In 2011’s Christmas Lodge, Mary (Erin Karpluk) recovers from a recent break-up by restoring the run-down lodge where she used to spend the holidays with her family.
That’s pretty much the entire film. When I reviewed the film a few years ago, I admitted that there really wasn’t much conflict to be found in it but I also argued that was a part of the film’s appeal. It’s a holiday movie and, as such, it’s earnestness and sincerity is its main appeal.
2013’s Assault on Wall Street tells the story of Jim Braxford (Dominic Purcell), a security guard who loses all of his money due to some bad investments that he had no control over and whose wife, Rosie (Erin Karpluk), kills herself rather than continue her expensive medical treatments. Jim snaps and, after listening to a bunch of angry people on MSNBC, he decides to take violent vengeance on Wall Street, targeting brokers and CEOs and ultimately launching an all-out assault on a firm owned by the cartoonishly evil Jeremy Stancroft (John Heard).
Full of anti-capitalist rhetoric and heavy-handed plot developments, Assault on Wall Street finds director Uwe Boll in a political mood. Because the film deals with economic anxiety to which everyone can relate, this film is slightly more effective than Boll’s usual films but that still doesn’t mean that it’s particularly good. It’s one of those films that takes forever to get where it’s going and the film also suffers due to Boll’s confounding decision to cast Dominic Purcell in the lead role. The blank-eyed, flat-voice Purcell gives such a spectacularly dull performance that one wonders if he was constructed out of charisma anti-matter. It doesn’t help that Purcell’s three best friends are played Edward Furlong, Michael Pare, and Keith David, all of whom come across like they would have been a better pick for the lead role.
The film ends with a spate of violence that I remember that I found to be a bit shocking when I first saw the film on cable in 2013. Of course, today, such violence has been normalized and is often celebrated on social media. I imagine that members of the creepy Luigi death cult would probably claim that Jim Braxford didn’t go far enough in his murder spree.
Two of my favorites, Eric Roberts and Lochlyn Munro, have supporting roles in this film. Munro is Jim’s broker, who makes the mistake of complaining about how he had to cancel his planned vacation to Barbados as a result of the economic meltdown. Roberts plays the lawyer who agrees to help Jim get justice but who ultimately proves to be no help at all. Both of them are memorable in their small roles, which once again leaves us to wonder why, with all the talent available, Uwe Boll apparently decided to make Dominic Purcell his muse. That was a bad investment.
Previous Eric Roberts Films That We Have Reviewed:
So, here you are. You’re hiking in the wilderness with your boyfriend and you can’t help but notice that he doesn’t seem to be much of an outdoorsman. He’s a city boy and you’re a mountain girl and who knows if those two cultures can come together.
Well, it turns out that they can’t but don’t worry! No sooner has your boyfriend dumped you than you’ve found a new purpose in life! You’re helping to restore and rebuild the old Christmas lodge where you and your family used to spend the holidays. The important thing is to get it done quickly enough so that grandpa can see the lodge for one last time before he dies. Fortunately, the lodge is owned by a handsome man who needs someone to be a mother for his daughter. Perfect, right?
There’s really not a lot of conflict to be found in this film. Erin Karpluk plays Mary, who decides to save the lodge and, at no point, does she really suffer from the type of self-doubts that you would expect someone to suffer in a film like this. Instead, she decides to do it and then she does it. There’s a few people who think that Mary is wasting her time but they quickly change their minds. Even her break-up with her boyfriend has to be one of the nicest, most polite break-ups that I’ve ever seen.
Make no doubt about it, 2011’s Christmas Lodge is a holiday movie. It’s continually positive and upbeat and unabashedly sentimental and, if you’re into that sort of thing, you’ll enjoy it. And, to be honest, the holidays is a good time to give up cynicism and be optimistic for at least a few days. Me, I get cheerfully sentimental when it comes to the holidays. I smile at every Christmas tree. I love every gift that I get. And I usually shed a few tears while sharing memories with the family. That’s what the holidays are for. Christmas Lodge does a good job of tapping into that spirit.
That said, Christmas Lodge is perhaps a bit more religious that some people are going to like. The film may seem like a typical romantic Hallmark holiday film but ultimately, there’s a lot of talk about God wanting the lodge to be built and the family to come together. At one point, Mary’s grandfather even asks a hesitant carpenter what Jesus would do if he was told that the lodge needed to be repaired. Personally, I suspect that he would open up the lodge to the poor and the homeless but, in Christmas Lodge, apparently he would just give up whatever other projects he had going on and lend a helping hand so the family could gather there while snow gently fell outside.
That said, I’m a sucker for any film that has people celebrating the holidays while snow gently falls from the sky. Christmas Lodge is a sweet-natured movie. It’s not the type of film that you’re going to watch in the harsh heat of the summer but, for the sentimental holidays, it gets the job done.
Last night, I turned over to Lifetime and I watched the latest “premiere,” The Black Widow Killer!
Why Was I Watching It?
I was hoping it would be about Natasha Romanoff and her life before she joined the Avengers. It turned out I was wrong though I’m sure that the possibility of confusion was one reason why Lifetime scheduled this film for last night. You may have noticed that I earlier said that this movie was a “premiere” as opposed to just a premiere. That’s because The Black Widow Killer originally aired in Canada in 2018. It subsequently played on both French and Spanish TV before Lifetime decided to air it here in the States. I’m sure that Lifetime’s decision was influenced by the title and the possibility that people would tune in to see Scarlett Johansson and Florence Pugh battling the latest addition to the MCU’s gallery of rogues.
That said, the main reason that I watched it was because it was on Lifetime! Seriously, I love that network. Have you noticed?
What’s It About?
Secrets, lies, death, and murder. There’s a killer in town and all of the victims knew each other in high school and were involved in a gruesome car accident back in the day. Is the killer seeking revenge or is there another motive? By the end of the movie, who will still be alive and what will be left of them?
What Worked?
I liked the cinematography. The film took place in one of those small towns where it’s constantly snowing and the film manages to make white ground and frozen breath look really ominous. I was not surprised to discover that the director is also a very experienced cinematographer because the film looked great.
I liked some of the performances. (Some is the word to remember.) Morgan Kohan and Bradley Hamilton did good work as the children of two potential victims. Luigi Saracino was also well-cast as the most obvious suspect. (Of course, you know what they say about obvious suspects….)
What Did Not Work?
So, if you’re going to make a movie about a bunch of people being targeted by a serial killer, it might help if at least some of the potential victims were likable. In this case, though, absolutely none of them were. Even the film’s main character, Judy Dwyer (played by Erin Karpluk), refused to really take any responsibility for her part in covering up the auto accident. When we first meet Judy, she’s whining about her husband not serving her divorce papers in person. Then, about halfway through the film, she starts whining about being targeted by someone whose life she helped ruin. You start to wonder if the other victims are really being murdered or if Judy’s just talking them to death.
This isn’t really the filmmaker’s fault but the description for the film in the guide basically gave away the identity of the murderer. As a result, it’s hard for me to say how suspenseful the film is because I already knew who the murderer was going to be.
“Oh my God! Just like me!” Moments
I have red hair and so did Judy’s daughter! Sorry, that’s about all I can come up with as far as this movie’s concerned.
Lessons Learned
Take responsibility for your mistakes or you might get in trouble 25 years later.
Through the Shattered Lens 