Cinemann December 2010

Love Actually is a charmingly roman-tic, holiday film starring some of the best actors in the industry; the cast list includes dreamy Hugh Grant, Liam Neeson, Colin Firth, Laura Linney, Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Keira Knightly, and Rowan Atkinson. From the genius of Richard Cur-tis, esteemed writer and director of Bridget Jones’s Diary and Notting Hill, comes Love Actually. The movie, which was released in 2003, runs for an enthralling 2 hours and 15 minutes and is a great movie to sit down with the whole family, while eating a big bowl of popcorn.

Curtis uses Grant’s attractive British accent to immediately entice his audience- the film opens with Hugh’s romantic words of wisdom, “Love is all around you, and if you can’t see it just go to an airport waiting room.” Suddenly an airport waiting room, where everyone is embracing his or her loved ones, appears. This is a sweet scene and a really good opening to a movie, which chronicles the love lives of different people.

Although the love stories range between the romance of a little boy and the girl who sits next to him in class and an old couple who de-spite obvious marriage problems stay together, each story exempli-fies the power and importance of love in all its forms

One of my favorite characters is the ambassador (Hugh Grant) who falls in love with his caterer, but he fires her once he sees her flirting with someone else. On Christmas day, he comes to her home and confesses his love to her, and they get married. The char-acters are all related to each other in one-way or another. Either by mutual friends or by family, they all end up knowing each other, and in the final scene they are all joined together. The plot is not only superbly interwoven, but also very well written, promising to keep viewers in con-stant suspense. Love Actually is a perfect

holiday film, which in fact takes place dur-ing the Christmas season- when the impor-tance of love becomes all too obvious. Take a part in the holiday fun with this romantic comedy. The characters are both realistic and endearing, so viewers too cannot help but fall in love with them.

Love Actually

Cinemann: Volume Vi, issue 4Editors in Chief

Andrew DemasMaggie Reinfeld

Senior EditorsMatt Taub

Alexandra Saali

Faculty AdvisorDeborah Kassel

Associate Editors Katie Cacouris, Tucker Ca-

ploe, Jessica Chi, Zoe Kestan,

Staff WritersAlice Taranto, Sam Torres,

Charles Sherr, Emma Specter

Letter From the Editors

Dear Reader,Welcome to the fourth issue

of Cinemann! In the spirit of the holiday season, we hope you enjoy these freshman reviews of their fa-vorite Christmas movies. Whether it’s the charm of Love Actually, the hilarity of A Christmas Story, or the magic of Narnia, these movies all enliven the holiday spirit. Movies are the perfect way to encapsulate the warmth of Christmas and all its splendidness.

Please take a look at our past three issues on issuu.com/cine-mann. Have a beautiful and cel-ebratory holiday!

See You at the Movies,Andrew J. Demas and Maggie Reinfeld

Table of Contents

by hannah davidoff

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2 Love Actually3 It’s A Wonderful Life, Miracle on 34th Street4 The Santa Clause, The Chronicles of Narnia6 How the Grinch Stole Christmas7 Frosty the Snowman, Home Alone 28 Shrek the Halls, Eight Crazy Nights9 The Polar Express 10 A Christmas Story, Rudolf, Elf

George Bailey stumbles away from the car wreckage. In a drunken stupor, he had crashed his car into a tree in front of a house. He can vaguely hear the house owner shouting at him about the damage. George slowly walks over to the bridge, struggling to see through the falling snow. As he begins to cross the bridge, a truck’s headlights appear and the truck turns onto the bridge. The trucker honks his horn and George starts before letting the truck pass on the bridge. George lum-bers over once the truck passes, unsteadily grip-ping onto a street sign to keep his balance. He walks onto the bridge’s sidewalk, gazing at the icy water below while clutching the bridge railing be-side him. Eventually George stops, shivering in the cold. He stares at the turbulent water sloshing around. With a look of desperation on his face, he begins to watch the river more and more intently. He wipes his mouth briefly before gazing around for any lone passersby. He prepares to haul him-self over and to fall into the frigid depths, when suddenly there’s a giant splash as someone has tumbled into the river to their death. This is the story of George Bailey, the despairing protagonist of It’s a Wonderful Life. The movie was released in 1946 and was directed by Frank Capra. Although initially popular unpopular its story and message evolved into a major part of the Christmas spirit.

It’s a Wonderful Life tells the story of a hum-ble banker named George Bailey (Jimmy Stew-art), small-town hero of Bedford Falls. However, George has an eventual crisis, leading him to con-template suicide, perhaps his only viable option. Fear not readers- George’s guardian angel surfac-es just in time and teaches George the gift of life by illustrating a world without George in it. It’s a Wonderful Life has become a cult classic. Origi-nally unrecognized, a box office failure and poorly reviewed, It’s a Wonderful Life is one of the best Christmas tales. Jimmy Stewart portrayed George Bailey exceptionally, depicting the joys of George’s life and his exuberant happiness as well, accurately depicting not only the joys of life, but also despera-tion and fury. It’s a Wonderful Life told a story that everyone can relate to- giving up all your aspira-tions, dreams, and hopes for the sake of helping others. At one point in everyone’s life, they’ve had to forgo opportunities in their life for selfless rea-sons. George Bailey sacrifices his money, his time, and his future all for the sake of others wellbeing’s and thereby the movie reflects the rewarding, “giv-ing” spirit of Christmas.

“Good, you ready?” says Santa Claus (Edmund Gwenn), stretching to turn off the lamp. Santa’s attorney and roommate, Fred Gailey (John Payne), leaps up and re-plies, “Oh no you don’t. I’m not going to be cheated that way. All my life I’ve wondered and now I’m going to find out. I’m going to learn the answer that has troubled the world for centuries.” Slumping his brow, he asks, “Does Santa Claus sleep with his whiskers inside or out?” Santa turns his eyes from Fred to the ceiling and answers majestically while stroking his beard, “Al-ways sleep with them out. Cold air makes them glow.”

In Miracle on 34th Street, a modern-day Santa Claus brings the holiday spirit to some, but faces persecution by oth-ers. Written and well directed by George Seaton, this allegorical family film suc-cessfully captures the essence of Christmas and portrays holiday themes of faith and good vs. evil. Filmed in black and white, it is colored with a range of characters from the youthful and innocent Susan Walker (Natalie Wood) to the edgy Granville Saw-yer (Porter Hall). I highly recommend this heart-warming, classic yet eternally origi-nal picture that defines the timeless life and soul of Santa Claus.

Miracle on 34th Sreet

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by dilan gupta

by henry luo

It’s A Wondeful Life

“On the night before Christmas, there arose such a clatter.” After be-ing told this well-known story, Char-lie Calvin instantly rushes to his fa-ther’s bedroom, for he is certain he had heard a clatter of his own. He shakes the body of his father, who was unwilling to awaken. As his Scott Calvin sits up in bed, he too hears the noise. Protective instincts kicking in, he throws a jacket over his back and rushes out into the front yard. As his sprint comes to a halt, he stares up at the man cloaked in red approaching the chimney. He takes a breath and yells, “Hey you!” The unknown man loses his balance and slides down the snow-covered roof, falling on the lawn. Scott at-tempts to wake the visitor as Char-lie comes bursting through the door. Trying to convince Charlie he did not kill the real Santa by showing the man’s ID, Scott finds a business card stating, “If something should happen to me, put on my suit. The reindeer will know what to do.”

In The Santa Clause, Charlie has just been told by his mother and

stepfather that Santa Claus doesn’t exist. From his run in with the “big guy” displayed in the scene shown above, Scott gets trapped in a legal plan called the Santa Clause, stating that any person who puts on Santa’s coat will turn into Father Christmas himself. Soon, Scott begins to gain excess weight, grow a long white beard, and eventually leaves his home for the North Pole to claim his newly acquired job.

This 1994 film is a warm Christ-mas movie with a bit of humor from the preposterousness of the plot. The idea of a real Santa Claus living among us is so far-fetched the viewer must use imagination than he or she normally would. Scott, being a psy-chologist, attempts to reason with Charlie about the whole ordeal in stereotypical fashion. The psycholo-gist sweaters and Scott’s recognition of them also become source of hu-mor. Unlike other Christmas com-edies, this film can be watched by children and adults alike. It was a very pleasant movie to watch and I highly recommend it.

The Santa Clause

The Chronicles of Narnia

by caroline levine

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Cinemann 4

“Lucy, Lucy. I hope you’re not afraid of the dark,” says Edmund as he closes the ornate door to the wardrobe. As Edmund walks into the wardrobe, the wooden floors turn into snowy ground and fur coats transform into fir trees frosted with white snow. Edmund continues to drag his feet through the icy terrain, clutching the thin sleeves of his navy bathrobe as small snowflakes drift onto his dark brown hair. “Lucy?” asks Edmund, as he hears the chimes of bells grow-ing louder and louder. Edmund dives out of the way and into the snow as a large sleigh pulled by a dozen white rein-deer sprints past him. A dwarf wearing a long beard and a red hood jumps out and throws a whip around Edmund’s legs. “Wait!” says the White Witch. Her skin is an inhumanly white color and a crown formed from icicles rests on her rigid blond hair. She inspects Edmund with her steel grey eyes, and after gesturing to him with her translucent fingers stands up imperiously, allowing her white fur to cascade down from her shoulders to the ground.

This scene clearly illustrates that, Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (directed by Andrew Adamson) is an innovative, strange, but beautiful experience. The movie begins with the Blitz, a sudden military attack by the Ger-mans on Britain in 1940. After the Blitz, the Pevensie chil-

dren, who include main characters Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy, are sent to the countryside for their safety. Peter and Susan, the eldest of the children, are the more virtuous of the bunch, while Edmund has a penchant for dishonesty and Lucy is dangerously curious One day when the children are playing “hide and seek”, Lucy finds a magical wardrobe, leading to a kingdom that has been plunged into a perpetual winter by the evil White Witch (Tilda Swinton). Determined to end winter and restore peace in Narnia, the Pevensie chil-dren, with zeal, courage, and the help of the magnificent lion, Aslan (Liam Neeson), lead Narnia and all of its mythi-cal creatures into a tremendous battle of rebellion.

The actors in this movie perfectly grasp the emotions and personalities of the book-characters. The special effects seem to capture the mystic power of Narnia and most im-portantly the tale’s charm. The most impressive special ef-fect was the manifestation of the lion Aslan which was both visually and audibly realistic. For me, the best moments in the film are when the children pass through the wardrobe and into magical, snow-crusted Narnia because each time I watch that scene, I feel as if I am leaving my own couch and television and entering into an enchanted winter won-derland.

The Chronicles of Narniaby zoe fawer

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Cinemann 5

life

The Grinch peers over Whoville from his dark grey cave on the top of the cliff. As the whos prepare for Chritmas by decorating the houses and stores with ex-otic adornments of all different colors, the Grinch simply frowns with disgust at the sight. He continues to chew on a tiny piece of wood held up with his green, furry, hand.The Whos then join hands while gathering around the biggest Christmas tree, set up in the middle of town. They start to sway back and forth, eyes closed, and sing togeth-er a Christmas carol dedicated to Whoville. The Grinch rolls his eyes at the horrendous thought of the holiday, and says to himself “I need to find a way to keep Christmas from coming back”. This everlasting film brings back memories of watching this movie as a kid, almost memorizing all the words with-out even trying. Perfect for a “drinking hot cocoa in pajamas” occasion, this mo-tion picture gets me in a nostalgic feel ev-ery time because I miss those rhyming, Dr. Seuss stories that I and everyone else grew up with. I highly recommend watching this classic even if you’ve already seen it, because not only does it tell the great tale of how the Grinch took Christmas from Whoville, but it also shows that Christmas is ageless and can be as childish as one wants it to be. Ev-eryone no matter how old still gets that kick of excitement on Christmas morning, and How The Grinch Stole Christmas is the per-fect movie to compliment this great holiday.

How the Grinch

Stole Christmas

by cora bae

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Cinemann 6

After a boring performance by a washed out magician, the kids in their seats were getting restless. After they ran the magician out of the classroom, they sped out into the backyard of the school house, expressing their love for snow: “SNOW!!” “Yay!” “It’s the best kind of snow!” and finally, the ever so obvious, and yet charming, “I LIKE SNOW!!!” They proceed to build a snowman, and, after brainstorming for a good 45 seconds, name him Frosty. They find the poor magician’s hat on the ground, and place it on his head. The kids are met with Frosty’s eyes popping out, and a random shout of “Happy Birthday.”

This is the opening to “Frosty the Snowman.” it sets the tone and stan-dard for the rest of the movie: charm-ing, but flawed. For example, why did Frosty say, “Happy Birthday!”? I don’t know, but it sure was a charming first line. The fact that the kids took the magician’s hat in it of itselfis both

charming and flawed. Why would the magician give them the hat? Why would he even believe that it was mag-ic? Granted, he did believe it, and went from “that poor magician” to greedy fraud. There are many scenes like this where the “bad guys” actions don’t reflect his title. The exceptions are the parts where the grown ups don’t be-lieve that Frosty is a living snowman.

We all know the plot, and I cannot say anything bad, other than the villain being the magician, who really does own the hat. There is some poor voice acting as well, but the film definitely does what it is supposed to do, which is be an entertaining kids film, while not torturing the parents who have to sit through it.

“Come on, Marv!” shouts Harry (Joe Pesci) from above. “I said, come on! Come on you big sissy” repeats Harry again, taunting his partner in crime. “Harry? You wearing af-tershave?” Marv (Daniel Stern) asks looking confused. “That’s kerosene, the rope is soaked in it.” Looking even more confused, Marv asks “Why would anyone soak a rope in kerosene?” The camera pans down the rope towards a grinning boy. “Merry Christmas!” he yells, placing a lit match to the rope.

In this second installment of the Home Alone series, directed by Chris

Columbus, Kevin’s family departs for Miami to celebrate Christmas. Kevin, the runt of the family, is somehow lost again in transit and ends up in New York City, where his nemeses Harry and Marv, petty thieves who tried to rob his house in Home Alone, are planning their next nefarious deed. Kevin’s family discovers that he has gone missing and frantically try to find him. Meanwhile, Kevin is living it up at the Plaza Hotel using his dad’s credit card, until he encounters Harry and Marv.

Like the previous Home Alone

film, Home Alone 2 does an excellent job incorporating slapstick humor into a classic kid’s Christmas tale. With a ridiculous plot and an enviable main character, the film draws both kids and parents to the screen. Kevin outdoes himself this time by using electrocu-tion, falling traps, swinging poles, you get the idea. Even as a fifteen year old, I still yearn I for Kevin’s ingenuity.

A classic kid’s legend of good tri-umphing over evil, Home Alone 2 is the winter break film to watch if you’re looking for some “electrifying” laughs.

Frosty the Snowman

Home Alone 2

by mahni alizadeh

by kieran birch-desai

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Cinemann 7

“I don’t care about Christmas, Donkey!” Shrek yells at his small, hairy, four-legged friend. Donkey is trying to encourage the big, green ogre to begin preparing for Christmas. This scene repeats itself in multiple settings, starting with spring and ending with the day before Christ-mas Eve. Shrek is still reluctant to celebrate Christmas because it is against his ogre instincts. He feels that ogres should not have a Christmas-y mood. This sets the tone for the rest movie.

The short TV special is about an ogre stumbling through a family Christmas. Shrek is originally surprised by his friends during what is supposed a quiet, family holiday. They change what is turning out to be a normal Christmas with a night-before-Christmas, Christmas story by the fireplace into a hilarious cartoon comedy chain re-action scene where Shrek has his butt and house lit on fire.

In his consequent loneliness, Shrek realizes what he did wrong, wings an eloquent speech, and enjoys Christ-mas with his family and friends. This movie is great and a good laugh, for a four year-old. Shrek has the hackneyed ups and down that have already been featured in rough-ly five thousand other movies, including all the previous Shrek films. After seeing the rest of the Shrek movies, this Christmas special is no different. It is obviously intended only for children, as shown by the fact that it is only thirty minutes long, is about a cartoon ogre with his magical, speaking donkey, and that its major difference from other Christmas movies is the amount of burps, farts, and car-toon explosions. I recommend this movie only to you who appreciate corny, children’s movies.

2002’s Eight Crazy Nights, directed by Seth Kearsley, is a cartoon film featuring protagonist Davey Stone (Adam Sandler), a 33-year-old delinquent, holiday-hating drunk who bears a striking resemblance to Adam Sandler himself. Davey, despite his many run-ins with the law, has always been spared from prison by the pity others feel towards him because of his tragic past. After committing a particularly egregious crime, however, the judge informs him that if he is caught on the wrong side of the law again, he’ll be sent straight to jail. Davey re-ceives a lenient punishment, as the judge is

motivated by holiday spirit, and he is given the job of working as a youth basketball referee under head ref Whitey Duvall (also Sandler), the dwarf-like town laughing-stock. The movie follows the cynical and crude Davey as he is drawn into the life of

goofy Whitey, with his drastically different sized feet and his hypersensitive owl-like twin, Eleanore. We watch Davey progress from an immature, bitter character in great self-denial to one who, under the guidance of a wheezy, old, two-foot-tall man, starts

Shrek the Hallsby david paduano

Eight Crazy Nightsby mayanka dutta

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The train jolts to a start, and the Conduc-tor looks up. He grabs the radio and calls out, “Your attention, please. Are there any polar express passengers in need of refreshment?” The children seated in rows of couches scream, “Me! Me! Me!” and reach for the sky as if to make themselves more noticeable.

“I thought so…” the Conductor responds. Suddenly, he seizes open the door and mul-tiple waiters arrive with hot chocolate and burst out into song. The waiters dance as they balance the piping hot beverage on platters in their arms. The loudspeaker sounds, “Oh, oh, oh we got it. Oh, oh, oh we got it! Oh, oh, oh we got it… Hot chocolate!”

The Polar Express is a creative story about a young boy who goes out one Christ-mas night and ends up having an experience beyond his reckoning. He meets many new children and eventually is greeted by Santa Claus. The train is what all children seek: a place where their wildest thoughts can come true. The boy goes on a quest, ending up in Santa’s workshop and getting a very special gift. Ultimately, he learns how to dream. It is a great family classic for the Holidays, not just about Christmas but also about belief and hope.

This movie tells an inspiring story that should be viewed by all family members. The

graphics look somewhat realistic, although the dance numbers can become disorienting. It almost looks as if the people in the movie are part of a video game; some movements are somewhat jerky, as if the animation isn’t yet completed. Nonetheless, Tom Hanks cre-ates a stellar performance with a singing num-ber right in the middle. The boy’s name never being told is a splendid touch, for it creates a sense of mystery. The girl who befriends the young boy teaches kids how to lead, be part of team, and be brave as they take charge of their quest of teaching people to believe in Santa Claus. I recommend The Polar Express and hope everyone sees it during the holidays.

Shrek the Halls

by charlotte frankel

to grow up and become aware of himself and the pain he has caused.

The film is hilariously brilliant, and has a touch of feel-good holiday spirit. It is an animated comedy about the holidays and redemption, with a very entertaining and more adult twist. Although the plotline con-

tains the old cliché of self-realization around Christmas and Hanukah, this movie deliv-ers quite differently from its precursors, with many wildly inappropriate and occasionally vulgar jokes. Much of the humor is for audi-ences more mature than ones who frequent the average holiday cartoon. Ultimately, the

story is about a good guy with a bad past who is trying to find his way again, but the filmmakers have found a way to overcome this immensely overused storyline and make it new to viewers. I highly recommend this fresh take on an old story.

Polar Express

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Cinemann 9

In the loving, clichéd movie, Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer (di-rected by Kizo Nagashima), protago-nist Rudolf sets out on a journey to find the place he truly belongs. He is accompanied by Yukon Chrone-lius, a gold miner, and Hermey, an elf who dreams of becoming a den-tist. Rudolf and the other misfits must weave around the Abominable to save Christmas.

Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer is not only a feel-good Christmas movie; it is also an excellent story. With its ingenious use of stop motion technology, this film creates a warm feeling. It is meant for people in any stage of life, from a three year old having his first conscious Christmas, to my father, whose age I am prohib-ited from repeating.

by quentin montgomery

Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer

A Christmas Story

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Cinemann 10

A Christmas Story is a family clas-sic. I laughed constantly throughout the movie. I believe this movie is one that we can all relate too. Its about the days leading up to Christmas for nine-year-old Ralphie Parker. In almost all of the scenes Ralphie is begging for his,‚ÄúofficialRed Ryder, carbine ac-tion, two-hundred shot range model air rifle with a compass in the stock, and this thing which tells time‚Äù to the constant reply of, Äúare you cra-zy you‚Äôll shoot you‚Äôre eye out.‚Äù The director clearly displays the suspense leading up to Christmas on whether Ralphie is going to get his dream toy or not.

Living in a strict household, in which

no bad behavior is allowed, Ralphie must constantly resist the urge to curse considering his father’s addiction to profanity. Towards the end of the mov-ie Ralphie attacks his bully, Scut Farkus, until he’s bloodied up and his mom conceals the fact from his father. Also, in the finale of the movie Ralphie’s father, without the mothers consent, buys him his precious BB gun. These scenes in the movie shows a strong family willing to help one another. This movie is a masterpiece, and the director put a lot of heart into it. In conclusion, the main reasons I enjoyed the movie was its mixture of comedy, desperation, anger, sadness, and love.

As Buddy the Elf, protagonist in the movie Elf, departs for New York to meet his real father, Santa has some parting words. “There are some thing you should know,” the rosy-cheeked man says seri-ously. “If you see gum on the street, leave it there. It’s not free candy.” Buddy, clearly confused by this, nods slowly as Santa continues. “Sec-ond, there are, like, 30 Ray’s Pizzas. But the real one is on 11th.”

Buddy’s face brightens as he declares with the ebullience of a young child, “I can’t wait to see my dad. We’re going to go ice skat-ing, and eat sugar plums!” At this, Santa shifts uncomfortably, clear-ing his throat. “Yeah, that’s the other thing I wanted to talk to you about,” he begins. “You know, Buddy…your father…well, he’s on the naughty list.” Buddy’s expression changes into one of pure terror, as he cries, “NO!”

Buddy the Elf has always been different. He towers over the oth-er elves in the choir, falls behind his toy-making quota, and is afraid of jack-in-the-boxes. When Buddy starts asking questions, his elf fa-ther is forced to admit the truth: Buddy was “adopted,” and is really a human. Determined to connect with his past, Buddy travels to New York City, where his father works in a prestigious publishing firm. The catch: Walter Hobbs is a bitter, workaholic who cares little for his new wife and son and even less for Buddy.

Unlike other “family” movies, Elf appeals to many generations, and will have children and adults alike in hysterics watching the man from the North Pole try to fit in the big city. Elf is a touching tale for holidays, a story about family, redemption, and syrup. As Buddy connects with his human family, finds a job, and tries to woo the girl of his dreams, he reminds us all of the true spirit of Christmas: “There’s room for everyone on the nice list.”

by ricardo fernandez

by rebecca shaw

A Christmas Story

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Cinemann 11

CinemannHorace Mann School231 West 246th StreetRiverdale, NY 10471