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Jane Roberts Dec 1, 2017

Jane wants to have a chat about Christmas, kindness, and malfunctioning skirt...

Cards on the table - I’m a Bah Humbug kind of person. Christmas comes but once a year for which I am thankful. This year it appears to be having a four month gestation period. The slush factor kicks in right about the time The X Factor raises its many hydra-ed head. And with it comes the ants of anxiety.

I can’t watch those adverts and think my life’s problems will be solved with a gastric bellyache of pudding and excess. It isn’t going to be solved with oversized pyjamas with kittens on them. Or by drinking the smorgasbord of unholy beverages that manifest as actual Christmas spirit (chocolate liqueur anyone?). Yeah, there’s the Doctor Who Christmas special but I’m usually too far gone in wine by air time...

“My spirit never walked beyond the limits of our moneychanging hole. so I cannot rest; I cannot stay; I cannot linger – anywhere.”

The 1935 version of Scrooge screens this Thursday and Friday (December 22nd and 23rd) evenings at Webster University’s Moore Auditorium (470 East Lockwood). The feature will be preceded by two animated shorts: Somewhere in Dreamland (1936 – 9 min.) and Christmas Comes But once a Year (1936 – 9 min.). The program starts at 7:30 both evenings. This is a Free event.

In this straightforward adaptation of Charles Dickens’ novella “A Christmas Carol in Prose, Being a Ghost-Story of Christmas,” Ebenezer Scrooge (Sir Seymour Hicks) is the ultimate miser and cannot stomach Christmas or holiday cheer. His impoverished clerk Bob Cratchit (Donald Calthrop) and nephew Fred (Robert Cochran) are full of holiday spirit. But in the night, visits by three spirits leave a lasting impression on Scrooge.

While not as well-known as other versions of the Dickens classic (Owen,...

How 'Grey Gardens' Was Restored To its Squalid Glory (And Why You Need To See It) Christmas comes but once a year...but the Criterion Collection adds new titles all the time, which is kind of like Christmas for film lovers. All films are being released on Blu-ray and DVD. See below for the latest additions, synopses courtesy of Criterion, though you'll have to wait until summer to buy them. "The Killers" (1946 and 1964) Ernest Hemingway's simple but gripping short tale "The Killers" is a model of economical storytelling. Two directors adapted it into unforgettably virile features: Robert Siodmak, in a 1946 film that helped define the noir style and launch the acting careers of Burt Lancaster and Ava Gardner; and Don Siegel, in a brutal 1964 version, starring Lee Marvin, Angie Dickinson, and John Cassavetes, that was intended for television but deemed too violent for home audiences and released theatrically instead.

 

Over the holiday season, have a good one and be merry. We will be back blogging in the New Year.

In the mean time have a look at just some of our favourite festive visual treats below, to keep you entertained for the Christmas!

A Muppet Family Christmas

Peace On Earth

 

 Christmas Comes But Once a Year

Star Wars Holiday Special

Nicholas Was

Terry Gilliam - The Christmas Card

Ain't no party like an Arnie Christmas party!

Here’s an Archive of every TV Recap we’ve ever done here at Bwe.tv, organized by show and season, for Breaking Bad, Lost, The Walking Dead, Game Of Thrones, Mad Men, The Office, Teach: Tony Danza (essential), American Idol, The Real Housewives, Boardwalk Empire, and Top Chef. Feel free to read them at your recap-needing leisure, or all right now in a row (mini photo-spoilers): Breaking Bad Breaking Bad Season 4: Episode 1 – “Box Cutter” Episode 2 – “Thirty-Eight Snub” Episode 3 – “Open House” Episode 4 – “Bullet Points” Episode 5 – “Shotgun” Episode 6 – “Cornered” Episode 7 – “Problem Dog” Episode 8 – “Hermanos” Episode 9 – “Bug” Episode 10 – “Salud” Episode 11 – “Craw Space” Episode 12 – “End Times” Episode 13 – “Face Off” Lost Lost Season 4: Episode 1 – “The Beginning of the End” Episode 2 – “Confirmed Dead” Episode 3 – “The Economist” Episode 4 – “Eggtown” Episode 5 – “The Constant” Episode 6 – “The Other Woman” Episode 7 – “Ji Yeon” Episode 8 – “Meet Kevin Johnson” Episode 9 – “The Shape of Things to Come” Episode 10 – “Something Nice...

Ladies and gentlemen, one of the cultiest cult movies of all time is coming back to the big screen just on time for the holiday season. Yes, it's 1964 gem Santa Claus Conquers The Martians - in which Santa Claus is kidnapped by aliens who want him to make toys for their children instead of humans - and it's hitting theaters across the nation as part of a revival of classic cult holiday titles.Delightful two-hour holiday program for the whole family. A retro-rocket flashback to the Sixties that's chock-full of happy Christmas memories including vintage "Greetings From The Theater Management" ads, two charming Max Fleischer Technicolor cartoons ('Christmas Comes But Once A Year' and "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer'), wacky 1950's shorts like "Howdy Doody's...