to open door number 6 of The Third Annual James Proclaims Advent Calendar of Christmas(ish) Films. And as luck would have it, we have a 2019 movie waiting for us in the not-at-all-bad Cold Pursuit. You might recall that Liam Neeson made the headlines earlier…
The Third Annual James Proclaims Advent Calendar of Christmas(ish) Films – Door 5
I vaguely remember 2012. It wasn’t the best year ever if I recall. I enjoyed the London Olympics. One of my cousins got married, which was nice. Other than that I don’t think it was a vintage year. Still, I think we can all agree that the world didn’t end. Which was something I suppose.…
The Third Annual James Proclaims Advent Calendar of Christmas(ish) Films – Door 4
Door four of The Third Annual James Proclaims Advent Calendar of Christmas(ish) Films is looking a little grimy. Indeed, when we open it, we are confronted with nothing short of Filth. 2013’s Filth is the aptly named black comedy starring James McAvoy as a sociopathic detective who seems hellbent on inflicting misery on his colleagues.…
The Third Annual James Proclaims Advent Calendar of Christmas(ish) Films – Door 3
Door 3 of The Third Annual James Proclaims Advent Calendar of Christmas(ish) Films and what do we find. Why it’s 2015’s Tangerine. A movie shot entirely on iPhones, starring a largely unknown cast and focusing on a day in the somewhat unorthodox lives of two transgender sex-workers was not exactly top of my list of ‘must-see’ movies…
The Third Annual James Proclaims Advent Calendar of Christmas(ish) Films – Door 2
Well it seems like only yesterday that we were enjoying the beginning of the final month of 2019, yet here we are already on December 2nd. Happily, that does mean it’s time for door number 2 of The Third Annual James Proclaims Advent Calendar of Christmas(ish) Films. But wait, the door won’t open. It looks…
The Third Annual James Proclaims Advent Calendar of Christmas(ish) Films – Door 1
And so it begins. December 2019 I mean. And with is comes The Third Annual James Proclaims Advent Calendar of Christmas(ish) Films. And let us begin, as is only numerically cogent, with door number 1. And lurking behind, what do we find, but Sydney Pollack’s 1975 espionage thriller Three Days of the Condor. Starring Robert…
James Proclaims! 