Chuck's Movie Breakdown

         Hey guys, Chuck here. Well, it's now Christmas Eve, which means it's the last day of 12 Reviews of Christmas . Much like last year, we'll be taking a look at an adaptation of Charles Dickens' novel A Christmas Carol . This year, we'll be taking a look at the first version of A Christmas Carol  I've ever seen: Mickey's Christmas Carol . Now, I'm not going to go into discussing the story, as I've already done so last year with the Patrick Stewart version of A Christmas Carol . However, I'd like to discuss a few things with this animated holiday classic.          So, let's start off with who's who in this version of A Christmas Carol . Scrooge McDuck takes on the role of Ebenezer Scrooge, with Donald Duck as Scrooge's nephew Fred. Mickey Mouse is Bob Crachit, with Minnie as Mrs. Crachit. The Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future are portrayed respectively by Jiminy Cricket, Willie the Giant and Pete the Cat. Daisy Duck...

        Hey guys, Chuck here. Well, as promised, today for 12 Reviews of Christmas , we'll be taking a look at the greatest Christmas movie of all time. Such a great Christmas movie, in fact, that there have been countless debates among fans, non-fans, and so forth about whether it really is a Christmas movie. Yet, the film's writer and director have both declared that it is, in fact, a Christmas movie, in spite of what the film's lead actor, Bruce Willis, said during his own Comedy Central Roast . However, after recent words from director John McTiernan, along with what was said previously by writer Steven E. DeSouza, So, here it is. The greatest Christmas movie ever made: Die Hard .            The movie opens with NYPD officer John McClane, whose Christmas Eve flight lands of Los Angeles. Noticing his nerves, a fellow passenger gives him advice: once he gets where he's going, take off his shoes and socks and walk around on th...

          Hey guys, Chuck here. Well, we're getting close to the end of 12 Reviews of Christmas . So, as we wind down to the last review of the year, which will be this Thursday's review of Mickey's Christmas Carol , let's take a look at another Disney holiday classic: The Santa Clause  starring Tim Allen.           The movie focuses on businessman and toy mogul Scott Calvin, who has to rush home from an office party in order to spend Christmas Eve with his son, Charlie, who is dropped off by Scott's ex-wife Laura, and her new husband Neil. After a bit of back and forth between Scott and Laura, and some smartass remarks by Scott, Laura heads off with Neil to spend Christmas Eve with Neil's parents. Scott, after failing to properly cook a turkey and burning the thing, takes Charlie out to a local Denny's for Christmas Eve dinner. After returning home from Denny's, Scott reads Charlie "The Night Before Christmas," and heads off t...

         Hey guys, Chuck here. Today for 12 Reviews of Christmas , we're jumping back into the well of the Marvel Cinematic Universe with Iron Man 3 . Okay, I know what you're all thinking. What the hell does Iron Man 3 have to do with Christmas? Well, there's a lot of Christmas decorations, some Christmas music, and verbal references to Christmas peppered throughout the movie. This is mostly due to the fact that the film's director, Shane Black, has a tendency to set films he directs at Christmas time. So, with that in mind, let's kick off Phase Two of the MCU a few months ahead of next year's Marvel May with Iron Man 3 .           So, the movie opens with a flashback to New Year's Eve in 1999, where Tony Stark is partying when he meets Maya Hansen, who introduces him to her project for recovering from crippling injuries: Extremis. Scientist Aldrich Killian offers them a place working with him at his think tank: Advanced Ide...

 Hey guys, Chuck here. Today for 12 Reviews of Christmas , we'll be discussing a film based on a ballet that many people make a tradition of seeing around the holidays. I am, of course, referring to The Nutcracker . This is one ballet that everyone has seen at least once. Heck, the San Francisco Ballet production of it is a holiday tradition here in the Bay Area, where I live. So, of course I've seen The Nutcracker  on stage. However, when it was announced that a film adaptation was being made by Disney, I got a little excited. So, here's my review of The Nutcracker and the Four Realms .           So, we open on Christmas Eve in Victorian London at the home of the Stahlbaum family. It is here where the father, Benjamin Stahlbaum, gives presents to his three children, Louise, Clara, and Fritz. The presents were set aside for them by their mother, Marie, before she died. Clara receives an egg-shaped box that she is unable to unlock, with a note that...

         Hey guys, Chuck here. Last year for 12 Reviews of Christmas , I reviewed the timeless holiday classic How the Grinch Stole Christmas , and while I still contend that that's the best adaptation of Dr. Seuss's story, most everyone I talk to is more familiar with the live-action remake with Jim Carrey in the title role. So, since it's the twentieth anniversary of that film this year, we'll be taking a look at it. This is the live-action version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas.         We open in Whoville, the home of the Who's. We meet Cindy Lou, along with her father, as they're getting ready for Christmas. Cindy Lou, however, is having a case of the holiday blues, as she can't seem to find the true meaning of Christmas. Meanwhile, Cindy Lou's two older brothers, Drew and Stu, are running up to the top of Mt. Crumpit. In an attempt to impress the two Who girls that are with them, they try knocking on the Grinch's door, only to be sca...

         Hey guys, Chuck here. Last month, I reviewed the first Tim Burton Batman movie, and I gave that film high levels of praise. Well, today as part of 12 Reviews of Christmas , I'm taking a look at the first sequel to that film, which is 1992's Batman Returns . Actor Michael Keaton and director Tim Burton are both back, and are joined this time by Danny DeVito as the Penguin and Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman. So, let's take a look at Tim Burton's Batman Returns .           The movie opens around Christmas time at Cobblepot mansion in Gotham, where the Cobblepots are horrified by the deformed nature of their newborn son, Oswald. Fearing how society will treat him, the Cobblepots take young Oswald to the local park, and toss him into the sewers, where he grows up being raised by Penguins underneath the abandoned zoo. 33 years later, and it's Christmas time once more in Gotham. While the city is celebrating the holiday seaso...

        Hey guys, Chuck here. Well, it looks like I'm heading back into the world of Star Wars with this recently released special: The Lego Star Wars Holiday Special . A tribute/parody of the original Star Wars Holiday Special from back in the '70s, this Disney+ exclusive is set after the events of The Rise of Skywalker , and revisits iconic moments from across the Star Wars movies, as well as The Mandalorian . So, as part of 12 Reviews of Christmas , let's take a look at The Lego Star Wars Holiday Special .          The special starts off with Poe, Rose, Finn, Rey, Chewbacca, and co. getting ready for a party to celebrate Life Day, which is a holiday in the Star Wars universe. Meanwhile, Rey is struggling to train Finn in the ways of the Jedi. However, she finds a clue to the location of a Force relic called "the key," which is a gem that a Force user can use to travel across both space and time. Rey and BB-8 use the key to re...

        Hey guys, Chuck here. Today for 12 Reviews of Christmas , I have a single question: Who lives in a pineapple under the sea? That's right. It's SpongeBob! In 2012, a stop-motion animated special was produced titled It's a SpongeBob Christmas . Initially making its debut on CBS, this holiday special has aired every year on Nickelodeon, and I recently acquired a copy of the special on Blu-ray. So, let's get into It's a SpongeBob Christmas.          The special opens with Patchy the Pirate, a character whose been portrayed occasionally throughout the series, and is the one major live-action character in SpongeBob. Patchy, currently in claymation, has taken a mail truck and is heading to the North Pole to ask Santa for his Christmas wish: the chance to meet SpongeBob. Patchy wrecks the truck after popping a tire running over a fork in the middle of the road. Patchy, along with his parrot Potty, end up finding a cave that Patchy initially b...

         Hey guys, Chuck here. Today, for 12 Reviews of Christmas , we'll be jumping into the world of Doctor Who with the 2005 Christmas special: The Christmas Invasion . For those who aren't in the know, let me do my best to break down Doctor Who . So, Doctor Who is about the Doctor, who is a member of an alien race known as the Time Lords. Time Lords travel through time and space using a techno-organic vessel called the TARDIS (Time and Relative Dimension In Space), and can alter their physical appearance upon their death. This is how we've had multiple actors portray the Doctor over the years. The original series aired on BBC from 1963 to 1989, with an American made-for-TV film produced in 1996. In 2005, producer Russell T. Davies came on board at the BBC and revived the series with actor Christopher Eccleston as the Ninth Doctor. Eccleston would portray the character for the 2005 season, to be recast with actor David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor, whic...

         Hey guys, Chuck here. As we continue 12 Reviews of Christmas , it's time to discuss Disney once again. And Disney's biggest icon is, of course, Mickey Mouse. Now, most of my readers would assume I'll be talking about Mickey's Christmas Carol , and I do plan to review it on Christmas Eve to wrap up 12 Reviews of Christmas , today I'm talking about Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas . Narrated by actor Kelsey Grammer, this direct-to-video holiday special tells three festive short stories centered around Mickey, Minnie, Donald and his nephews, and Goofy and his son Max.      The first of these stories, focused on Donald, Huey, Dewey, and Louie, tells of Christmas Day at Donald's house, and how the boys wish it could be Christmas every day. Huey, Dewey, and Louie wake up the next morning to find it's Christmas Day once again. And the next day, and the day after that, and on and on. As the days go on, and it's still Christmas Day, Huey, Dewey...

        Hey guys, Chuck here, and it's officially 12 Reviews of Christmas . We've got a lot of holiday movies and specials, both classic and new, so let's get started. Last year, I took a look at the 2018 Netflix film The Christmas Chronicles , and I gave the film high marks, with a solid rating of 5/5. Today, I'll be looking at the film's sequel, The Christmas Chronicles 2 . Directed this time around by Harry Potter and Home Alone director Chris Columbus, this film sees the return of Kurt Russell as Santa Claus, along with Darby Camp, Judah Lewis, and Kimberly Williams-Paisley. New cast members include Goldie Hawn as Mrs. Claus, Julian Dennison, Jahzir Bruno, and Tyrese Gibson, with a special appearance by Darlene Love and voice performance by Malcolm McDowell.           It's been two years since the first film, and a lot has changed in the lives of the Pierce family. Claire is now dating a guy named Bob Booker, with a son of his...

      Hey guys, Chuck here. Well, as promised, and with 12 Reviews of Christmas  kicking off this Sunday, I'm taking a look at Once Upon a Deadpool.  Upon the release of the trailer for this particular Deadpool  title, many fans were confused, as many believed it was a possible Deadpool 3,  but that wasn't the case. It turned out to actually be a PG-13 re-cut of Deadpool 2  with the more gory violence and R-rated dialogue toned down, and a new narrative framing device added in its place. Now, I'm not going to discuss the plot, as I already did that in my Deadpool 2  review, so let's talk about the framing device the added to this version of Deadpool 2.        The framing device in question is a re-creation of the bedroom scenes from The Princess Bride , where a sick boy, played by Fred Savage, is read the story of The Princess Bride  by his grandfather, played by Peter Falk. This time, however, we have an adult Fred S...

     Hey guys, Chuck here. One of the movies that I had planned to see in theaters this year was Disney's live-action version of Mulan . Unfortunately, the film was delayed multiple times due to COVID-19, until it was given a Disney+ Premium Access release three months ago. And just yesterday, it was made available to all Disney+ subscribers for free. So, now that I've watched it, here are my thoughts on Mulan .      Okay, first of all, the plot is pretty much the same as the original. China is attacked by northern invaders, the Emperor decrees one man from every family be sent to fight in the Imperial Army, and Mulan disguises herself as a man to take the place of her father, who is old and in poor health. After a while, the truth is revealed, and she is forced from the army, but is given another chance and she saves the Emperor and China from the enemy leader. Now, what I'd like to talk about are some of the changes made from the original. For example, th...