Rewatches December 2021

 This was another month bogged down in non-catalogue affairs, plus Christmas (more on that later), so not a ton to speak of, but plenty to say anyway...

The Stunt Man (1980) I don't think I'd even heard of it until I saw a special edition DVD at K-Mart, and then I kind of fell into the rabbit hole suggested by the accompanying documentary about the difficulties of the production.  Watching it again, now, obviously Peter O'Toole is always magnetic, which was most of the response it received on release (O'Toole received one of his non-winning Oscar nominations for the performance), but as with a lot of movies it now looks pretty dated, so that was distracting.  

Super Troopers (2001)

Super Troopers 2 (2018) The first is the breakthrough Broken Lizard production that became a cult classic, although I didn't see it until years later, and by that time I'd seen the troupe in Club Dread, which I loved, and so that was my Broken Lizard film (Beerfest was of course even more delightfully ridiculous), but as far as mainstream popularity goes Super Troopers remains the legacy.  So the belated follow-up finally happened, and I loved it the first time I watched it and loved just as much this time.  Just a lot of great Canadian humor this time.  Broken Lizard is never gonna be the American Monty Python, but the guys certainly tried.  

Syriana (2005) This was kind of the movie that convinced critics it was actually okay to like George Clooney (for a while), in which he participates in a grim assessment on the war in Afghanistan (Matt Damon costars).  I think it's predictably cynical.  Star Trek alum Alexander Siddig plays a prince looking to inherit the throne with grand ambitions for reform, so of course Clooney is assigned to take him out, because his brother is much better for American interests.  Clooney packed on the weight and grew a beard for the movie, and was rewarded with stellar notices for a few movies he starred in afterward, including Michael Clayton and Up in the Air.  

My Christmas tradition is watching Christmas movies and TV specials.  I've only recently added Bill Murray's Scrooged to the bunch, but it's become, actually, the one I most look forward to.  Also in the mix this year were the Jim Carrey A Christmas Carol; the Patrick Stewart version (which I've watched every Christmas morning for years); The Polar Express; Elf, Carrey's The Grinch Who Stole Christmas; Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer; Olive, the Other Reindeer; Hoops & Yoyo Ruin Christmas; and the Community episode "Abed's Uncontrollable Christmas."  If you can't get a good sense of what I enjoy out of that, I don't know what to tell ya.