The Phoenix Film Critics Society Names The Brutalist The Best Of 2024


The Phoenix Film Critics Society (not to be confused with the other film critic group from Phoenix) has announced its picks for the best of 2024.  Like a bird rising from the ashes, here they are:

PFCS TOP TEN (in alphabetical order)
A Real Pain
Anora
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Nosferatu
Sing Sing
The Brutalist
The Substance
The Wild Robot
Wicked

BEST PICTURE
The Brutalist

BEST DIRECTOR
Edward Berger – Conclave

BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Ralph Fiennes – Conclave

BEST ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Mikey Madison – Anora

BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Kieran Culkin – A Real Pain

BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Ariana Grande – Wicked

BEST ENSEMBLE ACTING
Conclave

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Anora

BEST SCREENPLAY ADAPTED FROM OTHER MATERIAL
Conclave

THE OVERLOOKED FILM OF THE YEAR
Strange Darling

BEST ANIMATED FILM
The Wild Robot

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Emilia Pérez

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Will & Harper

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
El Mal – Emilia Pérez

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Conclave

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Nosferatu

BEST FILM EDITING
Dune: Part Two

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
Dune: Part Two

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Wicked

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Dune: Part Two

BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE
Mikey Madison – Anora

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A YOUTH
Alisha Weir – Abigail

Here Are The 2024 Satellite Nominations


Yesterday, the nominations for the 28th Annual Satellite Awards were announced.

The Satellites began as an off-shoot of the Golden Globes and they’ve never really escaped the shadow of the Globes (and the Globes themselves have never really escaped the shadow of the Oscars.)  That said, the Sattelites are usually interesting, if just because they usually have a few nominees that haven’t previously been considered to be contenders.  That’s certainly the case this year, with nominations for Cabrini, The Order, and LaRoy, Texas.

The winners will be announced on January 26th.

Motion Picture, Drama
Cabrini – Angel Studios
Conclave – Focus Features
Dune: Part Two – Warner Bros.
Nickel Boys – Amazon MGM Studios
Sing Sing – A24
The Brutalist – A24
The Order – Vertical Entertainment
Young Woman and the Sea – Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical
Anora – Neon
A Real Pain – Searchlight Pictures
Ghostlight – IFC Films
Hit Man – Netflix
LaRoy, Texas – Brainstorm Media
The Substance – MUBI
Thelma – Magnolia Pictures
Wicked – Universal Pictures

Motion Picture, International
I’m Still Here – Brazil
Queens – Swizerland / Peru
The Girl with the Needle – Denmark
The Seed Of The Sacred Fig – Germany
The Wait – Spain
Waves – Czech Republic

Motion Picture, Animated or Mixed Media
Flow – Janus Films
Inside Out 2 – Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Memoir of a Snail – IFC Films
Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Freedom – Fathom Events
The Wild Robot – Universal Pictures/Dreamworks Animation
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl – Netflix

Motion Picture, Documentary
Dahomey – MUBI
Elizabeth Taylor: The Lost Tapes – HBO Documentary Films
I Am: Celine Dion – Amazon MGM Studios
No Other Land – Self Distributed
Porcelain War – Picturehouse
Sugarcane – National Geographic Documentary Films
Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story – Fathom Events
The Bloody Hundredth – Apple TV+

Director
Brady Corbet – The Brutalist
Denis Villeneuve – Dune: Part Two
Edward Berger – Conclave
Greg Kwedar – Sing Sing
RaMell Ross – Nickel Boys
Sean Baker – Anora

Actress in a Motion Picture Drama
Angelina Jolie – Maria
Fernanda Torres – I’m Still Here
Lily-Rose Depp – Nosferatu
Nicole Kidman – Babygirl
Saoirse Ronan – The Outrun
Tilda Swinton – The Room Next Door

Actor in a Motion Picture Drama
Adrien Brody – The Brutalist
Colman Domingo – Sing Sing
Daniel Craig – Queer
Hugh Grant – Heretic
Ralph Fiennes – Conclave
Timothée Chalamet – A Complete Unknown

Actress in Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical
Cynthia Erivo – Wicked
Demi Moore – The Substance
June Squibb – Thelma
Karla Sofía Gascón – Emilia Pérez
Mikey Madison – Anora
Winona Ryder – Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

Actor in Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical
Glen Powell – Hit Man
Jesse Eisenberg – A Real Pain
John Magaro – LaRoy, Texas
Keith Kupferer – Ghostlight
Michael Keaton – Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
Ryan Gosling – The Fall Guy

Actress in a Supporting Role
Ariana Grande – Wicked
Danielle Deadwyler – The Piano Lesson
Felicity Jones – The Brutalist
Isabella Rossellini – Conclave
Margaret Qualley – The Substance
Zoe Saldana – Emilia Pérez

Actor in a Supporting Role
Clarence Maclin – Sing Sing
Denzel Washington – Gladiator II
Edward Norton – A Complete Unknown
Guy Pearce – The Brutalist
Kieran Culkin – A Real Pain
Yura Borisov – Anora

Screenplay, Original
Brady Corbet, Mona Fastvold – The Brutalist
Coralie Fargeat – The Substance
Jesse Eisenberg – A Real Pain
Mike Leigh – Hard Truths
Mohammad Rasoulof – The Seed Of The Sacred Fig
Sean Baker – Anora

Screenplay, Adapted
Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar, Clarence Maclin, John “Divine G” Whitfield (based on “The Sing Sing Follies” by John H. Richardson and “Breakin’ the Mummy’s Code” by Brent Buell) – Sing Sing
Jacques Audiard (based on “Listen” by Boris Razon) – Emilia Pérez
Pedro Almodóvar (written by), Sigrid Nunez (novel “What Are You Going Through”) – The Room Next Door
Peter Straughan (screenplay by), Robert Harris (book) – Conclave
RaMell Ross, Joslyn Barnes (based on “The Nickel Boys” by Colson Whitehead) – Nickel Boys
Vuk Draskovic, Miroslav Lekic (written by), Vuk Draskovic (novel) – Russian Consul

Cinematography
Edward Lachman – Maria
Greig Fraser – Dune: Part Two
Jarin Blaschke – Nosferatu
Jomo Fray – Nickel Boys
John Mathieson – Gladiator II
Lol Crawley – The Brutalist

Costume Design
Janty Yates – Gladiator II
Jacqueline Durran – Blitz
Jacqueline West – Dune: Part Two
Linda Muir – Nosferatu
Massimo Cantini Parrini – Maria
Paul Tazewell – Wicked

Film Editing
Dávid Jancsó – The Brutalist
Joe Walker – Dune: Part Two
Juliette Welfling – Emilia Pérez
Nick Emerson – Conclave
Sam Restivo, Claire Simpson – Gladiator II
Sean Baker – Anora

Production Design
Arthur Max (Production Designer), Jille Azis and Elli Griff (Set Decorators) – Gladiator II
Craig Lathrop (Production Designer), Beatrice Brentnerova (Set Decorator) – Nosferatu
Judy Becker (Production Designer), Patricia Cuccia and Mercédesz Nagyváradi (Set Decorators) – The Brutalist
Nathan Crowley (Production Designer), Lee Sandales (Set Decorator) – Wicked
Patrice Vermette (Production Designer), Shane Vieau (Set Decorator) – Dune: Part Two
Suzie Davies (Production Designer), Cynthia Sleiter (Set Decorator) – Conclave

Original Score
Alberto Iglesias – The Room Next Door
Clément Ducol, Camille – Emilia Pérez
Daniel Blumberg – The Brutalist
Hans Zimmer – Dune: Part Two
Kris Bowers – The Wild Robot
Volker Bertelmann – Conclave

Original Song
“El Mal” by Clement Ducol, Camille and Jacques Audiard – Emilia Pérez
“The Journey” by Diane Warren – The Six Triple Eight
“Kiss the Sky” by Delacey, Jordan Johnson, Stefan Johnson, Maren Morris, Michael Pollack & Ali Tamposi – The Wild Robot
“Mi Camino” by Clement Ducol and Camille – Emilia Pérez
“Never Too Late” by Elton John & Brandi Carlile – Elton John: Never Too Late
“Winter Coat” by Nicholas Britell, Steve McQueen, and Taura Stinson – Blitz

Sound (Editing and Mixing)
A Complete Unknown
Dune: Part Two
Emilia Pérez
Gladiator II
Twisters
Wicked

Visual Effects
Dune: Part Two
Gladiator II
Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes
Mufasa: The Lion King
Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In
Wicked

Ensemble Motion Picture
Nosferatu – Focus Features

Anora Wins in San Francisco


Yesterday, the San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle announced their picks for best of 2024!

Best Film
Anora
The Brutalist
Hard Truths
Nickel Boys
Sing Sing

Best Director
Anora – Sean Baker
The Brutalist – Brady Corbet
Hard Truths – Mike Leigh
Nickel Boys – RaMell Ross
The Substance – Coralie Fargeat

Best Actress
Marianne Jean-Baptiste – Hard Truths
Karla Sofía Gascón – Emilia Pérez
Angelina Jolie – Maria
Mikey Madison – Anora
Demi Moore – The Substance

Best Actor
Adrien Brody – The Brutalist
Timothée Chalamet – A Complete Unknown
Daniel Craig – Queer
Colman Domingo – Sing Sing
Ralph Fiennes – Conclave

Best Supporting Actress
Joan Chen – Dìdi (弟弟)
Carol Kane – Between the Temples
Isabella Rossellini – Conclave
Ariana Grande – Wicked
Zoe Saldana – Emilia Pérez

Best Supporting Actor
Yura Borisov – Anora
Kieran Culkin – A Real Pain
Clarence Maclin – Sing Sing
Guy Pearce – The Brutalist
Jeremy Strong – The Apprentice

Best International Feature Film
All We Imagine as Light
Emilia Pérez
I’m Still Here
Kneecap
The Seed of the Sacred Fig

Best Documentary Feature
Daughters
No Other Land
Sugarcane
Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story
Will & Harper

Best Animated Feature
Flow
Inside Out 2
Memoir Of A Snail
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
The Wild Robot

Best Original Screenplay
Anora – Sean Baker
The Brutalist – Brady Corbet, Mona Fastvold
Hard Truths – Mike Leigh
A Real Pain – Jesse Eisenberg
The Substance – Coralie Fargeat

Best Adapted Screenplay
Conclave – Peter Straughan
Dune: Part Two – Denis Villeneuve, Jon Spaihts
Emilia Pérez – Jacques Audiard
Nickel Boys – RaMell Ross, Joslyn Barnes
Sing Sing – Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar, Clarence Maclin, John “Divine G” Whitfield

Best Cinematography
The Brutalist – Lol Crawley
Conclave – Stéphane Fontaine
Dune: Part Two – Greig Fraser
Nickel Boys – Jomo Fray
Nosferatu – Jarin Blaschke

Best Editing
Anora – Sean Baker
The Brutalist – Dávid Jancsó
Challengers – Marco Costa
Conclave – Nick Emerson
September 5 – Hansjörg Weißbrich

Best Original Score
The Brutalist – Daniel Blumberg
Challengers – Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross
Conclave – Volker Bertelmann
Emilia Pérez – Clément Ducol, Camille
The Wild Robot – Kris Bowers

Best Production Design
The Brutalist – Judy Becker
Conclave – Suzie Davies, Roberta Federico
Dune: Part Two – Zsuzsanna Sipos, Shane Vieau, Patrice Vermette
Nosferatu – Craig Lathrop
Wicked – Nathan Crowley, Lee Sandales

Special Citation for Independent Cinema
Exhibiting Forgiveness
Femme
Rumours
The Secret Art of Taking Flight

Dune Part II Wins in St. Louis


Yesterday, the St. Louis Film Critics Association announced their picks for the best of 2024!  It was another victory for Dune Part II!

BEST FILM
Anora
The Brutalist
A Complete Unknown
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Nickel Boys
The Seed of the Sacred Fig
September 5
Sing Sing
Wicked

BEST DIRECTOR
Edward Berger – “Conclave
Brady Corbet – “The Brutalist”
Mohammad Rasoulof – “The Seed of the Sacred Fig”
RaMell Ross – “Nickel Boys”
Denis Villeneuve – “Dune: Part Two

BEST ACTRESS
Pamela Anderson – “The Last Showgirl”
Cynthia Erivo – “Wicked
Marianne Jean-Baptiste – “Hard Truths”
Mikey Madison – “Anora”
Demi Moore – “The Substance”
Saoirse Ronan – “The Outrun”

BEST ACTOR
Adrien Brody – “The Brutalist”
Timothee Chalamet – “A Complete Unknown
Daniel Craig – “Queer”
Colman Domingo – “Sing Sing
Ralph Fiennes – “Conclave
Hugh Grant – “Heretic”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Monica Barbaro – “A Complete Unknown
Danielle Deadwyler – “The Piano Lesson”
Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor – “Nickel Boys”
Ariana Grande – “Wicked
Zoe Saldana – “Emilia Perez”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Kieran Culkin – “A Real Pain”
Clarence Maclin “Sing Sing
Guy Pearce – “The Brutalist”
Stanley Tucci – “Conclave
Denzel Washington – “Gladiator II”

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Nickel Boys
Sing Sing
Wicked

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Anora
The Brutalist
Hard Truths
A Real Pain
Saturday Night
The Seed of the Sacred Fig

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
The Brutalist
Dune: Part Two
Maria
Nosferatu
Nickel Boy

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Dune: Part Two
Hundreds of Beavers
Maria
Nosferatu
Wicked

BEST EDITING
The Brutalist
Dune: Part Two
Nickel Boys
Saturday Night
September 5

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
The Brutalist
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Nosferatu
Wicked

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
The Brutalist
Challengers
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
The Wild Robot

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Alien: Romulus
Dune: Part Two
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
Nosferatu

BEST SOUNDTRACK
A Complete Unknown

Deadpool & Wolverine
I Saw the TV Glow
Maria
Wicked

BEST VOCAL PERFORMANCE

Maya Hawke – “Inside Out 2”
Lupita Nyong’o – “The Wild Robot”
Pedro Pascal – “The Wild Robot”
Amy Poehler – “Inside Out 2”
Sarah Snook – “Memoir of a Snail”

BEST ANIMATED FILM
Flow
Inside Out 2
Memoir of a Snail
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
The Wild Robot

BEST ENSEMBLE

Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Saturday Night
Sing Sing
Wicked

BEST HORROR FILM
Heretic
I Saw the TV Glow
Late Night with the Devil
Longlegs
Nosferatu
The Substance

BEST STUNTS
Deadpool & Wolverine
The Fall Guy
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Gladiator II
Monkey Man

BEST COMEDY FILM
Deadpool & Wolverine
The Fall Guy
Hundreds of Beavers
A Real Pain
Saturday Night

BEST ACTION FILM
Deadpool & Wolverine
Dune: Part Two
The Fall Guy
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Monkey Man

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Daughters
Music by John Williams
No Other Land
Sugarcane
Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story
Will & Harper

BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM
All We Imagine As Light
Dahomey
Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World
Emilia Perez
The Seed of the Sacred Fig

BEST FIRST FEATURE FILM
Annie Baker – “Janet Planet”
Anna Kendrick – “Woman of the Hour”
Josh Margolin – “Thelma”
Dev Patel – “Monkey Man”
RaMell Ross – “Nickel Boys”
Malcolm Washington – “The Piano Lesson”

BEST SCENE
Civil War – “What kind of an American are you?”
Dune: Part Two – Riding the Sandworm
The Substance – New Year’s Eve performance
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga – War Rig battle
His Three Daughters – Dad’s Chair

THE FAMILY MAN (2000) – Nicolas Cage gets a “glimpse” into a different life!


Nicolas Cage stars as Jack Campbell, a Wall Street hot shot, who puts his success in the business world above everything else in his life. We meet him on Christmas Eve as he’s trying to close a multi-billion dollar merger. He’s making everyone work late and even calls for a work session on Christmas Day. Jack’s administrative assistant gives him a phone message from his former girlfriend Kate (Tea Leoni), who he almost married about 15 years earlier. He’s surprised to hear from her, especially since he essentially chose his career over her all those years ago. That night as he stops at a grocery store on his way home, events transpire so that a desperate man named Cash (Dan Cheadle) pulls a gun on the clerk. Jack is able to use a calm demeanor and business sense to talk to Cash in a way that diffuses the situation and the two leave the store together. As they walk down the street, Jack tries to talk to Cash and help him. When Cash starts asking Jack about his life, Jack indicates that his life is great and he has everything he needs. Interestingly, this is where Cash mysteriously tells Jack that he’s going to do something for him, something he really needs…

The next morning, Christmas morning, Jack wakes up in a different home, he’s married to Kate, and they have two kids and a dog. He’s no longer an investment banker; now he’s a tire salesman. He no longer drives a Ferrari; now he’s drives a mini-van. In panic-mode, Jack runs out of the house as his in-laws arrive, fires up the mini-van, and drives to his office on Wall Street where nobody knows him, and they kick him out of the building. About that time, Cash pulls up in Jack’s Ferrari and tells him that he’s giving him the gift of a “glimpse” into what his life could have been if he had married Kate instead of focusing on himself and his career. So Jack heads back to try life in Jersey, wondering when the glimpse will come to an end. 

My wife and I are continuing to watch Christmas movies throughout the month of December to stay in the holiday spirit. THE FAMILY MAN is not necessarily a movie we watch every year, but I’m a fan of Nicolas Cage. I enjoy these types of films where a person sees what their lives could have been like if they had made different decisions at certain key points along the way. An easy comparison can be made to Frank Capra’s IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE, which is my personal favorite Christmas movie, and it’s in my top 10 movies of all time. It’s not really an appropriate comparison though. These stories encounter their subjects in two very different places. In IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE, George Bailey is at the end of his rope and thinking his family would have been better off if he had never been born. It takes Clarence to reveal just how important George has been to those he loves. In THE FAMILY MAN on the other hand, Jack Campbell is at the top of the world and standing at the precipice of his crowning achievement in his career. He believes his life is wonderful. Cash decides to teach him a lesson by offering a “glimpse” into a life that he could have had if he had chosen Kate and a family over his career. Would life with her be more fulfilling than all the money in the world? I think the sale is a lot easier for Clarence than Cash, and I also think that’s why I found the film to be less compelling. George Bailey’s decision was literally life with a family who dearly loves him, or death. Jack Campbell’s decision is if he wants a middle class life with a loving wife and two precious kids that he only just met, or if he wants to continue his prior life as the multi-millionaire mover and shaker with his pick of beautiful women.  It doesn’t help the film’s case either that Jack’s never really presented as being completely empty on the inside or unhappy, say, the way Bill Murray is in SCROOGED. While I personally enjoy the type of life that Jack is able to glimpse, his character’s specific choice is not as obvious, or earned, the way George Bailey’s is. 

Overall, as a man who wouldn’t trade my family for all the money in the world, I do appreciate what THE FAMILY MAN is going for. The execution doesn’t quite pull it off in a way that is completely satisfying, and ultimately explains why I don’t watch it every year as a holiday staple. 

#MondayMuggers – Why DIRTY MARY CRAZY LARRY?


Every Monday night at 9:00 Central Time, my wife Sierra and I host a “Live Movie Tweet” event on X using the hashtag #MondayMuggers. We rotate movie picks each week, and our tastes are quite different. Tonight, Monday December 16th, we’re watching DIRTY MARY CRAZY LARRY starring Peter Fonda, Susan George, Adam Roarke, and Vic Morrow.

So why did I pick DIRTY MARY CRAZY LARRY, you might ask?

  1. I love car chase stunt movies from the 1970’s! We featured WHITE LIGHTNING with Burt Reynolds on here a couple of years ago. This should be another good 70’s car chase movie for the group. I’ve never actually watched the film before today so I’m really looking forward to it.   
  2. I like the cast, especially Susan George. What’s strange is that Susan is in my least favorite Charles Bronson movie of all time, LOLA, but I don’t hold that against her at all. She’s just so beautiful, and with a filmography that includes STRAW DOGS, SONNY AND JED, MANDINGO, and ENTER THE NINJA, what’s not to love?!!
  3. I think it’s cool that Peter Fonda did most of his own driving in the film, often driving over 100 miles per hour. I respect actors who are capable of doing their own stunt work…Jackie Chan, Tom Cruise, and now Peter Fonda!
  4. Quentin Tarantino loves DIRTY MARY CRAZY LARRY! He selected the film for the first “Quentin Tarantino Film Fest” in Austin back in 1996. He also featured a clip from this movie in JACKIE BROWN. It makes it even cooler that the scene in JACKIE BROWN featured Bridget Fonda, Peter’s daughter! If Tarantino loves it, that’s enough for me!

So join us tonight to for #MondayMuggers and watch DIRTY MARY CRAZY LARRY! It’s on Amazon Prime.

Monday Live Tweet Alert: Join Us for Double Nickels


As some of our regular readers undoubtedly know, I am involved in hosting a few weekly live tweets on twitter and occasion ally Mastodon.  I host #FridayNightFlix every Friday, I co-host #ScarySocial on Saturday, and I am one of the five hosts of Mastodon’s #MondayActionMovie!  Every week, we get together.  We watch a movie.  We snark our way through it.

Tonight, for #MondayActionMovie, the film will be 1977’s Double Nickels!

It should make for a night of fun viewing and I invite all of you to join in.  If you want to join the live tweets, just hop onto Mastodon, pull up Double Nickels on YouTube, start the movie at 8 pm et, and use the #MondayActionMovie hashtag!

Enjoy!

 

CHRISTMAS LIST (2016) – One of our favorite Hallmark Christmas movies!


My wife Sierra loves Hallmark Christmas movies. She has Hallmark Christmas movie sweatshirts and coffee mugs. The TV at our house is filled with recordings of her very favorites. So many days when I get home from work, she’ll be watching one of them. They just make her feel better, and I understand that. I would go so far as to say that their shared love of Hallmark movies was a major bonding agent for my wife and mom. It’s fun when they get together and discuss them. Oftentimes they can’t remember the movies’ names, but one will start describing the plot, and the other will immediately say “I love that one!!” It’s amazing. In the spirit of Christmas, and a feeling of kinship with my wife, we watched the 2016 Hallmark movie CHRISTMAS LIST. 

CHRISTMAS LIST opens with a redheaded girl and her puppy making a list of the things she wants to do for Christmas. It’s simple stuff like decorating a real Christmas tree, making a gingerbread house, caroling, and taking a picture with Santa. Her mom walks in and tells her that real Christmas trees and gingerbread houses are way too messy, and she just cleaned the house. Cut to 25 years later and there’s mom straightening up the home of Isobel Gray (Alicia Witt), who’s now a successful fashion designer in San Diego, and whose boyfriend, Brett Bishop, is the owner of the company where she’s employed. Her mom surprises her by bringing her childhood “treasure box” that she had found while cleaning out the attic. Isobel sees her old Christmas list and decides right then and there that she wants to make this the year she fulfills her idea of a perfect Christmas. 

Isobel searches the internet and finds Fall River, Oregon, which advertises itself as “the perfect Christmas town.” She books a couple of flights and a cabin in Fall River for her and Brett to spend their Christmas holiday. He’d rather go to the beach and drink margaritas, but he does reluctantly agree. The day before the trip, a problem arises in the South American portion of the business operation, so Brett tells Isobel that he will fly down there for a few days and then meet her in Fall River before Christmas. She’s disappointed but heads out anyway. The first night she’s in Fall River, Isobel heads out to buy a real Christmas tree. She grabs the perfect tree at the exact same time as Jamie Houghton (Gabriel Hogan), a local guy who’s helping his sister and nephew find a tree. Through a variety of circumstances, Jamie ends up taking Isobel and the tree back to the cabin and even helping her put up the tree. The next day she’s trying to make a gingerbread house for a local contest and ends up smoking up the cabin. The fire department shows up and Jamie is a volunteer fireman. With Brett still in South America taking care of business, Jamie takes it upon himself to show Isobel more of the town. Will Brett ever make it to Fall River? Will Isobel and Jamie continue to spend time with each other? Will Brett ever put Isobel over himself and his work? Will Jamie and Isobel fall in love? If you’ve seen a few Hallmark Christmas movies, you already know the answers. 

In full disclosure, after many years of watching Hallmark movies with my wife, I’ve developed some favorites of my own. They usually involve Alicia Witt, but not always. We chose CHRISTMAS LIST because it is one we both like. I enjoy the traditional Hallmark formula at work here. Isobel is heavily involved with her work, but she longs for something more simple. Her boyfriend cares about her, but he cares more about himself and his career. She meets a man who is kind, thoughtful, hardworking and very content with his simple life. This is all set in a beautiful Christmas town where the hot chocolate is warm, the diner serves huge portions of good looking food, the carolers are in the town square, and the snow is gorgeous. One of the reasons that Hallmark movies work on me is that I too long for simpler times. As I’ve gotten older, my life has gotten more and more complicated, and I’m often too “busy” to really focus on the things that bring me the most joy. The Christmas season is a time when I really try to focus on my family and our blessings. It helps when we leave behind our stresses and our troubles and meet up at our family cabin (pictured below) for a couple of days. My favorite Hallmark movies are always about the main character getting his or her priorities in order. It may be oversimplified, but it’s something I have to work on constantly. The fact that the main character will also fall in love with someone who shares those values is secondary for me. That’s just the real whipping cream on the hot chocolate!