What to see at Christmas? Theaters and streaming have a number of new works to meet the audience on Christmas Eve
Reporting by journalist Maggie Ma los Angeles
The North American film and television market, which was once dismal by the epidemic, has completely recovered in this year's Christmas slot. Sony's Spider-Man: No Way Home grossed $260 million in its first weekend in North America, surpassing Avengers 3 as the second-highest-grossing film in North America in history, after Avengers 4. Not surprisingly, the film will continue to dominate the championship in the Christmas slot. At the same time, the song and dance animation "Sing 2" released by Universal will be the first choice for children and parents during the Christmas period, containing many popular songs and a strong festive atmosphere. Oscar-winning films such as the classic film noir "Nightmare Alley" and Fox's song and dance film "West End Story" also meet the audience during Christmas. Netflix's fashionable urban drama "Emily in Paris," which aired last year, began its second season on December 22, along with the star-studded comedy disaster film "Don't Look Up."
Family movies
Sing, produced by Universal's animation studio Illumination, received good reviews after its release in 2016, and the film tells the story of a group of small animals who love singing and stage performance, including koalas, elephants, hedgehogs, piglets and other characters who met each other through a singing competition and formed a song and dance troupe. But the regional theater's performance income was too small, and they decided to try their luck in the casino city of Vegas. Originally, they had the support of the rich to perform in a larger theater, but they encountered many setbacks in the preparation process. Can the choir realize its dream of going to the big stage this time? The first episode of "The Voice of Joy" was popular because the characters in the film covered the songs of many well-known singers, and there were also many popular pop songs at that time as the soundtrack, as if it was a large concert, the atmosphere was festive and warm, and it was very suitable for the whole family to watch the holidays at the end of the year.
The sequel includes the original voice cast: Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, Taryn Edgerton, Scarlett Johansson, etc. all returned, and even U2 lead singer Bono and well-known singer Halsey joined the cast. And because the story of this sequel takes place in vegas, the stage design is more eye-catching than the previous small theater. The story still maintains the theme of the first episode: a few ordinary little people finally get the opportunity to show their talents, but behind all the brilliance, the mutual support, encouragement and inseparability of the members of the troupe are the basis for the success of the song and dance troupe to overcome all difficulties. The film also features well-known pop songs from Shawn Mendes, Justin Bieber, BTS and other familiar hits theaters on December 22.
On the 22nd, there is also "The Matrix 4", which returned after 18 years, and it was released at the same time as HBO MAX, but from the perspective of visual effects, it is true that theaters are more suitable. The story once again focuses on Keanu Reeves' Neo, who, years later, will again make the choice of whether to return to reality or stay in the virtual world, and find his lover Trinity. The film currently receives 70% media reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, with extra points for action scenes, visual effects and feelings, but many people feel that this sequel looks tired, the actors are old, and the attraction is no more attractive than it was then.
Best film of the season
The classic film noir remake of Nightmare Alley (aka Jade Face), directed by Oscar-winning Mexican director Guillermo del Toro and starring Bradley Cooper, Kate Blanchett, Rooney Mara and many other stars, is also currently being released. The film was a hit in the awards season in terms of set design, visual effects, and performances.
The story tells that Bradley Cooper starred stanton as a circus worker, but by chance he learned how to perform "mind reading", using deception to make the audience think that magicians can read their inner thoughts, and even achieve dialogue with deceased relatives. Mastering this skill led Stanton to become ambitious, not only killing his mentor, but also cheating the young girl Jasmine's trust. Stanton takes Jasmine to the big city to start a new show, and Jasmine has been his strong backing as his wife and assistant. However, after Stanton befriends the beautiful counselor Lily (Kate Blanchett), he begins to have an affair and cooperates with Lily, setting up a trap to defraud the trust and money of wealthy guests. How could Stanton, whose career was so prosperous, not have imagined that his deception might be superb, but it could not hide his ugly soul, and in the end, what would happen to him?
Gilmo del Toro is a well-known director of the visual department in Hollywood, and his unique perspective, rich imagination and excellence in scene design enjoy a high reputation in the industry. Gilmour and his creators recently attended the premiere of the film, talking about the fact that he originally made the film because it was the idea of his wife, Lorenza Newton, who is also one of the film's writers. Because of the participation of female screenwriters, the new version pays more attention to the shaping of female characters in the story, not only the increase in female roles, but also more attention to how women can not be deceived and used in a society where the weak and the strong are preyed. "Night Road" fits the popular theme of this year's season: what the consequences of toxic masculinity will entail. This kind of film is about how a man fights and bullies others, and how he is resisted and retaliated against by the weak in the end. Other popular movies "The Power of dogs" and "Gucci Family" are films of this genre.
Urban fashion drama
The Netflix fashion beauty drama "Emily in Paris" starring Lily Collins began airing a second season on the 22nd, with a total of ten episodes. In the last season, Emily, a young white-collar marketing officer from Chicago, came to work at the Paris branch, and her American style and ideas were incompatible with the local personalities, resulting in a lot of friction. But at the same time, she also slowly integrated into the life of Paris, and her approachable personality and kind heart made her slowly accepted by the people around her, and even fell in love with the Handsome French guy downstairs. In the second season, she will face more work and love challenges.
"Emily in Paris" has received bipolar evaluation after the broadcast, on the one hand, the audience likes the fashion elements of the show, romantic love stories and the beauty of Paris, but many viewers think that the description of the French in this film has a stereotype, such as thinking that the French are cold, lazy, arrogant, sexually open, etc., is the "Paris" in the eyes of Americans, rather than the real Paris. Even so, the show's ratings were good and it was nominated for Best Comedy at the Emmy Awards. Even after catching up with the new crown, the crew still finished filming the second season in Paris, in time for the Christmas release. This time, it was filmed in the ornate and ornate castles of the southern French countryside and seaside towns, and the scenes and costumes were more luxurious and colorful. The show was directed by Patricia Field, a costume consultant for Sex and the City, and there will be plenty of bold and novel attempts.
Meanwhile, Don't Look Up, a comedy disaster film featuring Leonardo DiCaprio, Meryl Streep, Jennifer Lawrence, Timothy Chalmed, Kate Blanchett, and many other stars, which was previously released in theaters in early December, will also appear on Netflix on December 22. Disney+'s Marvel series "Hawkeye" aired its finale on the 22nd, and HBO MAX's "Sex and the City" sequel "And Just Like That" is also being broadcast. Whether you go to the theater or not, there is a lot of content to watch during the Christmas schedule.