Merry Christmas!

Posted on December 25, 2017 by Craig Micklewright

Well it’s that time of year again and its hard to believe how fast this last twelve months has been and gone. I’m a little late doing part two of my 2017 look back but hope to have that up later today or tomorrow, leading as usual to my end of year Top Ten at the end of the month.

For now how was my Christmas morning? I send out my thanks and best wishes to anyone who got my a prezzie, and I hope you like what I got you! This year was a bit of a Blu-ray haul, with the newly restored re-master of Terminator 2 in steel book form, the 4K re-master of Italian horror classic Suspiria, the newly restored, special edition of Stephen King classic Carrie and the box set of the new Twin Peaks. In addition I got the official Scarlett Johansson calendar, cloths as well as a book of Star Wars characters which I’m sure I’ll find fascinating, and the retro-themed SN30 Pro Nintendo Switch control pad from 8BitDo. I’m really pleased with all I got and will be perusing it all over the next few days as well as I’m sure, eating, drinking and being merry – if it wasn’t for the fact I’m back at work Wednesday … booo! Hisss!!

I will also send out a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all my followers, visitors and those that like or comment or simply drop by. Each and every one of you are so appreciated and help me to keep on writing this blog and keeping my passion alive. To a great 2018 whatever you’re doing!

Merry Christmas

Posted on December 25, 2016 by Craig Micklewright

It’s that time of year again and how fast it seems to have come around. Doesn’t feel like twelve months. I’m having a really nice day and have been spoilt rotten so thank you so much to those that have got me anything and I really hope you like what I got you!

This year I have had a couple of box set, namely the Blu-ray set of the cult TV series (due back in 2017…) Twin Peaks which comprises of the full, re-mastered versions of the two seasons of the show as well as the movie, Fire, Walk With Me. Another box set I got is it has to be said, well overdue and a series of movies I intend to fully review on this blog…yes, its Harry Potter!! I confess I have never watched a Harry Potter movie but I am actually really looking forward to delving into this much acclaimed and popular world. In addition to the box sets, I have also had a very nice book, namely ‘The Secret History of Twin Peaks’ by series co-creator Mark Frost and am excited to read through that as a great companion-piece to my Twin Peaks collection. I also received the much anticipated (and long awaited) The Last Guardian for PS4. In the picture below you’ll also find an R2D2 mug, and well, I love novelty mugs so that was a nice surprise. Oh yes, and a Jennifer Lawrence calendar – don’t judge me! ha ha. As well as the above, I also got the usual smellies, clothing etc and have to say I’m really humbled by what I’ve received this year.

I’ll take this opportunity to also thank you, my readers / visitors to this blog. All year round I write it as a hobby, a continued interest and next year will mark 10 years that I’ve been running Craig’s Movie Report. I’m not particularly popular or put that much content on here, but I love running this blog and love any feedback or interest I get. So thank you all.

Merry Christmas and here’s to a wonderful Happy New Year!

Krampus

Posted on April 27, 2016 by Craig Micklewright

Viewed – 26 April 2016 online-rental

I can’t say these days I’m really a Christmas person and well, stopped watching Christmas themed movies a while back. It’s something about the traditions, the schmaltz and the build up that mostly leaves me cold. However outside of Christmas is watching a Christmas movie wrong? Well I did it anyway, thankfully this one spins such age old traditions on their head.

A dysfunctional family are getting together to spend Christmas eating, getting drunk and arguing. There’s a few stereotypes, such as the moody teenage daughter, the annoying brother in law, the creepy grandma and the wise beyond his years little kid. It wear’s its clichés with pride however and perfectly sets the tone for a decidedly old-school yarn – with a bit of a sting in it’s tale. You see said kid has lost all faith in the spirit of Christmas and just wishes his family were ‘like how they used to be’ and then suddenly, there’s a power cut, the town is blanketed in snow and something is lurking in the shadows.

For this one think Gremlins, a clear inspiration with a smattering of Critters and Poltergeist for good measure. We get demonic Gingerbread Men, a mutated jack-in-the-box and the Krampus itself; a horned, hooved and cloaked monster. I had a ball with this. It’s very 80’s in its look and feel, and the cast of mostly b-list actors (with Toni Collette of Sixth Sense and Muriel’s Wedding fame) all do a good job of portraying their caricature-styled roles. Along with a fun animated flashback to when one character first met the titular demon, this is packed with energy and creativity. The reasoning behind why shit-goes-down initially seemed a bit ‘really?’, and that final scene felt like a cop-out. And yes, it could have been scarier (it still managed to be creepy in the right places) and more violent … but as a fairly audience-friendly horror this still managed to deliver a quality evening’s viewing that’s worth checking out Christmas or not.

Verdict: 4 /5

Merry Christmas!

Posted on December 25, 2015 by Craig Micklewright

Well that day many of us look forward to all year has finally arrived. I always approach Christmas with mixed feelings. It’s mostly for kids anyway, but despite not really enjoying the long-winded hype that leads up to it, I always feel nice and festive on the day itself. Pictured below are what I received today from my parents and brother and I’m very happy. I went for box-sets (The Sopranos complete collection Blu-ray, James Bond complete collection Blu-ray) mainly and a special edition steel-book of Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation. Other than those shown below I also got some smellies, a Star Wars The Force Awakens T-shirt and vouchers.

So wishing everyone who reads this blog, long time visitors, followers and even those who just stumbled upon this post in a feed a very happy Christmas … so have a great time everyone with whatever you celebrate at this time of year. Be safe, be happy, be kind.

I hope to be writing a few posts over next few days to detail my thoughts on the year leading up to my annual top ten. So watch this space folks!

Building up to my annual Top Ten

Posted on December 5, 2015 by Craig Micklewright

countdown

It’s drawing closer to that time of year once again on this blog where I list my Top Ten movies of the year. As a movie fan who doesn’t get to see everything that is released in one year, I have to pick from those movies I personally got to check out, some of which are left overs I didn’t get around to the previous year. So in the upcoming list you may see titles that you may have seen on last year’s best of lists. It can’t be helped and to stick rigidly to release dates would mean some movies just wouldn’t get mentioned at all.

I think this year so far has been the year of the indie movie and movies that have affected me on a more emotional level. I’ve forgiven some movies that have had plot or acting issues if they have had that special emotional impact … and it’s something few movies, even the most hyped seem to do. Big blockbuster titles have faired poorly compared to more deeper, character driven movies, and I’ve tried to focus on story and direction and atmosphere over CGI and bike chases (not that there isn’t room for that). I’ve been tougher I think this year, and only a handful of movies have earned that converted 5 /5 from me … whilst others have been difficult to critique as their positives and negatives have had a different effect on me based on how I think about them. Horror for example has again been a bit of a let down with hyped movies not fully delivering. So again, it been about turning away from favourite genres, and looking for something that resonates deeper, lingers in the brain and has a stronger impact, even months after seeing it.

This year’s Top Ten is going to be difficult to compile and I’m still trying to see some of the most talked about movies before I finally compile it. So roll on December 31st … and then all will be revealed.

Until then, wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas and hope Santa or your loved ones get you something nice!