For those who just want to know, "Should I see this or not?" without all the fluff and intellectualism (or at least minimal amounts), I present to you these bite-sized movie reviews. If you're in an abnormally large hurry, skip to the last few words of each section, as each is noted with "See it" or "Pass." However, these aren't your typical holiday movies. They may only be loosely related to the season in one way or another, but how bored would you be reading about It's A Wonderful Life and Scrooged for the millionth time? On with the show!
P2
I don't remember this movie being marketed as a holiday flick, but it's set on Christmas Eve, and Rachel Nichols' (whose cleavage should have earned a co-starring credit) character is trying to get out of her rush-rush New York high-rise job in time to have dinner with her family in Jersey. The building's security guard in the lot below has other plans, though, and what starts out as the realization of a creepy crush quickly turns gruesome and vicious. Over the course of the night, it's cat and mouse as she keeps escaping his clutches, but is unable to leave the building since the guard has all exits locked down. There's a bit of excessive gore in a couple parts and it does get ridiculous in a few places, but my girlfriend found the first stretch of it and the general premise to be pretty unnerving (in a good way). Hopefully Wes Bentley will break the typecast of being the "eerie guy," but it's good to see him on the screen again regardless. See it.
1941
I finally took the plunge on this classic, and despite it running a little long (2.5 hours), it turns epic war movies on their ear, throwing in the kind of clever humor normally reserved for movies like Animal House, Airplane, and Stripes. In the week following the attack on Pearl Harbor, Californians start getting worried that the next attack might happen on their native soil. Preparations are made, and the combination of a bumbling cast and silliness of some of the preventative measures taken — as well as Tim Matheson relentlessly trying to score with Nancy Allen — really make it feel like the offspring of a war movie and a frat-house tribute. It was nominated for a few Oscars, which is rare for a comedy. It was entertaining overall, but would probably go over even better when viewed with a group. But you're asking, "How is this a holiday movie?" It's set in December, duh. See it.
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