Books Editor (673 KP) shared own list
Oct 5, 2017
On Super Thursday, new books from Mary Berry, Dan Brown and Dawn French are out, as part of the mass launch that marks the start of the Christmas season. Here are 10 titles in the running for No 1
Five Escape Brexit Island
Book
It's a year after the Brexit vote. The four housemates and Timmy are on a visit to see their evil...
Me. You. A Diary
9.0
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Book
This is Dawn French's fabulous new non-fiction book for 2017, and it's totally interactive: take a...
Origin
7.3
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Book
The spellbinding new Robert Langdon novel from the author of The Da Vinci Code. 'Dan Brown is the...
ThrillerBook DanBrownBook
Harry Potter: A History of Magic
9.8
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Book
Harry Potter: A History of Magic is the official book of the exhibition, a once-in-a-lifetime...
Fantasy technical
and 5 other items
Peter G. (247 KP) rated Home Alone (1990) in Movies
Jun 12, 2019
Alex Hastings (4 KP) rated The Incredibles 2 (2018) in Movies
Dec 1, 2018
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Dec 24, 2018
The Unintentional Wish (42 KP) created a post
Dec 25, 2019
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Dec 6, 2023
Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated Last Christmas (2019) in Movies
Dec 8, 2019
Kate the Christmas elf has lost her Christmas spirit, life just hasn't felt the same recently and it's affecting her friends and family as well as everything in her life. Tensions run high as she takes advantage of her close friends and slowly burns almost all of her bridges.
Then she meets Tom, he's happy-go-lucky and all about something more to life. Where she's single-minded and oblivious he's caring and mindful of everyone, the pair couldn't be more different while still being the perfect match.
So... a Christmas film using the music of George Michael. Christmas probably appears in 95% of the shots and yet at no point did I feel very Christmassy. As for the music, if I hadn't been told they use his tracks in there I would have just said they just used Last Christmas because they thought they should match the title.
A fair bit of the film takes place at night which does allow for some beautiful illuminated shots of London. The settings are all very well suited for this, I always think that Covent Garden looks like the perfect place for a Christmas paradise when it's made up properly... and that Christmas shop! I died and went to heaven!
I've had no real previous experience with Emilia Clarke as an actress, I've never knowingly seen her in anything (yes, I've never watched Game Of Thrones), but I was impressed with her portrayal of Kate. It all felt very natural, there was a lot of sass but she also managed to keep it together during the serious moments. I don't think I'll be going back to watch GoT after this but I may well give some of her other films a go.
Henry Golding plays the perfect gentleman, that might be his niche. There's nothing to object to in his performance at all, I might have some issues with the way he's written in the script but Golding brought Tom to life perfectly on screen.
The best support performance for me was definitely Santa, played by Michelle Yeoh. Santa and Kate playing off against each other was wonderful to see, no matter whether it eas a dramatic moment or a comedy one they bounced back and forth incredibly well. Seeing Yeoh listed for this was a little dubious but it was delightful to see.
Emma Thompson's portrayal was enjoyable, though the accent did change the feel of the humour. I do question why Kate's family needed to be of Croatian descent. I'm not one to say "this was trying to make a statement" but there wasn't anything of any major consequence in the film that required it to be that way. It didn't feel like the film gained anything from this apart from an opportunity to shoehorn in Brexit.
Despite my quibbling, which you know I love to do, Last Christmas was a thoroughly enjoyable film. It is much more drama than it is Christmas film, Christmas honestly feels incidental even though Emilia Clarke is dressed as an elf most of the time. Sure its message might be a little "hidden agenda" and overly sweet but it's a great bit of entertainment. Just remember, don't be the arsehole who spoils it for someone.
Originally posted on: https://emmaatthemovies.blogspot.com/2019/11/last-christmas-movie-review.html
Obsessed book reviews (49 KP) rated Long, Tall Cowboy Christmas (Happy, Texas #2) in Books
May 7, 2019
Highly recommended christmas read.
I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book