Thanks to a slight spelling mistake on his letter to Santa Claus, 11 year old Liam Turner (Robert Timothy Smith) accidentally summons Satan (Jack Black) instead of jolly old Saint Nick. And instead of presents, the guy with the horns offers Liam a deal involving three wishes. Another - almost unheard of - Christmas comedy has been unceremoniously added to the cloud. Dear Santa  landed on Paramount+  with all the fanfare of some busted Christmas tree lights, and it's not really hard to see why. Put simply, this is far from the Farrelly brothers best work. You'd expect a movie starring the outlandish Jack Black as a devil posing as Santa, directed by Barry and written by Peter, to be an explosive comedy event, but it's just not the case. In fact, the movie never makes it much past mildly amusing, despite featuring a decidedly nutty but oddly Christmassy concept, and a lead actor known for being just the right kind of wild and unpredictable.  It should come as no surprise th...

After a successful career as a model, Lee Miller (Kate Winslet) began working behind the camera. During World War 2 she covered life in wartime London and the Blitz for Vogue magazine, before becoming one of the first female war correspondents. She covered the invasion of Europe through France, including the liberation of Paris, and went on to document the Nazi atrocities of the Holocaust. The idea of Kate Winslet portraying a historical figure like Lee Miller is - on the face of it - rather attractive. And unsurprisingly, the veteran actor delivers, with a great performance that portrays both Miller's courage and skill, as well as her vulnerabilities. At the very least the movie gives you a sense of how she was able to be such a trailblazer, and why after the war she struggled so. O ther than that, Lee  falls - disappointingly - into pretty standard biopic territory. Miller's life was certainly interesting, and the movie does reflect that. The problem is it only ever feels lik...

The new TV adaptation of Frederick Forsyth's The Day of the Jackal  starring Eddie Redmayne and Lashana Lynch is days away. It looks to be a tense and exciting game of cat and mouse that sees the classic novel brought into the 21st century. But this isn't the first time Forsyth's novel has been adapted for the screen. So I decided to take a look back at the two previous big screen adaptations - one of which I had seen before, the other I had not. I am almost ashamed to say that Fred Zinnemann’s 1973 classic is the version of this story that I hadn't seen before. Thankfully it is as taught a thriller as it was back when it hit the big screen. There's a flare and sophistication to both the titular hitman and his attempt to assassinate President Charles de Gaulle. While Edward Fox brings charisma and a sense of mystery to the character. He looks like a man who could kill you without blinking - for a fee, of course - and at the same time manages to be very unassuming. F...

Since his mother passed away, Jason (Timothy J. Cox) has been spending his Sundays visiting with his father, Ben (George R. Hildebrand). But this Sunday is different, because Ben has something he wants to discuss with Jason. Something sensitive. Understandably, after 40+ years of marriage Ben is struggling with being alone. There is a hole in his life that he is struggling to fill. And in this search for companionship he has started seeing a prostitute, only without the sex part. On the face of it Sundays with Dad  sounds almost ridiculous. A rare and potentially extreme scenario. In reality, however, this couldn't be further from the truth. Approaching the perils of growing old with compassion and respect, this charming short film has a surprisingly relatable feel. After all, loneliness is something we all face. Ben's love of The Rockford Files  also helps. You might even begin to wonder how often this type of scenario plays out in the real world -  The Rockford Fil...

Two 'fixers' show up to the same job, circumstances forcing them to work together. Over the course of the night these two lone wolves will bicker and one-up each other as they attempt to deal with the problem with which they have been tasked. Unfortunately for them, what initially appears to be a fairly standard job, quickly proves to be anything but. On paper Wolfs  looks to be a fairly standard fixer/crime drama. Two professionals, each with their own way of doing things, forced to work together. But writer/director Jon Watts manages to put an amusing spin on this convoluted affair. The man behind the MCU 's Spider-Man  movies takes what is likely to be a mundane, difficult, and - let's face it - rather grim profession and makes it look exciting. At least to us mere mortals, anyway. Although it is rather funny watching two supposed professionals chase the nearly naked body (Austin Abrams) they're supposed to be disposing of, through the city streets on a freezing ...

Extraction, USA is a town experiencing an energy boom. Good news for some, but not for most. So when a drifter named Steph (Marlee Carpenter) wanders into the bar where pool hustling single mum, Marni (Leanne Johnson) works, and they hit it off, the idea of escaping this grimy town starts to look possible. The only question is; how far are they willing to go in order to actually do it? If Mike Yonts and Peter Matsoukas were looking to create an authentic depiction of amateur criminals, they have succeeded, more or less.  In fact, the movie has something to say about the general state of the human race, and it's hardly complimentary. Anyone who has ever had a boss or worked a shitty job will likely be able to relate. Something Derek McMahan certainly helps with, playing the slimy owner of the bar where Marni works.  And yet, rather than having that misery and hardship be the focus of the movie, they simply serve as the driving force behind Marni and Steph's criminal awakening. ...

In this 19th century, supernatural winter epic, a drunken applejack salesman must go from zero to hero and become North America's greatest fur trapper by defeating hundreds of beavers. I'm not sure I've ever seen anything quite as random as this, which is probably why I couldn't stop laughing. A throwback to the slapstick movies of the 1920's and 30's, with some Monty Python  style animation and a few classic video game sound effects thrown into the mix, Hundreds of Beavers  is a zany adventure in which our hero, Jean Kayak (Ryland Brickson Cole Tews) is forced to take on the bitter North American winter after losing everything, thanks to some pesky beavers. Imagine a feature length, live action Looney Tunes  episode and you're probably halfway there. Tews fully commits to this whole crazy idea of a movie, delivering a performance that's just the right kind of whacky. Jean Kayak's antics are hilarious, but watching him struggle on despite failure aft...