#86 "The Four Feathers"

Stats: 2002. Starring Heath Ledger, Wes Bentley, Kate Hudson. PG-13.

Background: Several years ago, I checked The Four Feathers out from the public library and watched it with my sister. I really enjoyed it, so when I found it for less than $5 on Amazon, I didn't hesitate to pick it up.

Plot: When Harry (Ledger) resigns his commission in the British Army upon the announcement that his regiment will be sent to the Sudan, three of his best friends and his fiancée (Hudson) give him white feathers symbolizing cowardice. He later learns that his former regiment has come under attack, so he heads to Sudan to rescue his friends and return the feathers.

Reactions: I’m going to be honest: I did fall asleep in the first 30 minutes of the film. But once Harry got to the Sudan, I was hooked. Basically all I remembered of the movie was that Harry got white feathers for cowardice, and he went after his friends to redeem himself. I think my absolute favorite aspect of the film this time around was something I only vaguely remember from my first viewing several years ago: Harry’s relationship with Abou Fatma (Djimon Hounsou), the mercenary who puts Harry under his protection.

I really enjoyed The Four Feathers. You have to be in the right mood for it (let’s be honest—normally I’m in the mood for a rom-com), but it really is a wonderful film. 

Verdict: Keep

#85: "The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain"

Stats: 1995. Starring Hugh Grant, Tara Fitzgerald, and Colm Meaney. PG.

Background: In high school, my best friend and I would go on weekend movie benders—we'd go to her house in Grand Island, rent four or five movies, and stay up all night watching them. Sometimes we'd rent so many that we wouldn't have time to watch them all ... or we'd hit a dud that was too terrible to finish watching. The Englishman is one of those movies. I think we may have watched the first ten minutes or so and then turned it off because we were bored ... after all, we had something like Clueless or Cocktail to watch! (Hey, I never said my mom would have approved of the movies we watched ... that's why we always had our movie binges at my friend's house!)

I recently bought British Cinema Collection: 8 Acclaimed Films from Amazon for $6.50. The Englishman is one of the films included, and I was excited to watch it—often, what I found boring at 15 I really enjoy at 31!

Plot: When two English cartographers visit a small Welsh village to measure "the first mountain inside of Wales" for inclusion on a map, they discover the "mountain" is really a hill. The villagers aren't ready to let their pride and joy be relegated to a measly hill, so they join together to add the 20 feet necessary to the top of the hill to make it a mountain ... but they must also keep the cartographers in town long enough to remeasure.

Reactions: Well, I was right—what bored me to tears at 15 thoroughly delighted me now! I especially enjoyed the quirkiness and determination of the villagers. And Hugh Grant is always a delight as a bumbling Brit (does he ever play anything else?) It's a gentle movie that's perfect for a rainy (or sick) day.

Verdict: Keep

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

#84: "Deck the Halls"

Stats: 2005. Starring Gabrielle Carteris, Steve Bacic, and Steven Culp. TV-PG.

Background: Even though I had cable in 2005, somehow I missed this Lifetime Christmas movie. Or maybe I purposely avoided it …

Anyway, it was one of the movies in the Lifetime 12 Days of Christmas set I picked up last November. I actually watched it in November (on a sick day, if I recall), but I failed to write about it then. So here I am in February, writing about a Christmas movie!

Plot: Widowed mom Holly (Carteris) works for her father-in-law’s toy company. When he hires Nick (Bacic) to help with marketing for the holiday season, Holly is at first repulsed by Nick…especially because he is her annoying new neighbor. But as time goes on, she finds herself drawn to him, and he helps her realize that she just may be ready to love again.

Reactions: Frankly, I would never have watched this movie if it hadn’t been part of this collection and I hadn’t been doing this movie rewatch project. And I would have been missing out.

I can’t believe how much I enjoyed this movie! The family interactions seemed natural, the relationship between Holly and Nick was fun to watch, and I never was quite sure how the film would end. (Was Nick Santa Claus? Would Holly end up with him? What about the kind veterinarian [Culp]?)

Deck the Halls ended up being one of the better Christmas films I watched all season. (To see my thoughts on some of the others, check out this post on my other blog.)

Verdict: Keep

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

#83: "A Christmas Wedding"

Stats: 2006. Starring Sara Paulson, Eric Mabius, and Dean Cain. TV-PG.

Background: I taped A Christmas Wedding the night it premiered … but when I sat down to watch it, I only got about 20 minutes in before turning it off. Why? Because it was painfully obvious that Dean Cain was playing the jerk boss rather than a romantic lead or even a nice guy.

You can probably surmise from that introduction that I didn’t seek this movie out! It was part of the Lifetime 12 Days of Christmas set that I just bought.

Plot: Emily (Paulson) and Ben (Mabius) met on Christmas, got engaged on Christmas, and plan to marry on Christmas. But when their wedding is just a few weeks away, Emily’s boss Tucker (Cain) sends her on a business trip. It turns into the trip that never ends, as a business deal delays her departure for home, then a tropical storm hits, and finally her flight is cancelled, which leaves her crossing the country by whatever means possible. Meanwhile, Ben is left to take care of all the last-minute wedding details while wondering if Emily really does want to get married.

Reactions: A Christmas Wedding is … fine. And that just may be the kiss of death for any film. It’s not wonderful, and it’s not so horrible that it’s laughable. It’s just okay. I think one of the main problems with the film is that the characters are too vanilla. Neither Emily nor Ben seems to have a backbone, which allows Tucker to walk all over Emily. But even he isn’t too bad; if Emily would have stood up to him at any point, I’m fairly certain he would have backed down. Then you add in the fact that it’s not very romantic—Paulson and Mabius are barely in any scenes together, and they don’t have much chemistry—and you begin to wonder what the point of this film even is.

I doubt I’ll ever watch it again, but for now I’ll keep the collection together…

Verdict: Keep with reservations

#82: "Christmas in Paradise"

Once again, we've hit the Christmas season ... and of course, I couldn't resist buying a few more Christmas movies! Here's my take on the first of several I'll be watching and reviewing this Christmas.

Stats: 2007. Starring Charlotte Ross & Colin Ferguson. TV-PG.

Background: I vaguely remember seeing the beginning of Christmas in Paradise back when I had cable, but I only watched the first few minutes before changing the channel. So why do I have it now? Well, this year Lifetime released a movie boxed set called 12 Days of Christmas which contains (you guessed it) 12 Lifetime Christmas movies. Two movies that I’ve been eyeing on Amazon for a long time are in the set (Recipe for a Perfect Christmas and His & Her Christmas), and to buy those two movies would cost more than half of what I paid for all 12 films. That’s how I rationalized it …

Plot: Dan (Ferguson) and his daughters meet Dana (Ross) and her sons when they all take a Christmas cruise to Puerto Rico. Both families are dealing with loss—Dana’s husband passed away unexpectedly at the beginning of the year, and Dan’s wife abandoned the family to return to the luxurious life she lived prior to meeting Dan. They all begin to bond while exploring San Juan, but their new relationships are threatened when Dan’s ex returns unexpectedly. Along the way, both families are frequently serenaded by the Three Kings.

Reactions: If you look beyond the cheesy Three Kings scenes that open and close this movie, you have a great family drama! I was surprised at just how much I enjoyed Christmas in Paradise. One thing I really appreciated was the romance … or lack thereof. While I’m normally all about romance in Christmas movies, sometimes I get annoyed at just how quickly people fall in love and make lifetime commitments. This movie was different. While Dan and Dana definitely had a connection, they didn’t rush into anything. They didn’t make any promises about the future. They didn’t even kiss! When the film ended, I didn’t know if they would end up together, and that was okay. Really, the film was more about each person dealing with his or her grief and resentment than it was about finding love. Sometimes, in the midst of all the schmaltzy Christmas romance, you need a film like this!

Verdict: Keep

#81: "For Richer or Poorer"

Stats: 1997. Starring Tim Allen & Kirstie Alley. PG-13.

Background: I first saw For Richer or Poorer at my cousins’ house when we were in high school. I thought it was one of the funniest movies I’d ever seen in my life. I think I saw it one or two other times, all soon after that first time.

I recently found it in a 4-pack with Ghost Dad, Pure Luck, and King Ralph in the Walmart $5 bin (where else?). I hadn't seen any of the other films, but I figured that $5 for one of the funniest movies from my teen years was well worth it, even if the others were duds.

Plot: After 10 years of marriage, millionaires Brad & Caroline Sexton (Allen and Alley) are ready to call it quits. But just when they decide to file for divorce, they’re framed by their accountant, who has been falsifying their tax returns for years. With two IRS agents on their tails, they flee New York and end up undercover in an Amish community. As they try to blend in, they also rediscover the love they once shared.

Reactions: I’m pretty sure the writers of this film didn't know the meaning of the word Ordnung. Every single time it was used in the movie, it grated on me. Why? Because the writers used it to mean “Amish community” rather than “a set of rules followed by the Amish.” On top of that, I didn’t think the film was very funny. Perhaps it just caters to more slapstick sensibilities … I don’t know why I didn’t enjoy it, but I really, really didn’t. 

Verdict: Keep (with reservations—Ghost Dad is on the same disk, so if I like that one, I’ll be keeping it.)

#80: "The Forgotten"

Stats: 2004. Starring Julianne Moore, Anthony Edwards, Gary Sinise, and Dominic West. PG-13.

Background: I remember wanting to see The Forgotten when it released, but I missed it for some reason. About a year later, my roommate and I had free Starz (I think … it could have been HBO or Showtime) for three months. One night, my sister and I noticed that The Forgotten was going to be on, and we watched it. (Roomie wasn’t home—it’s a good thing, ‘cause she would have hated it!) I really liked it, and I bought it shortly thereafter.

Plot: Fourteen months after her son’s death in a plane crash, Telly (Moore) still struggles to let go. Soon, however, it seems she is the only one who even remembers her son—her husband (Edwards), therapist (Sinise), and best friend insist she never had a child. When she runs into Ash (West), the father of a girl who died in the same crash as her son, she works with him to uncover the truth behind the plane crash.

Reactions: If you can, watch the extended version of this film, rather than the theatrical version! My dvd has both versions, so I watched the extended version this time. While the film is by and large the same, the extended version has an alternate ending that fits the rest of the film much better than the theatrical ending. (Most of the changes come in the last 15 minutes of the film. The final scene only has one small change, but it completely changes the feeling you have as you watch the end.)

While at first The Forgotten seems like a psychological thriller, it quickly and decisively moves into compelling science fiction. As a huge sci-fi lover, I think it’s great…and even people who don’t normally enjoy sci-fi might enjoy the psychological nature of the film.

Verdict: Keep