April Walsh – Delaware County Magazine

Other studios took note and started putting money into advertising for a summer hit, the second being Star Wars. Think of any big, special-effects laden movie and it was once a summer blockbuster – E.T., Batman (1989), Jurassic Park, The Dark Knight, Avatar… I could go on. Almost all of them had an ad budget in the multi-millions, but almost all them also, love them or hate them (I’m not a fan of Avatar) did something new and innovative – either with special effects, animatronics, computer animation, or atmosphere. And I’m not quite sure we’re getting a lot of innovation these days. Digital effects have hit a sort of peak and practical effects are rarely used.

With few exceptions, almost every summer blockbuster in the new millennium has been part of a franchise – in other words, a safe bet. I’m as big a Marvel fan as anyone, but I feel a bit bummed out that Spider-Man: Far from Home is looking like the only potential summer blockbuster and it is, once again, part of a franchise, the biggest franchise. It feels like every studio in Hollywood is looking to get under the safe umbrella of a franchise.

Men in Black: International tried to get in on that action, spinning off from the previous MIB films, but not even Chris Hemsworth’s charm could save it from bombing. X-Men: Dark Phoenix fared even worse and possibly ruined the good will the first two entries into the new X-Men franchise had built up. That’s the thing Hollywood seems to forget about franchises: however strong they may start off, they are historically hard to sustain. Marvel and its 22 films are a statistical anomaly.

Then again, perhaps I shouldn’t be so cynical. If there’s one franchise that’s retained its audience, it’s The Fast and the Furious, with 8 successful films. I’m not really the target demographic for car chase action, but I respect that it has loyal fans. This summer they are trying a spin-off with Hobbs and Shaw (August 2nd). Considering it stars Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, who is universally loved, and Jason Statham, who has a sort of cult following among action fans, I suspect it will do well.

I suppose, while it’s not exactly a narrative franchise, Disney’s live-action reboots of their animated classics are a bit like a series. Everyone’s
always wondering which one will be next to grab all the money – which they do, despite what the critics say. This spring’s Aladdin didn’t do well with critics, but the audiences didn’t agree as it’s earned over 700 million and might even have grossed a billion before it leaves theaters.

I can only imagine The Lion King’s remake (coming July 19th) topping that, provided it doesn’t completely drop the ball. The original animated film
remains Disney’s biggest hit until Frozen came along, the Broadway show has been running for over twenty years, and it’s one of the most beloved stories ever, even across gender and age lines.

To call this a live-action reboot isn’t necessarily true. It’s photo-realistically computer animated and directed by Jon Favreau, who did previously impressive work with 2016’s Jungle Book, so I have rather high hopes for this. It will feature the voices of Donald Glover, Beyoncé, John Oliver, Seth Rogen, Billy Eichner and, most importantly, James Earl Jones will be reprising his role as Mufasa because that man’s still got it! I’m not gonna lie, this one is the most likely to get me in the theater – between the scenic views, animated animals, and the music.

I’m much less optimistic about Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (October 18th). As much as I sneer at Disney’s cash-grab remakes, I would have rather they’d straight-up remade Sleeping Beauty than reimagine it with the Wicked treatment. I’m saying that as someone who loved Broadway’s Wicked (spoiler alert: the Wicked Witch of the West wasn’t all that bad) and cannot wait for the film, I didn’t like 2014’s Maleficent’s lazy attempt to copy the Wicked format.

For one thing, it cheapens one of the more menacing villains in Disney history; for another, the first film made her “good” at the expense of the three fairies who I adored for being the true heroines of the original 1959 animated film, turning them into bumbling idiots. That being said, I guess it did well enough at the box office to justify a sequel and the heavy paycheck I imagine Angelina Jolie commands. So what do I know?

Obviously, the next most buzzed about film is Angry Birds 2, coming August 14th. I’m kidding, of course. Though Sony Picture’s Animation did manage to surprise me by putting out the truly awesome Spider-Man: Into The Spiderverse, I just don’t think their second attempt at a film based on a dead mobile game series is going to be an entry into the cultural zeitgeist. But who knows? Your kids might rope you into it.

The other summer film your kids might rope you into is Dora and the lost City of Gold (August 9th). Years ago, College Humor put out a popular fake trailer and sketch series on what a Dora The Explorer film might look like and it seems like the studios were taking copious notes. This follows a teen-aged Dora taking a rag-tag team of teens on an adventure through an ancient Incan city. It looks more like a spoof than a serious film, but I imagine the kids who enjoyed Dora are a bit older now and can take a joke. But you have to wonder what’s next? A gritty reboot of Bob the Builder, perhaps? A film noir take on Blues Clues? This is 2019. Anything can happen.

Things get a bit less family-friendly from here on out – unless you consider Rambo a light-hearted romp. In case you didn’t hear, Stallone is putting on the headband one last time for Rambo: Last Blood (September 20th). It seems like Rambo is always trying to retire, after a life of combat and PTSD, he’s tried prison and monasteries, but he’s always dragged into yet another violent rescue mission. This film, he’s been drafted to save a woman kidnapped by the Mexican cartel. If Rambo succeeds, one might hope he might finally get some peace. Then again, Stallone said he’d be open to a sequel if this film does well. So maybe not…

Also on the gritty end of things is Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (July 26th), which follows an aging TV star and his stunt double as they navigate a late 60s Hollywood, just past its golden age, with the backdrop of the Manson family murders. Starring Tarantino favorites Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio, it’s already gotten good buzz on the festival circuit, so I have little doubt it will do well on its wide release and, likely, come awards season. Even without that, Tarantino has a rabid fanbase.

I’m personally most excited for It: Chapter Two, coming September 6th. I was at the earliest possible showing for the first and saw it two more times in the theater, so I think you can safely say my expectations are high. I think Andy Muschietti did a wonderful job with the first and I hope he’s able to finally bring this story home in a satisfying way, which might be tricky.

As big a fan as I am of Stephen King’s original novel, I always felt the story faltered in its conclusion and the 1990 miniseries also famously dropped the ball in its second half. With the adult cast of “The Losers Club” including James McAvoy, Jessica Chastain, comedian Bill Hader (who does amazing dramatic work in HBO’s Barry and I urge you to watch it), and Bill Skarsgard’s uber creepy Pennywise back to terrify them, myself and scores of King fans are rooting for this one.

It’s seems horror, in some form or another is dominating the rest of the pre-holiday movie season. There has been a bit of a resurgence of awardworthy
horror in recent years. After years of torture and low-budget, found-footage, it’s nice to see there are writers and directors are trying again to come
out with interesting stories that take our everyday anxieties and ramp them up. We see it with Netflix series like Black Mirror, taking technology into terrible new frontiers, and with Jordan Peele’s last two films, exploring paranoia and racial unease.

Ari Aster is another horror auteur on the rise, after many lauded short films and 2018’s unsettling Hereditary, his second feature-length film is Midsommar (July 2nd). It follows a young couple who travel to rural Sweden for a summer festival that’s only held every 90 years. The trailer promises endless daylight and creepy rituals. There’s something about a film that manages to make horror happen without darkness.

Though this next film might be more horror/ comedy, I’m also excited for Zombieland: Double Tap (October 18th). The first Zombieland film (2009) was really fun to watch and considering they got all of the original cast to return (Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, Abigail Breslin, even Bill Murray playing himself), I suspect they must have had a good script as these are some discerning actors, especially Emma Stone after several Oscar
nominations. Considering two of the writers (Rhett Reese and Paul Wernisk) also wrote Deadpool, I kind of trust anything they do.

While it’s more horror-adjacent, I’m also intrigued by Joker (October 4th), starring Joaquin Pheonix as Batman’s most famous nemesis, but in a time before there was a Batman. It looks dark and strange, which fits the clown prince of crime just fine. According to the official summary: a failed stand-up comedian turns to a life of crime and chaos in Gotham City, slowly rising to become a frightening legend. This seems to be based off a 1951 Joker origin story, but the film looks like it takes place circa 1975.

This film seems to be separate from the famously failed DC Extended Universe film franchise and is more of a character study than a cynical cash grab, and with a cast that also includes Robert DeNiro and Frances Conroy, I’m hoping for great things.

Really, I’m always hoping for great things. I’d much rather like things than not. In the spirit of that, since I’m always coming in here hyping films and rarely get to check in after to tell you how they went, here’s a little breakdown of 2019 so far:

Toy Story 4, despite the fact that it was not needed in the previous trilogy, was sweet and well done and worth making.

All the Marvel movies were awesome, but Endgame was especially awesome. Sure, it was fan service, but it was still awesome.

Shazam stood on its own outside the DCEU and was better for it, giving us a quirky and sweet superhero movie about an overgrown kid.

Booksmart was an indie that didn’t break any box office records, but it did deliver a fresh take on coming-of-age teen comedies.

How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World was an emotional conclusion to an underrated trilogy.

There are so many films out there, competing for your viewership. I hope the ones you choose to see leave you glad you saw them!

You have to wonder how we got here. My personal theory is that it started with TIVO. People no longer wanted to be tied down to watching on the network’s timetable, but wanted to record series and watch at their leisure, take in multiple episodes at once and fast-forward the commercials. It was the start of binge-watching. Netflix, once just a place to rent DVDs by mail, took note, developed an algorithm that kept you glued and eventually its own content – which is perhaps why Netflix still dominates, with 89 percent of streaming subscribers to Amazon’s 46 and Hulu’s 28. They will always be considered the one who did it first and, arguably, still does it best.

What’s crazy is that this doesn’t seem that long ago. The first Netflix original, House of Cards, debuted in 2013. In just six years, the entertainment landscape has been changed so drastically. Without Netflix providing that template, we wouldn’t have Hulu, Amazon, HBO Now, CBS All Access, Sling, Crackle. That’s not all, including the upcoming Apple TV+, Disney+, and Peacock (NBC’s streaming service), there seems to be a streaming service for everyone.

So, weary viewers, after that recent history lesson, perhaps you’re considering cutting some cords. I’m going to attempt to break each service down for you as to what they cost, what they offer, what has captured the most viewers, won the most awards, and what shows I personally recommend. I will not be going into HBO, Starz, and Showtime as I’ve addressed them in last month’s TV breakdown and because they don’t offer exclusive content on their streaming services that isn’t also available on their networks. I’m trying to keep this to content you can only get via streaming. Let’s start with the most popular…

NETFLIX
Surprising no one, Netflix is on top. Starting at $8.99 per month, it’s a pretty good deal for what you get. Plus, you can add multiple family members to your subscription if you feel the need to split the cost. While they still have hit shows and films (mostly from the 80s and 90s, explaining their popularity with my generation) those are always in danger of leaving. For instance, some viewers are very upset that comfort watches like Friends and Frasier will soon be leaving for NBC’s service, even threatening to cancel. However, I doubt that will end up happening for most because their original content is the main draw and the awards reflect it.

With 27 Emmy wins last month, they were second only to HBO in total wins and nominations for heartwarming reality shows like Queer Eye, dramas like When They See Us (based on the true story of the falsely accused Central Park Five), family/crime drama Ozark, the excellent dark comedy Russian Doll (Natasha Lyonne as a woman who lives the same day over and over and tries to figure out why) and the mind-bending sci-fi anthologies Black Mirror and Love, Death+ Robots.

Since their original content never goes away, you can watch these and other hits like Stranger Things (the sci-fi horror that combines a coming of age tale with sci-fi and horror and 80s nostalgia), GLOW (another 80s offering, this a hit comedy following the big-haired, showy Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling), the woefully underrated ghost horror/family drama The Haunting of Hill House. I also recommend Unbelievable, the tale of the investigation of a serial rapist from 2007- 2011 starring Merrit Weaver and Toni Colette. For the whole family, there’s Anne with an E, a heartwarming reimagining of Anne of Green Gables that incorporates plotlines for modern tweens and The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, a prequel series to Jim Henson’s darkly beautiful fantasy film utilizing puppetry.

As for what’s coming, Netflix is streaming El Camino: a Breaking Bad Movie, which will tell us what happened to Aaron Paul’s Jesse Pinkman after the ending. It will premiere on Netflix first October 11th before heading to AMC in the new year. I’m personally excited for Bridgerton, coming spring 2020, with its Regency era setting (and costumes!). It’s based on a series of popular historical romance novels by Julia Quinn. As much as I love Jane Austen adaptations, I’m looking forward to new tales set in the early 1800s and this one is getting a great deal of advance buzz.

AMAZON PRIME
If anything came close to toppling HBO and Netflix’s awards domination, it was Amazon with 15 wins at last month’s Emmys – with 8 for The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and 6 for Fleabag. Maisel, a comedy surrounding a late-50s housewife breaking into standup, already had a great first season, winning Globes and Emmys for both its main actors (Rachel Brosnahan, Alex Borstein, and Tony Shalhoub) and its lovely costumes and direction. But Fleabag – a viciously funny, fourth-wall breaking dark comedy set in London and following a dryhumored protagonist (Phoebe Waller-Bridge) as she deals with grief and loneliness – has been a surprise hit. Schitt’s Creek also gained quite a few nominations, no surprise with comedy legends like Eugene Levy and Catherine O’Hara leading the cast of rich misfits dealing with sudden poverty.

Priced similarly to Netflix at $8.99 per month, Amazon hosts shows from other networks and classic films along with its own content. As for originals, they release them episode-by-episode rather than all at once (Netflix is still unique in that respect). Their other hits include The Man in the High Castle (a dystopian show set in a future following the Nazis winning in WW2), Good Omens (a darkly comedic fantasy series based on Neil Gaiman’s hit novel about the unlikely team-up of an angel and a demon trying to stop Armageddon).

Coming up, Amazon is in pre-production on a prequel to The Lord of The Rings. Word is that it’s a sprawling epic comparable to Game of Thrones that is going to cost them a lot, but fantasy fans are hoping the investment pays off. No word on cast yet, but closer to production is The Dark Tower. Based on Stephen King’s fantasy/sci-fi/western book series, this prequel series will follow the early years of Roland, the Gunslinger. Sam Strike (Nightflyers) and Jerome Flynn (Game of Thrones) are already filming.

HULU
Hulu might not have as many original hits as the above two, but at a price of $5.99 per month, you can certainly find enough bang for your buck – with a combination of hit movies, old shows, and deals to air current network shows the following day, and a few originals garnering awards, most notably The Act and The Handmaid’s Tale. The first was a gripping miniseries based on the true story of Gypsy Rose Blanchard, who was both the victim of Munchausen by proxy and a murderer. It’s a complex story starring Joey King as Gypsy and Patricia Arquette as her abusive mother, gaining Arquette another Emmy to add to her collection and up-and-comer King a nomination.

As for The Handmaid’s Tale, starring Elisabeth Moss, Joseph Fiennes, Yvonne Strahovski, Alexis Bledel, Ann Dowd, the first season was based on Margaret Atwood’s modern classic about a dystopian, totalitarian theocracy where childbearing women of the lower class are forced into subservient breeding roles by an infertile ruling class that uses a misinterpreted Old Testament to subjugate them, focusing on one handmaid named Offred. The second and third season had no book basis, but continued Offred’s (Elisabeth Moss) tale. A fourth season has been ordered and is expected in summer 2020.

Also of note was the Veronica Mars revival, which aired season 4 last
summer. While it was never an awards darling, the show about the teen/now
adult private investigator’s adventures always had a loyal fanbase. Castle Rock, an original series set in the Stephen King universe, returns for a second season later this month (October 23rd).

CBS ALL ACCESS
At $5.99 per month, CBS’s service is also a bit of a bargain, but with less to draw viewers in except perhaps those who are loyal to CBS’s current and classic shows. CBS has won in overall network ratings for years now, so perhaps the fanbase is big enough, but it’s only 8th among streaming services. Perhaps that will change with more original content. They do have three big draws. Jordan Peele’s new Twilight Zone series has been a hit for them, but the main attraction is the prequel series Star Trek: Discovery. Trekkies are loyal and I suspect most of the subscribers are in that fanbase.

With two seasons and a third on the way, they’ll probably retain those fans, especially since Star Trek: Picard is coming soon. Captain Jean Luc Picard – played by beloved icon and living legend Sir Patrick Stewart, who is nearing 80 but has yet to slow down in his career – reprises his role. The series finds Picard deeply affected and in mourning after the events of Star Trek: Nemesis 20 years ago, but coming out of retirement to assemble a crew who help a mysteriously troubled young woman. For further fan delight, it also stars Marina Sirtis and Jonathon Frakes and Brent Spiner, reprising their roles as Counselor Deanna Troi, Commander William Riker, and Data.

UPCOMING SERVICES
NBC’s Peacock will be launching in April 2020 and will be hosting their classic and current content, but also over thirteen exclusive shows in development – most notably reboots of Battlestar Galactica, Saved by the Bell, and Punky Brewster, and a continuation of Psych, a former USA hit. The CW is also developing a service, so look for them to move their Netflix content by possibly the end of 2020. As for ABC, there’s no word on whether they’re working on their own app, but I predict they – as well as FOX – might soon join the others.

Apple TV + launches November 1st for a starting price of $5.00 per month and they’ve been pulling out all the stops on ads and big stars. While they will be airing episode-by-episode rather than in binging form, they have nine original programs on deck. The Morning Show, starring Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, and Steve Carrel is a drama about the upheaval of a morning chat show similar to the drama we witnessed around the Live with Kelly and Ryan saga on ABC. And they’ve shown lots of ads for Dickinson, a dramedy about the early years of poet Emily Dickinson starring Hailee Steinfeld. There’s also Oprah’s book club which will feature in-depth looks at the books and authors it highlights.

Disney+ will launch November 12th and will start at $7.00 per month. Besides all the Disney fare your kids will crave, something they could survive on alone with their Marvel and Star Wars franchises also in the mix, they will be airing new Star Wars content like The Mandalorian, starring Pedro Pascal (Game of Thrones) as a lone gunfighter, and an Obi Wan Kenobi series starring Ewan MacGregor reprising the role. There will also be three Marvel series including Ms. Marvel and The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, tying into the film franchise. Another notable original for the ‘tweens is a 10-episode High School Musical series.

Whatever service fits your viewing, the days of “there’s nothing on” are gone for good. We’ve traded them in for “How do I find the time to watch all this?” If you’ll excuse, I’m off to binge… something

Kidding. I’m talking about Frozen 2 (though we will be taking a look at Cats with its strange combination of an amazing cast and a nightmare-inducing trailer). Yes, Frozen 2 is actually happening and it’s hitting theaters November 22nd. It’s the first time this has happened for a Disney sequel. Before this, you’d only see a Pixar sequel with enough quality filmmaking to go anywhere but direct-to- DVD. Disney sequels might be a good way to keep the kids quiet on a Saturday afternoon, but they are usually low-effort – between the writing, the animation, and the songs. Yet Disney seems to be pulling out all the stops for this one – with the same producers, composers, directors, and cast.

Then again, Frozen was kind of a pop culture juggernaut. The box office alone was unprecedented for anything Disney that didn’t have Star Wars or Marvel in front of the title, becoming the 5th highest grossing film ever. And that’s not even mentioning the merchandizing. With John Lasseter presenting the idea after “considerable internal debate” at the Disney shareholders meeting back in 2015, he seemed to have faith in the sequel. “As with Pixar, when we do a sequel, it is because the filmmakers who created the original have created an idea that is so good that it’s worthy of these characters,” he promised. 1

This could be a game changer. If this film works even nearly as well as the first, we might see more Disney sequels in theaters in addition to all the live-action remakes. Considering Disney already owns most of the big franchises between Lucasfilm, Marvel, and now 21st Century Fox, it feels like almost every big blockbuster of the coming decade will be part of their lineup.

Of course, as I’ve said, they aren’t the only studio in town. Perhaps just the one with the best marketing minds. Universal’s Cats film (December 20th) has been trying, though, between behind-the scenes featurettes and a trailer that went absolutely viral within hours of its release… for better or worse. The mix of famous faces on CGI cat bodies produced an uncanny valley effect that most people found just a little bit terrifying. Let’s hope they clean some of that up before the release.

It’s a big gamble, bringing a long-beloved Broadway musical, especially one that’s among the longest-running in history. This project has been in development at Universal since 2013 and has gone through ideas from animation to a high-budget pro-shot on stage and debates as to whether or not a musical that is based on a collection of T.S. Elliot’s funny musings on cats can even have a plot. The musical tried to have some sort of story, but ended up being more of a loosely-connected collection of catchy vignettes.

Ultimately, the film is going to be a mix of live-action and CGI, and seems to be attempting more of a story than the stage musical had, using Victoria, the white cat (ballet dancer Francesca Hayward), as a sort of naïve protagonist that the viewer follows into this wider world of cats. The cast includes Judi Dench, Ian Mckellan, Idris Elba, Jennifer Hudson, Taylor Swift, James Corden, and Rebel Wilson, among many others. Considering how iconic some of the songs are, I’m really hoping they pull this off. I love musicals and I want to see more of them. Not having the budget for Broadway outings, I like when Broadway comes to the rest of us in a more accessible way, so I’m still rooting for it – if only so Hollywood doesn’t give up on musicals before I get to see film versions of Wicked, Book of Mormon, and Hamilton.

If you’re looking for other films you might takes the kids to, Jumanji: The Next Level is coming December 13th and I am cautiously optimistic it’s going to be a great time. Its 2017 predecessor was a surprise hit (If you can say that about a film starring fan favorites like The Rock, Kevin Hart, and Jack Black). There had been a lot of cynicism about it as a cash grab, following the beloved Robin Williams film from 1995. But changing the game from board to video and having the characters inhabit classic game avatars brought some new comedy and commentary on our times. The sequel involves some of the same teen characters getting pulled into the game and the characters, but adds Danny Devito and Danny Glover. Seeing The Rock play an awkward teenage boy was fun, but I’m equally intrigued to see him play a cranky old man a la Danny Devito.

Another film you might take the kids to, but perhaps maybe just the girls, is Little Women, releasing Christmas Day. Not that boys wouldn’t find anything to enjoy in a tale of four sisters coming of age in the late-1800s, but it’s never been required reading for them. I read the book multiple times as a girl and have watched five adaptations, between film and TV. All of them had good qualities, but I’ve never felt completely satisfied with any one of them. Perhaps this one will do the trick. With a cast including Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, Laura Dern, and Meryl Streep, I’m hoping for great things. Maybe even Oscar gold?

I suppose that leads us to the films hoping to be your awards season favorites or, to put it more cynically: Oscar bait! Any film released throughout the year can be a contender. Early favorites include Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Scorsese’s The Irishman, Bon Joon-Ho’s Parasite, and Taika Waititi’s JoJo Rabbit. But some studios prefer to release their contenders at the end of eligibility period, hoping they might eclipse what’s come before.

Getting the most buzz is Harriet (November 1st), starring Cyntia Erivo as the iconic Harriet Tubman, who led many slaves to freedom with the underground railroad, also starring Leslie Odom Jr. and Janelle Monae. Erivo’s performance is gaining particular acclaim in festivals so far. Another contender is A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (November 22nd), starring Tom Hanks as Fred Rogers and taking place over an interview with a cynical journalist whose world view is changed by the meeting. Advance reviews have been favorable, so lets hope this film is not snubbed, like the excellent 2018 documentary Won’t You Be My Neighbor.

Ford v. Ferrari (November 15th) stars Matt Damon and Christian Bale as a designer and driver working with Ford Motors circa 1963 as the company struggles to design a car to beat the Ferrari. Festival reviews have praised the racing sequences as well as the acting. Marriage Story (November 6th) stars Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver, as well as Laura Dern, Alan Alda, and Merrit Weaver. It follows a couple (a director and an actress) struggling with artistic endeavors and a divorce while living on opposite coasts. Clint Eastwood’s Richard Jewell opens December 13th and stars Paul Walter Hauser, Sam Rockwell, and Kathy Bates. It’s based on the true story of a security guard who prevented a bombing in the late 90s, but then became a suspect, and later an example of how premature media speculation can ruin an innocent man’s life.

Bombshell is another film having to do with recent history, this time dealing with the scandal at Fox News, Roger Ailes (John Lithgow), and the sexual harassment of women who worked there. This film focuses on characters based on real anchors like Gretchen Carlson (Nicole Kidman) and Megyn Kelly (Charlize Theron) while Margot Robbie plays a fictional new anchor. A lot has been said of Theron’s uncanny transformation into Kelly, but there’s also a pretty stellar cast besides the top three, including Malcolm McDowell, Kate McKinnon, Connie Britton, Allison Janney, Stephen Root… Basically, if you wondered what all your favorite actors were doing last year, it was this movie. I’m really looking forward to it as is most of the internet, apparently.

You might have noticed theatrical releases are light on actual holiday-themed movies. If you’re looking for those, you don’t even have to leave the house. You can just look to either The Hallmark Channel or Netflix. It’s been an upward trend for years now, but they’ve been investing a lot of resources into Christmas flicks. Netflix is a more recent addition to the Christmas party, but Hallmark now has so many holiday movies, after ten years committing to it, that they are hosting a Christmas Con in New Jersey November 8-10 (tickets are already sold out). Much like Comic Con, people can now rub shoulders and have meet-and-greets and Q&A’s with their favorite Christmas-themed movie stars like Erin Krakow, Melissa Joan Hart, Lacey Chabert, and Jack Wagner, among others

Hallmark has already started its Countdown to Christmas by now with 40 new movies, including cozy mysteries, light family dramas, and romcoms. It’s hard to pick any one to focus on. All of them are going to be formulaic and family friendly and none of them are going to good enough to be groundbreaking, nor bad enough to be so-bad-it’s-good. But that’s half the draw, from what I hear. I’ve several relatives who gear up with their ugly sweaters, hot cocoa, and Christmas crafts and settle in for a fun, comfort watch starring familiar TV faces. I get it. I hope they enjoy it.

Netflix has also tossed its hat in the Christmas ring, but seems to be trying a bit harder with some offerings than others this year. They have a third movie in their Christmas Prince trilogy – A Christmas Prince: The Royal Baby (December 5th). It’s a series that has both genuine fans and haters – both of whom are very invested. It’s not my cup of cocoa, but I guess it’s doing something right. There’s the 3D animated Santa origin story, Klaus (November 15th), which looks like a fun watch. The visuals look well done and the voice cast (including Oscar-faves J.K. Simmons and Jason Schwartzman) is pretty good. There are also going to be holiday editions of The Great British Baking Show (November 8th) and Nailed It (November 22nd) in case you need some Christmas treat inspiration.

And then there’s The Knight Before Christmas (November 21st) starring Vanessa Hudgens, which looks… I mean, you can’t tell me that someone came up with this super compelling tale of a medieval knight dropped into our times at the holidays by a sorceress and someone else said, “Sounds great, but what should we call it?” No. Some exec said, “Hey, that’s a fun title! It’s got a pun!” and someone else offered, “Hey, I’ll write a movie around it. Whatever! Who cares?” What I’m trying to say is that it’s going to be horrible… and I’m going to watch it. Ironically.

In all sincerity, I’m also going to rewatch bona-fide classics like It’s a Wonderful Life, the Alastair Sim Christmas Carol, A Muppet Christmas Carol, Miracle on 34th Street, A Christmas Story, White Christmas, and Gremlins. Do you have a favorite Christmas movie?

Feel free to share it with us on social media! Tis the season to be sharing, after all!

Sources cited: 1 cdn.media.ir.thewaltdisneycompany.com/2015/annual/2015-asm-transcript.pdf