Showing posts with label Christmas Eve. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christmas Eve. Show all posts

Wednesday, 18 December 2013

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens




Ebenezer Scrooge only loves one thing, and that’s money. He hates anything that brings cheer and happiness to others, so he naturally despises the whole Christmas season. One Christmas Eve, Scrooge is visited by his dead partner, Jacob Marley. Marley has been dead for years and was just as selfish as Scrooge. His spirit is now forced to wander the earth in chains, and has come to warn Scrooge that the same fate awaits him if he continues living the way he has been. Three spirits are going to visit Scrooge: the ghosts of Christmas Past, Christmas Present and Christmas Yet to Come. As Scrooge is given the chance to wander through his past and future, he comes to see himself in the same way that others see him.


 
 
 
 



 




If you’re going to read one holiday related book this Christmas, then make it A Christmas Carol. I’m quite certain that everyone is familiar with this story.  I love the style of narration, the plot, the overall message and how the story presents the festivity of Christmas. This novella is an allegory about poverty in Victorian London, with the infamous Scrooge representing the greed of the rich. A Christmas Carol is very short and could be a good introduction to Charles Dickens. It captures a lot of the great things about his writing, while being short and easy to understand. As a Christmas story, this is as good as it gets. There are so many retellings for a reason: A Christmas Carol is a timeless story that captures the spirit of the holidays.  No matter how many movie adaptations you’ve seen, the book has a special magic that will make you feel like you’re learning of Scrooge’s redemption for the first time.

 
 
 



 




 
 
I read this book every Christmas Eve with a nice warm drink. :)










 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 




Saturday, 29 December 2012

Holiday Inn (1942)


Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire star in Holiday Inn as a popular nightclub song-and-dance team. When his heart is broken by his girlfriend, Crosby decides to retire from the hustle-bustle of big city showbiz.  He purchases a rustic New England farm and converts it to an inn, which he opens to the public (floor show and all) only on holidays.  Oddly enough, the most memorable song in the bunch, the Oscar-winning White Christmas, is not offered as a production number but as a simple ballad sung by Crosby to an audience of one: leading lady Marjorie Reynolds. Fred Astaire's best moment is his Fourth of July firecracker dance. 

Well, it seems that Astaire wants to make a film about Crosby's inn, starring their mutual discovery Reynolds.   Bing briefly loses Reynolds to Astaire, but wins her back during the filming of a musical number on a Hollywood soundstage.






This is truly one of the great musicals to ever grace the silver screen.  Between the great song, the dance numbers and the chemistry between Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire, this film really is one of the the all time classics. What really makes it great is that it pretty much plays like a great Broadway review that uses the different holidays as an excuse to display the individual talents of each of the film's stars. However, the thing that this film will truly be remembered for is the fact that it introduced one of the all time classic song's to the world, "White Christmas."
 
 
Another thing that makes this film so beloved is that it came out during a time when America needed somewhat of a diversion, World War II. This film helped to give people something to put smiles on their faces as the whole world was going through hell.
 
 
 
At least for two hours, this film helped America to forget its troubles and put a smile on everyone's faces.  This was the film that brought us the all time best-selling Christmas song, "White Christmas."  Holiday Inn is stylish, funny and a very romantic musical.
 
 
 
 
 
What's there not to like?  The singing and dancing is remarkable!  A true classic! :) xx
 


Friday, 28 December 2012

Elf (2003)


 

 
 
Christmas family comedy directed by independent filmmaker Jon Favreau. Will Ferrell stars as Buddy, a human being who has spent his whole life believing himself to be an elf. Brought up by Santa (Edward Asner) and his elves at the North Pole, Buddy has spent the last 30 years happily working in Santa's toy workshop. But when his ungainly size starts to become a liability in the elf-sized working environment, Santa suggests that Buddy head to New York City to find his biological father (James Caan). Needless to say, the unlikely spectacle of a 6'5' man dressed from head to foot in bright green stands out a mile on the streets of the Big Apple, and the good-natured Buddy finds himself in all sorts of scrapes as he gets used to his new family and surroundings - and they get used to him.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Have fun! :) xx