ScreenFish

where faith and film are intertwined

Christmas

Spirited: Redemption Ain’t Easy

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I am a self-proclaimed enthusiast of all things “A Christmas Carol.” I mean, one of my son’s names is Timothy – a purposeful reference to Tiny Tim from the Charles Dickens classic story of how a seemingly “unredeemable” Ebenezer Scrooge journeys through his past, present, and future in a ghostly attempt to change his ways. Since its publication in 1843, there have been over a hundred adaptations from radio to the stage to the screen and everything in between. One may even dare to ask the question, “why keep making new ones?”

To answer the question I ask another one, “should we ever stop seeking redemption?” Because if the answer is no (which I think is the correct one) then this story will always be relevant so by all means, let’s keep making them. And Apple+ showed up with their answer in Spirited, starring Will Ferrell, Ryan Reynolds, Octavia Spencer, and Patrick Page.

Before I tell you just where this version ranks in my list of top-rated adaptations of “A Christmas Carol,” I’d be remiss if I didn’t tell you that I was absolutely delighted with this movie. It was funny, it was charming, it was well-written, it was musical (yes, musical), and it was simply a joy to watch. Will Ferrell plays the Ghost of Christmas Present in the real-life-after-life job of haunting Scrooge-like humans out of their spiteful and malicious ways and into a life kindness and generosity. Of course no Christmas Carol dream team can work without the Ghost of Christmas Past (Sunita Mani), the Ghost of Christmas Yet-to-Come (voiced by Tracy Morgan and performed by Loren Woods), and of course Jacob Marley (Patrick Page). Together with some very musically and theatrically talented ghosts, Present and his team take one chosen “perp,” on the ride of their life every Christmas Eve through their past, present, and show how their future will unfold if they don’t change their ways.

I mean you know the plot. But this year, this year their “Scrooge,” is a hopeless cause. He’s calloused, he’s greedy, he’s a manipulator. He has created such a ripple of negativity that he has even been classified as “unredeemable.”

He’s Ryan Reynolds. Well he’s actually Clint Briggs (played by Ryan Reynolds), the kind of PR executive that doesn’t hesitate to twist the truth (or re-write it even) to win. So committed to his cut-throat approach, he even advises his niece Wren (Marlow Barkley) to dig up dirt on her student council opponent and destroy his reputation, ensuring her victory…you know, for a middle school election. Little does Clint know that his actions have caught Present’s attention and through a compelling musical number and heartfelt plea, he convinces Jacob to choose Clint this Christmas, in spite of the label on his file. Jacob’s deal? That if it doesn’t work, Present takes his retirement package after two centuries of service and returns to earth for his second chance at life.

Balancing an ELF like optimism with a Eurovision voice and a Ricky Bobby style of determination, Ferrell’s portrayal of the Ghost of Christmas Present is easily one of my new favorites. Sure he has the same optimism and exuberance of most Present portrayals, but there’s a deeply rooted reality to him. There is a story to uncover as to why he is so committed to Clint’s redemption – so much so that he invites Clint into it so that maybe Clint will quit trying to sweet talk his way out of the journey and instead pay attention to how pivotal this journey will be. And Reynolds matches Ferrell beat for beat, creating a natural character journey that starts with defiance and reluctance but then shifts into curiosity, openness, and finally understanding. But ultimately, will it be enough by the end?

I admit I thought I had this movie figured out after some well-placed clues and hints. And obviously there was only one way this movie could end. But I was shocked and then pleasantly surprised with the bow that wrapped up the gift that is this movie. Yes I loved the musical numbers. Yes the casting is fantastic (Octavia Spencer brings the internal struggle of how far is too far to the forefront as Clint’s right-hand exec Kimberly, Sunita Mani had me cracking up as Past, and of course Ferrell and Reynolds were playing the kinds of characters they play best), and yes the spirit of “A Christmas Carol” is in every scene, even if it isn’t always obvious.

But the biggest “yes,” for me is my answer to the other question…can a Clint…can a Scrooge…truly be redeemed…and then stay as such?

Yes.

(Oh to answer your other question – Spirited is now in my top three film adaptations – up there with Mickey’s Christmas Carol and the 1970 film Scrooge with Albert Finney and Alec Guinness. And no, I will not be entertaining arguments against such rankings.)

Christmas on Cattle Hill: I’ll Be Gnome for Christmas

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Like many of us, I am a sucker for a good Christmas animated movie. From classics like Rudolph and Frostyto more recent shows like Olive the Other Reindeer and Klaus, there are an abundance of stories that have become a gift to our family during the holiday season.

But Christmas on Cattle Hill may not be your favourite animated gift this year.

Developed in Norway, Christmas on Cattle Hill tells the story of Klara, a young calf who finally gets to spend Christmas with her father, Biff. After her parents’ divorce, she has never spent the holidays with him and can’t wait to celebrate the season up on Cattle Hill. However, when she arrives, she is disappointed that he hasn’t decorated at all. When Biff is called away by what appears to be a work emergency, Klara takes it upon herself to make Christmas come alive once again. Partnering with a Christmas gnome, Klara wants to turn Cattle Hill into a holiday paradise yet, as the gnome begins to act unpredictably, things begin to get out of hand.

Christmas on Cattle Hill is one of these films that wants to give you the warm ‘holiday fuzzies’ with your family and, in some ways, they’re quite successful. While it may be far from a ‘Christmas classic’, Cattle Hill is a charming film that should entertain families, especially those with younger kids. While the animation is relatively simple, its main story featuring Klara’s attempt to make Christmas special for her father is particularly adorable and serves as the anchor for the film. What’s more, things really pick up when the Christmas gnome gets involved. Starved for oatmeal and filled with Christmas fun and fury, the gnome is a joy to watch as it bounds around and should delight audiences. 

Having said this though, Cattle Hill’s interest in telling several stories also makes it a bit confusing and, frankly, that holds it back from becoming something special. The side adventure of intrusive chicken, Chickolina and fussy sheep, Baart simply doesn’t work. Meanwhile, while Klara’s best friend serves as some comic relief, his story with his father never really comes together. In essence, while these stories are fun, they often confuse and distract from Cattle Hill’s most endearing tale of a father and daughter reuniting.

Without question, the best part about Cattle Hill is its story about bringing people together at a time when loneliness is a serious issue. For many years, Cattle Hill was a place enlivened by a spirit of community, especially at Christmas time. Centred around a massive decorated tree in the main square, Cattle Hill was a place of celebration over the holiday season. However, after Biff’s divorce, the area has become far less jolly.

As a result, the Christmas holidays are no longer the most wonderful time of the year but the loneliest. This is best exemplified through Pauline, a pig who lives by herself at the base of a mountain. For her, being isolated from family and friends is the most difficult time of the holidays. As a result, she lies to Biff in order to bring him to her home simply because she does not want to be alone. While her ruse admittedly seems fairly creepy at first, we soon recognize her need to be in a community. For Pauline, the most important thing is to be around others who care for her at Christmas time.

As Klara becomes committed to seeing Christmas come alive once again, so too does it affect all of those around her. Her desire to believe and celebrate once again lights the fires of community and brings hope to the people of the neighbourhood. In this way, Cattle Hill does a good job reminding us how much we need one another, especially at the holiday season. In doing so, everyone feels valuable.

Everyone feels like they’re a part of something bigger than themselves.

Sweet and often silly, there’s a lot to like about Christmas on Cattle Hill. Serving as a reminder that everyone matters and deserves a chance to celebrate, the film has a positive message that manages to shine through. However, one can’t help but wish that the film had been a little more focused so that it could create a little bit more Christmas magic.

Christmas on Cattle Hill is available on VOD for $.99 now.

8.10 Retelling a WEST SIDE STORY + Christmas Wishes!

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It’s always a challenge to bring a classic story back to life. However, with his new version of WEST SIDE STORY, Steven Spielberg seems to have a hit on his hands with critics. But why is this film still relevant today? This week, Wade Bearden (@WadeHance) returns to talk about updating a legend, and hope for the ‘bad guys’. PLUS, Wade and Steve offer up their ‘Christmas Wishes’ for 2022!

You can watch the episode on YouTube and stream on podomatic, Alexa (via Stitcher), Spotify, iHeart Radio or Amazon Podcasts! Or, you can downoad the ep on Apple Podcasts!

Want to continue to conversation at home?  Click the link below to download ‘Fishing for More’ — some small group questions for you to bring to those in your area.

8.10-West-Side-StoryDownload

Christmas Themed Theological Riff Fest

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It’s the holiday season. A time for friends, family, food, traditions…. and riffing on complex and controversial Christmas themed theological topics!

In this episode of the Your Sunday Drive podcast, we’re joined by Levi Goodwin – local purveyor of fine viewpoints – for discussion on a range of topics related to Christmas and Advent: The incarnation, angels, Marian doctrines, miracles and more.

We also take time to examine the question of “When is it essential to have a firm opinion on a specific doctrine or topic?” and share some Holiday Hot Takes 🙂

Come along for Your Sunday Drive – quick conversation about current events, politics, pop culture and more, from the perspective of a couple of guys trying to follow Jesus.

Hosts: Matt Hill and Nate Polzin. Presented by the Church in Drive of Saginaw, MI, as often as possible. Please visit churchindrive.com and facebook.com/thechurchindrive

See You Next Christmas: Constant Christmas

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It’s November. You’re officially allowed to watch Christmas movies.

Set in the home of Annie and Tom Clark (Christine Weatherup and Vin Vescio), See You Next Christmas tells the story of their annual ‘Clarkmas’ Christmas Party. Built up over the years as their go-to event, ‘Clarkmas’ has become a holiday tradition for their friends. When Annie’s cousin Natalie (Elizabeth Guest) arrives and meets Tom’s old friend Logan (AJ Meijer) for the first time, sparks between them immediately fly. However, when things go awry between them, they go their separate ways… until they meet again awkwardly at next year’s ‘Clarkmas’… and the year after that…

Written, directed and starring Weatherup, See You Next Christmas is a delightfully original holiday rom-com that manages to surprise. Using the ‘Clarkmas’ as the film’s backdrop, Weatherup’s simple story allows the annual holiday tradition to highlight the changes (or not) in people’s lives over time. To these characters, ‘Clarkmas’ is the stable tradition in the midst of their ever-changing lives. By placing a year between each connection, Weatherup has the opportunity to tell new stories each time, allowing for character growth and new tensions. Surprising engagements, new jobs, break-ups, and changes in family dynamics all rise to the surface as these characters re-connect at the one time a year that they get together. Admittedly, the film does make use of virtually every ‘will they/won’t they’ tropes. (In some ways, the 6-7 parties almost feels like an entire season of television.) However, the film’s structure, style and enjoyable writing somehow make it feel fresh and, frankly, an absolute joy.

Honestly though, it’s the chemistry between its leads that ultimately puts the film over. While Weatherup and Vescio provide the necessarily stability to the ‘Clarkmas’ tradition, it’s stars Guest and Meijer who make the film pop. As the couple-in-question who only see each other on holidays, Guest and Meijer work extremely well with one another, providing natural banter and genuine affection. Despite the fact that their characters only see each other (roughly) once a year, they manage to sell growth between them and give the film the necessary romantic tension to keep it moving.

Similarly, it’s that same character growth that becomes Weatherup’s greatest weapon. Although the film begins with the emphasis on the potential for romance, this is as much a film about learning how to grow up as it is about finding ‘the one’. Annie and Tom struggle through job changes and the pressures of having kids. Nina wrestles with who she wants to be and, maybe, starting her own business. Natalie has difficulty navigating the online dating pool or feeling like she fits in when her friends begin having kids. In Next Christmas, (almost) everyone feels like they are moving through life, anxious about where their decisions may lead them.

While the holidays may be the emphasis, the year catches up with them at every new party.

However, that’s the magic of ‘Clarkmas’. No matter what’s happened to you, you’re always welcome. The consistency of this Christmas tradition, while changing over time, becomes somewhat of a safe zone for these characters. No, they’re not perfect. But they know they will be accepted and loved. For them, that’s the true joy of ‘Clarkmas’. That’s what keeps bringing them back.

Fun and light-hearted, there’s a heart-warming sizzle to See You Next Christmas that makes it better than your average ‘Christmas film’. Instead of just telling a story of the holidays, Next Christmas also becomes a story of the time between celebrations and how that shapes us along the way.

So, go ahead and enjoy it. You’re allowed. It’s Christmas.

See You Next Christmas debuts in VOD on Tuesday, November 9th, 2021.

The Best Christmas Movies Ever

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your sunday drive podcast

Do you want THE definitive list of The Best Christmas Movies Ever? Want to know why they matter deeply? Look no further…

In this final Your Sunday Drive podcast episode of 2020, we reminisce and riff on some of our favorites, unpacking plenty presents along the way: What makes a Christmas movie a Christmas movie and why does Die Hard count as one? What things do these stories have in common? Why do we build such strong traditions around them? Why does flying kites suck so bad? What role does magic and belief play in these movies?

Most importantly: How do these favorite seasonal stories connect to the actual Christmas story and the gospel itself?

Come along for Your Sunday Drive – quick conversation about current events, politics, pop culture and more, from the perspective of a couple of guys trying to follow Jesus.

Hosts: Matt Hill and Nate Polzin. Presented by the Church in Drive of Saginaw, MI, as often as possible. Please visit churchindrive.com and facebook.com/thechurchindrive

The Loss Adjuster – Job lite

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“It’s only when you’ve lost everything that you realize what you’re really missing.”

In Vincent Woods’s film The Loss Adjuster, a modern-day Job is having one of the worst days of his life. It begins with his wife leaving him and goes steadily downhill.

Martin Dyer (Luke Goss) is an insurance adjuster who spends his day dealing with other people’s bad days—burglaries and property damage. He is a kind and gentle man who tries to bring comfort to the people he deals with. His day begins when his wife, no longer satisfied with their financial issues (which we learn are her fault), abandons him. As he is sits in shock and grief, his office calls and loads him with calls to make, paying no attention to his anguish. As he goes from one meeting to the next, those he meets impart small bits of wisdom. But also at each stop there are additional revelations and suffering that he must deal with.

The film begins with a voice over about a wealthy man who falls out of a plane. As the falls the wind strips him of all his possessions. The opening of the book of Job tells of a wealthy man who is stripped of everything of value in his life. The bulk of the book is made up of theological/philosophical discussions between Job and three friends about the justice of God and suffering. There is a touch of that here, but never really seeking any depth to such serious questions. Martin doesn’t really reflect on how all this misfortune came to him.  And like the man who fell out of the plane, but the end of the day, he is near naked, stripped of everything he has valued. It is when he has given up his attachment to his past that he becomes able to move on to new possibilities.

The film is set in the Christmas season, but it isn’t really a Christmas movie. However, it does evolve into an ending that is based in hope and grace, but even that is a cheap knockoff of hope and grace.

What I find unfortunate about the film is that, like the ending of the book of Job, there is a miraculous restoration of love and wealth.  I should note that I struggle with the ending of the biblical story as well, as do many. The ending of the book of Job is sometimes seen as at odds with the overall story. There is certainly a good deal of dissonance between the last chapter and all that came before. The deus ex machina ending of this film actually makes all the struggle that Martin has been through seem unimportant. The basic of the Job story is that Job is existentially changed by what he has gone through. Martin just has a bad day, then gets a great reward.

The Loss Adjuster is available on iTunes.

Photos courtesy of Trinity Creative Partnership

6.13 Deck the HALLMARK CHRISTMAS MOVIES

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A young executive has her life changed when she’s called to a remote small town at the Christmas season and falls in love with mysterious stranger… er… wait… An attractive wannabe baker has her life changed when she runs into an ex from her past before the big baking competition… no… um… A reporter has her life changed when she meets a prince… I mean…

‘Hallmark Christmas Movies’ have become a genre unto themselves. Featuring ‘cookie-cutter’ storylines and generic plot twists, the films have grown in popularity in the last few years yet are not without controversy as well. This week on the show, ScreenFish’r Heather Johnson and newcomer Christine Embree join us to look at the appeal of these similarly dissimilar films, how their characters stand up in a 21st Century world and what they say about the Christmas season.

You can also stream the episode above on podomatic, Alexa (via Stitcher), Spotify or Soundcloud! Or, you can download the ep on Apple Podcasts or Google Play!

Want to continue to conversation at home?  Click the link below to download ‘Fishing for More’ — some small group questions for you to bring to those in your area.

6.13 Hallmark ChristmasDownload

5 Days of Christmas GIVEAWAY #3: Digital Copy of JOKER

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Forever alone in a crowd, failed comedian Arthur Fleck seeks connection as he walks the streets of Gotham City. Arthur wears two masks — the one he paints for his day job as a clown, and the guise he projects in a futile attempt to feel like he’s part of the world around him. Isolated, bullied and disregarded by society, Fleck begins a slow descent into madness as he transforms into the criminal mastermind known as the Joker.

To enter, simply like or share our post on Facebook. For a bonus entry, like or share the post on Twitter and Instagram.

The winner will receive a digital copy of Joker on iTunes.

All entries must be completed by 11:59pm on Wednesday, December 18th, 2019.

5 Days of Christmas GIVEAWAY Day 2: Die Hard Colouring Book

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Welcome yourself to the party with the Die Hard Colouring Book!

Experience Die Hard in a fresh and creative way with this authorized tie-in coloring and activity book featuring favorite scenes and quotes from the beloved classic movie. This unique prize features some of the movie’s best moments, recreated in detailed black-and-white line drawings, including:

  • Hans Gruber and his posse crash the Christmas party at Nakatomi and take the tower hostage;
  • John McClane’s limo ride with Argyle;
  • The tension-filled crawl through the building vents; 
  • John’s morbid message delivery to Hans (written on the corpse of one of Hans’ men);
  • The famous bloody footprints;
  • And of course, John leaping off the Nakatomi tower.

The winner will receive a copy of the Die Hard Colouring Book.

To enter, simply like or share our post on Facebook. For a bonus entry, like or share the post on Twitter and Instagram.

All entries must be completed by 11:59pm on Tuesday, December 17th, 2019.