It's too early in the season to watch my holiday favorites but I'm determined to get blogging and there is a ton of Christmas stuff out there I haven't seen. So, I'm Pre-Gaming Christmas (and my cousin's doing Halloween elsewhere) and taking a random ramble through streaming services and my own collection to hopefully find some new favorites. For the next couple of months I'll be logging all the Christmas related stuff I watch, read and listen to, making brief notes along the way.
* TV Movies
Summertime Christmas (2010 Tubi)
Nearly switched off during the opening credits, perhaps the worst opening credits I’ve ever seen. Thankfully my wife, whose a big fan of cheesy Christmas movies, shot me a dirty look and so we persevered. And it was sorta terrible but also sort of charming at times. My wife lasted longer than I did and said it was OK and I have to work on my negativity and cynicism.
Miss Me This Christmas (2017 Netflix)
Another low budget Christmas Soap Opera. Not terrible but not magical either.
You Can't Fight Christmas (2017 Netflix)
A companion to Miss Me This Christmas and set in the same small town hotel it's another familiar tale done competently enough.
* Christmas? Movies
Anomaly (2014 Amazon Prime)
There’s a lot going on in this rather extraordinary short film. Despite what one must assume was a shoestring budget it’s gorgeous and expertly, and lovingly, crafted.
A moving thought provoking soul searching alternate timeline period science fiction mystery melodrama Christmas film.
* Christmas TV
Here's the thing: I'm committed to a certain amount of randomness in my selection process but that sometimes leads to complications. Dropping into a Christmas episode / special of a TV series I've never seen means I'm not only unfamiliar with the characters and and story lines but it's hard to tell if the holiday outing is an outlier in style, mood or structure. So...
Miraculous Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir Christmas Special (2016 Netflix)
The Umbrellas of Cherbourg meets magical super hero anime at Christmas. Is this show, now in it'a third series always half sung? Idk, and I'm not interested in finding out. Maybe it works better in the original French . Maybe. "The Christmas of Revenge" indeed.
Naturally if you, or more likely your kids, are fans then have at it.
Free Rein: The 12 Neighs of Christmas (2018 Netflix)
Next verse, same as the first. A kid's show I know nothing about. Basically a teen soap from the UK about some girls and their horses. Lots of familiar territory is trod. Production values are good and I imagine my daughter would have loved this when she was younger. And it's pretty Christmassy so a thumbs up I guess.
Angela's Christmas (2018 Netflix)
An animated adaptation of Frank McCourt's children's tale of early 20th century Ireland. Would this have been done in a more traditional animation style it might have been a bit more satisfying, not that the script or voice actors are exactly killing it either. First real disappointment of the day, hoped for much better given the source material.
* Christmas Books
So, a handful of very familiar recipes repeated in dozens of slightly different variations using the same rotating group of ingredients that were somewhat popular twenty years ago but can now be got on the cheap?
Just kidding, I'm sure the book will be lovely.
