The Return!

Hello guys and girls

After a hiatus of 6 months i'm back with some reviews etc.....lots to come i assure you.

Starting with the seasonal film fest of 4 movies i watched to get into the xmas spirit (see below for reviews)

I plan to update this as much as possible and all comments are welcome, i have changed the format of it all a little. There will no longer be star graded reviews just opinion, i will also be including music as well as the games and movies. As usual people are invited to guest review if you'd like, just comment here or if you see me face to face say and we'll sort something out.

Thanks and welcome back to Chunky Monkay Reviews

Review: Nothing Like The Holidays

The Info Bit

Genre: Comedy
Starring: John Leguizamo, Alfred Molina, Debra Messing, Freddy Rodriguez
Director: Alfredo De Villa
Run Time: 94 mins
Rating: PG
Year: 2008
Extras On DVD: Trailer

I started off my Christmas Seasonal Film fest with a film touted on the box (and on various sites I’ve since looked at) as a comedy, drama. This film is called Nothing Like The Holidays, and let me say I’m glad I started with it because this film was nothing like a comedy, drama. It was just……Nothing Special.

Harsh criticism you may think but I’m sorry to say true. Let me set the scene for you, the story revolves around a slightly dysfunctional Puerto Rican family getting together at Christmas, seems like a laugh doesn’t it? No?? Well you’d be right! I expected a middle of the road comedy here, what the film delivered was two chuckles (I counted them) a lot of confusion and at times just plain boredom. The characters were average, the sets and general setting was okay, the acting was average, the directing was functional but nothing special….and I could go on and on in the same vein. it’s a shame because it has got some great actors/actresses in it, two of which I absolutely adore (Alfred and John see above) but whether it was just a poor script , whether it was poor directing or both none of them really show us in this film what they can do.

I feel like I should give an example about why this film for me doesn’t work. (WARNING SPOILER ALERT) There is a scene not to far into the film where the mother (Elizabeth Pena) announces at the dinner table that she is divorcing the father (Alfred Molina). This causes a big argument and in succession everyone leaves the table in anger with each other. Quite the dramatic moment (well it should have been but I wasn’t feeling the drama), about 2 short scenes on they are all together laughing and joking as if this incident had never happened! I’m sorry but that’s just poor, I mean about an hour ago they were all yelling at each other now they’re in a bar all laughing and joking IT JUST DOESN’T HAPPEN! This theme continues throughout the film where we get a dramatic moment then a comedy moment so on so on, and for me its too disjointed. If I’m supposed to feel sad or shocked or amused then give me time to feel it before changing it around.

I could pick holes in this film until I’m blue in the face but to be honest there’s no point. It does what many ‘seasonal’ films do which is miss the mark completely. If it had just been a comedy and played just for laughs it could have been something better, likewise if it had been only a drama, but the hodgepodge of messages (everything from the war in Iraq, divorce , cancer and just plain wackiness that families have when they get together) it seems to contain just don’t work well and in the end that is why I think it’s a poor film.

For me one to avoid, enough said..

Review: Bad Santa

The Info Bit

Genre: Comedy
Starring: Billy Bob Thornton, Tony Cox, Lauren Graham
Director: Terry Zwighoff
Run Time: 1hr 28Mins
Rating: 15
Year: 2003
Extras On DVD: Outtakes, Featurette

Onto film two of the season and a film that is a rarity amongst ‘seasonal’ films in that it is a really, really good film especially for the ‘scrooges’ amongst us. The film I’m talking about is……(if you’ve read the title of this you’ll know)…..yes Bad Santa!

As usual a brief plot overview for you fine people, (assuming its not just me reading this of course), Billy Bob Thornton plays Willie a safe cracker who does all his work at Christmas posing as the shopping malls Santa with his sidekick Marcus (Tony Cox) as his ‘Elf’, this year they go to Phoenix and come under the watchful eye of the Mall security and manager, plus a kid thinks Willie is the real Santa all with hilarious consequences as Willie and Marcus plan their next score.
I was really impressed with this film it was brilliant, very funny and in its own unique way quite heart warming. Billy Bob as Willie is brilliant, he manages to help you hate this character (as well you should) but at the same time feel really sorry for him, all whilst making you laugh your (expletive deleted) off. Tony Cox (who a few of you may recognise from Me, Myself and Irene amongst other films) is great as Marcus who is the brains of the operation, so to speak, and plays very well off of Billy Bob Thornton.. To be fair almost everyone play their roles brilliantly in this film from the two above through Lauren Graham (Willies Girlfriend) all the way to John Ritter (Mall Manager) and Bernie Mac (Mall Security), which is what makes this so entertaining to watch, to see acting of this comedy quality is rare.

I really want to write something bad about the film now but to be honest I can’t find any major faults in it, I suppose it is a film geared a little to people who find Christmas pointless which could be considered a negative but to be fair I love Christmas and I still love this film so it really isn’t a problem. I’m sure someone will be ale to find a fault with it but I really like it that much, so I’m not going to pick at it.

Onto the direction aspect. All in all its pretty good, there’s a lot that could have gone wrong mostly in terms of shooting of the dramatic moments but I can’t find fault with it and I love the camera use during one moment of Willie passing out with booze (The clever amongst you will see which bit I mean). Terry Zwighoff obviously guided the actors well as I say above their performances were really good, so a thumbs up to him.

Well that about wraps up this little present (see what I did there!), Bad Santa is a brilliant comedy film, one of the best seasonal films you will see and I highly recommend it to anyone who likes a good laugh at Christmas, plus as an added bonus I picked it up for a mere five pounds a bargain. Enjoy everyone

Review: Home Alone

The Info Bit

Genre: Comedy
Starring: Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern
Director: Chris Columbus
Run Time: 99 Mins
Rating: PG
Year: 1990
Extras On DVD: Trailers

The third film in this seasonal fest of fun, is Home Alone and is my favourite Christmas movie of all time (everyone’s got one and this is mine!). I grew up with this film and I love it, I hate Culkin but I love this film.

Okay lets cover the story for anyone who’s been living under a rock (or is under the age of 20). Culkin plays Kevin an 8 year old brat who is accidentally left behind when his family go to Paris for Christmas, whilst at home he has lots of fun etc but becomes aware of some burglars (Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern) who are raiding the neighbourhood and decides to stop them from robbing his house. This is a John Hughes (RIP) written/produced film (God I hope I don’t have to tell people who John Hughes was!) and its right up there for me with many of his classics. (No I’m not going to list them because if you don’t know who he was and what a legend he was you don’t deserve my time!).

I only have two problems with this film now looking back on it, one unavoidable , the other a sign of the times. First the film looks very ‘dated’ (I hate that term but I can’t think of a better way to phrase it), the clothing and the terminology etc is just very late 80’s early 90’s, second the film is just very stereotypical with the end in that its all just very happy, bad guys get comeuppance, good guys get their rewards etc, which is just as I say a sign of the times in that these days if this film was made the ‘happy’ ending probably wouldn’t be so happy. These minor things aside we press onto why this film is wonderful.

Violence in entertainment is blamed for almost everything these days and it has to be said that with the amount of violence in this film there is no way it would ever be made now (well and get the PG rating anyway), some of my favourite examples of this are:

The nail through the bottom of Sterns foot
The red hot door handle to Pesci’s hand
The iron to Sterns face
And of course the classic paint cans to the face of both guys

Its this violence however that makes this my favourite film, because its done in such a brilliantly slapstick way, I literally end up holding my sides with laughter almost every time I watch this film because of this. The story is a fun classic John Hughes style story that fans of his films will recognise straight off the bat and is quite heart-warming at many times and features some fun little cameo roles (mostly by people we will never see or care about again) but making it all the more fun, Culkin’s vocal exchange with the checkout girl being one such example.

So I leave you with these words about Home Alone, it is an awesomely funny slapstick Christmas movie and I love it, I will always love it and you should love it to. Thanks and goodnight.

Review: Fred Claus

The Info Bit


Genre: Comedy
Starring: Vince Vaughan, Paul Giamatti, Rachel Weisz, Kevin Spacey
Director: David Dobkin
Run Time: 111 Mins
Rating: PG
Year: 2007
Extras On DVD: Cut Scenes, Commentary




Film four and the final one of my Christmas Seasonal Film fest is Fred Claus, a ’seasonal’ comedy starring Vince Vaughan as Fred Claus the older brother of St Nick Claus aka Santa Claus. As comedies go this ones not to bad, and I must admt I actually enjoyed it.



Don‘t get me wrong this film has some flaws, namely the story is very predictable and I hate Rachel Weisz. I‘m sorry but I just do, she angers me especially in this one with her over inflated English accent, I know she is English but I swear she’s being more ‘English’ than an English person should be! Anyway back to basics…..the story here simply put is this. Fred Claus is the older brother of Nick Claus (Santa!) and is very jealous of him, Fred gives up on Christmas, gets in trouble, gets bailed out by Nick (Santa!) who lets him work at the toy factory where hilarity ensues (I use that term a little loosely, more on that later).



The film looks pretty from a cinematic perspective, The North Pole looks pretty and is shown off with some nice long camera pans over the bustling little town, the same applies with the ’workshop’. Okay so the reindeer flying is clearly CGI and there are a few other instances of similar problems but I don’t think it detracts from the films enjoyment to much. Where this film falls down is providing laughs when it should be, now there are quite a few funny bits (I laughed a lot when Vince Vaughan gets chased by thirty odd Santa’s, for example) but to often in the film the obvious setup for a joke is made but just fails to deliver. Its frustrating because with Vince Vaughan (some would say a staple in comedy movies), and Paul Giamatti (A brilliant actor and very funny when he gets the chance), in this picture you would expect there to be some brilliantly funny moments, but alas there are many moments when you’ll chuckle but very few where you’ll be laughing crazily.



Performances aren’t to bad in this film, Vince does his usual character, the overly talkative manipulative guy. Paul is good as Santa but does play him as a very sad and shy character (at least that’s the way I see it) and I was a tad disappointed with that aspect of the performance. Kevin Spacey is pretty damn cool as the ’bad’ guy in this piece but then I do love Kevin Spacey! Other than that there are some fun little cameos/smaller roles, Kathy Bates as Mother Claus, Trevor Peacock (Vicar of Dibley character ‘Jim’ fame) as Papa Claus and Elizabeth Banks as Charlene Santa’s Little Helper.



All in all I did find this film very good fun despite the odd flaw and although it will never be on a top ten list or win any awards its still a fun film to watch on a cold winter’s night with a bag of popcorn and a toasty fire, and that’s what a ’seasonal’ Christmas film should be all about. .