65 - The Joyriders

Connection To METEOR - Martin Landau.

I actually put The Joyriders on knowing nothing other then it starred Martin Landau and Shawn Hatosy and it was called The Joyriders, so it's rare I go into a film totally blind not even knowing the plot, but here goes.

The film is about a suicidal elderly man (Landau) who ends up getting "kidnapped" by three wayward teens (Hatosy, Elisabeth Moss and Heather McComb) and though I predicted the direction the film was going to go (that they would start to identify with each other, care for each other etc.) I ended up really liking it once it get, I wish it would just get there a touch sooner.

I had a problem with the "kidnapping" which I have put in quotes because the film still wants you to identify with these characters that it's really something that is out of the kids control, it kind of doesn't make sense though how they end up taking Landau, mostly because it doesn't seem in their character until it actually happens.

The 4 leads characters gelled together really well particularly Landau with Moss - the more naive, sweetheart of the trio (Hatosy more immature and McComb more live wire) and she plays the sort of character you could fall in love with simply because she is so undeniably sweet even if her life as gone to shit. There is a good smaller role for Kris Kristofferson as a friendly preacher, he's enjoyable for the time he's on screen. The sole bad casting for me was Diane Venora as Moss' mother she just didn't deliver a very good performance.

Overall, the first part is not a bad film but the second part is very good, the longer the film goes the more you start to feel for the characters and by the end you are hoping for a happy ending for everyone.

58 - Santa's Slay

Connection To CARRIE - Emilie de Ravin.

For me it's impossible for me to hate a film like Santa's Slay - it knows it's premise is ridiculous and it just goes out there and as much fun as it can, on for me it was a very fun film

The opening scene is a case of dead star walking - 4 famous (or famous enough) faces gets slaughtered by Santa Claus (Bill Goldberg) - they are Rebecca Gayheart, Chris Kattan, Fran Drescher and James Caan, all of these are Jewish as is Goldberg - and is an extremely enjoyable opening scene seeing these horrible people die (the characters not the actors, I've not met any of them so can't speak on that).

Watching Santa's Slay just breezes by, well it only really comes in at about 80 minutes - there's a lot of Christmas related deaths - exploding presents, drowning in the eggnog that make the film always entertaining. We even get an animated scene in the vein of Frosty The Snowman which helps tell the back-story of Santa being the son of Satan.

Of the two leads I'd certainly say the very pretty Emilie de Ravin leaves more of an impression on the screen then Douglas Smith, who doesn't really leave that much of an impression. There is other great support from Saul Rubinek and Robert Culp, who overall gave the film a cast better then the type of film seems to attract.

Overall, the movie is just a lot of fun, kind of wish I got the chance to see this for the first time around Christmas time, but that's not really a complaint to do with a film just my timing.