A new Christmas movie has just arrived to theaters, but it’s not your normal yuletide tale. David Harbour depicts a tired and rundown Santa. While delivering gifts, he finds himself stuck in the middle of a heist with a family who needs him. Santa must use all his skills and magic to make these mercenaries pay. After all, they are on the naughty list.

What follows is The Good, The Bad, and The Spoilers of Violent Night.

The Good

Violent Night checks all the boxes any good action movie tries to check. True to it’s name, there is plenty of violence that is entertaining, while also sometimes gruesome. Factor in the cheesy Christmas jokes and it makes for comical entertainment.

Probably the best part of this movie is that not only is the story entertaining, but it leaves you wanting to know so much more about Harbour’s Santa character. Audiences come to find out that this Santa use to be a Viking warrior 1100 years ago, but how it happened is a mystery. Santa also mentions many times during the film that he does not understand how his own magic actually works, it just does. By the end of Violent Night, I walked out of the theater hoping that not only do we get another movie but that we get a prequel that shows us just how a murderous Viking warrior became the jolly man who delivers gifts to children.

The Bad

I personally loved every part of Violent Night, so I don’t have any bad points. Some people will not like that this is a Violent Christmas movie. Those are the same people that do not like that Die Hard (1988) is considered a Christmas movie to some. Although you should not go to a movie titled VIOLENT Night and be shocked that it is a violent Christmas movie.

My Overall Opinion

Violent Night is the perfect mix of Action and Christmas cheer. Not only is the story original and engaging, but Harbour is also superb as Santa. If you love a good action flick and want to put yourself in the Christmas spirit, I highly recommend giving this one a watch. I think you, like me, will be hoping that we get a prequel as a Christmas present next year.

On his blog “GoodBadSpoilers.com”, Anthony Ritter critiques and writes a review on selected movies.  Once you see a movie that Ritter has reviewed, visit his blog and share your point of view.

The post A Movie Review Of Violent Night appeared first on South Lake Tablet.

Lightyear is a reimagined story for the character Buzz Lightyear, from the classic Toy Story movies. In this film, Buzz Lightyear is not a toy, but a living, breathing space ranger. Buzz (voiced by Chris Evans) and recruits must explore a new world, achieve hyper speed to finish the mission, and overcome a multitude of challenges that spring up along the way.

What follows is The Good, The Bad, and The Spoilers of Lightyear.

The Good

Lightyear is exactly what you want from a Disney and Pixar movie. The story is touching, with plenty of action. Some of the comedy is childish, but most of it is just great writing. My biggest question, “How do you create a movie about a character that has been a literal toy in 4 other movies?”  Not even 1 minute into the movie, Pixar does an amazing job answering that question. It was both short and simple.  With one little message on the screen, I was immediately hooked and understood how the Buzz Lightyear toy and this Lightyear film fit together perfectly. It also helps viewers accept that Chris Evans voices Buzz, and not Tim Allen.

Common with Disney films, the main character has a cute and funny animal sidekick. In Lightyear, that job goes to the robot cat companion, Sox. This little guy is, by far, my favorite part of the entire movie. Not only is he adorable, but the writers gave him the best lines of the film. Any time there is suspense, Sox manages to deliver the perfect one-liner to cut through the tension and make the audience chuckle.

The Bad

I honestly had a very hard time coming up with anything I would classify as “Bad” from this movie. If you read this review and disagree, I would love to hear your thoughts.

Buzz Lightyear frequently says things in this film that his toy counterpart said in the original Toy Story film. The only part of Lightyear that left me wanting is that there were many times I was waiting for him to say one line in particular, “It’s falling, with style”. It is an iconic line from Toy Story that you would think they would have put in this movie. There were multiple opportunities where this line could have easily been thrown into the movie that would have been fitting.

My Overall Opinion

Lightyear is a perfect family movie. Whether you’re an adult who grew up watching Toy Story as a kid, or you have kids of your own now, you will not regret going to see this one. Lightyear will keep you laughing from start to finish.

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On his blog “GoodBadSpoilers.com”, Anthony Ritter critiques and writes a review on selected movies.  Once you see a movie that Ritter has reviewed, visit his blog and share your point of view.

The post The Good, The Bad, And The Spoilers Of Lightyear appeared first on South Lake Tablet.