The Sunday Mail
SOMETHING new, something old and something borrowed, that is my gift to you this festive season.
The aforesaid statement is usually used at weddings.
But here is the thing, there is very little to separate weddings and the festive season. Both are used as lame excuses to indulge and always result in families coming together to celebrate. That said, let me give you a rundown of what is on offer, or my recommended list of movies for this festive season.
Something new
There is no better place to be on December 21 than at any of SterKinekor’s “Girlfriend’s Getaway” slated for all of the bases in Borrowdale, Eastgate and Westgate cinemas.
On offer will be the release of the hugely anticipated and hopefully final instalment of “Pitch Perfect”.
I have never really been a fan of this musical comedy as it combines my two worst genres -musicals and chick flicks – into one little stale, one-dimensional and hugely underwhelming package. The films peak after the second instalment with the girls now off into the real world but suffering from a hangover from their fame-filled college days.
After the highs of winning the World Championships, the Bellas’ find themselves split apart and discovering there aren’t job prospects for making a cappella music.
When they get the chance to reunite for an overseas USO tour, they seize the opportunity to jointly make some new music and equally some questionable decisions one last time.
Expect more of the same thrills and chills just like from the first two instalments as Anne Kendrick, Rebel Wilson, Brittany Snow and the rest of the Bellas’ face-off against a new foe by name of Calamity played by Ruby Rose. There is also the prizes, competition and girlfriend chatter to look forward to.
If chick-flicks are not your thing, don’t despair. There are still plenty of new films to choose from.
Watch Jackie Chan like you have never seen him before as he stars alongside Pierce Brosnan in the new action-thriller “The Foreigner”.
Chan stars as a restaurant owner in London’s Chinatown. He is forced to push his moral and physical boundaries to track down the group of rogue Irish terrorists responsible for the death of his beloved daughter after the justice system fails him.
In comedy, there is a hugely funny sequel “Daddy’s Home 2” that sees Mark Walberg and Will Ferrell team up again, this time aided by the incomparable pairing of John Lithgow and Mel Gibson.
“A Bad Mom’s Christmas” should give single moms something to connect with as Mila Kunis, Kristen Bell and the ever so funny Kathryn Hahn unleash a special dose of Christmas cheer.
For the kids I recommend “Ferdinand”, the 20th Century Fox animation flick based on the book of the same title. The film has a hugely talented cast of voice actors namely WWE star John Cena, comedian Gabriel Iglesias, Kate McKinnon and Anthony Anderson, which in my opinion means that it might be one of those all ages flicks.
“Stars Wars-The Last Jedi”, “Jumaji- Welcome to the Jungle”, “Marshall” and “Blade Runner 2049” round-up what I call must-watch movies.
Something old
I’m going to round-up some of 2017 hit productions for this category. The list will include “IT”, the Pennywise remake that totally made my year, “Thor-Ragnokok”, “Hidden Figures”, the Oscar-nominated “Get Out”, “John Wick-Chapter 2”, “The Boss Baby” for the kids and “The House”.
Be assured, these films will cater for all your needs and provide good family entertainment.
Something borrowed
It’s quite sad that today’s millennials have the unfortunate pleasure of growing up in the worst period in cinema history.
Studios and modern filmmakers have sacrificed simple story making for quick returns, the Computer Generated Images (CGI) wow factor and all-round laziness. Thus, I will give you some of the classic holiday movies I grew up watching, movies that can be found in regular movie shops or can be caught online.
Among them are the likes of Jim Carrey’s “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” (2000), the first two “Home Alone” movies (1990/2), “Elf” (2003), The first three “Die Hard” movies (1988, 1990 and 1995), “The Holiday” (2006), “Love Actually” (2003), “Gremlins” (1984), “Jingle all The Way” (1996), “Serendipity” (2001), “Scrooged” (1988) and “Miracle on 34th Street” (1994).
