Category: Letterboxd Reviews

Father Ted: A Christmassy Ted, 1996 – ★★★★

Its a semi annual tradition in my household to watch the ‘Father Ted’ Christmas special at SOME point between the 23rd and 27th of December. i’ve done it for at least the last decade and a half. This year, things did get a bit weird. I watched half the special on christmas eve, and the final half on boxing day…its been a bit of a loaded holiday season.

BUT! With Letterboxd slowly adding TV shows to the equation (that and the fact I didnt realise this one was even loggable on Letterboxd) I figured i’d add it on here.

Keeping it brief. I dont think this is the best episode of ‘Father Ted’ made. But given just how high calibre ‘Father Ted’ is as a series, even with a bit of a quality drop, the christmas special still manages to completely trump most other TV shows christmas offerings.

The jokes are 10 a minute, the plots silly and a bit all over the place (but in an endearing way). its fun to see these characters engaging in christmas bits and bobs. Ted and the golden cleric/Todd plotline are fab and I have lost count at the amount of times i’ve quoted this special in day to day conversation.

I cant abide Graham Linehan for what he’s done in recent years, but back before his brain turned to soup and he started ranting about bathroom stalls, him and Arthur Matthews were probably the greatest comedy writing duo of their generation. and this being one of their ‘mid’ offerings, really is a testimony to just how good they were.

source https://letterboxd.com/tytdreviews/film/father-ted-a-christmassy-ted/

by tytdreviews

The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause, 2006 – ★★★½

Finishing off ‘The Santa Clause’ trilogy (unless you count the recent Disney+ multi part TV series…which I personally dont) we have, arguably, the best ‘Santa Clause’ film in the whole series…Theres two main reasons for that…One is that theres no bizarre Body horror and minimal mysonginy on display…and the other is Martin Short.

‘The Santa Clause 3’ is a flashback movie…we open with Mrs. Clause (See: Santa Clause 2) teaching a classroom of elves, where she recounts a WILD and KERRRAZY adventure her and the big red feller went through a year or two ago. We then flash back a year or so and its revealed that Mrs. Clause is pregnant, the workshop is behind on deliveries and Santas got his attention split in half a dozen different places.

Chief among them is Mrs. Clause is getting a bit homesick. Not so much for the US, but more for the relatability of actual full sized humans, and not elves or Scotts extended family whenever they can be arsed to show up. So, to try and comfort his wife, Santa decides the best possible thing to do is to bring her parents up to the North Pole to spend time with her and hopefully support her during the final weeks of her pregnancy.

However, they’re WAY too behind schedule to go down to the states and kidnap a couple of ‘in-laws’…Enter Martin Short as ‘Jack Frost’ a ‘legendary figure’ who aspires to be as well known as famous as Santa and his peers…But doesnt really want to put the effort in. When Santa expresses his need to find some way to get some time to travel away from the workshop, Jack JUMPS at the chance, seeing it as a way to either try and muscle in on Santas racket and make a name for himself…or ideally, sabotage the red guys operations and capitalise on the chaos.

Pitching in as ‘a caring person who just wants to help’ Jack positions himself as someone who could briefly handle the show while Santa supports his family. Santas reluctant, but is assured a very close eye will be kept on Jack…and with that in mind, he agrees.

But Jacks got bigger plans. He wants the top dogs job, and when he learns of a top secret ‘additional’ clause called ‘The Escape Clause’ which allows a Santa to transfer his powers to someone else and undo all the work they’ve done…Jack sees his best shot at making a name for himself.

And…honestly? This one is probably the best of the three in my opinion. Is it high concept and creative? No. Not particularly…its a lot fo low brow humour and lines that feel improvised, shoehorned into a film where the 3rd act randomly decides it wants to be ‘Its a wonderful life’…until it decides suddenly that it doesnt want to be that. But given just HOW strange the previous 2 entries were…to just get a kind of alright, non problematic, non scary entry in this series…to get one that actually HAS proper jokes, engaging characters and a premise thats kind of okay…is somehow just about enough to not make me outright dislike this thing.

The scripts relatively solid, its just over 90 minutes long, JUST begins to overstay its welcome in the final act and relies HEAVILY on the audience not asking too many questions about the logistics and continuity of the series…But beyond that…its actually not half bad. the pacing is decent, they finally nail a tone that feels consistent and (mostly) entertaining. the act structuring is a little wonky, with a top heavy first act, a kind of middling 2nd act and 3rd act that suffers from a bit of an identity crisis…But it pulls it all together by the end.

the humour is a little scattershot, with it being a family film im guessing they’re just doing all the comedy styles to try and appeal to all age groups…but in doing that it is still quite hit and miss…But i’d say of the 3 ‘Santa Clause’ movies…this one is definitely more hit than miss. The characters all seem to be a bit softer and comedically driven here, and the introduction of Shorts ‘Jack Frost’ really helps smooth over all the cracks that the previous entries had suffered from.

The direction feels a little more up market than the last entry, but is still kind of in the realms of ‘direct to video/TV movie’…I think the main reason this one DOES feel a bit more polished than the previous entry is, it is a little bit safer as a production…they dont use nearly as much CG as the last 2 films, and if they do its as overlays (like Jacks frosty breath) rather than whole generated CG sequences. they also dont suffer from as many ropey practical effects which helps…but the vast majority of the film is set either on the workshop sets, or in houses…which are pretty easy to set dress for, and I believe for this film they just reused the set built for ‘Santa Clause 2’ which no doubt saved some cash.

I feel like non of the ‘Santa Clause’ movies really capture the vibe and feeling of christmas, and non of them give me the ‘warm fuzzies’. This one does try…But just, doesnt really do a lot for me in that regard. I think the original is probably the one that came closest…and even then it struggled.

Its competent direction, I cant fault it there…it just isnt a tailored experience and left me kind of wishing the warmth and heart was there.

Direction of the cast is also a little flat…everyone by this point (barring Short, and people in scenes with Short) are phoning it in. it’s clear its a ‘done’ production with very little animation from most involved and it feels like they basically followed the directors instructions TO THE LETTER…and not a feeling more than that…which…is a problem.

Same goes for the cine…its best summed up as ‘they did what needed to be done to make it studio appropriate, and not a thought more’ this is competent(ish) I spotted a couple of continuity errors across the runtime, a lot of this is filmed fairly wide and there isnt nearly as many dolly/track shots or angled shots here…which again, just makes it feel very ‘TV’ in tone and vibe.

The edits a bit plodding, but does have its moments…I feel like with a bit more B-roll and one more pass through, this could have actually been pretty decent…like GOOD end of decent…as it stands its just passible and kind of middle of the road all things considered.

Performance wise. I get the feeling Martin Short wanted to do this, and that the paycheque was just a nice bonus for him. He CHEWS EVERY single scene he’s in, is absolutely watchable across the whole runtime and is frankly the main reason to watch this movie. a delightfully campy and engaging performance throughout. he screams panto villain at multiple points in this and is just an utter delight from start to finish.

Tim Allen as Santa here feels a little more subdued…I feel he struggles to keep up with Shorts rapid deliveries and largely feels like he’s just there to bench warm…which is NOT a good sign if your movie is called ‘The Santa Clause’. When he does have his moments, he’s solid…But for the most part he just seems to be here for a quick buck and a couple months of hanging around with his friends.

The rest of the cast are largely returning from the last entry (though notably, theres no Bernard in this entry. And they never explain what happened to him…given he was a key component of the last 2 films I have to assume he was atomized in a bizarre christmas pudding accident and the trauma still haunts the workshop to this day).

the extended cast are fine otherwise…But I just wish they got more to do….With Scotts extended family (and Judge Rhinehold) being predominantly relegated to just saying plot exposition and doing emotional reactions to whats happening on screen. Hell Scotts first kid in this has a 5 minute cameo across the whole runtime that amounts to him writing himself out of the film in the first 15 minutes, then an alternate reality version of himself storms out of a house, and then he’s back again at the end to spew a bit of expoistion…and then hes gone. and I find a film that has a CORE PLOTPOINT around how supporting and spending time with your family is critically important, that ALSO spends the vast majority of the runtime DESPERATELY trying to get rid of Scotts first kid because he’s old now HILARIOUS. Its wild to me the gaul of this film.

The soundtracks unmemorable. I dont even think there were any jukebox classics in this one. its fine enough but…blehhh…

‘The Santa Clause 3′ is a stable and consistant production, and thats really all i’ve wanted from this series since the first film. just…an entry in the series that takes these characters, DOESNT screw around with them in horrifying or objectifying ways and just…gives them an ACTUAL grounded story, to see how they deal with situations and play things out. This is absolutely an imperfect production. But I appreciate the fact it at least TRIES to give these characters CHARACTER and a reason to exist…rather than just sending them off on another ’90 minute timer movie’ to save christmas.

In that regard its probably my favourite entry in this series, and probably the only one i’d actively CHOOSE to watch again given the chance. its just a shame you need to have seen the first two movies at least once to properly appreciate this one.

source https://letterboxd.com/tytdreviews/film/the-santa-clause-3-the-escape-clause/

by tytdreviews

Doctor Who: The War Games in Colour, 2024 – ★★★★

While a brand new episode of ‘Doctor Who’ went out tonight, I was spread a bit *too* thin on the ground to be able to really take it in. So I settled for a HELL of a christmas gift from the beeb in the form of ‘The War Games: in Colour’ a modernisation/redux of the 1969 epic that saw the final outing for Patrick Troughtons incarnation of the doctor.

To get it out of the way up front, Troughton is my favourite incarnation of the doctor, and my biggest critique of ‘The War Games’ as a Swan song is, while it’s nice to see this doctor out with a 4-5 hour epic that’s probably one of the cruellest regenerations in the shows history, and the story that formally introduces ‘The Time Lords’ as a concept. It is a little overlong.

8 episodes would have more than sufficed, 6 episodes? Plenty. 10 is stretching resource and patience a bit thin. I also find it a real shame that this version of the time Lords is the first and last time the omnipotent ‘god’ timelords would appear. With all other appearnecs relegating them to essentially librarian beuracrat bores in silly hats. 5th doctor era timelords will bill you for jaywalking. 2nd doctor timelords will ‘unexist’ you from the timeline.

As such, I found this redux, which reduces the runtime to 90 minutes, enhances some of the older visual effects, extends the ending to make it lead directly into the 3rd doctors first story AND fully recolourizes the adventure for the first time, wonderfully refreshing.

This feels much more light weight, easier to digest and much more accessible. And while I WILL say it does cut this thing right down to the bone, sometimes to it’s own detriment. I feel it flows significantly better than their first attempt at this with ‘The Daleks: In Colour’ and the new score really helps refresh this classic.

I’ve only ever seen ‘The war games’ in full about 3 times…purely because its basically a full day commitment to watch it. As such it kind of puts me off…

Im firmly in the camp that believes that this version doesnt replace the original, but is a compliment to it…and with that in mind, with this redux, I think I’ll watch the war games a HELL of a lot more now.

What a fab Christmas gift. And if you haven’t seen it, I recommend it.

source https://letterboxd.com/tytdreviews/film/doctor-who-the-war-games-in-colour/

by tytdreviews

A Matter of Loaf and Death, 2008 – ★★★

Did I expect a 1:1 ‘Batman: The Movie’ (1966) and ‘Aliens’ rip off in my ‘Wallace & Gromit’ special? No. But after a 3 year absence from our screens (or a 13 year absence if you discount their theatrical outing) the pair are back in 2008’s ‘A Matter of Loaf & Death’. A short im kind of struggling with a bit.

The plot? Wallace & Gromit have decided to become both bakers AND Bakery delivery drivers, when a chance encounter with the ‘Bake O’ Light’ spokesperson Piella Bakewell sends Wallaces heart racing, Gromit begins to suspect that the meeting was less ‘a happy accident’ and more a calculated plan. After further digging its revealed Piella has more going on than first appears to be the case, and it’ll be down to Gromit (who himself is having feelings for Piellas dog ‘Fluffles’) to find out whats happening and save wallace.

Something…seems off…with this one. I cant quite put my finger on it though. A glaring issue is the sheer amount of film and TV references and literal rip offs copy/pasted into this thing…Which was very dissapointing. I enjoy these shorts because they take two quintessentail british eccentrics and put them in surreal situations grounded in reality (well…barring ‘A Grand Day Out’…But even that was grounded in Wallaces day to day realities’…this special wasnt really that.

For the most part it just felt like a special that was maybe originally 15 minutes or so. But had to find 10 minutes to make it up to broadcast runtime…So they just crammed a load of media references and callbacks to the series own past entries to make up the runtime.

The main plot with Wallace and Piella dances a fine line between cringy, ‘done’ and unpleasent. Wallace here is genuinely cruel to Gromit at times and making Piella an animal abuser wasnt exactly the ‘lighthearted’ family fun I come to these specials for.

Contrasting that however, the B-plot with Gromit slowly falling for Fluffles, I thought was handled really well! with a genuine weight and complexity behind it given what we know about Gromits history so far it felt sincere. And it pained me when I realised that this plot was kind of an afterthought to ‘murderous baker woman recreates scene from ‘Ghost’ with much loved british icon.’ As there was still plenty to explore with that. I JUST WANT GROMIT TO BE HAPPY DAMNIT!!!

Not that it matters, Fluffles is almost certainly not coming back for the next special (due out tomorrow) so it kind of only makes this special feel even more hollow now in hindsight…

the pacing is fine, the tones all over the place, it feels like its struggling to hit runtime for most of its runtime and the characters feel a bit off…Whether thats ‘the wererabbit’ effect or not though has yet to be seen.

The animation is clean, cinematic and has some great moments, but nothing that really rivals ‘the wrong trousers’ or ‘A close shave’ I dunno, it feels to me like the more they strive to make something that looks big budget, the more of the shows heart gets stripped away in the process.

This was the last time Peter Sallis would repise the voice of Wallace before his death, and there are moments here that I really wish wernt…I dont need to hear a british cultural touchstone say ‘Oh ‘Eck! i’ve got a bomb in me trousers!’ With sincerity…I didnt need to hear him gushing over a woman he met less than a week prior…I wont go as far as to say its a ‘shame’ he was involved in this…but given the highs he had with the role previously…this is almost certainly a low.

Sally Lindsay as Piella is fine enough (I know her mainly from Coronation Street) Its a shame though that she wasnt able to bring more of her northern accent into the role, by making her play ultra posh, you kind of forget its her behind the voice, and I know shes a very charismatic performer when i’ve seen her on screen up to this point…but some of that kind of gets lost in translation…

the scores fine enough. they messed with the main theme tune and sped it up quite a bit faster than it should have been though, which makes it MASSIVELY lose points in my book.

All in all? eh…I didnt hate it, this had some alright ideas and the bones of a solid entry. its just unfortunate they seemed to prioritise the wrong plot threads and that they continue to strive for ‘moving parts’ over simple and effective ‘show dont tell’ storytelling…

source https://letterboxd.com/tytdreviews/film/a-matter-of-loaf-and-death/

by tytdreviews

A Close Shave, 1995 – ★★★½

The 3rd Outing for ‘Wallace & Gromit’ once again fine tunes the formulae, and fine tunes the world our characters inhabit, but the beginnings of ‘marketability’ are beginning to creep in with this short, and I feel like the series has never quite managed to pull itself away from that since.

This outing finds Wallace & Gromit working as window cleaners for their local town, when one day a sheep randomly wanders into their house and starts consuming everything in sight. This, is Shaun and after servicing the shop of a woolen wonder by the name of Wendy, Wallace is smitten…theres only one problem, Wendy is being forced to work for Preston, a dangerous dog with more going on than meets the eye…and preston KNOWS that Shaun has escaped a special operation he’s working on…and he wants him back.

I mention ‘Marketability’ because this was the first special that really put Wallace & Gromit on the map and basically set up the next 20 or so years of the pairs outings. Shaun the sheep is introduced here, who, he himself would go on to have a 10 year multi series (and film) run on the CBBC channel, Wallace and Wendy would get multiple merch items from plushies to mugs to teatowels, and retroactively Gromit and Feathers from the last outing would also get heavy merch outputs…and a thing that hangs over this film a bit is the feeling it was planned that way. Its all a bit ‘return of the jedi’ on that front.

Thats not to knock the special itself, which is still fun, interesting and, if anything has a bit more of that ‘Grand Day Out’ warmth about it than ‘The Wrong Trousers’ did…But the big show pieces in this special dont feel quite as grand as ‘Trousers’ and the humour doesnt seem as charming or focussed as previous entries too…theres much more emphasis on visual gags and cute looking animals looking cute while destroying property.

Thinking about it, I think the issue for me is that Wallace & Gromit was pitched before as a soft ‘F’ for family movie, as in it was something aimed at adults, but harmless enough that the kids could happily watch and enjoy it, where as this is more a hard ‘F’ for family production, targeting kids primarily and treating grownups as a bit more of an after thought…

that still not to knock this special which, ultiamtely still has some fantastic voice work from Anne Reid and Peter Sallis, some rock solid set pieces, some really good animation, a phenominal score and solid tone and structuring script wise…I dunno, I used to really like this one, but it just felt a bit ‘softened’ this time around…Still! as far as it being the closing part on the original ‘Wallace & Gromit’ trilogy. I think it sends them off on a high and is still really good fun!

source https://letterboxd.com/tytdreviews/film/a-close-shave-1995/

by tytdreviews